Political Quotes

“because the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell) brought up the name of Alaska, I wish he understood the reasons this is in there. The gentleman talks about jobs. He may not have been to Alaska, but Alaska is in a unique position for refueling. That is something that is very important to my airport. Already, the airlines the gentleman is talking about have gone to Vancouver and solicited bids to land in Vancouver, break down their cargo and ship it to the United States. We are part of the United States. The difference between survival of the airport in Alaska, in Anchorage, is this part of this amendment. If it was not adopted, we would lose more than 400 jobs, 400 American jobs. And yes, I can say it is not point to point. These planes will come in, the cargo will be broken down and the planes will be refueled and sent back. The shipment will then be taken by Northwest and other airlines to other parts of the United States. It will create jobs, it will not lose jobs in Alaska. The gentleman talks about foreign. If the gentleman wants them to go to Canada, that is what will happen if Members vote against this bill. My airport will not survive. This is one of the biggest money makers for my airport, and to have someone say this is going to give jobs to foreigners is nonsense. We are different. We are closer to the Orient. We are not New York or New Jersey, which is about the size, by the way, of Kodiak Island. Our survival is the Orient market.”