Barbara Boxer: “I say to my good friend, I know he is just looking at his own State but, in essence, what he will do today, if he…”

“I say to my good friend, I know he is just looking at his own State but, in essence, what he will do today, if he succeeds, is to destroy, I believe, a very important bipartisan environmental agreement that has been in place for decades now--I guess it is, what, 25 years or so, or getting close to that--where we have basically said as Republicans and Democrats: We have a God-given country, and one of our most precious resources is our coastlines, our shores; that because we have stood together, shoulder to shoulder, on this issue perhaps until this moment--and I hope not, but so be it, we are going to find out--we send a signal to our States that they should preserve and protect their coastlines and, indeed, to many in the private sector who have taken advantage of the fact that the beauty of our coastlines, the beauty of our oceans that attract millions of tourists, not just from around the United States to our coastlines but from throughout the world. I would hate to see us today, through the amendment process, without a pretty good hearing, take a step to cast asunder 25 years of bipartisanship and agreement by Presidents, both Republican and Democratic.”