Political Quotes

“I come to join my colleagues to talk about the final passage of the Great American Outdoors Act and to discuss what it really means to all of us. Obviously, the great outdoors means a lot to the State of Washington. Nobody probably needs that explained to them. I recently read a quote from George Vancouver when he was discovering the Pacific Northwest. Even in his remarks, he was so astounded that this was such a beautiful place. It tells you it lasts for generations, and that is what this bill is about. This bill is making it last for generations beyond us. I want to thank the bipartisan effort of five Democrats and five Republicans who joined together to originally put the parks' backlog and maintenance together by fully funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund. People should realize that the Land and Water Conservation Fund, over its history--and I followed it closely because Scoop Jackson, a long- time Senator from the State of Washington and the original sponsor of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, understood that America was urbanizing, and we needed to make an investment in open space. That open space gives us park and recreational area. It has literally provided 5 million acres of protected land since its inception. There are 5 million acres of land throughout the United States of America that we can identify in every State of the United States to give Americans access to open space.…”