Political Quotes

“Well, has the Senator ascertained that anybody in our government is scouring the world and the United States to try to move every single skimmer that could possibly be brought to the gulf coast? If not, we are awfully late, wouldn't the Senator think? Shouldn't that have been done weeks ago? Mr. LeMIEUX. That is a great point. There doesn't seem to be a sense of urgency. Job 1 is stopping the oil from leaking, and job 2 is stopping the oil from coming ashore. They are doing some good work. The President tells us that by the end of the month 90 percent will be contained. Let's hope that happens. Let's stop the oil from getting on our beaches, in our estuaries, our coastal waterways. The best way to do that with booming is skimming. As the Senator mentioned, skimming is working and the oil is able to be skimmed. Why are we waiting to ask Governors? As Admiral Allen told the Senator and me a moment ago, they are going to put in a request to Governors to free up skimmers. There are skimmers around the country that have to be on duty because there could be a spill someplace else. They have to request waivers. One, why are we waiting until now? Two, that is like saying your house is burning down, but the fire truck is covering another area in case a fire breaks out. Well, the fire is happening now. The skimmers need to go to the gulf now. Why there isn't that sense of urgency and followup, I cannot explain.”