Political Quotes

“I yield myself the balance of my time to close. I believe, if I am correct, this is the last amendment in the process. I just want to thank Chairman McKeon, his staff, for their outstanding leadership. As has been said many times but cannot be emphasized enough, this committee prides itself on being bipartisan, and Mr. McKeon and his staff have more than upheld that tradition. We appreciate that. We have worked together on a large number of issues, also worked together with Members of the Congress not just on the committee, as we have seen with many of the amendments processed. We have been able to include the ideas from a great many Members, both Republican and Democrat, from across this House. And I feel we have produced an outstanding product as a result. I also want to take a moment to recognize this is the last markup or last House Defense bill we will be sending with Secretary Gates as our Secretary of Defense. And I want to honor him for his service. He has served seven, maybe eight Presidents, both Republicans and Democrats, has done an outstanding job for this country in all of those roles, and in particular as Secretary of Defense for the last 5 years. His leadership has been outstanding for this country. I will also note that he is retiring to the State of Washington. So that, too, shows great judgment on his part. We appreciate it's been great working with him. He will be missed. We are excited to start working with the new Secretary of Defense, Mr.…”