Political Quotes

“I am sure all our colleagues have seen the news over the past few days from my home State of Washington where we are suffering from a devastating natural disaster. For those who haven't seen the coverage, on Saturday the town of Oso, WA--a very small, tightly knit community on the Stillaguamish River-- was hit by a massive landslide. It has cut off the town of Darrington just a few miles up State Road 530, and houses over a square mile have been swept away. We know already we have lost eight people. This morning we learned there are more than 100 people still missing, and right now in my home State of Washington there are dozens of families who do not know if their loved ones are still alive. These are moms and dads, they are sons and daughters, they are neighbors and friends who in the blink of an eye saw water and earth wipe away their homes and their entire community, and now many of them don't know if their loved ones survived. I was in Arlington, WA, yesterday, where the search and rescue operations are being coordinated. It is just down the road from where the slide hit, and I want to talk for a few minutes this evening on the Senate floor about this tragedy. Oso and Darrington are very small towns like a lot of others in this country. The population of Oso is 180 people. These are the types of places where everyone knows everyone, where they stop to say hello, and where everyone lends a helping hand.…”