Political Quotes

“I stand in support of the Kennedy- Snyder amendment. This is an area that is inherently controversial, but we have finally put a process in place that helps depoliticize it. The bill, in its current form, represents an unfortunate step backward. I want to speak to a point my friend from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha) raised because I have talked to him repeatedly about what I think is a scandal. We do not deal with the unexploded ordnance and the military clean-up. Yes, there will be some costs that are associated with base closures, but they are costs that are our responsibility now. If we did a better job of cleaning up after ourselves with the toxics, the unexploded ordnance and the pollution, we would save money in the long run and we would not have communities go ballistic. In fact, they would have a resource that could be recycled. Ultimately, we will have to pay the cost for the military clean-up. Delaying another round of BRAC is not going to save money; it is going to cost money. It is going to delay returning that land to productive use, and it is going to have us engage in politics that will be unseemly and very difficult.”