Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 218, the King Cove Road Land Exchange Act. I thank Congressman Don Young for his tireless work on this pressing issue. Nineteen people: the cost of decades of inaction by the Federal Government, Mr. Chairman, is 19 American lives. Expedient access to a hospital is something most Americans can, fortunately, take for granted. For many, emergency services are an ambulance ride away. Not for the citizens of King Cove, Alaska. Adjacent to the Aleutian Islands, the 1,000 residents of King Cove, Alaska, are connected to hospitals in the region via a small runway and a ferry. Harsh winter storms ground planes and prevent safe sea travel, cutting off residents from hospitals and necessary supplies. In truly dire emergencies, King Cove residents have but two choices. Number one is to pray a boat captain will brave enormous seas. Or wait until the Coast Guard can dispatch a medivac helicopter. Mr. Chairman, allow me to read some of the stories of those who have braved the sea, or held out until help arrived. Take, for example, Lonnie Brandell, who had to hoist his ailing father out of a fishing boat during a blizzard. After a perilous 3-hour journey to Cold Bay, the sea was so rough his boat could not dock. Brandell had to tie a rope around his father and allow him to be pulled to safety. To quote Brandell: ``It was not a good scenario at all.…”