Political Quotes

“Madam President, the oil is relentlessly moving east in the Gulf of Mexico. A week and a half ago it hit Perdido Pass. That is in Perdido Bay. A week ago it hit Pensacola Pass. It is in Pensacola Bay. You ought to see what it looks like. There are tar balls. We know what tar balls look like. You ought to see what the reddish brown gunk looks like that I saw on Monday as the wind was blowing it right toward downtown Pensacola. Today, Destin Pass, further to the east, is being closed. But when it is closed by a boom it will not stop the oil if the oil is not already skimmed off out in the gulf because the tar balls will go right underneath the boom and the tides come rushing into the pass at 6 to 8 knots, and a boom will not stop the oil. This is what we are facing. We are facing the economic devastation as a result of the despoiling of the coast that relies, so much of its economy, on that coast being pristine--whether it is tourism, whether it is fishing, whether it is oyster, shrimp, et cetera. Why shouldn't the company--now that precedent has been set yesterday by them setting up a $20 billion trust fund, but that is not a limit. Why should we not--has my time expired? The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The time of the Senator has expired.”