Political Quotes

“I come to the floor with a genuine concern about this appointment by the Bush administration. When President Bush first appointed Gov. Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey as the head of the EPA, many of us breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that she had an extraordinarily good record as Governor of New Jersey when it came to environmental issues, understanding that when she came to Washington, she would be up against some massive special interest forces who, frankly, believe that environmental law is too strong, wrong, and that the special interests should have a lot more say in the decisionmaking. I voted for Christine Todd Whitman because I had hope she would bring balance to an administration that might be pushed too far toward the special interest groups. On many occasions, she lived up to that aspiration and hope on my part. I met with her several times, discussed important issues, publicly and privately. I was encouraged by the things she said. But it became apparent after a while that, despite her strong credentials on the environment, they were no match to the force of special interests when it came to the Bush administration on environmental policy.”