Political Quotes

“Madam Chair, I rise to offer a simple amendment to address an overreach by the executive branch of the Federal Government. My amendment bans the use of Federal funds for any implementation of Executive Order 13547. Executive Order 13547, signed in 2009, requires that various bureaucracies essentially zone the ocean and the sources thereof. This could mean that a drop of rain that lands on your roof could cause the Federal Government to have jurisdiction over your property since that drop will eventually wind up in the ocean. Concerns have been raised that the recently created National Ocean Policy may not only restrict ocean and inland activities, but given that it has not received any of its own funding, it will take scarce funds away from Federal Agencies and their currently authorized activities that are critical to the ocean and coastal economies, as well as our overall economy. I look at a chart that I prepared, a look at Chart 1 reveals just how overreaching, overly burdensome, and ill conceived this plan is. The Natural Resources Committee continues to ask questions about ocean zoning, including its scope and its cost. However, we are not getting answers from the administration. This chart, which is the watershed for the Mississippi River, our largest river, shows that 26 States would be affected by ocean zoning.…”