Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018
Floor Speech
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Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment offered by my good friend and colleague, Mr. Johnson of Louisiana.
This good governance and commonsense amendment will reduce costs associated with consultation and allow important projects to move forward while ensuring these actions don't negatively impact species and result in more private contributions that help recover endangered species.
In recent years, local landowners showed unprecedented support for lesser prairie chicken conservation and committed approximately 4 million acres and more than $26 million toward these efforts. Unfortunately, current practices do not allow conservation measures that take place outside of designated critical habitat to count in relation to Federal actions.
This arbitrary interpretation results in less conservation efforts for species and stifles private investment that would otherwise be encouraged if the totality of habitat conservation measures underway were allowed to be considered.
Last year, Senator John Barrasso pointed out that, of the more than 1,600 species of animals and plants listed on the Endangered Species Act since 1973, only 3 percent have been recovered. That is 3 percent. This is failure by any definition or reason.
This amendment encourages voluntary conservation that will help recover threatened and endangered species. Property owners, States, and local communities should be encouraged to be part of the solution, not pushed aside in favor of Federal micromanagement.
I applaud Representative Johnson for his strong leadership and tireless efforts to improve an outdated system that is failing to protect species and failing to consider the totality of conservation measures underway before moving forward with new Federal actions.
I urge adoption of this amendment.
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Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment offered by my good friend and colleague, Mr. Banks.
The previous administration's Waters of the U.S. rule, commonly referred to as WOTUS, attempted to assert Clean Water Act jurisdiction over nearly all areas with even the slightest connection to water resources, including manmade conveyances. The Obama administration threatened the very livelihoods of farmers, ranchers, small businesses, water users, and property owners when unilaterally enacting this overreaching water and land grab by executive fiat.
Contrary to claims by the Obama administration, this regulation directly contradicts prior U.S. Supreme Court decisions which imposed limits on the extent of Federal Clean Water Act authority. Although the agencies maintained the rule was narrow and clarified the Clean Water Act jurisdiction, it would actually aggressively expand Federal authority under the Clean Water Act while bypassing Congress and creating unnecessary ambiguity. In fact, even the agencies admitted, when announcing the final rule, that WOTUS would expand agency control over 60 percent of our country's streams and millions of acres of wetlands that were previously non-jurisdictional.
Moreover, the rule was based on incomplete scientific and economic analysis. In recent years, the House has voted at least five different times to block or reduce the damage associated with the Obama WOTUS rule. In January 2016, the House and Senate passed legislation blocking WOTUS, utilizing the Congressional Review Act, and put a bill on President Obama's desk that he subsequently vetoed.
WOTUS is a dream-killer for future generations and will result in significant job losses as well as considerable harm to our economy. Congress must take action today to repeal this fundamentally flawed mandate once and for all. I applaud Representative Banks for his strong leadership and tireless efforts to protect the livelihoods of farmers, ranchers, businessmen, and other local stakeholders by repealing this unconstitutional power grab.
Mr. Chair, I urge adoption of this lawful and necessary amendment.
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