Political Quotes

“of all of the counties in the Second Congressional District, perhaps none has been more profoundly impacted by Congress' refusal to reauthorize county payments than Josephine County. Nearly half of the county workforce has been cut in recent years. Public safety has been hardest hit. Overnight patrols by the Josephine County Sheriff's Office are down to one 10-hour shift split among six deputies who cover 1,640 square miles. That's six deputies patrolling an area the size of the State of Rhode Island. Maybe you remember the frantic search after Thanksgiving of 2006 for the James Kim family in the Federal forests off southern Oregon. The search-and-rescue funds for that operation came from this very program that Congress has refused to reauthorize. Why won't the Democrat leadership bring a vote on H.R. 3058? It's a bipartisan, 4-year reauthorization bill for county payments. It has been 3 months since the committees of jurisdiction have sent it to the full House, and yet no votes have been scheduled. So I again call on the Democratic leadership to do the right thing. Keep the commitment to the timbered communities of this country and pass a reauthorization or attach it to a vehicle that's moving. Restore faith with rural counties all across America. Keep the Federal commitment to the people of timbered counties like Josephine.”