Political Quotes

“I heard the Senator from Tennessee arguing about a provision in the disaster recovery portion of the supplemental relating to the private property rights of billboard owners. First let me note that the bill we voted on was not simply the Iraq supplemental. From the start, it has always been a supplemental that also included provisions for hurricane and natural disaster recovery efforts. Obviously, the Iraq portion of the supplemental is the most important part of the bill, but the supplemental has always also had a disaster recovery title, which is why we saw a majority of members of both Chambers supporting these disaster-related provisions. I respect the Senator from Tennessee and appreciate his sincerity on the important issue he spoke on. I was disappointed, though, that there was much in what the Senator said that was just plain wrong. The Senator claimed that the provision at issue was 'amnesty for illegal billboards.' I don't know what it is these days with the use of the term 'amnesty,' but some people don't seem to understand what the word means in any context. All of the billboards affected by the provision are legal. Some of them have been standing legally for decades. But we are not talking about creaky old billboards; many of the billboards at issue are only a few years old, and in more recent years the state they are in happened to changed density or zoning requirements, but sensibly grandfathered in the existing structures.”