Political Quotes

“I want to make this point because it really is a question. The Senators who have come to the floor and talked about this rule talk about: Look, we are making progress. What they haven't told you is that rule has absolutely no legal effect anywhere in this country today. Do you know why? Because the courts of the United States have stayed it. It is not in effect while we litigate yet another case. So when we looked at this problem and we looked at trying to give certainty to farmers who own this land--by the way, this land is not owned by the people of this country. This land is owned by farmers who need certainty, who need to know. So we looked at this and we said: It is time for Congress to do what Congress ought to do, which is to legislate, which is to actually make a decision--to not just get on either side of a regulatory agency and yell about whether they are right or wrong but actually engage in a dialogue. That is why Senator Donnelly, Senator Barrasso, Senator Inhofe, and I sat down and said: Look, this will continue in perpetuity. We will spend millions of dollars litigating this and never get an answer because chances are we are back to 441, and that is not an answer. So we put together a piece of legislation looking at how can we as legislators, as Congress provide some parameters on what this means. People who will vote no on a motion to proceed will tell you we want EPA to decide. I am telling you that people in this country expect Congress to decide.…”