Political Quotes

“I have to say, having studied this issue and having been added as a cosponsor of this amendment, as one whose hobby and avocation is forestry and having talked to Forest Service personnel in my State, to leading academic foresters from institutions in my State and across the West, this is just common sense. The foresters, the academic foresters, the professional Forest Service people, know you cannot leave the fuel that sets off catastrophic fires in the forests or you will have catastrophic fires. In my State, we have not only oak decline and beetle infestation; we have had tornadoes. They have knocked over trees. Guess what. It was a very dry summer. These trees have dried out. A spark from lightning or any kind of manmade spark could set these off. Ours is not the biggest problem. The biggest problems are faced by our colleagues in the West. I simply want to get an up-or-down vote. I know somebody might be put in a difficult spot. They have to either vote for their constituents and the safety of forests or for the environmental groups who don't seem to understand the problems that arise in the forests of the West. I daresay none of those groups live next to the forests, which could become a raging inferno if those fuels are not removed from the forests.”