Political Quotes

“The House Republicans who came up with this idea insisted on this offset when there were others that could have been offered that were much more fair, much less impactful, and much less hurtful. There were some Republican Members who absolutely insisted this offset be included, and so the Republican Governor Bobby Jindal, with a Republican legislature and a Republican delegation in the House, will have to find a way forward. I am not sure what that way is going to be, but when the bill left the Senate that was not even discussed under any circumstance whatsoever. But even this terrible action taken on the House side cannot diminish the extraordinary victory of the RESTORE Act. Bills such as this, that basically distribute anywhere from $5 billion to $20 billion for coastal restoration efforts, take years, even decades to pass. We did this in 2 years, working together, staying focused, and building a support structure nationwide from the business community to the environmental community. The Chamber of Commerce stepped up, the American Petroleum Institute did their part, and many of the oil and gas companies stepped up as well. With the coalition of environmentalists, business organizations, wildlife enthusiasts, we were able to get this significant bill passed. It is going to be a tremendous downpayment for the challenge in the gulf coast.…”