Political Quotes

“The issue before the Senate to be voted on very shortly is whether this area, the centerpiece of the bill, the East Mojave--hopefully, national park--will be able to become a national park or will become a BLM monument. It is my very strong view, and I know you share this view, Madam President, that the bill will not be complete unless the East Mojave is in fact a national park. There are reasons. First of all, the Mojave qualifies as a national park. The Department of the Interior evaluated the Mojave in 1979 and in 1987, and I quoted from officials of the Interior Department both in 1979 and 1987 where they found that the Mojave should be added to the National Park System based on the sensitivity of the area, based upon the resources of the area, and based on the fact that it is a point of confluence between three major ecosystems. This administration supports park status of the Mojave. That means the President supports park status and the Secretary of the Interior supports park status. In addition, the Committee supports park status and rejected an amendment to turn it into a BLM monument. Californians, as I have now pointed out three times, support park status for the Mojave. By independent poll, 75 percent of those polled said they would favor the Mojave National Park without hunting. The BLM monument status would provide a lesser level of protection.”