Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, the numbers speak for themselves. What we're talking about with this legislation is really just two permits that folks were concerned about. The reality of the matter is the average is 5 months. Now, I understand what we're talking about is with just exploration, but we would like to get this right and not have amnesia about what happens when we get this wrong, because that's not just job-killing, it's ecosystem-killing. It destroys an entire region. There's a lot at stake here. These aren't unaccountable people. They're appointed by administrations, created by a Republican administration, three of the four appointed by Republican administrations. It is in fact, in a sense, the executive branch. And while the executive can't do all this, it's delegated to appropriate authorities to make sound, apolitical decisions that affect communities not just for months or years but conceivably for generations. There's a lot at stake. This is a simple amendment to deal with a critical problem, and I encourage my colleagues to support it. I yield back the balance of my time.”