Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I will be brief. I don't fundamentally disagree with the idea that we learned a lot about the relative effectiveness of masks. I am not a huge fan of them myself. The main reason they tend not to be effective is people don't wear them or they don't wear them correctly. I think what we have learned is that there are some circumstances in which masks could conceivably be helpful. I don't like the way the scientists in this country presented the mask information to the American public. I think they undermined a lot of credibility in the way they did it by not explaining it in an honest way, and I think they were wrong in a number of different areas. This amendment says there is never any time ever when a mask mandate makes sense, and that is just further than even I am willing to go. I don't know when that time is going to be. I have not done an exhaustive study of the science. I have read a few New Yorker articles in other places that raised some of the concerns. To have an amendment that says under no circumstances can our medical professionals within the military conclude that this is a good idea goes too far. I oppose the amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.”