Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, just for clarification of the record, the reform of the Mining Act of 1872 was passed by this House when the Democrats were in the majority, including the 8 percent royalty requirement, and it met almost unanimous opposition from my Republican colleagues on the other side of the aisle. We have been told that the creation of jobs is the principal motivation and justification for H.R. 1904, but when we examine these jobs claims, they start to fall apart. We've heard varying figures from 450 initially to 3,700 and sometimes even 6,000. The numbers aren't supported by the facts. The amendment before the House right now that is offered by myself and the gentleman from California (Mr. Garamendi) is the only way to ensure that at least some jobs will be created in Arizona as a result of this bill. Our amendment adds conditions to the land exchange to guarantee job creation in the community of Superior, Arizona, and the surrounding area and to strengthen the overall benefits to the U.S. economy. Section 1 of this amendment guarantees that the Remote Operations Center is located in Superior. Modern mines, Rio Tinto in particular, use a range of automation technology, and most of the human labor is done off-site at the Remote Operations Center. Rio Tinto is presently operating its Pilbara, Australia, mine from 800 miles away in Perth, which is a metro area. Our amendment will ensure that this Remote Operations Center is in and operates from Superior, Arizona.…”