Political Quotes

“Mr. President, like my colleague from the great State of Alaska, I also rise in support of the confirmation of Congressman Ryan Zinke to be our Nation's next Secretary of the Interior. There has been a lot of discussion about Congressman Zinke, and he comes to this job with great qualifications. He is a patriotic and ethical man, from a patriotic and ethical part of America: the American West. He is a Navy SEAL who has dedicated decades of his life to protecting our great Nation. He is a lifelong sportsman. He is a trained geologist. He is a strong advocate for energy independence. He has a keen interest in protecting our environment, while not stymying much needed economic growth. There is probably no position more important to the future of our great State of Alaska than the Secretary of the Interior, and I think it is great that we will have a new Secretary--in addition to the chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, my colleague Senator Murkowski, from our great State. There are no more important positions than those positions. The Federal government owns more than 60 percent of Alaska, and we are a big State. I don't have to come here and talk about how big we are, but we are the biggest by far. Sorry, Texas. In my State, as with many States in the West, our land is our lifeblood. It feeds us. It is what drives our economy and our culture. Congressman Zinke understands this. He hails from Montana, which has a similar view of how important the land is.…”