Political Quotes

“Thank you for yielding to me. I certainly want to thank my friend, Mike McCaul, as both of us have been working with Senator Harkin on this, and it is a very important bill. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the contributions of the World War II members of the Civil Air Patrol, CAP. Today, we are considering S. 309, a bill to award CAP members a Congressional Gold Medal in honor of their service to our Nation during World War II. The Civil Air Patrol was comprised of more than 150,000 volunteers who banded together on December 1, 1941, to create a volunteer air patrol to defend our country. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, it became clear that the establishment of the air patrol was invaluable to the United States, and they were assigned to the War Department under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Corps. During World War II, the CAP logged more than 750,000 flying hours. The CAP aircrews flew in their own personal planes--and I emphasize in their own personal aircraft--in coastal patrols, performing reconnaissance and search and rescue missions. During this time, the CAP reported on 173 submarines sighted, summoned assistance for 91 ships and 363 survivors of submarine attacks in distress, and sank two enemy submarines. These CAP volunteer aircrews risked their lives to protect our freedoms, and 64 members of the Civil Air Patrol died while in service during World War II.…”