Political Quotes

“In speaking about the leadership that has been taking place over the last 8 years, we can talk about the impact that the low U.S. dollar has had on the price of oil per barrel which is a direct result of the economic policies of this administration and the three previous Congresses. Perhaps we will get to that later in the evening. But as we talk about what the President said today, I think it is a little disingenuous, to be honest, to say that it is Congress' responsibility to open up, after 28 years of the moratorium, to open up the Outer Continental Shelf when there are two things at work here. There is the moratorium, and there is the executive order that was put in place by President Bush's father, the first President Bush. Now that moratorium has been in place since 1990. And President Bush came before the Nation today and said, ``Well, I want Congress to take away the moratorium, do away with the moratorium.'' He could right now say, By executive order, I am going to allow the leases to be purchased, the Department of the Interior to start making available these leases in the remaining portions of the Outer Continental Shelf where there is no leasing available and has not been. Now in the past 28 years since the congressional moratorium has been in effect, we have had three Republican Presidents, one Democratic President, and we have had long terms of Democratic Congresses and long terms of Republican Congresses.”