Political Quotes

“I am very grateful to the ranking member not only for yielding me this time but particularly for his leadership and the leadership of the chairman of our Committee on Armed Services, the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spence). There are so many reasons to rise in support of this bill, but, more than any, the underlying theme of this bill is that our Armed Forces are not just about weapons or strategies or technology, but the heart of our Armed Forces are the people who have to operate the weapons, who have to represent us in this country and abroad. This bill is primarily designed to ensure that we can recruit, that we can train, that we can sustain our enlisted personnel, the very best that this country has to offer, and we can also treat military retirees with the gratitude and the respect that they deserve. There is one provision in this bill that I want to underscore, because it does address a situation that has occurred over the years, really since 1956, when the military started to back off what was considered to be a commitment.”