Political Quotes

“in conclusion, we can't have oil drilling, not only for our national security and the testing and training of our most sophisticated weapons systems in the Gulf off of Florida, but also we couldn't stand it if we had another oil spill that would do to us what the last one did. It was a spill way far west off of Louisiana, but it drifted to the east and blackened the sugary white sands of Pensacola Beach and Destin Beach, and there were tar balls as far east as Panama City Beach. Because of that, we lost an entire season of our guests, our tourists. They did not come to the Gulf Coast of Florida, not just in the Florida panhandle but all the way south down the Gulf to Naples and to Marco Island--a $60 billion per year tourism industry for Florida's economy. We can't suffer that kind of shock again. So whether it be the degradation of the environment, the messing up of the training and testing of our U.S. military and their largest testing and training range, or the devastating economic loss to Florida of its tourism industry--for all those reasons, we need to pass this legislation. It will be coming forth in a bipartisan fashion. Mr. President, I yield the floor. ____________________”