Political Quotes

On the recordApril 6, 2011
We should oppose this dirty air act because it would suggest that we are a nation in a deep and dangerous sleep, dozing in the face of disastrous pollution, slumbering while our children are riddled with asthma. It's time for America to wake up, get up out of our comfortable beds of denial, and get to work building a new, clean economy. It's time to wake up, America. The Chinese are not sleeping while they build five times more wind turbines than us. The Germans are not sleeping building more solar panels. The Indians are not sleeping who are restricting carbon pollution. It is time to wake up. Nobody in human history has ever won a race while asleep. And that's why it's time for a national awakening by rejecting this bill. It's a time to put engineers to work on clean energy. It's a time to help businesspeople to grow businesses. It's a time to help students learn new technology. It is an irony, but it's true: You can only dream while you're asleep, but you can only realize a dream when you're awake. We should believe in American exceptionalism. We are exceptional in innovation, exceptional in entrepreneurship, exceptional in pioneering technology. And if we do these things, the sun we see on the horizon will be a sunrise, not a sunset. It will be a sign of an awakening nation.…
Said by
Jay Inslee
Democratic · Washington

Share & report

More from Jay Inslee

Feb 8, 2011

Mr. Holt made a really important point that we need to discuss. He made a strong statement that this dirty air act that the Republicans have introduced would gut the Clean Air Act. That is a strong statement, and it is entirely accurate.

govinfo.gov
Apr 8, 2011

It is deeply disappointing that instead of being here seeking a bipartisan consensus to avoid a government shutdown, we again are brought to this floor in an effort to engage in this ideological effort to, in fact, shut down government…

govinfo.gov
Feb 15, 2011

We have a simple amendment that will help restore two principles to our budget: one is innovation, and two is balance. What our amendment would do would be add $20 million to the ARPA-E account. It would be fully paid for with a balance…

govinfo.gov
May 5, 2011

We should oppose this bill not because it is too strong, but because it is too weak. Americans do need relief from $4 a gallon gasoline, and they are not going to get it from this bill either in the short term or the long term. The reason…

govinfo.gov

Other voices in this conversation