House Proceeding 03-25-09 on Mar 25th, 2009 :: 0:37:25 to 0:57:25
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0:35:25 to 0:37:25( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: David Wu

0:37:07 to 0:37:25( Edit History Discussion )

David Wu: as well as create a 34,550-acre national recreation area. mt. hood is one of the enduring symbols of oregon's love of the outdoors and this bill is an important signalo future generations that we wish to continue providing opportunities to enjoy all that

0:37:26 to 0:37:46( Edit History Discussion )

Nick J. Rahall: nature has to give. in these tough economic times, the protection of these natural spaces also supports oregon's economy. oregon's vibrant outdoor reeation industry supplies 73,000 jobs and it injects almost $6 billion annually into oregon's economy. mr. speaker, i would like to

0:37:30 to 0:38:10( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Nick J. Rahall

0:37:47 to 0:38:07( Edit History Discussion )

Nick J. Rahall: reiterate my strong support for h.r. 146 and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington. haste the gentleman continues to reserve. the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: mr. speaker, i'm very happy to yield now to the gentleman from arizona, the chairman of our park subcommittee who has undergone

0:38:08 to 0:38:10( Edit History Discussion )

Nick J. Rahall: t the way.

0:38:11 to 0:38:32( Edit History Discussion )

Raul Grijalva: the gentleman from arizona, the park subcommittee chair, mr. grijalva for three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. grijalva: thank you, mr. speaker, and thank you, mr. chairman. you know, i think to some extent we need to set the record straight about this legislation. we need to be clear that this bill is about conservation and preservation of our public

0:38:15 to 0:41:30( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Raul Grijalva

0:38:33 to 0:38:54( Edit History Discussion )

Raul Grijalva: lands. it's about improving our water supplies in the west, it's about improving the health of our forests and creating economic opportunities for rural communities. this legislation will also establish a new national park unit, conserve wild and scenic rivers, protect historic american battlefields where brave patriots fought and died for this nation. and establish miles of new

0:38:55 to 0:39:17( Edit History Discussion )

Raul Grijalva: hiking trails and much, much more. bills in this package will give families places to enjoy outdoor recreation, it will preserve our history so that children can learn the story of america on field trips. it will protect rivers for boaters and anglers so they can enjoy it themselves.

0:39:18 to 0:39:39( Edit History Discussion )

Raul Grijalva: h.r. 146 is wildly popular, both among a large bipartisan majority of the members of congress and among the american people. in fact, this package is so popular that those that oppose new parks, those who think protecting rivers and trails is not a good use of our time, are placed in a very difficult position. they have no choice but to try

0:39:40 to 0:40:00( Edit History Discussion )

Raul Grijalva: to insert issues in this debate that simply don't belong in this debate. this is not about guns. the court rules that has become the cruisebl with this legislation regarding the second amendment, that ruling and let me quote from it , from the judge's order, because the court finds that

0:40:01 to 0:40:21( Edit History Discussion )

Raul Grijalva: the final rule which was rushed by the bush administration on their way out the door, is a product of defendant's flawed process. the court holds that the plaintiffs are highly likely to prevail on their claims. accordingly, the court expresses no views on the merits of any laws or regulations related to concealed weapons or firearms

0:40:22 to 0:40:42( Edit History Discussion )

Raul Grijalva: generally. this was a ruling on a flawed process. on a process that ignored public input, that ignored transparency and that's why that rule by the bush administration was enjoined. it is not enjoined on the merits of the concealed weapons issue that is brought up as the

0:40:43 to 0:41:04( Edit History Discussion )

Raul Grijalva: ruling itself. the truth -- this is not about locking anything up or locking anybody t. i'm told that during debate on the measure in the rules committee yesterday, opponents of this bill took more time talking about a.i.g. than they did about parks and forests. the truth is, this package of bills is as popular as mom, as

0:41:05 to 0:41:25( Edit History Discussion )

Raul Grijalva: apple pie and i do not envy those few members who have to come to the house floor today and manufacture reasons it to oppose it. but let's be clear. these arguments are are manuctured and should not be given any weight. this legislation is good for the land, it's good for our nation and our children and our grandchildren. they will all thank us later

0:41:26 to 0:41:30( Edit History Discussion )

Raul Grijalva: for passing this legislaon. mr. speaker, after a long, dark

0:41:31 to 0:41:52( Edit History Discussion )

Louie Gohmert: period where protection of our natural and cultural resources was ignored, today we can change that. i urge passage of h.r. 146 and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield four minutes to the gentleman from texas, mr. gohmert, a member of the natural resources committee. the speaker ntleman from texas is

0:41:35 to 0:46:30( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Louie Gohmert

0:41:53 to 0:42:16( Edit History Discussion )

Louie Gohmert: recognized for four minutes. mr. gohmert: thank you, mr. speaker. there are some good provisions in this bill. there have been hearings on 70 out of 170 provisions in the house in this congress. but our esteem chairman of the committee said the arguments against is bill, in his words, are petty. you know, i guess when you

0:42:17 to 0:42:37( Edit History Discussion )

Louie Gohmert: spend $1.6 trillion, whatever we've spent already in the last few months, $10 billion can seem like petty cash. you know, $10 billion here, there. i understand it can seem like petty but that is an argument. this is $10 billion without hearings in this house over 100

0:42:38 to 0:43:00( Edit History Discussion )

Louie Gohmert: of these provisions on whether they will help the economy. you know, we heard over and over that people are losing jobs every day. let's do something about it. and in the meantime, we're going to go spend $10 billion in this bill. don't know that it will help the economy, maybe eventually. how about the people who are out of work right now? how about the people that might be able to utilize some areas

0:43:01 to 0:43:21( Edit History Discussion )

Louie Gohmert: that won't be able to now for certain purposes? oh, like energy, for example. oh, yes. has anybody noticed the price of gasoline is going up again? just like everybody expected it to go up. and it will go up as we approach the summer. and what is happening, what are we doing in this sensitive body that we have here in congress?

0:43:22 to 0:43:42( Edit History Discussion )

Louie Gohmert: we're going to put more of it off limits. more of it off limits. at a time when the price is going up, the economy's struggling, people are losing jobs, people are having their pay cut, people are allowing their pay to be cut so others don't lose their jobs and what are we going to do to help? we're going to put some more land off limits so we can't get

0:43:43 to 0:44:04( Edit History Discussion )

Louie Gohmert: the energy and help ourselves in this country. you know, i was talking to some people from china not long ago and, you know, the way they look at things, they don't look at just, you know, 10 years, 100 years, they look way down the road. and as we've seen in this body, for example, last week, we just

0:44:05 to 0:44:26( Edit History Discussion )

Louie Gohmert: look at what's popular today. gee, let's have a 90% tax on bonuses that we should not have ever allowed in the first place if and read the stinking bills before we rushed in here and passed them. but i digress. sometimes we just look at one day. they look way down the road. and it was interesting to me,

0:44:27 to 0:44:48( Edit History Discussion )

Louie Gohmert: these individuals said, we know what the united states is doing. you keep putting your energy off limits, more and more of it, we know what you're doing. you're smart. you're smarter than some people give the united states credit, they said. because we know what you're doing. you keep putting your energy off limits knowing that other

0:44:49 to 0:45:09( Edit History Discussion )

Louie Gohmert: countries will use up all of the rest of the resources in the world and then you'll be the only country with those resources and you'll be able to maintain your status as the one super power in the world because you've got all the resources, you were smart enough to hold them and wait to use them until everybody else exhausted theirs and i wished i

0:45:10 to 0:45:31( Edit History Discussion )

Louie Gohmert: could say, you're right. we see that far down the road in this congress. but the not true. we keep hurting ourselves at the worst possible time. so, with this big bill here, mr. speaker, 100 provisions out of the 170 that didn't get a hearing in the house, we need to practice and we cantart now.

0:45:32 to 0:45:52( Edit History Discussion )

Louie Gohmert: i'm shocked, i'm outraged, i'm outraged and i'm shocked. i'm shocked and outraged because once people start finding out wh what all provisions didn't get a hearing that might could have been tweaked to avoid the outrages that are to come, we'll need to have people

0:45:53 to 0:46:13( Edit History Discussion )

Louie Gohmert: saying that to save their jobs. some may be comforted that the senate has had senators, i don't know if senator dodd examined all the language to make sure it was perfect, but i'm sure some senators did, but get ready to say you're shocked and outraged. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: you forget drill, baby, drill.

0:46:14 to 0:46:30( Edit History Discussion )

Louie Gohmert: mr. speaker, i yield one minute to the gentleman from washington for a colloquy. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> mr. chairman, thank you for the opportunity to highlight the underseas research program act which is included in this bill and established an important and proven system of undersea research techniques. the language in the present

0:46:31 to 0:46:52( Edit History Discussion )

legislation does not specifically mention the aquarius undersea laboratory and i'd like to recognize the crucial and cutting-edge work being done there and i want to mention for the record it is owned by noaaa. whenever the legislation we are -- noaa. whenever the legislation mentioned the institutes for science and technology, it is understood that aquarius is

0:46:53 to 0:47:14( Edit History Discussion )

included. in closing, i wish to commend the staff at aquarius for the critical work they've done and the support for their continued research. i yield to the gentleman. mr. rahall: i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker, i commend the gentleman from washington for recognizing the scientific, contributions made and i thank him for supporting the provisions and underlying legislation that will promote

0:47:15 to 0:47:35( Edit History Discussion )

Rush D. Holt: the development of future innovations in undersea research technologies. i thank the gentleman. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, again to equalize the time, i'll reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman continues to reserve. the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: i yield one minute to the gentleman from new jersey, mr. holt.

0:47:25 to 0:48:50( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Rush D. Holt

0:47:36 to 0:47:57( Edit History Discussion )

Rush D. Holt: the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for one minute. mr. holt: this bill is the kind of bill that i le. i'm especiallyleased that we could preserve new jersey's heritage as one of the leaders of the industrial revolution by giving the american public the patterson great falls national historic park and the edison national historic park and i

0:47:58 to 0:48:19( Edit History Discussion )

Rush D. Holt: think a chairman rahall for bringing the bill along. when i introduced this h.r. 146, little did i suspect that my bill to protect the battlefields of the american are revolution and the war of 1812 would grow to 1,300 pages and attract so much attention. but i am pleased that my bill to protect the battlefields of the american revolution and the

0:48:20 to 0:48:41( Edit History Discussion )

Rush D. Holt: war of 1812 has been used as a vehicle to bring this important lands bill through the legislative process. however, i regret that my language to protect the battlefields of the american relutionnd t war of 1812 has vanished. and so i'm here to ask the chairman of the committee on natural resources if i may have

0:48:42 to 0:48:51( Edit History Discussion )

Rush D. Holt: his assurances that he will assist me in moving this noncontroversial legislation to protect the battlefields of th

0:48:52 to 0:49:13( Edit History Discussion )

Nick J. Rahall: war of 1812 and the american revolution expeditiously. mr. rahall: will the gentleman yield? mr. raha: i thank the gentleman from new jersey for his patience and willingness to work with us and i pledge to work with him to move this quickly and work toward the passage in the other body in the near future. mr. holt: i thank the chairman and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington.

0:48:55 to 0:49:30( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Nick J. Rahall

0:49:14 to 0:49:31( Edit History Discussion )

Nick J. Rahall: the gentleman continues to reserve. the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: mr. speaker, i'm very honored to yield to the distinguished subcommittee chair on our committ on natural resources, a chair of the water reurces

0:49:32 to 0:49:52( Edit History Discussion )

Grace F. Napolitano: subcommittee, the gentlelady from california, mrs. napolitano, 1 1/2 minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california is recognized for is 1/2 minutes. mrs. napolitano: the public land management act includes 30 separate water bills that my

0:49:35 to 0:50:40( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Grace F. Napolitano

0:49:53 to 0:50:13( Edit History Discussion )

Grace F. Napolitano: subcommittee passed and approved with bureau of reclamation, usgs. it authorizes conservation water reuse efficiency, title 16 policy, allowing for fizzibility studies of those much-needed water projects.

0:50:14 to 0:50:34( Edit History Discussion )

Grace F. Napolitano: the west, of course, is having an unprecedented drought and this will not only help bring up those shovel-ready projects that will bring 500,000 acre-feet of water and thousands of jobs for the reclaim use of water in that storage capacity.

0:50:35 to 0:50:42( Edit History Discussion )

Grace F. Napolitano: this will lessen a lot of the areas reliability on costly wa

0:50:43 to 0:51:06( Edit History Discussion )

Martin Heinrich: we urge your vote and hope that we will be sucssful in being able to get those shovel-ready projects to double up those jobs. i yield back. the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from washington. mr. rahall: i'm very honored to yield to a new

0:51:00 to 0:52:45( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Martin Heinrich

0:51:07 to 0:51:28( Edit History Discussion )

Martin Heinrich: committee, the gentleman from arizona, for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> i stand in support of this legislation because the importance to the new mexico families. the rio grande has been the lifeblood of our community in new mexico for thousands of years.

0:51:29 to 0:51:49( Edit History Discussion )

Martin Heinrich: and the puebloandia will benefit from this bill because it will make much-need investments for their water infrastructure and agriculture properties. further south of the rio graunda, it will help a beach that has been revitalized into

0:51:50 to 0:52:10( Edit History Discussion )

Martin Heinrich: a popular zoo, biopark and aquarium and numerous fishing ponds opened to the public. and from east to west, this bill will re-authorize the route 66 corridor program which is essential of preserving the beloved central avenue in

0:52:11 to 0:52:31( Edit History Discussion )

Martin Heinrich: albuquerque. these improvements, along with protecting the incredible piece of new mexico that is the sabinoso wilderness area will help new mexican families. i ask all of my colleagues to support this legislation and yi from west virginia. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington's

0:52:32 to 0:52:47( Edit History Discussion )

Martin Heinrich: equal on both sides. 9 1/4 for the gentleman from washington and 9 1/2 for the gentleman from west virginia. the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the

0:52:48 to 0:53:08( Edit History Discussion )

gentlelady from pennsylvania, ms. dalk. -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. mrs. dahlkemper: this will set aside thousands of acres of public wilderness and create thousands of scenic river designationes. this will support the communities and industries that

0:53:09 to 0:53:29( Edit History Discussion )

depend upon these precious resources. i would also like to express my support for the amendment, included by my good friend and fellow pennsylvanian, mr. altmire. in our home state of pennsylvania we believe that the second amendment is not only a right but a way of life. hunting and fishing are important american outdoor traditions that have been passed down from generation to

0:53:30 to 0:53:51( Edit History Discussion )

generation. therefore, we have an obligation not only to defend our god-given right to self-defense but to protect against any rights of our sports men and women. therefore, i'm proud to stand in support of mr. altmire's amendment, which will ensure that lands currently opened to hunting, fishing, trapping, target shooting and other forms of traditional recreation are

0:53:52 to 0:54:13( Edit History Discussion )

protected. in congress i will continue to stand in support of this second amendment, a fundamental right guaranteed in the constitution. furthermore, i will continue to oppose reductions in federal hunting acreage and will fight to ensure that opportunities for hunting and sport are maintained. i urge my colleagues to vote in favor of h.r. 146 with the

0:54:14 to 0:54:34( Edit History Discussion )

Rob Bishop: addition of mr. altmire's amendment in defense of the constitution. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield six minutes to the gentleman from utah, a member of the natural resources committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from utah is recognized for six minutes. mr. bishop: thank you, mr.

0:54:20 to 1:00:55( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Rob Bishop

0:54:35 to 0:54:56( Edit History Discussion )

Rob Bishop: speaker. i suose it's a sense of poetic irony that mr. holt' language was removed when his item was removed. you have a pattern of individuals coming down speaking of good parts to this bill. there are good parts to this bill. i actually have two of the measures in here that i think are good to this bill but it doesn't cover up the fact that within that there are some problems in this particular

0:54:57 to 0:55:17( Edit History Discussion )

Rob Bishop: bill. it doesn't cover up the fact that there are heritage areas when the department of the interior specifically ask us to wait until they can come up to rules on what areas should be and how they should be constituted because the way we're doing it is chaotic. there are elements in here that create national parks which i will visit when they include the baseball stadium and not until. but those national parks were

0:55:18 to 0:55:38( Edit History Discussion )

Rob Bishop: actually rejected by the parks service because they have enough of this generic portion. it did not meet the standards. it was expensive. even at one time they said they might be comfortable with it last night talking to a reporter they once again stood by that analysis of that park. especially when we have $9 billi the national park system that is yet to be met.

0:55:39 to 0:55:59( Edit History Discussion )

Rob Bishop: i reject it when in fact some judge includes that eight months of study and public input is long enough or that nipa has more importance than the second amendment. but i actually want to speak a little bit different right now. i nt to explain to my good friends who live east of the rocky mountains why i feel so passionate about this

0:56:00 to 0:56:20( Edit History Discussion )

Rob Bishop: particular bill. this is a map of the united states and everything that is the clerk will designate in red is owned by the federal government. concentrated in the west even though most of our forest land is in the east, theorest service land is all in the ?? west. and does this make a difference to people?

0:56:21 to 0:56:41( Edit History Discussion )

Rob Bishop: well, i think it does because this map illustrates the difference in education. the states in red are the states that are having the most difficult time raising mone fund their own public education system. and as you notice, there is a strong correlation between the amount of public land and of the difficulty in funding education. in utah it's a common

0:56:42 to 0:57:02( Edit History Discussion )

Rob Bishop: statement, we will always simply say the reason we are having such a hard time in funding education is we don't control enough of our land. if the federal government even paid at the lowest, the lowest tax rate for the land that it owns in the state of utah that would $116 million every year going into -- that doesn't

0:57:03 to 0:57:24( Edit History Discussion )

Rob Bishop: count government funding, just for the education portion, $116 million we would get every year. and when issues are made -- decisions are made in the department of the interior to take leases off the land, that's a $3 million cut to education in the state of utah. not only counting the state trust lands that develop money for education but those lands that become sterile at the same

0:57:25 to 0:57:45( Edit History Discussion )

Rob Bishop: time. "the new york times" recently wrote an article which they compared a school district in utah and one in wyoming across the border. the one in wyoming is awash with money and will get more money in the stimulus package than the district in utah. and they said, well, that's distribution formulas thate use. i really don't care about the