Bill Nelson, U.S. Senator from Florida: Statement: Text of Sen. Nelson's remarks to the Everglades Coalition 24th Annual Conference

Ladies and gentlemen, as one who shares your abiding interest in the Everglades, I want to thank you for your dedication to nothing less than full restoration of the River of Grass.

I especially want to thank Sen. Graham, who you’ll hear from Sunday, for his many years of service; and, Gov. Crist for his efforts this past year.

Today, we’re gathered here in support of this noble quest. And I’ll have a bit more to say about the Everglades in a minute.

These are, of course, anxious days for all of us – with some wondering not just whether we can repair the ‘Glades, but whether we will be able to revive our economy.

We’ve all seen the TV and newspaper headlines:

“Obama pushes stimulus plan,” said CBS.

“Obama said to favor $775 billion for stimulus plan,” according to the BBC.

And, said the Associated Press, “Obama stimulus plan [ to ] boost business tax refunds.”

Indeed, as the Congress convenes in the New Year, fixing America’s ailing economy will be a top priority of lawmakers – and, our new president.

I know I’ll be working closely with the White House on an economic stimulus package that hopefully will include funding to address a number of the requests from Florida’s governor and the state’s mayors, such as for roads, bridges and even development of new solar and wind energy technologies.

I’m also going to fight to make sure any financial package contains a boost in unemployment benefits and help for homeowners facing foreclosure.

The current financial crisis started with a massive housing bubble that burst and left millions of homeowners facing default on their mortgages.

We have to fix the root cause of the problem.

As I did in the last two sessions of Congress, I’ll keep pushing to end our dependence on foreign oil, while fighting those who falsely promise cheap gas from putting oil rigs off of Florida’s beaches.

I cannot support a greedy and cruel deceit that would threaten our state’s $65-billion tourism driven economy.

And, here are some other initiatives I plan to pursue in the coming months:

Now it’s time to start turning the dirt on overdue projects there.

I want you to know my to-do list also includes legislation to ban unregulated speculative trading of oil futures and other energy commodities - as a major way to curb the unchecked run-ups in crude oil and gasoline prices, like, those that occurred after Congress deregulated electronic trading of energy futures in late 2000.

And it’s no secret that I’ll also be advocating on behalf of the nation's space program.

But, let’s get down to the brass tacks on the Everglades.

Eight years and nearly one month ago, President Clinton signed the Water Resources Development Act. As part of that, the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan established a blueprint for reversing the longstanding decline of this national treasure.

Almost 3,000 days have passed.

And how will history judge these eight years?

These past eight years have brought too many disappointments: there were short budget requests and some who were far too eager to pull the plug on restoration when the going got tough.

But nothing is more emblematic than the shortsighted removal of the Everglades from the World Heritage List of Sights in Danger.

Still, we are not without progress:

Congress passed the Water Resources Development Act of 2007, which authorized integral parts of the plan. But we had to override the President to pass it.

Now we can get about the business of saving this threatened resource and leaving an environmental legacy that will make future generations proud.

We must make saving this unique and remarkable landscape a priority again.

And I pledge to you I will work tirelessly with the incoming administration to make it happen.

In a nutshell, here’s what we’re going to do:

We’re going to finish the Kissimmee River restoration and let nature return 43 miles of meandering river channel oxbows from a dredged channel.

We will move dirt on projects like the Picayune Strand, Indian River Lagoon and Site One Impoundment, and show real progress on the world’s largest ecosystem restoration project.

We will get C-111 done and protect Florida Bay.

And, we will start work on Modified Waters.

We’ve got to act now, because science tells us that if we don’t make immediate progress, the ‘Glades will suffer from irreversible changes.

Many of you are familiar with Mod Waters, and some are deeply involved in the twists and turns this project has taken over nearly twenty years.

Your passion for saving our beloved treasure is what has kept these efforts going.

You know, I mention it often – but, that’s because it’s an experience I can never, ever forget.

Let me tell you why.

In January 1986, I spent six days orbiting our Earth as a mission specialist aboard the space shuttle Columbia.

I’ll never forget - because that experience gave me a whole new perspective on the Earth’s fragile environment – and, a greater appreciation of the Everglades after seeing its majesty from space.

It’s this majesty that we seek to save.

· Reforming the way we hold presidential elections by abolishing the Electoral College and establishing a system of rotating presidential primaries. We don’t ever want a repeat of the 2000 election.

· Moving the nation closer to creating a national disaster fund for states at risk from hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, drought and flooding.

· And, getting restoration of America’s Everglades back on track! Eight years ago, we created a plan to revive the Glades.

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