Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Rhode Island. I am so happy to follow him on the floor today and to see him again. We have worked together on so many important issues. It is wonderful to see the Presiding Officer to be back on the floor. I come today for a very special reason. I am so proud to present to the Senate a package of lands bills that have been included in the Defense Authorization Act. What is significant about this particular package is it is quite large, and it is the first package in almost 6 years and almost three Congresses, which is quite an accomplishment for our committee. I am so proud of the staff of our committee, Energy and Natural Resources. I made this a priority when I took over as Chair 9 months ago. It was a long shot to see if we could put any package at all together that had eluded us for several Congresses, but I worked very closely with my counterpart, Congressman Hastings, in the House. We met on several occasions with our top staff and committed to do all we could to see what was possible. One of the important principles that made this grand compromise possible--and there are Republican bills and Democratic bills; it is very well balanced as between the parties, but also geographically in projects and expansions of parks, creation of new parks, and land transfers. The principle that we followed is it is revenue neutral. Some of these bills raise money, some of these bills spend money, but the lands package is revenue neutral.…”