Political Quotes

“I will be brief, but I would like my colleagues' attention because we have an opportunity today to take a program that functions well, that this body designed, funded from royalties off of exploration of energy, that has never been fully funded at what the statute said we would do, and every so often it comes up for reauthorization. That is sort of stupid. What this amendment does is it makes permanent the Land and Water Conservation Fund. I say to my friends and colleagues, if you want to change the makeup of the fund--what it does, how it works--that still exists, but let's not have the debate as to whether this is going to continue. Let's continue it permanently, and let's make sure that what they do in their work, where they leverage a few Federal dollars with a lot of private dollars, not to acquire massive amounts of lands or create parks but to put adjoining lands together that stops encroachment on some very sensitive areas--this is a smart investment, and it is an investment we make off of the production of energy in this country. I urge my colleagues to support amendment No. 92. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.”