Political Quotes

“I will be very brief. One, I thank the chairman and ranking member for their willingness to help Senator Chambliss and Senator Clinton and myself with a package of reforms that would be very beneficial to the Guard and Reserves regarding Reserve retirement. Right now, the current system will not allow you to retire until you are 60. You can serve your 20 years, 30 years, but you have to wait until you are 60 to get your retirement. We are trying to incentivize those Guard and Reserves to take part in active-duty operations, and if you are called up to active duty involuntarily, for every 90 days a member spends on active duty, from September 11 forward, you will get a day-for-day credit in terms of retirement. If you serve a whole year on active duty, voluntarily or involuntarily, you could retire at 59. We have had this scored. It is minimum cost. But I can assure you it will go a long way in the Guard and Reserve community as a much needed reform. It will be well received by our troops. It will be good for them and their families. Quite honestly, the level of commitment, the level of Active Duty service is on par with World War II among the Guard and Reserves, and it is the least we can do. This will certainly benefit our guardsmen and reservists and their families. I appreciate the chairman and ranking member putting it in the managers' package. I have enjoyed working with Senators Chambliss and Clinton on this issue.…”