Political Quotes

“Thank you very much to my friend and colleague and leader from California. I first want to say thank you to Senators Murkowski and Cantwell who have worked so hard with Senator Boxer moving forward a process that, until Thursday night, was working very well going back and forth. Before we authorize the building of a new oil pipeline in America, it is important for us to consider the safety of pipelines we already have. In 2010, a pipeline that runs from Canada through Michigan spilled nearly a million gallons of tar sands oil into the Kalamazoo River, causing the largest inland oil spill in U.S. history. That cleanup cost $1.2 billion. Nine days ago, another pipeline broke in Montana, and for the second time in 4 years, tens of thousands of gallons of oil emptied into the Yellowstone River, making that water unsafe to drink. Right now in Michigan, we have a 61-year-old pipeline which runs along environmentally sensitive areas and goes beneath the Straits of Mackinac and our magnificent Great Lakes. That pipeline carries 1.2 million gallons of tar sands oil per day and has undergone only a few upgrades since it was first installed in 1953. A spill would be devastating, not only to the region but to all Americans--because the Great Lakes are a vital source of our Nation's fresh water supply. Yet none of the companies transporting heavy tar sands crude are required to pay into the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, which would ensure that taxpayers are not footing the bill.…”