Political Quotes

“My amendment is very simple. It prevents funding from this act to be used to remove 3 Arctic Sales that have already taken place from the 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Program. The economic benefits that would be associated with offshore development in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas are tremendous. In those two areas alone, we have the potential to produce about 23.6 billion barrels of oil and 104 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Potentially creating 54,700 jobs nationwide will generate billions of dollars in revenue for the State and local governments. May I suggest, respectfully, that this money can be used in conservation efforts, in land and water conservation funds. You can't have that program without the development of oil; yet everybody I know on that side supports the program. The second thing is, if I can say one thing, we sit with our heads in the sand when, across the border, China and the other nations are developing. We must, in fact, be part players of this program. We need to do it wisely and to do it safely and to do it for the benefit of the American people. Now, if you don't believe in fossil fuels, I understand that, but there is no way that we are not going to be using fossil fuels for many years to come. If we are to do so, let's use that which is safe. We have already proven it can be done safely in the Arctic. It is not the frontier that people think it is. It is 150 feet deep.…”