House Proceeding 06-25-09 on Jun 25th, 2009 :: 0:51:25 to 0:56:05
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0:51:21 to 0:51:41( Edit History Discussion )

Ben Chandler: mr. dicks: i yield five minutes to the distinguished gentleman from ktucky who is a member -- distinguished member of our subcommittee, mr. chandler. the chair: the gentleman from kentucky is recognized for five minutes. mr. chandler: thank you, madam chairman. i would first like to express my gratitude to our chairman, mr. dicks, who has provided tremendous leadership on

0:51:25 to 0:56:05( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Ben Chandler

0:51:42 to 0:52:02( Edit History Discussion )

Ben Chandler: bill, tremendous leadership throughouthe year on the interior appropriations bill. a bill that i believe is extremely important to the future of our country. i'd also like to thank our ranking member, mr. simpson, for the way that he has -- very bipartisan way conducted

0:52:03 to 0:52:23( Edit History Discussion )

Ben Chandler: himself and the business of the committee. it's been a committee that has worked tremendously well together throughout the year. i want to rise to express my strong support for this bill. this bill is an extremely important one as i mentioned a moment ago. and i believe that we have had

0:52:24 to 0:52:45( Edit History Discussion )

Ben Chandler: the opportunity this year as a result of our chairman's efforts to hear hundreds of witnesses in extensive hearings. i believe this is one of the most hardworking committees, subcommittees of the appropriations committee. we have discovered some very real needs across this country. we discovere of course the fact that many of the needs in

0:52:46 to 0:53:07( Edit History Discussion )

Ben Chandler: our country have languished over quite a number of years. and this subcommittee has made a great effort, i believe, in this bill to address some of those needs. we are all struggling in this country today with the troubled economy. therefore the investments made in this bill are all the more important to people -- to the people and to the communities

0:53:08 to 0:53:28( Edit History Discussion )

Ben Chandler: that we all serve. and i'd like to mention a few of the things in this bill that i believe are particularly important. deteriorating water infrastructure across the countr endangers the health of our citizens and of our environment. at the same time our state and local governments are faced as

0:53:29 to 0:53:49( Edit History Discussion )

Ben Chandler: we all know with enormous budget shortfalls, preventing them from adequately addressing the problem. federal support for drinking water and wastewater infrasucture is necessary. this bill provides neay $4 billion in grants and loans for this purpose. a small down payment on the need.

0:53:50 to 0:54:11( Edit History Discussion )

Ben Chandler: estimated at some $300 billion over the next 20 years. in the area of conservation this bill does great things for public lands and wildlife conservation. funding for the national park service, our wildlife refuges, and our national forests will help maintain these national treasures for the enjoyment of all americans.

0:54:12 to 0:54:32( Edit History Discussion )

Ben Chandler: our public lands are key to preserving habitats and biodiversity, which have positive impacts on the of life and health of our ecosystems of in the area of environmental protection, madam chairman, in this legislation we make strong investments in programs that protect our environment.

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

Ben Chandler: the superfund program cleans up our nation's most contaminated sites and readies them forew economic development. the energy star program conserves energy a saves the consumer money. this bill provides increases to both the superfund and star. and this bill also helps

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

Ben Chandler: preserve our cultural heritage and educates our citizens about our history. state historic preservation officials -- offices are funded at $46.5 million. the projects these organizations undertake in all 50 states not only protect our cultural identity but create jobs in so many of our

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

Ben Chandler: small towns and communities. this legislation is responsible, madam chairman, for investment in our future. it protects our environment, it protects our health, and it celebrates our heritage among many other things. chairman dicks ought to be commended for the job that he's done in putting together a bill

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

Ben Chandler: that is very difficult to put together in many ways. he's worked diligently on it and i also want to take this opportunity to thank our chairman for making a special effort this year to fly to my home state of kentucky to look at some very significant issues in our mountains of kentucky.

0:56:00 to 0:56:05( Edit History Discussion )

Ben Chandler: the practice of mountaintop removal, a controversial practice which is of great concern to many of