Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise to speak in support of legislation that I introduced today along with Senator Padilla to preserve the enduring legacy of California's giant sequoias: the Save Our Sequoias Act. I thank Senator Padilla for working with me on this important bill, as well as the bipartisan sponsors of similar legislation in the House. The Save Our Sequoias Act would charge a dedicated group of Federal, State, local, and Tribal land managers known as the Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition with developing wildfire resilience projects to help save these magnificent trees. The bill would also provide Federal Agencies with narrow, targeted authorities to implement these projects quickly and protect our remaining sequoias, as well as create a strategy to enhance sequoia reforestation. Giant sequoias are one of the most iconic plants in the world. The sequoia known as General Sherman is the largest tree on Earth at more than 100 feet in circumference and 275 feet tall. Sequoias grow quickly, producing a 50-foot tree's worth of wood each year, yet can live to be thousands of years old. They are also remarkably fire-adapted, with spongy bark that can be up to 2-feet thick. Perhaps most importantly to me, these incredible trees only grow in my home State of California. Just being around these trees is a humbling experience. Their immensity puts them in a class by themselves, and it is no wonder that they have been the source of reverence and amazement.…”