Political Quotes

“last August several Western States and Indian tribes suffered an enormous environmental disaster. It was called the Gold King Mine spill. In this disaster, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency caused a spill of 3 million gallons of toxic waste water into a tributary of the Animas River in Colorado. This photograph shows the before and after. People all across the country remember this picture and the poisoning of this river by the EPA. This plume of toxic waste threatened people in Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It stretched to the land of the Navajo Nation and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe. When the Indian Affairs Committee held a hearing on the Gold King Mine spill last September, we heard testimony from Russell Begaye. He is the President of the Navajo Nation, which has lands roughly the size of the State of West Virginia, a very large piece of land. President Begaye told our committee that for the Navajo people, water is sacred, and the river is life for all of us. He said: Today, we are afraid to use the river--with an emphasis on the word ``afraid.'' The EPA caused that spill more than 8 months ago because it made crucial mistakes, critical mistakes. It failed to take basic precautions. Well, we still have not gotten answers to some very important questions.…”