Political Quotes

“Mr. President, this is another innocuous-sounding amendment which, in reality, is a bonanza for lawyers, and there are a lot of lawyers in this country. We have general laws in this country to cover situations that Congress did not specifically consider. The courts understand that. So when there is a conflict between a general law and a specific law enacted with a particular facility or purpose in mind, the court follows the specific law. With this act we are considering, the specific conditions to apply to specific nuclear waste repositories--an interim repository and a permanent repository. What the amendment of the Senator from Nevada attempts to do is to provide broadly written, general laws with the same standing as the specific directions we are providing in this bill. Theirs is an amendment, Mr. President, carefully crafted to confuse the courts, confound the legal process, and enrich the lawyers. This amendment is going to delay the process leading to a responsible solution to the nuclear waste problem. I implore my colleagues to avoid this trap. That is what it is. This is an antienvironmental amendment. Let me repeat that, Mr. President. This is an antienvironmental amendment. It does not address, obviously, the problem we have with the nuclear waste.”