Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I rise in support of this amendment. Environmental reviews are how we learn about a project's potential impacts on our lands, water, and public health. They are a critical safeguard against harmful industry practices. The section of the bill this amendment amends says that project sponsors can fund their own environmental reviews. The entire section is wrong, and this amendment begins to recognize that. It would ban the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior from accepting funds for environmental review from the Chinese Communist Party. But my question is: Why stop there? What about other foreign adversaries? What about the entities that have committed human rights abuses? What about the entities that have lobbied the Federal Government? How do we ensure that any outside funding will be clear of conflicts of interest? From my view, we can't. The Federal Government should have the sole responsibility to conduct unbiased environmental review, because the Federal Government is responsible for protecting its citizens. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.”