OFFICE OF THE MAJORITY LEADER

TRANSCRIPT

Statement on Chesapeake Bay Initiative Act
June 5, 2007

... MR. SARBANES: THANK YOU, MR. SPEAKER. I WANT TO THANK THE GENTLEMAN FROM MARYLAND, REPRESENTATIVE GILCHREST, FOR HIS CAREER'S WORK ON BARF OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE CHESAPEAKE BAY AND THANK HIM FOR HIS SUPPORT. IT'S MY EXTREME PLEASURE NOW TO YIELD SUCH TIME AS HE MAY CONSUME TO THE MAJORITY LEADER, ANOTHER CHAMPION OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY, ONE MINUTE TO THE MAJORITY LEADER. THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: THE GENTLEMAN IS RECOGNIZED FOR ONE MINUTE. MR. HOYER: I THANK THE GENTLEMAN FOR YIELDING. MR. SPEAKER, AND LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF THE HOUSE, I HAD THE GREAT PRIVILEGE OF BEING ELECTED TO THE MARYLAND STATE SENATE IN 1966. THERE WERE TWO OTHER INDIVIDUALS, A LOT OF OTHER INDIVIDUALS, BUT TWO OTHER INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE ELECTED WITH ME. THE OTHER TWO WERE ELECTED TO THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES. ONE OF THOSE WAS BENJAMIN CARDEN WHO NOW IS MARYLAND'S JUNIOR UNITED STATES SENATOR. THE OTHER INDIVIDUAL ELECTED THAT SAME YEAR WAS PAUL SARBANES. PAUL SARBANES SERVED FOR FOUR YEARS THEN WAS ELECTED HOT TO US IN 1970, SERVED IN THE HOUSE FOR SIX YEARS AND IN 1976 WAS ELECTED TO THE UNITED STATES SENATE. I WAS THE STATE SENATE AND HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF WORKING HARD FOR HIS ELECTION THAT YEAR. HE SERVED LONGER THAN ANY OTHER INDIVIDUAL REPRESENTING OUR STATE. AND ONE OF THE PROGRAMS THAT HE FOSTERED WAS THE PROGRAM THAT WE ARE RE-AUTHORIZING TODAY. HE CAN SWELL WITH PRIDE NOT ONLY ON THE SUBSTANCE OF THIS LEGISLATION, BUT ALSO ON THE FACT THAT HIS EXTRAORDINARY SON WHO NOW REPRESENTS THE DISTRICT THAT HE USED IT TO REPRESENT, THE THIRD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF OUR STATE, IS NOW SPONSORING AND SHEPHERDING THIS LEGISLATION THROUGH THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. MY COLLEAGUES HAVE SPOKEN ABOUT THE SUBSTANCE OF THIS LEGISLATION. JOHN SMITH, 1607, CAME UP A BAY THAT WAS PRISTINE AND ESSENTIALLY UNSPOILED. IN THE NEXT 400 YEARS, MAN IN HIS SOMEWHAT IRRESPONSIBILITY HAS NOT HUSBAND BANDED THAT ASPECT THAT GOD GAVE US AS HE SHOULD OR SHE SHOULD. THIS LEGISLATION SPONSORED BY SENATOR SARBANES MANY YEARS AGO NOW SHEPHERDED BY HIS SON, CONGRESSMAN JOHN SARBANES, WAS AN EFFORT TO HE WERE ENSURE THAT WE UNDERSTOOD -- TO ENSURE THAT WE UNDERSTOOD WHAT CONGRESSMAN GILCHREST TALKED ABOUT AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS ASSET WE CALL THE CHESAPEAKE BAY. NOT JUST TO MARYLAND, NOT JUST TO PENNSYLVANIA OR DELAWARE OR VIRGINIA, BUT TO OUR COUNTRY. AN EXTRAORDINARY ECOLOGICAL RESOURCE. SO I RISE SIMPLY NOT TO RECITE WHAT MY COLLEAGUES HAVE ALREADY RECITED BUT TO CONGRATULATE JOHN SARBANES, TO SAY HOW PROUD WE ARE, AS I KNOW HE IS AS WELL, OF THE EXTRAORDINARY SERVICE GIVE TO OUR STATE BY HIS FATHER, SENATOR PAUL SARBANES, THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR OF THIS LEGISLATION, AND TO THANK HIM FOR CARRYING THIS TORCH FORWARD ON BEHALF OF THE RESOURCE THAT IS PRICELESS. AS THE AD SAYS. SO I THANK HIM FOR YIELDING THIS TIME. CONGRATULATE HIM FOR HIS EFFORTS AND URGE MY COLLEAGUES TO STRONGLY SUPPORT THIS LEGISLATION. AND YIELD BACK THE BALANCE OF MY TIME. THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: THE GENTLEMAN YIELDS BACK THE BALANCE OF HIS TIME. THE GENTLEMAN FROM UTAH. MR. BISHOP: THANK YOU, MR. SPEAKER. I YIELD MYSELF SUCH TIME AS I MAY CONSUME. THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE: THE GENTLEMAN IS RECOGNIZED. MR. BISHOP: SO HERE WE ARE DEBATING A BILL UNDER A RULE WHICH WE ALL KNOW SHOULD HAVE BEST BEEN UNDER SUSPENSION. IT'S NOT A PERFECT BILL, IF THEY ACCEPT AN AMENDMENT LATER ON IT WILL BE A PERFECT BILL. BUT FOR ANY IMPERFECTIONS THAT ARE HERE, THIS BILL HAS FAR BETTER DRAFTING, FAR BETTER INTENT, FAR MORE BIPARTISANSHIP THAN PERHAPS SOME ILLOGICAL PARTISAN GAMESMANSHIP THAT PRODUCED DEBATE UNDER SUSPENSIONS YESTERDAY. BUT I HAVE TO WONDER, ONE WOULD WONDER WHY WE ARE TAKING TIME ON THE FLOOR TO CONSIDER A BILL WHICH WAS PASSED OUT OF THE RESOURCES COMMITTEE BY A VOICE VOTE AND A BILL ON WHICH I INTEND TO VOTE IN FAVOR. WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS BILL THAT IS ACTUALLY SO IMPORTANT THAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT IT RATHER THAN OTHER MORE PRESSING NATIONAL ISSUES SUCH AS AN ENERGY CRISIS? WHY DOES SUCH A RELATIVELY INNOCUOUS BILL TAKE PRECEDENCE OVER FINDS SOLUTIONS FOR GAS PRICES OVER $4 A GALLON AND PROBABLY GOING HIGHER. THIS BILL ACCOMPLISHES SOMETHING SO DRAMATICALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE'RE FOOLISH TO CONSIDER OTHER ISSUES SUCH AS NATIONAL SECURITY OR DEEP ING DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL. THIS BILL DEALS WITH AREA THAT INCLUDES NO FEDERAL WATERS. THERE ARE NO FEDERAL ASSETS THAT ARE A PART OF IT. CAN COULD EASILY HAVE BEEN DONE WITH AN AGREEMENT WHICH MANY STATES IN THE WEST USE. INSTEAD THIS FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S INVOLVED IN THAT, DESPITE THIS FACT I STILL INTEND ON VOTING FOR THIS PARTICULAR BILL. THIS IS A RECREATIONAL BILL THIS ...