Political Quotes

“Again, I would like to call attention to the statement that was made by the Senator from Arkansas relative to the Green Creek Mine. The thing that made that so different is the unique characteristic of that particular discovery, where all the components were known relative to the value of the minerals. The roads were in, the infrastructure was in. It was not a matter of discovery, going out in an area and wondering whether you were going to develop a sufficiency of resources to amortize the investment necessary to put in a mine. So I remind my colleagues, there is a big difference between the rhetoric that we have heard here and the practical realities of experience in the mining industry. We have seen both the effort by Canada and Mexico to initiate royalties. What has happened to their mining industry? It simply moved offshore. We have to maintain a competitive atmosphere on a worldwide basis; otherwise the reality for United States mining will be the same as was experienced in both Mexico and Canada. I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in opposition to Senator Bumpers' amendment.”