Ron Wyden: “It saddens me to rise today in opposition to this amendment because I had hoped by this morning to be able to come to…”

“It saddens me to rise today in opposition to this amendment because I had hoped by this morning to be able to come to the Chamber and talk about how the Senate had found common ground. I know the distinguished Senator from California, Mrs. Feinstein, is very much committed to this as well. I agree that hazardous fuels reduction on our national forests must be pursued aggressively. I strongly believe in the concept of expedited treatment for fire-prone areas, but I simply cannot agree to the excessively broad slashes that this amendment takes at our environmental laws.”