Political Quotes

“Mr. President, today we are debating the water resources development bill that contains crucial provisions to improve and rebuild some of our locks, dams, ports, and flood control systems across the United States. It also authorizes valuable habitat restoration programs like the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Those are all incredibly important issues and are worthy of our investment. Today, however, I wish to discuss an issue that is far too often overlooked by those of us in Congress: wastewater infrastructure. Today when we talk about infrastructure, it translates into the critical structures we see every day--roads, bridges, locks, dams, airports. What is too often neglected in this conversation, however, is water infrastructure, which is just as critical to keeping our communities clean and livable and attracting investment and growth. We all want clean water, particularly our local communities that are committed to working toward that goal. Unfortunately, too many of our cities and towns are in a situation where the Federal Government is demanding significant investments to prevent wastewater runoffs, while providing virtually no support to help meet those mandated goals. I believe we should have high standards for our wastewater infrastructure, but those federally mandated standards should be achievable and met with a commitment to help make the necessary investments to protect the health and safety of our communities.…”