Political Quotes

“I would just like to rise in support of this amendment and thank my colleague the gentleman from New Hampshire [Mr. Bass] and the gentleman from Vermont [Mr. Sanders] for the excellent work they have done with the amendment. I would just like to take a moment to underscore the important point the gentleman has made, that this is about inequity, it is about meeting our commitments, meeting the commitments that were made when Congress authorized the Payment In Lieu of Tax system. These are cities and towns that have national forests within their borders, and they are obligated at times for services, not just those of schools or municipal services that so many cities and towns have, but oftentimes services that take place in the boundaries of the national forest: rescue services, fire services. The burdens that we place on them is one that we need to recognize. We need to recognize that the PILT has failed to live up to the obligations that were originally made, and that by putting that forward, $19 million to make up some of this difference, we move with a system that is fairer, one that helps us meet our commitments, and one that provides a lot of these towns with property tax relief, because so many of them rely on their property base for the taxes that they use to pay for municipal services.”