Political Quotes

“I have come down to the floor today to discuss a very important issue to Montanans and to many of my colleagues in the Senate, and that is the Land and Water Conservation Fund, also known as LWCF. I am joined by friends and colleagues--in fact, by the Senator from North Carolina, Mr. Burr, and the Senator from Colorado, Mr. Gardner--who know like me, firsthand, the importance of LWCF. Why we are here today is because in just a few short days--in fact, on September 30--this program is going to expire. Without any action from Congress, a program that is widely supported, provides more access to public lands, conserves our public landscapes, and--I think this is probably Senator Burr's favorite comment about LWCF--costs the taxpayers nothing--I bet you will hear that from him in a moment--is going to expire. Of the many benefits provided by LCWF, the most important one to Montanans is making public lands accessible. In fact, I brought a few maps of Montana to show some of the challenges we have. This map shows all the public lands in our State. Anything that is colored is a public land. That is Forest Service, BLM, national parks, wildlife refuges, and State trust land. As you can see, there is a lot of public land in Montana. Our public lands help to drive a $7 billion outdoor economy, create tens of thousands of jobs, and supply about $300 million in State and local tax revenues.…”