Political Quotes

“members of the Senate, today I join my colleague, Senator Mack, in offering an amendment to the Agriculture Appropriations bill that will provide much needed relief to agriculture in the State of Florida in the wake of the extreme drought and severe wildfires that have plagued our State in the last two months. The fire crisis is the latest example of our State's meteorological reversal of fortune in 1998. Florida's hot summer temperatures are typically accompanied by afternoon thunderstorms and tropical weather. This year's heat and drought, and the lush undergrowth and foliage that sprung up in the wake of Florida's unusually wet winter, combine to fuel the fires that have put the State under a cloud of smoke and chased nearly 112,000 residents from their homes, 2,000 of them into emergency shelters. These fires have had severe consequences. More than 220 homes, businesses, or buildings have been destroyed or heavily damaged. Nearly 100 individuals, mostly brave firefighters battling the blazes, have been injured. A 140-mile stretch of Interstate 95 was closed for several days. 458,000 acres of land have burned. Florida has sustained almost $300 million in damage.”