Political Quotes

“this first amendment has previously passed the Senate, and it would solve a problem created by the lawyers at the Pentagon who, in effect, at the last minute on a critical issue for eastern Oregon pulled the rug out from under our communities. When we have a problem or conflict in our State, we solve 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 of the critical organizations together and began the process of planning what to do with the land once the facility closed. The depot straddles two counties, several cities, and historic tribal lands. So suffice it to say, there are a lot of folks at home in my State who are interested in what happens to the land. As progress was made in destroying the weapons at Umatilla, we were able to find consensus. The Federal Government helped. More than $1 million in grants was made available to move the project along. When the facility was listed in the 2005 BRAC recommendations for closure, the Pentagon eventually recognized the organizations that were involved in building this consensus in an official local reuse authority. Everything appeared on track, until last summer. That was, in effect, the time when at the last moment the Pentagon changed the rules.…”