Political Quotes

“I thank the gentlewoman. I often refer to the gentlewoman not as Representative Kaptur, but as ``Our Lady of the Lakes'' because, truly, we share a lot of the same concerns when it comes to an absolutely incredible gift from God that has been given to us. It is in our stewardship now. It was put in our care and custody with the idea that we are going to pass it on to the next generation in better shape than what we received it. I think when we look at the Great Lakes, there are so many things you can say about the Great Lakes. Oftentimes it is hard to sit back and say, what is it exactly that the Great Lakes represent? We have already said it is one-fifth of the world's fresh water, not one-fifth of America's fresh water, not one-fifth of the continent's fresh water, but one-fifth of the world's fresh water. It is 6 quadrillion gallons of fresh water. I have absolutely no idea what that figure would look like other than this: if you were to look at the lower 48 States and you were able to pour the water from the Great Lakes over the lower 48 States, it would cover it to a depth of 9\1/2\ feet. So when you put it in that perspective, all of a sudden it starts to make sense and you start to focus on it, and you say this truly is a gift from God. This is truly a gift that we have to look after. Too often it is said, well, you know, just let things go, because if you let them go, they will usually work out on their own. My goodness, nothing could be further from the truth.…”