Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2019

Floor Speech

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

Mr. Chairman, I rise to offer an amendment, which I am pleased to say that I intend to withdraw, because after months of hard work in this Chamber and with the administration, it is no longer necessary.

Minnesota is the proud home to the Iron Range, which boasts an abundance of natural resources and critical minerals. When it comes to protecting the environment while developing our economic assets, nobody does it better than Minnesota.

Despite this history, on its very last day in office, the Obama administration proposed to withdraw more than 240,000 acres of land in our State from mineral exploration and development. This last-minute action was an assault on our way of life, threatening thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in State revenue and school trust funding. It handicaps our national security by increasing our reliance on foreign sources of minerals.

That is why I offered this amendment to stop this foolish action.

This amendment is identical to one that was unanimously adopted by this Chamber last year and echoes the good news delivered by the President to thousands of Minnesotans on June 20 when he announced his intent to rescind this arbitrary withdrawal, which is now in process.

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Mr. EMMER. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Nolan), who is my colleague from Minnesota and coauthor of this amendment.
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Mr. EMMER. Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert), who is the chairman of the Appropriations Committee's Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.
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Mr. EMMER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman for his work and continued support on this issue.

To make a few closing points, nothing about this amendment would allow for mining in the Boundary Waters, period.

In fact, to demonstrate the disconnect and level of misinformation on this issue, my colleagues who stand in opposition to this amendment worked to have report language accompany this bill which incorrectly calls attention to a ``proposal'' to withdraw lands within the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, despite the fact there is no such proposal and it remains unlawful to mine within the Boundary Waters.

Nothing about this amendment eliminates any existing environmental protections. This amendment reinforces the commonsense reality that economic growth and environmental protection do not have to be mutually exclusive.

I am pleased to have the support of the House on this very important issue during this 115th Congress. I am pleased to have the pledged support and continued commitment from the administration to end this withdrawal. I am pleased that we will soon be able to get Washington out of the lives of thousands of hardworking Minnesotans.

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

Mr. Chair, I withdraw the amendment.

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