Natural Resources Management Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I don't know if the Judiciary Committee voted yet, but if they haven't, they will vote shortly on the nomination of William Barr.

I knew Mr. Barr when he was Attorney General and when he was general counsel to Verizon--that is a New York company where I dealt with him-- and I have always respected his public service and his intelligence. But when his authorship of an unsolicited memo to the Justice Department criticizing the special counsel's investigation was uncovered, I came to the conclusion that he is the wrong person to serve as Attorney General at this challenging moment for our country. The memo alone, I felt, was disqualifying--maybe not under any President but certainly under this President, who is utterly contemptuous of the rule of law. But I wanted to give Mr. Barr a chance to change my mind, so I met with him a few weeks ago. Our conversation focused on three issues.

The first was an issue that had been discussed at his Judiciary hearing where I didn't think his answer was very satisfactory, so I asked him again, very directly, whether he would recuse himself if ethics officials at the Justice Department said he should. Regrettably, he would not commit to do this. Instead, he said he would make his own decision.

The second issue I brought up was the need for the special counsel's report on Russian influence in the 2016 election to be made public. Whatever conclusions Mueller comes to, we as a Congress and the American people have an obligation to see what kind of foreign influence there is in our elections. It seems pretty clear to me that in this case, the report should be made public--the full report, except things redacted for security purposes.

I asked Nominee Barr whether he would release the full Mueller report, with redactions only if intelligence agencies said that was necessary to avoid compromising sources. He said he is for transparency. That is not good enough. We are all for transparency in the abstract. The question is, Are you for transparency in probably the most important act you will take as Attorney General when it comes to transparency? To merely say you are for transparency doesn't say much. What was needed was an unequivocal and public commitment to release the full report. Again, he would not give me that assurance.

Finally, I asked Mr. Barr about interference in the special counsel's investigation. He referred to the special counsel regulations and said at the hearing and I think in other places publicly that he wanted to finish the investigation. That is not good enough. Finishing the investigation while interfering and limiting it as it goes forward would be a travesty--certainly with this President, who has treated the Justice Department as if it is his own personal fiefdom. At times, President Trump seems to feel there are two goals to the Justice Department and those alone--to punish his enemies and help him. That is not the rule of law. That is not the greatness of the United States.

With this President, we need an Attorney General who can assure the Senate and the public that he will stand up to a President who believes the Justice Department exists simply to do the President's personal bidding and protect the President's personal interests above those of the country. The President wants a Roy Cohn to be his Attorney General, but this is a moment that calls for an Elliot Richardson.

As Senator Coons said in the Judiciary Committee today, Mr. Barr's case for his own confirmation seems to boil down to one thought: Just trust me. Mr. Barr doesn't seem to recognize that this isn't adequate for an Attorney General in the Trump administration. The moment calls for stronger, more explicit assurances. And that is independent of what each of us thinks of the personal characteristics of Mr. Barr. This President has no regard for personal characteristics. This President never listens to an argument that he thinks is against his self- interest, even if it is in accord with American tradition or American law. So to simply say ``just trust me'' is not close to good enough probably under any President but certainly under this one.

I believe that in the coming months, our next Attorney General will be faced with one or more real constitutional crises. The Attorney General will be tested. If Mr. Barr is confirmed, I hope he will be equal to those challenges, but unfortunately and very regrettably, he was not willing to provide the Senate with sufficient assurances to give us confidence that he is prepared to meet the challenge. And the idea that he shouldn't say it now because it would jeopardize his nomination? Well, if Trump would withdraw the nomination when he says it now, Trump will certainly fire him if he tries to do it later, so that argument doesn't hold any water.

For all those reasons--the fact that he won't recuse himself even if the ethics officials at the Department of Justice say he should; the fact that he won't give an unequivocal commitment to make the full report available to the Congress and the public, with the appropriate redactions for intelligence only; and the fact that he won't commit to not interfere in the investigation, not to limit the investigation or not approve subpoenas--all three of those make it crystal clear that Mr. Barr should not be approved for Attorney General. S. 47

Madam President, on one other matter, the legislation on the floor is the largest bipartisan package of public lands bills in over a decade.

I have always been a supporter of protecting our Nation's public lands and our beautiful and pristine natural resources. Every summer, my family and I used to go hiking in our national parks. They are some of the most joyous moments I have had. So I have always supported our natural resources and protecting them on public lands. They make our communities more resilient as well.

I strongly support the bill that Chairman Murkowski and Ranking Member Manchin have put together. I want to thank the previous ranking member, Senator Cantwell, for her great work on this as well.

The bill includes a permanent reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which is the Nation's premier conservation program. It is responsible for projects in every State nationwide, and every one of New York's 62 counties has benefited.

The bill takes great strides in protecting our natural resources and public lands, including designating over a million acres of new wilderness, adding over 2,000 miles to the National Trails System, and increasing the size of our national parks.

I know from my travels across New York that this is not only a benefit for the environment, but it is also a boon for our economy. It boosts ecotourism, boosts the hospitality and restaurant industry in those communities, creates jobs, and enables countless tourists, such as myself when we visited the West, to experience the beauty of our Nation.

Additionally, this bill will help with projects in my home State of New York. A few important examples include designating Jamestown's National Comedy Center as the National Comedy Center of the United States. Jamestown is a beautiful city, home of Lucille Ball. It allows the Department of the Interior to grant an easement to New York City so that the Staten Island seawall can be built. Staten Island was hit with a de facto tsunami during Superstorm Sandy that led to massive property damage and the tragic loss of many lives. I visited the next day, and it was awful. Better protecting Staten Island from the next disaster is essential. This would help move the ball forward.

Let me again thank Senators Murkowski, Cantwell, and Manchin and their staffs for the great work. I look forward to voting yes, and I hope it gets a very strong vote here in the Senate. I hope none of our colleagues will move to delay it.

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