Political Quotes

“I rise to draw my colleagues' attention to an issue of great importance to our rural communities. If Congress does not act, many of our rural counties will face an increasingly dire state of affairs in the months to come. Across the United States, timber counties are facing local budgets suddenly and deeply in the red. This fiscal crisis could mean reduced schooldays, fewer sheriffs, more offenders on the street, and cuts to other basic county services. Congress has the power to avert this impending disaster, and Congress must utilize that power. So we must act without delay to extend the Secure Rural Schools and Communities Self-Determination Act. Secure Rural Schools is not an entitlement program; it is a commitment this Nation, our Federal Government, made to rural forest counties out of fairness and common sense when it determined it would put environmental overlays over large blocks of forest land that we dedicated to timber production with revenue shared with the local county. This contract between the Federal Government and our rural counties has been at the foundation of our National Forest System, and we in this Chamber need to honor it. Many folks come here and talk about how the Federal Government needs to uphold its share of the bargain. Well, this is an explicit contract with our rural counties, and we need to uphold that bargain.…”