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Tammy Duckworth Quotes

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We must recognize and keep in the public consciousness the significant contributions and sacrifices Americans of every community have made that have helped forge the greatest country our world has ever known.

- Tammy Duckworth

Country, Made, Sacrifices, Our World

I know from personal experience that engaging with your community and helping others helps foster a sense of shared sacrifice and - at a time when our politics seem more focused on tearing us apart than bringing us together - that shared sacrifice will help us rekindle the national unity that has made us the strongest nation in the world.

- Tammy Duckworth

Politics, Nation, Shared, Engaging

Female service members are so integrated into the military, so critical and vital to all functions of the military, from combat service support to combat support, to direct combat, that we could not go to war as a nation - we could not defend America - without our women.

- Tammy Duckworth

Nation, Critical, Functions, Integrated

Sometimes it takes dealing with a disability - the trauma, the relearning, the months of rehabilitation therapy - to uncover our true abilities and how we can put them to work for us in ways we may have never imagined.

- Tammy Duckworth

Trauma, Dealing, Months, Disability

I was born in Bangkok in 1968 and grew up in Southeast Asia with my Thai mom and my American father, who first came to the region to fight in Vietnam and stayed to work assisting refugees.

- Tammy Duckworth

Father, Mom, Refugees, Bangkok

I spent a lot of time between bars like this.

- Tammy Duckworth

Like, Lot, Spent, Bars

The contributions of African Americans, Native Americans, and immigrants throughout our nation's history are undeniable, but the tendency to overlook their gallant efforts is pervasive and persistent.

- Tammy Duckworth

Nation, Gallant, Undeniable, Native

Nobody wants to be on food stamps, but when my family lost everything, we were grateful for it. I was grateful the program was there so I could concentrate on my schoolwork and not on my empty belly. We were grateful that we had the support we needed to roll up our sleeves and rebuild our lives.

- Tammy Duckworth

Needed, Roll, Belly, Food Stamps

I believe accurately remembering - and honoring - our whole past is the first step in governing in a way that effectively represents the whole America.

- Tammy Duckworth

Past, Effectively, Whole, Honoring

As I recovered at Walter Reed, I worried about the soldiers who pulled me out of my helicopter that Friday afternoon. Would they make it back okay? And what about all the other soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen who were also putting their lives on the line every day?

- Tammy Duckworth

Other, Line, Putting, Marines

If I still had my legs, I would be in line for a battalion command, and instead, I'm flying a desk.

- Tammy Duckworth

Line, Still, Had, Battalion

I think back to the 1990s, when I joined the Army, and all those peacetime years that we had, thinking, 'Will we ever go into combat?'

- Tammy Duckworth

Think, Will, I Think, Peacetime

Student loans, Social Security, and Medicare make a difference in the lives of working families every day, and the conversation that should be taking place is how we can save these programs, not weaken them.

- Tammy Duckworth

Every Day, Student, Save, Social Security

I do not have PTSD, but if I watch part of a movie like 'The Hurt Locker,' or when I spend time around Blackhawk helicopters, I will close my eyes that night and live an entire day in Iraq, flying my missions. I remember the smell and the feel and the heat and everything about it. Then I wake up in Illinois, and I'm exhausted.

- Tammy Duckworth

Heat, I Remember, Movie, Helicopters

I was in Congress for six months, and they put me on blood pressure medication. I flew helicopters in combat and I was fine, and I survived 13 months in recovery in the hospital... I got to Congress, and six months later I'm on blood pressure medication. Fourteen months later, they doubled the dosage!

- Tammy Duckworth

Six, Dosage, Months, Helicopters

I feel like moderate Republicans, who would support sensible gun violence legislation, are pushed aside by those folks who are absolutely beholden to the NRA.

- Tammy Duckworth

Gun, Like, Republicans, Beholden

Those who put their lives on the line overseas are undoubtedly American heroes, but it's time for us to remember that those who serve in civilian life also embody the American spirit and are worthy of our praise as well.

- Tammy Duckworth

American, Worthy, Line, Embody

I almost can't believe this even needs to be said, but it's not unwarranted to burden retirement advisers with a requirement that they act in their clients' best interest.

- Tammy Duckworth

Clients, Needs, Almost, Unwarranted

In the military, a combatant command is the ultimate job. It's the pointy tip of the spear, overseeing the people carrying the rifles and flying the aircraft.

- Tammy Duckworth

Ultimate, Aircraft, Rifles, Tip

Like so many women, especially military women, I waited to have children.

- Tammy Duckworth

Children, Military, Like, Waited

I get up every single day trying to repay a debt that I can never repay. Never. And I will work hard. Because I don't know why I was saved. I don't know.

- Tammy Duckworth

Work Hard, Will, Repay, Every Single Day

Our soldiers show every single day that they are more than good enough.

- Tammy Duckworth

Soldiers, More, Show, Every Single Day

Veterans are my life's work. From the day my buddies saved my life in Iraq, I've woken up every single day dedicated to taking care of veterans and doing my best for veterans.

- Tammy Duckworth

My Life, Veterans, Dedicated, Every Single Day

Our troops do an incredible job every single day, but our policymakers have not lived up to the sacrifices that our troops make every day.

- Tammy Duckworth

Every Day, Sacrifices, Our, Every Single Day

My arm bones looked like chicken bones.

- Tammy Duckworth

Chicken, Like, Looked, Arm

When you're a member of Congress, you can become an expert in a couple of subjects. For example, I've worked on federal procurement reform, the Armed Services Committee, manufacturing, and women's health care.

- Tammy Duckworth

Committee, Expert, Couple, Manufacturing

My first direct encounter with the military was when I joined ROTC as a graduate student, although my father, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps, can trace the military service in our family all the way back to the Revolutionary War.

- Tammy Duckworth

Father, Student, Direct, Corps

I am just one of the overwhelming majority of Americans who is responsible and hard-working and at one point in their life benefited greatly from government programs such as student loans, Medicare, and Social Security.

- Tammy Duckworth

Student, Social Security, Medicare

I remember my mother taking me as a very little kid to the roof of our home in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to look at the bombs exploding in the distance. She didn't want us to be scared by the booms and the strange flashes of light. It was her way of helping us to understand what was happening.

- Tammy Duckworth

I Remember, Very, Exploding, Flashes

I commanded an Army unit, and I placed the highest priority on a commander's authority to lead, manage, and discipline the men and women under his or her command within the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

- Tammy Duckworth

Discipline, Code, Placed, Manage

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