Political Quotes

“I thank Senator Graham. I think he made the defining point there, that this is a one-sided reduction of retirement benefits to people who served in the military, not impacting lots of others. I want to return to the central point. This bill that will be voted on tomorrow--final passage--cuts military retirement by $6 billion. That $6 billion is counted in the numbers of the proponents of the legislation toward their justification for spending more money the next 2 years. They say they are paying for it by reducing this $6 billion over time. It is mandated. It is not an option in the bill. We should not pass legislation that does that. So what I would propose is that we not go along with Majority Leader Reid's determination to run the train over the men and women of our military, that we slow down and we follow the regular process of the Senate, not fill the tree, and allow amendments to be voted on on this substantive matter. So parliamentary inquiry, Madam President. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator will state his inquiry.”