Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I want to thank my colleagues: Congressman Beyer, Congressman Langevin, Congresswoman Bonamici, Congressman Keating, Congressman Ted Lieu, and Congressman Schneider, who are cosponsors of this amendment. This amendment would strike the harmful provision that prevents implementation of the National Ocean Policy. The National Ocean Policy has helped guide ocean management for over 7 years. NOP offers an opportunity to develop commonsense tools to manage the ocean economy. The Regional Ocean Council allows States throughout the Northeast to pool resources, strengthen the voice of businessowners, and facilitate coordination with Federal partners. The National Ocean Policy allows Federal agencies to coordinate implementation of over 100 ocean laws and allows State and local governments to have a say in the ocean planning process. My home State of Rhode Island, the Ocean State, has benefited greatly from the National Ocean Policy, and I want to take a moment to acknowledge the extraordinary leadership of my colleague, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who has championed this effort. As one example, with help from the National Ocean Policy, the Block Island Wind Farm was successfully completed and today is powering an estimated 17,000 homes. The Northeast depends on clean water for fishing, shipping, recreation, and tourism.…”