Political Quotes

“I have tried to make it clear with this amendment that I am not seeking to end this part of the western economy, the use of public lands for grazing purposes. I am not one of those. Someone in the course of the debate said there are some environmental organizations so radical that they would stop grazing on public lands. That is not my position. I do not know if it is a position of any of the groups that have endorsed this amendment. What I am trying to do is find a consistent way of protecting the privilege given to private people to use public lands for grazing while still protecting the value of those public lands. The first is the argument that unless a rancher can go to a bank and say to the bank, I have the right to graze on this land for at least 3 years or more, that rancher cannot secure a loan for his operation. We have heard this repeatedly. My amendment would extend these permits for 2 years.”