Political Quotes

“Furthermore, let me lay out how this works. This is not just sort of throwing this out. We are going to have some sort of political determination made regarding these 10 heritage rivers. First of all, the administration stated that if a Senator or a Member of Congress opposes a designation in his or her State or district, the designation will not occur. That at least gives people an opportunity here to express the wishes of their communities. So, today we will have a vote on this. I presume that is the way people want to express how they feel about this. If colleagues want to vote for the Hutchinson amendment, the amendment of my colleague from Arkansas, that's a good indication of where you stand on this, and that can certainly narrow down the process, I suppose, here. That would be, I presume, an expression of how your constituency felt on this. Second, the administration has proposed a panel of experts representing economic development, including agriculture, natural resources, environmental protection, historic and cultural preservation, to review all the nominations and make recommendations to the President. This would not only, I think, ensure a fair and objective process, but guarantee the designations are made in a timely manner. So it is not going to be made by one individual. You bring together people to determine what are the qualifications that ought to be looked at.”