Political Quotes

“I was quite surprised to hear this legislation attacked by my good friend from New Jersey when indeed both New Jersey Senators not only support this legislation, but Senator Lautenberg, who has dedicated his life to transportation safety, has been a vigorous supporter of this legislation and, indeed, has put an extensive statement in the Congressional Record in support of this legislation. Further, I am surprised to hear attacks on risk assessment, because the risk assessment in this legislation starts with the position the administration has taken on risk assessment and in fact toughens it up. We all know, nobody disputes, that pipeline is the safest form of transportation we have. Indeed, I think at bottom, what this really boils down to, this debate, is a debate between the old command and control, 'Washington knows best' point of view and the point of view which says let's modernize, let's look to the future instead of the past, let's put our focus in those areas where we need the most emphasis and not try to micromanage an industry. So for all of those reasons, I believe that this bipartisan legislation should be vigorously supported, and I would urge its passage.”