Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I feel like I am in the movie ``Groundhog Day.'' My colleagues on the other side of the aisle are repeating one of their famous mantras, ``Not this mine, not this place,'' their standard refrain because they do not support any mining anywhere. This amendment is nothing short of a full-scale attack on the livelihoods of many of my constituents. It sets back our Nation's national security and strengthens Putin's Russia. This amendment imposes a million-acre land grab permanently banning mining in an area nearly the size of Delaware. However, none of this land is in the district of the sponsor of this amendment, Mr. Speaker. My colleagues falsely frame this amendment as an effort to protect the Grand Canyon, which is, of course, completely disingenuous. No one wants to mine within the Grand Canyon. This entire area is miles away from the boundaries of the buffer around the Grand Canyon National Park. {time} 1600 Bipartisan negotiations led to the Arizona Wilderness Act in 1984, which set aside this area for multiple-use activities, including mining. It placed 387,000 acres of land into the National Wilderness Preservation System in exchange for leaving 540,000 acres for multiple use, which now makes up a large portion of this withdrawal.…”