Political Quotes

“Mr. President, today marks the 1-year anniversary of the implementation of the post-9/11 GI bill, landmark legislation I was privileged to introduce on my first day in office. The idea was to provide those who have served since 9/11 with the most comprehensive educational benefits since World War II. We did that. We began with a simple concept even before I decided to run for the Senate, and that was, if we keep calling these people the ``next greatest generation,'' we should, as a Nation, express our appreciation in a proper way--by giving them the same types of educational benefits those who came back from World War II received: pay their tuition, buy their books, and give them a monthly stipend. It was a formula that worked magnificently for those who served during World War II, where 7.8 million of those veterans, because of the GI bill, were able to have a first-class future and make an imprint on the future of our country. We worked very hard in my office, with a lot of staff, pushing this legislation. We eventually achieved the key cosponsorship of three other Senators, including Senators John Warner, my former senior Senator, a Republican from Virginia; Chuck Hagel, of Nebraska, now departed, another Republican; and Frank Lautenberg, of New Jersey, a fellow Democrat. So we approached this in a way that we were trying to show a balance. We had two World War II veterans, two Vietnam veterans, two Republicans and two Democrats.…”