Russ Feingold: “my amendment would bring a small measure of relief to the families of our brave military personnel who are being…”

“my amendment would bring a small measure of relief to the families of our brave military personnel who are being deployed for the ongoing fight against terrorism, the war in Iraq, and other missions in this country and around the world. The men and women of our Armed Forces undertake enormous sacrifices in their service to our country. They spend time away from home and from their families in different parts of the country and different parts of the world and are placed into harm's way in order to protect the American people and our way of life. And, of course, we owe them a huge debt of gratitude for their dedicated service. The ongoing deployments for the fight against terrorism and for the campaign in Iraq are turning upside down the lives of thousands of active duty, National Guard, and Reserve personnel and their families as they seek to do their duty to their country and honor their commitments to their families, and, in the case of the Reserve components, to their employers as well. Today, there are more than 164,000 National Guard and Reserve personnel on active duty. Some of my constituents are facing the latest in a series of activations and deployments for family members who serve our country in the military. Others are seeing their loved ones off on their first deployment. All of these families share in the worry and concern about what awaits their relatives and hope, as we do, for their swift and safe return.”