Political Quotes

“Madam Chair, I rise today with my colleagues in opposition to this harmful legislation. Today, the other side of the aisle is kowtowing to the wealthy and elite environmental lobby by ignoring science and facts and legislating over the needs of rural communities. This heavy-handed Federal approach ignores potential revenues generated from State trust lands that would flow to schools and our local communities. I feel like we are living in the movie ``Groundhog Day'' sometimes. Time and time again, locals who live on these lands, who work in the area, who raise their families there, who represent these districts are supportive of these projects. Those who often know nothing about the local projects, the economy, or the environment are the ones who are inserting themselves in opposition. This illustrates the vast divide between the realities for local communities and the visions of environmentalists. What these visions tend to ignore is that the choice is a binary one. We either get these minerals needed for our everyday life, renewable energy, and national security from right here in the United States, or we import them from places like Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Chinese-owned mines in Africa. Do these countries have the same standards in place as we do to protect the environment? Madam Chair, the answer is no. Do these foreign mines hire workers with high-wage salaries? Madam Chair, the answer is no.…”