Political Quotes

“This amendment seeks to protect the continued employment of needed and trusted Department of Defense civilian employees. DOD civilian employees who are critical to our national security mission may be in danger of losing their security clearances and their jobs if financial hardships from being furloughed result in financial delinquencies. Right now, the DOD has issued vague guidance that they will take into account the impact that sequestration is having on servicemembers' financial situation. While I appreciate those efforts, I believe that Congress should strengthen our commitment to our servicemembers by ensuring no funds are used to deny the renewal of security clearances to workers who are only experiencing financial hardship as a result of sequestration. I believe this is a commonsense amendment, and it is my hope that it will receive strong support. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. I reserve the balance of my time.”