Dale Bumpers: “First of all, I wish to say that it is not just me saying it, and perhaps the Senator from Utah would not wish to have…”

“First of all, I wish to say that it is not just me saying it, and perhaps the Senator from Utah would not wish to have commendations from this side of the aisle, but I do want to say that my opinion of him is shared by my colleagues. It developed almost immediately when he came here. He is really one of the fine additions to the Senate. He came here in 1992, was elected in the same year I was reelected. I found him to be an extremely thoughtful, compassionate, truly dedicated public servant. We have worked together on two or three issues, most notably concessions contracts in the national parks. We have gotten along beautifully. He does not vote the way I tell him to all the time, that is my only objection. But I can tell you, he is a man of integrity and a man of intellect, and it pains me that we are on opposite sides of this issue. I do want to make two or three points in partial rebuttal to what my good friend from Utah has just said. First, upon the completion of exploration, mining companies generally have a good idea about the amount and type of minerals located at a particular site. They make big investments to mine, nobody denies that. And they provide a lot of jobs. But let me tell you, looking for oil can be a lot riskier than looking for minerals. Oftentimes, oil companies will spend, in deep sea water, almost $1 billion to drill a well and sometimes hit a duster.”