Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman. I thank the ranking member as well. In closing, let me just pay tribute to Garrett Jones, who served as a CIA station chief in Somalia during peacekeeping operations in 1993 and was cited as an African American officer who was able to work undercover for weeks in North Mogadishu, which his duty officers said would have been all but impossible by Jones' other officers. We all have a contribution to make. And I look forward to this sense of Congress not being weeded out in conference and reemphasizing the importance of this effort. With that I ask support of my amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. Chair, I rise to debate my amendment #7 to H.R. 5743 ``Intelligence Authorization Act,'' which is a Sense of Congress that the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency should take such actions as the Director considers necessary to increase the recruitment and training of ethnic minorities as officers and employees of the Central Intelligence Agency. The men and women who conduct this important work certainly deserve our support and all of the resources that we can muster to make sure that they're successful in their endeavors. Yet, we must also ensure that the CIA itself reflects the American population and that of the world. Having agents who can be deployed anywhere at any time is vital to our national security. As is a diversity of thought and perspectives that can be garnered by having a diverse workforce.…”