Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague and friend. We serve on the Rules Committee together, and I always appreciate hearing her thoughts. But I do want to make a couple of points that I think bear being said. This is not a duplicative effort, and the need does exist. For instance, while NOAA may have the flexibility to create a program like the working waterfronts program, they are not currently supporting working waterfronts in the way that the bill envisions and continue to propose the elimination of coastal zone management grants. The amount of need for coastal zone management grants far exceeds the amount made available for grants each year, so this bill would direct NOAA to create a grant program and a loan program to support working waterfront activities and would also authorize extra funding to make that happen. Also, I wanted to make a point as it relates to the District of Columbia, which sits at the confluence of the Potomac and the Anacostia Rivers and lies mostly in the coastal plain. It is also bordered by the coastal States of Virginia and Maryland, whose adjoining waterways are included in their States' coastal zones. The shorelines of Arlington and Alexandria, Virginia, and Prince George's County, Maryland, are included in their States' coastal zones programs. To clarify, the Virginia side of the Potomac is eligible, while the District of Columbia side is not.…”