Political Quotes

“after working 2\1/2\ years on this bill, we have a bill that brings the environmental considerations into the planning early on so they can be dealt with without wasting money, time, and resources. No State gets as much as they would like, but thanks to the Finance Committee, the donor States get up to 92 cents. All States go up by at least 15 percent. Given the constraints under which we operated, I urge my colleagues to adopt this bill. I commend the chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Jim Inhofe, along with Senators Baucus and Jeffords for a job well done. It has been a pleasure working with them. I also think it is appropriate to recognize the staff members that have put in many countless hours of their time to assist in drafting this legislation. I want to especially recognize my staff: Ellen Stein, John Stoody and Heideh Shahmoradi. Staff with Senator Inhofe: Ruth Van Mark, James Q'Keeffe, Andrew Wheeler, Nathan Richmond, Greg Murrill, Alex Herrgott, John Shanahan, Angie Giancarlo, and Rudy Kapichak. Senator Jefford's staff: JC Sandberg, Allison Taylor, Malia Somerville, JoEllen Darcy, and Chris Miller. And Kathy Ruffalo with Senator Baucus. This bill faced great challenges within these past 2\1/2\ years. The committee worked hard through many meetings, hearings, a failed conference, and all to repeat the process again this year in order to get where we are today.…”