Political Quotes

“I thank the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, Doc Hastings, who has been an extraordinary leader, not only on our forestry issues, but on allowing us to access America's great energy resources in a responsible way that will create jobs, generate revenue for our country, and be good stewards of our land and water all at the same time. Mr. Chairman, I thank you for your work and that of your committee on the Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act. Just 2 days ago, Doug Decker, who is the State forester for the State of Oregon, declared that this has been the worst fire season for Oregon since 1951. The State of Oregon alone has already spent $120 million on fire suppression on over 1,000 different fires--and fire season is not over. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, this situation is the same across our forested States and communities. Last year, more than 9 million acres burned, and the Federal Government spent $2 billion in fighting fires. That's ``billion'' with a ``b.'' While these Federal forests surrounding our rural communities are burning, rural families are sentenced to live in poverty as the mills close and the jobs disappear, all because we can't access our great natural resources on Federal land.…”