Political Quotes

“Members of Congress come to the floor to take the opportunity to urge that we deal with the great issues of the day--the failure of the House of Representatives to deal with climate challenge and global warming; to reduce senseless gun violence; and the crying need to rebuild and renew America and pay for the rebuilding-- but there are also a range of other issues that don't, on the surface, appear to be quite that important, but play a critical part in the bigger picture. Today, I would like to address just one small part of the bigger picture because this is National Pollinator Week, where we recognize the importance of honeybees and over 250,000 other species that pollinate our food and which create $20 billion to $30 billion in agricultural production in the United States every year. Honeybees alone are responsible for pollinating one in every three bites of food we eat. Nearly 100 varieties of fruits depend on honeybee pollination. While significant media attention has been devoted in recent years to the decline of honeybees, there is evidence of wild pollinator declines. Native bees are especially important to a number of iconic northwest agricultural products--such as cherries, apples, berries, as well as seed crops like alfalfa, canola, and vegetable seed.…”