Political Quotes

“Yes. I would say to my colleague from Kentucky--and I appreciate the leadership of our colleague from North Dakota in constantly, persistently trying to get this in the Senate for a vote. My State of South Dakota, similar to so many others, stands to benefit enormously from this. We wish we had the direct energy production that the Senator of North Dakota has. We have a lot of indirect benefit from that. In fact, the State Department, the President's own State Department--not the oil companies--the State Department has said that in my State of South Dakota it would create 3,000 to 4,000 jobs, add $100 million to the economy, and generate $20 million in property tax revenue. I happen to come from a county through which the pipeline would pass, a small rural county in South Dakota. My father still lives there. He is 94 years old. The school district there is very concerned about staying open. They know that when this pipeline is built, the easement they will have to get will generate property tax revenue that very well could keep the school district going. So many of the local governments out in my area in the State are very supportive of this important project. I guess as I have looked at this--we have now had plenty of time to look at it since it has been kicking around here for about 6 years and five now environmental impact statements, all of which came back and said they have minimal impact on the environment.…”