Political Quotes

“I come to the floor tonight to talk about something I would like to see done in the United States Senate-- passage of reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Definitely the Senate and Congress have disappointed us in not passing the Export-Import Bank reauthorization--which is something I am a big proponent of. And now, here we are with the Land and Water Conservation Fund. For the first time in 51 years since this program was created, it has expired. My colleagues are here on the floor to join me--I thank the Senator from Montana and the Senator from New Mexico--to talk about why this is such a vital program to all of our States and why we should have it reauthorized immediately. The bill creating the Land and Water Conservation Fund was championed by Senator Scoop Jackson at the request of then President Kennedy. Why? Because the American population was growing and there was a need for outdoor recreation, open space, and public lands. The Land and Water Conservation Fund was created to help protect some of our most popular national parks, forests, public lands, and iconic places. For me, this is an incredibly important program because it has provided opportunities for hunting, fishing, hiking and other recreational uses that so many people use when traveling to the Pacific Northwest for vacation or for their livelihood. Those of us who are from States with large amounts of public lands recognize the importance of outdoor recreation.…”