Political Quotes

“Madam President, I realize we are in morning business, but I rise to oppose the McCain amendment to the FAA bill, which will probably come up later when we get to the bill. The McCain amendment will eliminate the Essential Air Service Program. I applaud my colleague for exploring ways to address our deficit, and I want to join him in looking for opportunities to control spending, but this is one program we must preserve. We won't improve the deficit by stifling local economies. The Department of Transportation estimates that 1.1 million travelers from more than 150 communities rely on the Essential Air Service Program. The Essential Air Service Program is a promise to rural America, which absolutely needs airports for economic development, as noted in the 2009 Journal of Rural Studies report entitled, ``The Economic Importance of Air Travel in High-Amenity Rural Areas.'' Nearly half of the American West consists of publicly owned lands containing mountain ranges, forests, rivers, lakes, parks, and areas for wilderness, wildlife, and grazing. Many people come to the West to visit--especially from the East--especially in the summer, to go fly fishing, camping, for tourism, and in the winter for skiing. People enjoy public lands in the West. We have so many public lands in the West, we don't have private land for development.…”