Political Quotes

“today I filed two amendments very important to my home State of Florida that I want to discuss. The first is an amendment that would authorize the Central Everglades Planning Project. The Florida Everglades are a national treasure. We have to work together to restore these lands. The State has experienced a wetter-than-average winter. The rains have elevated the levels of Lake Okeechobee which triggered the Army Corps of Engineers to discharge billions of gallons of water to the east through the St. Lucie River and to the west through the Caloosahatchee River. These discharges have been ongoing for months and have negatively impacted the delicate ecosystem in the area as well as the agricultural and tourism industries. In order to diminish these discharges, we must authorize the Central Everglades Planning Project. Once complete, this project will allow water to flow south from Lake Okeechobee to Everglades National Park and to Florida Bay. I had hoped this project would be authorized in 2014 by the administration, but the administration delayed the Army Corps of Engineers' Chief's report, which is the final step before Congress can authorize new projects, but this year we have a real chance to get this done. Thanks to the good work of Chairman Inhofe of the Environment and Public Works Committee, I expect the Central Everglades Planning Project to be included in the forthcoming water bill, which is slated to be marked up in committee next week.…”