Political Quotes

“But when we are losing towns, and people and firefighters in our communities are choked with smoke, we can do better. Last night, in Medford, Oregon, the Jackson County Commission held a public meeting to talk about this fire situation we face. A dad from Jackson County recounted how his daughter with cystic fibrosis had to move away. He told the audience: ``It's been devastating for us as a family. We wish our daughter could live with us.'' Then he went on to say: ``When you can't breathe, nothing else matters.'' So you want to talk about life and safety and health issues in America, we should have done better with the Senate. But we are doing okay with this bill, and I intend to support it. Today I rise in support of the underlying legislation: the 2018 Farm Bill. This bill takes steps to help improve the management of our federal forests by extending expedited management tools for insect and disease projects in eastern Oregon and expanding it to hazardous fuels reduction to reduce the threat of fire and smoke. We've also allowed more local involvement from counties in forest management projects and extended funding for collaborative forest projects. These all help, but it is unfortunate the Senate Democrats rejected provisions from the House bill that would have greatly reduce the threat of fires and smoke in all of Oregon.…”