Contact: Michael Steel, Kevin Smith, Steve Forde, 202-225-4000; all with John Boehner's Office
WASHINGTON, April 15 /Standard Newswire/ -- House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) issued the following statement on a Department of Homeland Security report that characterizes veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan as vulnerable for recruitment into "terrorist groups":
"To characterize men and women returning home after defending our country as potential terrorists is offensive and unacceptable. The Department of Homeland Security owes our veterans an apology.
"Furthermore, the Secretary of Homeland Security owes the American people an explanation for why she has abandoned using the term 'terrorist' to describe those, such as al Qaeda, who are plotting overseas to kill innocent Americans, while her own Department is using the same term to describe American citizens who disagree with the direction Washington Democrats are taking our nation. Everyone agrees that the Department should be focused on protecting America, but using such broad-based generalizations about the American people is simply outrageous."