Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I'm very pleased to rise in strong support of H.R. 3650. I call this the ``red tide'' bill. I would like to thank my colleague Mr. Baird for his great leadership on this initiative. {time} 1015 I've heard some discussion here in the Chamber and throughout the Capitol the last couple of days, Why are we taking up time with algae? Well, let's not diminish the issue because this is vitally important for jobs throughout the great State of Florida. I am very pleased that my colleague from Florida is in the Chair this morning to preside over this. We simply can't go backwards when it comes to jobs in our economy, and red tide is a significant threat to the tourism economy in the State of Florida. We depend in Florida upon people coming from all over the country and all over the world to vacation, especially on the beautiful beaches of the west coast of Florida, where you have the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. There are no better beaches across the entire world than there are on the west coast of Florida. Now, also, on the Atlantic side it is quite lovely and the Florida Keys, but we face a significant threat from red tide. The tourism industry in Florida employs over 1 million people, and it is estimated that tourism has a $65 billion impact on our State's economy. Add on top of that recreational fishing, commercial fishing. What happens when this red tide washes in, it's awful.…”