Political Quotes

“I regret that the Senators from Michigan believe that the automobile industry located in that State and the magnificent workers who are employed there are unable to compete with foreign automobile companies when we try to make our automobiles more fuel efficient. In fact, they have shown their magnificent ability to compete, and to compete very well, in the past decade. I am certain that they would continue to do so. Second, this sense-of-the-Senate resolution simply asks the conference committee members from the Senate to reject a House provision that says that nothing can take place. It certainly does not say that the conference committee cannot condition the moving forward of the Department of Transportation on future CAFE standards in any way it would like to do so. But the net effect, as I have said before, of the House position, supported by the opponents of this amendment, is that we need to put our heads in the sand; we don't need to study--as a matter of fact, we should be prohibited from studying whether or not we can improve the fuel efficiency of our automobiles and small trucks, improve the quality of our air, reduce the cost of fuel to the average American consumer, reduce our trade deficit, all consistent with the safety of our drivers and of the passengers in our automobiles. I, for one, am convinced that we can do so.”