Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, we are told over and over that this is an agreement that has been painstakingly and meticulously worked out. That's the sort of agreement that we would have if I were to sue the Federal Government for $10 million, go to my next-door neighbor and say, can't you agree that the Federal Government should send us at least $5 million? We reach an agreement, and then present it to Congress as a settlement of an outstanding claim. That's essentially what's going on here. Let me read to you the testimony of Michael Connor, the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, to the Subcommittee on Water and Power regarding this bill in July of last year. He said: While we're aware that the settling parties worked closely with the Federal negotiating team in developing the parameters of this settlement, we have also been informed by the team that issues involving the cost of this settlement were not considered. We believe that these costs need to be discussed and negotiated and that the benefits of the settlement must justify the costs. Those negotiations never took place between the Federal Government and the stakeholders. Those negotiations took place among the stakeholders themselves, and they all agreed that the Federal Government should send them lots and lots of money.”