Political Quotes

“Mr. President, last week, people across this country celebrated National Wildlife Refuge Week--and rightfully so. National Wildlife Refuges are one of the crown jewels of our Federal public lands network. These refuges provide essential habitat for some of our most imperiled species, including many impacted by climate change. Millions of refuge visitors also fuel local and regional economies by generating billions of dollars in sales. This week, the Senate is considering a budget resolution that would open one of our refuges, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, to oil and gas drilling. Despite tremendous public support for our refuge system and the economic benefits that the refuges bring to our local economies, efforts to develop these special wild areas are ongoing and have been championed by the current administration. The budget resolution is another such effort to promote development in a refuge, an effort that should be rejected. In some cases, refuges are compatible with development and increased human activity. In others, development decisions, such as the siting of oil and gas drilling, could negatively impact the future of both human and animal inhabitants. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, one of the largest remaining intact ecosystems in the world, is an example of the latter. The Refuge has been home to the Gwich'in people for more than 20,000 years. These Native people subsist primarily on caribou.…”