Sherwood Boehlert: “I rise in support of this effort to override the President's veto. In doing so, I must acknowledge that I agree with the…”

“I rise in support of this effort to override the President's veto. In doing so, I must acknowledge that I agree with the President on one thing: This bill is not perfect. But guess what? The legislative process is not about producing legislation that one side or another views as perfect. The legislative process is about getting the most reasonable compromise possible among competing viewpoints. We need to remember the old adage, ``The perfect is the enemy of the good.'' This bill represents a reasonable compromise. Take the issue of the Tongass National Forest on which I worked. This bill would allow the planning process to continue unimpeded. This bill would allow science to determine the acreage and the allowable sale quantity that will eventually be permitted in the forest. This bill allows for the set-aside of additional environmentally sensitive habitat conservation areas. And this bill would allow lawsuits to challenge the controversial alternative P forest management plan. Did we make some compromises to achieve these goals? Of course we did. We made reasonable compromises with legislators with opposing views to protect the long-run health of the forests and the integrity of the planning process. Let me repeat that. We made reasonable compromises with legislators with opposing views to protect the long-range health of the forests and the integrity of the planning process. I urge an override.”