Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, why is it that the proponents of this bill are smiling and smirking while walking around this Capitol? It's because this bill requires the hasty approval of an unprecedented permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. They're smiling and smirking because their friends, the Big Oil companies, are big winners with this bill while the little people, the private property owners along the path of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, will be the big losers. Mr. Chairman, people might be surprised to learn that TransCanada has been bullying the American people--American landowners--and has been pressuring them to allow the company to build a pipeline through their land. In fact, during the subcommittee hearing, we heard testimony from witnesses who live along the path near the proposed route of this pipeline that TransCanada is doing just that--bullying them. They don't even have a permit to build the pipeline, yet we are told that they are threatening American citizens with eminent domain, basically telling people, If you don't give us access to your land, if you don't give us your land, then we're going to take it. Mr. Chairman, this is wrong. This is wrong. This is wrong. Why are we rewarding a private foreign company that is trying to intimidate and coerce American citizens with this regulatory earmark? In order to protect private property owners along the path of this pipeline, I am offering an amendment that will restrict the use of eminent domain.…”