“I am against this change to the bill. Chaplains help all soldiers of all faiths. They must serve every soldier, even if they have different beliefs. This change would let chaplains turn away soldiers they don't agree with. That is wrong. Commanders could be punished for making chaplains do their duty. This would hurt our military. I want my fellow lawmakers to vote against this change.”
What they said. What they meant.
Plain-language translations from Congress.
Recent debates
8 latest topics
Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act of 2026
13 statements
Moment of Silence in Honor of the 25th Anniversary of September 11
2 statements
Honoring Former U.S. Representative Charles Hatcher of Georgia
2 statements
Recognizing Firefighters from California's Third Congressional District
17 statements
Saluting White Plains Beautification Foundation
2 statements
Celebrating Rural Lawyer Julie Bear
4 statements
Operation Midway Blitz Anniversary
2 statements
Catherine Watts Celebrates 100th Birthday
4 statements
House of Representatives
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027
“I don't want this amendment to pass. It would let the government share secrets with investors. I don't trust the government to pick the right investors. I think they would help their friends make money. I brought up many things that look bad for Trump's family and friends. I want to talk about that instead. I think my examples show the government can't be trusted with this power. I want people to vote against it.”
“I want this amendment to fail. I worked at a government lab. We had Russian scientists there. They helped us. We knew who the spies were. It was funny. The real spies are in China. We need to be friends with smart people from other countries. A lot of them work in our labs. We trust them. Trump's government said this is a bad idea. A ban would hurt science in our country. I don't usually agree with Trump. I agree with him on this. This ban is too hard. I want scientists to come here. This is a bad change. Vote against it.”
“I don't like this change. I want speed cameras on bases. They make bases safe. Cameras reduce accidents. Military bases have families. I want those families kept safe. I have not heard a good reason to remove the cameras. I want my colleagues to oppose this change.”
“You should vote against this amendment. Speed cameras help keep our bases safe. If we can't keep our bases safe, that's a big problem. Our military leaders know how to use speed cameras. We should let them do what they think is best. We should not waste time debating this. We should talk about our problems in the Middle East instead.”
“I want the Department of Defense to use FedRAMP. It is a program that checks if technology is secure. I want the Department of Defense to use this program too. It will save time and money. We should use the same standards for everyone. The Department of Defense and other agencies should use the same program. I want taxpayers to spend less. I want the government to use the same process for all agencies. I want to make it easier for the Department of Defense to use secure technology. I want to help our military. There are many cyber threats. We need to use secure technology. My amendment will help do that. Please support my amendment.”
“I don't want this bill to pass. I want the Department of War to keep all their workers. If they have fewer workers, some things might not get fixed as fast. I met some soldiers who had problems getting things fixed. I want their sinks and washing machines to be fixed faster. We need more people to take care of children. We need more workers. Civilians work for the Department of War too. They are important. They have good jobs. They take care of their families. I don't want them to lose their jobs. I want the government to spend more money on them. We should protect these jobs. I don't want to cut them. Please don't support this amendment.”
“I don't want this. The Department of War could write a plan to reduce the number of workers by 200,000. That is a very big number. It comes from nowhere. There is a war on government workers. President Trump leads this war. Many workers already left. The government cut many workers. The Department already has fewer workers. They lost 78,000 workers. That is 10 percent. A study said the Department did not look at how fewer workers would change things. We should not pass this. We should not seek to fire 200,000 more workers. We do not even understand the last cuts. This hurts our country. This hurts our safety.”
“I don't want this. The Department of War can't do more with less people. We will forget how to do things. That will be bad for our country. Please vote no.”
“I don't like the amendment. It could fire many workers. I want those jobs in my district. The workers are good. Firing them is bad. It would hurt our troops. You should not fire workers. Vote no on the amendment.”
“I will work with anyone. We work in a bipartisan way on this committee. I thank the staff and Chairman Rogers for their hard work. I like some parts of the bill, but not others. The Department of War wants too much money. The budget is too high. Taxes are too low. The Department is too partisan. This makes it hard for us to work together.”
“I don't like the President's war. It was a mistake. The President had a bad plan. He wanted to bomb Iran and win fast. But the war keeps going. It costs a lot. Our allies are not happy. Trump wants more money for the war. I don't want to give it to him. We need to stop the war. Some Republicans should help us stop the President.”
“I don't like the President's plan. It is bad. The war and tariffs are bad. They divide Americans. I want the other party to agree. I want a nice budget. We should stop the war. I won't vote for this bill. I want to make more laws. I want to work with some people in the government. We need to make laws or the President will have more power. This is hard. We need to work together.”