Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, this is the final amendment to this bill. It will obviously not result in any delay. Once this amendment is acted upon, we will immediately consider the bill. Mr. Speaker, the people of the First Congressional District in Rhode Island, much like the men and women from districts and States across this country, sent me to Congress to focus on our most important priority as a Nation. That priority is getting people back to work and putting our economy back on track. And yet here we are again, spending the time and energy of this Congress not focusing on creating jobs or reviving our economy, but instead we're spending the time and energy of this body with another piece of legislation that threatens our environment and fails to protect the health of our communities. If we're going to be forced by the Republican leadership to spend time in Congress considering legislation with the potential to devastate our environment and damage public health, then at the very least we should allow some semblance of common sense to prevail. At the very least, those of us in this Congress with a sense of responsibility for protecting the health and safety of our communities must impress upon others the inherent dangers in the legislation before us today, a bill that fails to set sufficient baseline standards for coal ash storage and disposal, which is why I'm offering a simple, straightforward amendment that could avert future tragedies, both human and environmental.…”