Political Quotes

“when we have a conflict or a problem in my home State, we resolve it the Oregon way: by finding consensus and building common ground. That is why, when it became apparent 20 years ago that the U.S. Army's Chemical Depot in Umatilla, OR, would be closing once all the chemical weapons were destroyed, the community leaders gathered all the stakeholders and began the process of planning what to do with the land once the facility closed. The Umatilla Depot straddles two counties, several cities, and historic tribal lands, so there are a lot of folks in my home State who are interested in what happens to the land. As progress was made in destroying the weapons at Umatilla, the community built common ground and found a genuine consensus. The Federal Government would support it. It gave more than $1 million in assistance. When the facility was listed in the 2005 BRAC recommendations for closure, the Pentagon eventually recognized the group of stakeholders as an official Local Reuse Authority. Everything appeared on track until last month. That was when, at the eleventh hour, the Pentagon changed the rules. After decades of planning and $1 million in preparation, a lawyer at the Pentagon decided to reinterpret the law and declared that the 2005 BRAC report-- which became law when Congress didn't pass a resolution of disapproval--didn't matter.…”