Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of legislation called the HOPE and ALLIES Act to support our interpreters in Afghanistan. I can't tell you how important this is on a personal level to me. In 2012, I was hit by an IED blast. That IED went off because one of our interpreters stepped on a pressure plate. His name was Raqman. He was responding to a call, responding to do his job, like they do day in and day out. They never get a break. And he stepped on that IED, about 10 to 15 pounds of explosives, and it ripped off all four of his limbs right away. I couldn't see him because I was blinded by the blast, but I could hear him. When someone gets hit by an IED--you have probably seen in the movies--you think they scream. But they don't scream. They don't have the energy to scream. It is more like a groan. It is the deepest kind of pain that you can imagine. And I will never forget that sound. Before he was hit, he expressed to us that one of his dreams would be to come back to San Diego, California, enlist in the military, and become a Navy SEAL. That was the kind of patriotism that he had. He wasn't even a citizen. Imagine if our own citizens loved their country the way that these guys did. And that story is not unique. Raqman later died, but that legacy lived on. These interpreters showed such dedication to the cause; it is unimaginable, really. And as military units rotate in and out, we get to go home, we see our families. The interpreters stay out there.…”