Political Quotes

“Absolutely. I want to thank Senator Wicker for his leadership on this issue, and I think what we are seeing here in this colloquy is the strength of the bipartisan support for this bill, not only in the Senate but throughout the country. I appreciate my colleague's words about who is supporting it. It is a very broad-based coalition--fishing vessels, passenger vessels, labor unions, the Navy League of the United States, marine terminals, port authorities. I think both Senator Wicker and Senator Casey made a very strong point: This is going to keep the highest standards on the environment for our waters. This isn't about cutting corners, but it is going to make these standards uniform, which is what our Nation needs. What we also need to do is to make sure we pass the Coast Guard bill as well as this important component of it. The men and women of the Coast Guard are serving our Nation just like the other members of the military, and somehow, by delaying this bill, we are undermining their longer term interests. I think the Senate can do a much better job. I agree with my colleague from Mississippi that we are close. There is clearly bipartisan support across the board for the VIDA Act and the Coast Guard bill, and we are hopeful that within the next few weeks or few months, we are going to get this done, and it is going to benefit literally every State in this great Nation of ours.”