Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I certainly appreciate my colleague from New York suggesting that he is very much in favor of the balance between conservation and supporting our commercial fishermen. Being from the State of Maine, we certainly look at both of those things. I will look forward to working with him, but I do think this amendment is an attack on our national monument Antiquities Act policies, and it should be recognized as that. I do understand his concern about the inclusion of groups and the importance of a public input process. In New England, we take that very seriously. I agree with him that there is a vital need in the monument designation process for local voices to be heard, but the way to ensure that that occurs is not by an amendment that would stop monument designations in their tracks, and it is certainly not by stopping monument designation powers in the entire exclusive economic zone, the EEZ area. Today we should be talking about the importance of public input in the monument process, about the importance of an open and transparent process that uses common sense. Instead, we are debating an amendment that sends the wrong message about this important conservation tool for our oceans. I urge my colleagues to oppose this attempt to stop local coordination, collaboration, and information sharing.…”