Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the importance of updating our aging and diminishing fleet of air tankers for emergency wildfire suppression operations. Congress, the Forest Service, and communities sensitive to fire have known for a decade that we need to retire old air tankers. The tragic deaths this past weekend of two Forest Service contractors in an air tanker crash, and a crash landing at the Minden-Tahoe Airport near Carson City, remind us that further delay is unacceptable. First, I would like to express my deep sorrow over the deaths of the two Forest Service contractors. Todd Tompkins and Ronnie Edwin Chambless were killed on Sunday as they dropped flame retardant from their P 2V7 heavy air tanker on the White Rock fire. At its highest point, the fire was ravaging nearly 5,000 acres in western Utah and southeastern Nevada, including sagebrush and other grasses in Lincoln County, NV. Between the two of them, Captain Tompkins and First Officer Chambless had been flying for nearly three decades, including over a decade fighting fires. Captain Tompkins said he liked his work because it helped save communities and lives. Sadly, when he went into that mission on Sunday, he could not save his own. My State has incurred much devastation from wildfires in recent years. These blazes have destroyed homes, displaced families and businesses, and wiped out both critical wildlife habitat and productive grazing lands.…”