Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, my amendment will help ensure that all communities are able to participate in decisions that shape the National Park Service. Environmental justice is defined as the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people--regardless of race, color, national origin, or income--with respect to our Nation's environmental laws and policies. This amendment represents an important step towards that goal. The NPS has a robust planning, environment, and public comment database and Web site, known as PEPC. {time} 1445 This Web site is used for consultation and providing information on planning issues such as management plans, construction projects, environmental assessments, and environmental impact statements. This Web site is how the users of the National Park Service can participate in NPS decisionmaking. Unfortunately, however, PEPC is only available in English--no Spanish, none of the Asian languages spoken by the fastest growing segment of our population, and none of the indigenous languages of our Native American brothers and sisters. To address this shortcoming, my amendment will provide $1 million to update PEPC. This funding will provide translation of the contents of PEPC to the public, the ability of the public to provide input into the PEPC process in the most commonly spoken languages, and informing affected communities of the improvements. Mr.…”