Political Quotes

“I am opposing this amendment which would block the Bureau of Energy Management from implementing the terms of a stay agreement between NOAA and several NGOs related to mitigation measures to protect the Rice's whales in the Gulf of Mexico. I guess my confusion here is that this amendment has already been overtaken by events. On October 27, NOAA announced that it had denied the petition from several NGOs to establish a mandatory 10-knot speed limit and other vessel-related mitigation measures to protect the Rice's whales in the Gulf of Mexico. Further, NOAA stated that it will not be proceeding with the rulemaking at this time. I guess I would ask the gentleman, now that he is aware of this development, since this happened just on October 27, would he consider withdrawing this unnecessary amendment from a bill that is already bloated with riders? It seems to have no purpose. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.”