Political Quotes

“I thank the ranking member for the recognition to talk about this legislation. Madam Chair, we are talking about legislation that has to do with energy policy and energy production. We are talking about the goals here, as I heard different speakers talk about protecting our fisheries and our environment. I heard speakers talk about protecting our military mission, those military servicemembers and that military edge and the technology we have. I heard people talking about jobs and the threat of spills. Madam Chair, I support those objectives, and I know that this may sound counterintuitive: This bill undermines the very objectives that it is purported to advance. Let's go through them. Let's go through those things. Number one, talking about the environment, that this bill will cause damage to the environment and it will undermine ecological productivity. Madam Chair, if you take a look at this graphic right here, you probably think this is where energy infrastructure is. You probably think that is what this is. This depicts the intensity of energy infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico from the Texas coast to right there in Alabama. In reality, oh, my goodness, look at that, if it is not red snapper landings. This is actually where the fish are. This shows the landings of where the fish are. This actually increases ecological productivity by creating habitat for fisheries.…”