Political Quotes

“I oppose the Bishop amendment which, as he says, prohibits the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture from using funds made available under this act from any land acquisition. There is no attempt by the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture to use the funds made available under the bill for any kind of Federal land grab. However, there are instances when land acquisition can be part of a cost-effective solution to repairing the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy. For example, we have Interior and Agriculture facilities in low-lying areas that were destroyed by the hurricane. If either Department wants to move any of those facilities to higher ground to protect them from future hurricanes and that higher ground is not owned by the Federal Government, then the Bishop amendment prohibits the Secretaries from buying that land. So we go through the whole thing all over again. They make an assessment. If they realize that this building isn't going to withstand another hurricane, they should be able to move it to land where it's more appropriate; but you couldn't do it if you have the Bishop amendment. We also had tidal wetlands that were destroyed that included private lands. Under the Bishop amendment, these private lands could not be acquired as part of a comprehensive effort to restore these wetlands to their natural condition. The private landowners need us to do that.…”