Political Quotes

“I thank the chairman. We are all saddened, and deeply frustrated, to see the iconic Puget Sound continue to devolve into a dumping ground of human waste and sewage. It is no wonder, the species in our Nation's largest estuary are facing increasing odds of extinction. We must do more to address this environmental crisis. An aquatic toxicologist working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has found that growth rates for salmon species in Puget Sound are stunned, metabolisms are distorted to the point of starvation, and physiological functions are disrupted when exposed to high levels of Prozac, caffeine, cholesterol medication, ibuprofen, bug spray, cocaine, birth control pills, and dozens of other drugs and personal care products present in Puget Sound. Mr. Speaker, I am very glad to see my friends from the west side of the State, Mr. Heck, who has spent a great deal of his illustrious career working on this issue, as well as Mr. Kilmer, who has also spent an inordinate amount of time working on this very, very important issue, working to address the debilitating impact the environmental degradation in Puget Sound is having on shellfish, on the endangered salmon, and on steelhead. And, as was mentioned, on our iconic Southern Resident killer whales, which are truly on the verge of extinction.…”