Political Quotes

“I commend my good friend. I have for a long time stated, indeed, before the Committee on the Environment and Public Works, my concern about the wind situation. I am not against it, nor is my distinguished colleague from Tennessee. But we are moving toward--and with a tremendous Federal subsidy--a program by which industry, looking at the subsidy, cannot turn down the opportunity to put these mills wherever they want. I am concerned mostly about my shoreline of Virginia. This amendment would protect certain segments of that shoreline--from windmills being put in the proximity of the historic areas, marine areas, and the like. If you look at how carefully America has proceeded toward the erection of power-generating facilities, whether it is coal-fired plants, gas-fired plants, wind, whatever it is, there is a very well- laid-out regulatory process. That doesn't exist for the potential of putting windmills offshore. It doesn't exist. I have tried hard to encourage the Congress of the United States to pass a regime comparable to what is taking place for other power-generating facilities to protect our environment, protect the taxpayer, and to enable wind to go forward but only where there is a clear justification and a protection of the environment. Now, they can go offshore under the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899. They never envisioned, in 1899, the types of installations described by my colleague from Tennessee.…”