William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021

Floor Speech

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Ms. DeGETTE.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my amendment, which would add the text of the Protecting America's Wilderness Act to this year's NDAA.

The purpose behind this amendment is simple. It is to protect more of America's public lands and to ensure that our Nation's most elite military pilots have the opportunity to train for some of the harshest environments on the planet.

This legislation, which has already passed in the House earlier this year, would permanently protect more than 1.3 million acres of public land across Colorado, California, and Washington. It includes Representative Huffman's language to protect lands in northwest California; Representative Carbajal, to protect lands in central California; and Representative Chu, to expand the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. It includes legislation by Representative Schiff to protect lands by the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and legislation by Representative Kilmer to protect lands in Washington State's Olympic Peninsula.

Finally, it includes legislation that I have worked on for over 20 years to protect more than 600,000 acres in Colorado and to ensure that key military areas, like the High Altitude Aviation Training Site, or HAATS, is able to continue its mission unencumbered.

The designations in this amendment are the product of decades of work and have garnered widespread support across the West. They are designed to help protect these lands from the threat of future development, provide a boost to our States' economies, and ensure our military has the space it needs to train.

Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to vote ``yes'' on the amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. DeGETTE. Judy Chu), another key sponsor of this amendment.

Ms. JUDY CHU of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this amendment, which includes the text of my legislation, the San Gabriel Mountains Foothills and Rivers Protection Act.

The San Gabriel Mountains provide 30 percent of southern California's water, comprise 70 percent of L.A. County's open space, and are easily accessible to more than 15 million Americans. But still, the L.A. County region is amongst the most park-poor in the country, with too many communities lacking access to outdoor recreation opportunities in their own neighborhoods.

By creating the San Gabriel Mountains national recreation area by building on the progress made by the establishment of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, by designating new wilderness and wild rivers, this amendment will provide outdoor recreation opportunities to millions, improving their health and well-being.

I urge my colleagues to join me in strong support of this amendment.

Let me just set the record straight. These types of bills have been included in the NDAA for generations by Republicans and Democrats. In this case, it is particularly urgent because, as I said, and you even heard my colleagues on the other side say, HAATS is included. This clarifies HAATS laws, and it makes clear that they can be used.

There is one group of people that is the most important to decide about wilderness, and that is the public. Two-thirds of the people on the western slope of Colorado want more wilderness. These areas are all wilderness study areas now. Let's keep them for future generations.

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