Political Quotes

“in Deschutes County, Oregon, 78 percent of the land is owned by the Federal Government. That's an area 50 percent larger than the State of Rhode Island. Yet the Federal Government has pulled the plug on its commitment to this central Oregon county, by allowing the county timber payments program to expire. A full 10 percent of Deschutes County's annual budget is comprised of county payments. Faced with the possibility of losing those funds, the county last year laid off employees and cut services in its road department. This year the county's grappling with a similar choice, lay off more employees, cut vital services, or find a balance of the two. Deschutes County Commissioner Dennis Luke said, ``It's not only our roads that will take a hit. More importantly, it affects our ability to reduce the threat of wildfire, provide search and rescue services to folks who enjoy recreating on the vast stretches of federal lands.'' All the while, the House has had a solution in waiting in H.R. 3058, a 4-year reauthorization, but its approval has been stymied by the Democratic leadership, which, for some reason refuses to allow it to come up for a vote. H.R. 3058 languishes while we name post offices, honor sports teams and rename roads. There's time for that, but not time to vote on H.R. 3058.”