Political Quotes

“This bill, H.R. 2584, is a terrible bill. It is a terrible bill for our country, and it represents an assault on our environment. Actually, I was looking through the various assessments about this bill, this Interior and Environment appropriations legislation for 2012, from different advocacy groups out there that are concerned about the environment, that are concerned about clean air and clean water. That's the word they kept using, ``assault.'' This is an assault on clean water. It's an assault on clean air. It's an assault on conservation. It continues the assault that was begun at the beginning of this year with H.R. 1--to completely dismantle our environmental protections. I confess to you, I just don't understand the motivations of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle. Do we not breathe the same air? Do we not drink the same water? Do we not traverse the same beautiful terrain across this country? I can't imagine. I can't fathom what the motivation is to engage in this wholesale attack on our environment. Let's look at that attack. They are proposing to cut the EPA's budget. This is the agency that is charged with protecting our environment. They are proposing to cut that budget by 18 percent below 2011 levels and by 40 percent below 2010 levels. I come from the Chesapeake Bay. I grew up fishing for crabs in the Nanticoke River on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. My grandmother lived in Salisbury. That's where we used to go during the summers.…”