Political Quotes

“I thank Senator Udall. He is a cosponsor of the permanent reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. I came to the Senate prior to the expiration of the Land and Water Conservation Fund with the hope that my colleagues would give it a 60- day extension. It has now expired. The 60-day extension on an expired act isn't even an offer that is on the table. For my colleagues, let me just remind you that the Land and Water Conservation Fund has been around a long time--50 years. Some say: They have $20 billion in funds; why don't they just draw on it? It is because they receive about $900 million a year in royalties off of offshore exploration of energy. Congress in its infinite wisdom said if we are going to tap our natural resources we are going to put part of the royalties of that back into conservation. The unfortunate thing is they never got the $900 million a year. Our appropriators in the Congress have seen fit to give them on average over the life of this fund about $390 million a year. Some of my colleagues suggest that there is a fund over there, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and you could just tap it. Well, no, there isn't. The appropriators spent that money long ago. As a matter of fact, this year it was just over $350 billion for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. So as delighted as I am that he has sponsored the permanent reauthorization, most Members believe that we should reauthorize this permanently.…”