Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank the gentleman for his leadership with this amendment. This amendment is meant to address the overreach, a punitive approach that the EPA is taking, intervening itself within a process that the States are taking the leadership of cleaning up a treasure--the Chesapeake Bay. We are not talking about taking away funding. As chairman of the Conservation and Forestry Subcommittee, there are significant conservation dollars that go into cleaning watersheds. Watersheds are part of the jurisdiction of the subcommittee that I chair in this House on the Agriculture Committee. This amendment is identical to one approved by the House last year in consideration of the Interior appropriations bill, Mr. Speaker. I have been hearing since 2009 from my constituents, many of which own farms, about the significant challenges and the costs of the Chesapeake Bay total maximum daily load, or TMDL, mandate. {time} 0020 These significant concerns also extend to the State and local governments because of the billions of dollars in direct costs and new regulatory burdens the TMDL imposes. The Agriculture Committee's Conservation and Forestry Subcommittee, which I have the honor of chairing, has also listened to the concerns of stakeholders over the past few Congresses.…”