Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2017

Floor Speech

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Mr. CALVERT. 5538, and that I may include tabular material on the same.

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Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to bring to the floor H.R. 5538, the fiscal year 2017 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.

As we begin, I want to personally thank Chairman Rogers for his leadership and support. I also want to thank my good friend and our ranking member, Ms. McCollum, for her partnership and work on this bill and to say a very happy birthday. Finally, I want to thank each of our subcommittee members for their assistance and hard work on the legislation before us.

The fiscal year 2017 Interior and Environment bill is funded at $32.095 billion, which is $64 million below the FY 2016 enacted level and $1 billion below the budget request.

The committee has provided robust wildland fire funding in this bill. Fire suppression accounts are again fully funded at the 10-year average level, which rose by $133 million from last year. The committee also addressed concerns about forest health and active forest management, and provided a $30 million increase for hazardous fuels.

This bill also makes critical investments in Indian Country. Overall, funding for the Bureaus of Indian Affairs and Education is increased by $72 million, or 3 percent, while funding for the Indian Health Service is increased by $271 million, or 6 percent, from fiscal year 2016 levels. This is the largest increase in this bill.

The bill provides for $2.9 billion for the National Park Service, including more than $65 million in new funding to address the maintenance backlog and other priorities related to the Park Service centennial.

The bill provides $480 million to fully fund payments in lieu of taxes, PILT, in year 2017.

We have also addressed a number of concerns within the Fish and Wildlife Service. The bill continues funding for popular cost-shared grant programs. It also provides additional funds to combat international wildlife trafficking, protects fish hatcheries from cuts and closures, continues fighting to fight invasive species, and reduces the backlog of species that are covered but not yet delisted.

The bill provides $322 million for the Land and Water Conservation Fund programs that enjoy broad, bipartisan support.

Funding for EPA is reduced by $164 million from fiscal year 2016 enacted levels. Again this year, there is a great deal of concern over the number of regulatory actions being pursued by EPA in the absence of legislation and without clear congressional direction. For this reason, the bill includes a number of provisions to stop unnecessary and damaging regulatory overreach by the Agency.

Before closing, I would like to make an additional point about the challenges facing Flint, Michigan, and other communities across the country addressing lead in drinking water. This is an issue of great concern to the committee members. It is not a partisan issue.

What occurred in Flint has called greater attention to aging infrastructure and the need for prudent management and oversight of water systems. This bill provides targeted investments and prioritizes resources that will help the EPA and Michigan respond to Flint and help other States and communities address the needs of their water systems.

The bill provides an increase of $207 million above the fiscal year 2016 enacted level for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund. It also includes $50 million for the new Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation, otherwise known as WIFIA, program, which may be leveraged through direct Federal loans or loan guarantees to fund up to $3 billion to $5 billion worth of water infrastructure projects nationwide.

In addition, the bill provides increases for State grants for improved State oversight and operations of drinking water systems and for communities to work on integrated plans for pipe replacement. The bill also directs the GAO to assess the number of lead service lines by State.

Lastly, the committee is taking an additional step to provide relief for communities like Flint by including bill language that allows States to use State revolving fund dollars to forgive a portion of a community's outstanding loans. This and other steps taken in this bill will have a real impact.

In closing, I want to thank the staff on both sides for their hard work on this bill. On the minority side, I would like to thank Rita Culp, Jocelyn Hunn, Joe Carlile, and Rebecca Taylor. Their work is very much appreciated.

On the majority side, I would like to thank our subcommittee staff: Kristin Richmond, Jackie Kilroy, Betsy Bina, Jason Gray, Darren Benjamin, and, of course, our chief clerk Dave LesStrang. I would also like to thank Ian Foley, Rebecca Keightley, Molly Lowe, and Tricia Evans on my personal staff, and my chief of staff, David Ramey.

Mr. Chairman, this is a good bill and it deserves Members' support.

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Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers), the chairman of the full Committee on Appropriations.

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Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop), the chairman of the full Committee on Natural Resources.

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Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Jenkins).

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Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman.

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Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, may I inquire how much time remains?

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Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Graves) for a colloquy.

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Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, I thank the Congressman from Georgia (Mr. Graves), a member of our committee who has been closely tracking this. I appreciate his attention to the issue and the update regarding EPA's activities to implement the direction in fiscal year 2016 report. I look forward to working with him to address this as we move forward with the fiscal year 2017 process.

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Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica) for the purpose of a colloquy.

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Mr. CALVERT. Will the gentleman yield?

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Mr. CALVERT. I appreciate the gentleman raising this issue. I recognize your longstanding history of work on this effort, and I look forward to continuing to work with you on this important issue.

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Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Gibbs).

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Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

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Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I recognize and support the need for a right size law enforcement presence wherever people visit Federal lands, but this amendment would implement the budget request to hire 16 more Federal wildlife fire officers primarily in urban areas.

Urban areas already have a strong local law enforcement presence, so the Federal Government should first look to contract with local law enforcement before deciding to hire more Federal officers. Furthermore, of all the law enforcement responsibilities covered in this bill, the biggest gap exists on Indian reservations, where 911 response times are often measured in hours and days instead of minutes.

Before we pull more money out of the account that pays unsung civil servants to carry out the most fundamental functions of the department, let's make sure we are putting the dollars where they are needed the most. I encourage the rest of my colleagues to oppose the amendment.

Mr. Chairman,

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Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I oppose the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

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Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole), a valued member of our Interior Subcommittee, for the purpose of a colloquy.

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Mr. CALVERT. Reclaiming my time, I thank my friend and distinguished colleague from Oklahoma and the Chickasaw Nation. He has been a true leader for Indian Country during his tenure on the Appropriations Committee. I think we can both be proud of the progress we have made, working together in a nonpartisan way with our friends on the other side of the aisle.

On the matter of land into trust and the Carcieri decision, I am grateful for the opportunity to work with you, as well as Chairman Bishop and Chairman Young of the Natural Resources Committee, to try to come to an agreement that would affirm land taken into trust before the Carcieri decision and would improve our understanding of how the Department of the Interior arrived at decisions to take land into trust after the Carcieri decision.

It has been over 7 years since the Carcieri decision, and tribal, municipal, and State governments continue to struggle in the aftermath. We need to bring clarity and certainty to the matter of land taken into trust on behalf of our American Indian brothers and sisters.

Mr. Cole, you have my commitment to continue to work with you and the rest of our colleagues on a solution.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time. Amendment No. 2 Offered by Mr. Cicilline

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Mr. CALVERT. Will the gentleman yield?

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Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, I would urge adoption of the gentleman's amendment.

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Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

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Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, unfortunately, the bill before us already funds the New England National Scenic Trail at the requested level, so any additional funds are not necessary at this time. I reluctantly urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment.

Mr. Chair,

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Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, I request a ``no'' vote.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment. I appreciate the work the gentleman from Virginia and his staff put into crafting an amendment that the committee could support. Any program to help promote economic development in an area so devastated as the Appalachia is worthy of our support, so I urge my colleagues to adopt this amendment.

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Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I am happy to work with the gentleman and Ms. McCollum in a nonpartisan way to address the concerns of your constituents.

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Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, again, I am happy to work with the gentleman and Ms. McCollum in a nonpartisan way to address these issues, and I look forward to working with him to resolve this for his constituents.

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