Political Quotes

“I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, updating the supplemental guidelines on ethics every 3 years will help the Department of the Interior keep current with new issues as they arise and will focus the government employees' attention on appropriate ethical behavior as they deal with the private sector. The Horizon disaster has focused everyone's attention on the lack of any contingency plan that could be implemented expeditiously to address a blowout in deepwater conditions. We basically watched a 3-month ongoing experiment with various devices being fabricated to cap the well or capture the oil as it's spewing out. We also found out that we didn't have enough boom in place to protect the shoreline and that new boom had to be manufactured to meet the requirements in the State oil spill response plans. And we discovered that some of the plans underestimated how much boom might be required to protect the shoreline from a major spill. Using the best available technology is crucial in keeping the public's trust going forward with offshore oil and gas development. Both Republicans and Democrats have broad agreement on the need to protect and improve offshore production safety and environmental protection. This amendment is an example of our agreement, and I urge my colleagues to support it. What I don't agree with is going beyond the gulf to encompass all energy production in the entire United States in order to raise energy taxes by $22 billion.…”