Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2247 would establish a new program office within EPA to enhance rehabilitation efforts for Puget Sound in Washington State. Introduced by the gentlemen from Washington, Mr. Heck and Mr. Kilmer, H.R. 2247 builds off an existing program for the Sound under EPA's National Estuary Program. The bill authorizes $50 million annually over 5 years to establish a Puget Sound Federal Leadership Task Force that will be responsible for coordinating the wide-ranging priorities for recovery of the region. We heard in our subcommittee hearing in June that human development has degraded the water quality and habitat of the Sound. We need to do more to protect our iconic waters, like Puget Sound, on which 4.5 million people rely for food, clean water, and other ecosystem services. We also know that the health of these waterways impacts critical species, such as salmon and the orca whales and a variety of other wildlife across the State. The Sound has been a member of the National Estuary Program since 1988, engaging in a wide range of habitat protection, water quality improvement and monitoring, but a recent GAO study found that the threat the Sound faces outpace efforts to combat them. In short, we must support a more directed approach to helping the entire Puget Sound recover. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R.…”