Political Quotes

“first, I thank my colleague from Pennsylvania for his comments and the manner in which we are proceeding. I rise in strong opposition to the amendment offered by my friend from Pennsylvania, and for many reasons. First, let me compliment Senator Boxer and the leadership on the Environment and Public Works Committee. Because when we approved MAP- 21, we took up this issue. We dealt with it. It was not without controversy. We had strong views on both sides of this issue. Because what the Senator from Pennsylvania is doing is removing completely replacement facilities from any--not just the NEPA procedures, but also from the Endangered Species Act, from the Clean Water Act--basically putting a dome over the process so anything goes, basically. Anything. We debated that issue in the Environment and Public Works Committee. There were different views. Quite frankly, Senator Boxer was extremely accommodating to the legitimate concerns the Senator from Pennsylvania has raised. That is why there is an expedited procedure already in law, passed in MAP-21, that deals with this issue. The Senator talks about using the proper legislative process. We did that. The committee of jurisdiction debated it. We had difficult compromises, but we reached these compromises. Let the process work, because the process is working.…”