Political Quotes

“I yield myself 3 minutes. I, too, rise in support of the conference report. I want to particularly thank Chairman McKeon, Senator Levin, and Senator McCain, who worked with us to get this product, as well as all the members of the committee and staff. We truly did work on this in a bipartisan fashion. I don't think there's a single one of us that's completely happy with everything that's in this piece of legislation, but that's the nature of compromise and working together to get something done. We need to pass a defense bill to support our troops and to get our troops the pay raise and the support that they need. So to get there, we have to work past our differences in order to come up with a product that we can vote for. We did that. It's proof that the legislative process can work. This is a critical piece of legislation. First and foremost, it prioritizes support for our troops and their families. We have to remember that we still have over 60,000 troops deployed in combat in Afghanistan. Making sure that they have the equipment, supplies, and support that they need to do the job that they're being asked to do is our number one priority. I'm pleased that we have a 1.7 percent pay raise included in this bill and pleased that we continue to support the effort in Afghanistan. I'm also pleased that we have language in this bill that makes it clear that it is time to end that mission in Afghanistan and bring our troops home as soon as we responsibly can.…”