Political Quotes

“This is the final amendment to the bill, which will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended. I have been a clear proponent for reducing regulatory burdens and streamlining the environmental review process in ways that make sense. Before I entered public service, I practiced environmental law for 15 years in large firms, in a government office, and in my own firm. Through that experience, I learned firsthand of the frustration that many businesses and local governments face when they try to navigate a sometimes overly complex and underly responsive permit process. I also know from experience that time is money. Often a business seeking a permit is paying dearly to hold a property or service a loan while it waits for that permit to be issued, and that is why I have often said that, for applicants, no is the second- best answer. Tell us ``no'' or tell us how, but don't string us along. Unfortunately, the approach that the underlying bill takes is not to streamline the process for analyzing the significant impacts of hardrock mining, which I might support; it just eliminates the review process altogether. Mr. Speaker, my amendment would not solve that problem but would make an important clarification. As these critical mineral mining projects undergo environmental review, agencies should be able to assess how the project may contribute to climate change.…”