Political Quotes

“Today, the House considered the Omnibus appropriations measure for Fiscal Year 2003. It is the legal duty of the Congress to fund the government, and the time to vote on this funding was long overdue. As is often the case, the majority decided to use this desperately-need bill as a vehicle to insert 'riders' and other language that would be unlikely to pass on its own. In this bill, there was language that would open the way to preliminary studies of the feasibility of oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. There was language that would increase logging in national forests. There was a cut to conservation programs, and a severe underfunding of border security and first responders money. I object to these provisions in the strongest terms. This is a sneaky, underhanded way of creating policy. At a time when funding for so many valuable programs in Maine and across the country is desperately needed, it is wrong to extort the Members of Congress into voting on these highly controversial measures.”