Political Quotes

“I am here on the floor for my 202nd ``Time to Wake Up'' speech. I would like to begin by thanking this body for the passing of the National Oceans and Coastal Security Fund as part of the measure that Republicans and Democrats agreed to before the recent recess. The Presiding Officer obviously represents an extremely coastal State. I represent Rhode Island, a very coastal State. This new program will provide resources for the communities along our shores to be able to deal with the threats they are seeing from sea level rise, fisheries moving about, worsening offshore storms, tides that now come ashore on bright sunny days, and the various hazards that they must undertake so that they are not left alone trying to address them. I often use these speeches to explore why it is that we get nothing done in Congress on climate. I point out that the major reason is the insidious fossil-fuel-funded web of climate change denial, with a parallel lobbying and electioneering effort. I point out that this network is funded by the fossil fuel industry in a deliberate and systematic effort to misdirect public discussion and to distort public understanding of climate change and climate science. I point out that it is actually working. It has been so effective at infiltrating our political system that the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is a full-on fossil fuel flunky.…”