Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this rule and the underlying legislation. This rule will expand the regulatory jurisdiction of the EPA and Corps and, in turn, place more restrictions on landowners who will fall under this new umbrella of jurisdiction. It has been said many times from others that our side is, at best, uncaring about the environment and, at worst, we actually want to make the environment terrible. I think what we have got to deal with here is the Clean Water Act has provided a good parameter and needs to be continued to work because it has a clear direction and a clear parameter of how you bring in bodies of water and what is under that jurisdiction. I think what has happened here and what is a concern that I have heard from my constituents especially in north Georgia, and all over the country as I have traveled in the past few weeks talking in different parts of the country, is about what is the actual role in dealing with this waters of the USA and what are we taking jurisdiction from. This is not just an agricultural issue, Madam Speaker. This is also an internal issue for the rural and urban areas, because what is being talked about here is taking under consideration navigable waterways that have never been thought of in my part of the world, many times, as any more than a dry ditch, and they will simply say: We are not dealing with dry ditches. In fact, a dry ditch will not be uncovered.…”