Nomination of Debra Anne Haaland

Floor Speech

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Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, on Monday, the Senate will vote on the nomination of Congresswoman Deb Haaland to serve as Secretary of the Interior. I have had a chance to vote on a number of nominations over the years. I want to tell the Senate that, on Monday, the Senate can make history.

The Congresswoman--and she faced some strong questioning in the committee--understands that protecting public lands and boosting rural communities and jobs are two sides of the same coin. Too often, in the debates in Washington, DC, they really involve something resembling false choices. You can either be for jobs or you can be for protecting your treasures. The Congresswoman understands that those two are not mutually exclusive and that, in the West, particularly when you look at our exciting recreation economic engine, this is a chance to really generate more jobs, protect treasures, and enhance our quality of life.

Now, I recognize that there have been powerful interest groups that try, for example, to protect the interests of big oil companies at taxpayer expense, at the expense of clean air and clean water, and, as I say, at the expense of everybody who wants to get outside. I know that part of the debate is propping up a dirty environmental policy and declining industry that, mostly, adds to the current climate crisis.

In the long run, what we need to do is find fresh ways to bring Americans together around areas, particularly for rural communities, that are going to bridge the urban-rural divide, reduce inequality in America, and be a long-term solution for rural economies. The Congresswoman, our nominee on Monday, knows that there is a better way to protect and create rural jobs, and I will give you just one example.

Congressman Neguse and I have introduced a major piece of legislation to create the 21st Century Civilian Conservation Corps. Our legislation would create thousands of jobs in rural America, and these workers would help to preserve public lands and prevent the kind of massive wildfires America has seen in recent years.

What I can say to colleagues is that a major effort like this will create scores and scores of jobs for local businesses and local vendors. Certainly, we are talking about the local hardware store, chainsaw outlets, and those who sell logging equipment. There are going to be lots of opportunities for private sector employment stemming from the arrival of the 21st Century Civilian Conservation Corps. We will also have a lot more opportunity for outdoor recreation, boosting tourism revenues, and fewer communities reduced to ash by wildfire--a win all around.

Now, the Congresswoman also talked to us about another priority for rural America, and that is helping Native American Tribes across the country build and repair drinking water infrastructure and that she would make it a priority to help Tribes where there is a lack of drinking water, threatening the health of those Tribal members. This is especially a problem in Oregon, wherein the Warm Springs Tribe has burst pipes and regular ``boil water'' notices, but I will tell you that Warm Springs is not alone in this country, and the Congresswoman understands. She said: Water is a basic human right.

The next point that I want to touch on with respect to this exceptional Member of Congress is that she really has a track record of bringing parties together with differing views. Now, I know some Members of the Senate have gone to great lengths to say: Oh, she is some kind of far-out radical.

Colleagues, that just doesn't pass the smell test. She has been a leader in generating bipartisan support for efforts in the House. She has one of the most conservative Members of the House singing her praises in coming before the committee, and I went several times just because I wanted to hear the Congresswoman address this crucial issue of how important rural jobs are, how rural jobs and protecting the environment are not mutually exclusive, and how you can bring people together. On each of these points, she conveyed the kinds of views that make her an ideal choice for serving as the Secretary of the Interior.

I was also interested in her thoughts on a major piece of legislation for rural Eastern Oregon. It is the Malheur County Owyhee legislation, which seeks to resolve differences in this extraordinary part of my State, the Owyhees--differences that have literally gone on for decades. We brought together ranchers and Tribes and environmental folks, and we said: Here again, what we can do is create rural employment. We can protect the ag economy and the farmer's way of life. We can also create great opportunities for recreation in that part of the State. The Congresswoman got it in a second. She said that is exactly what we need to do--build models that bring farmers and ranchers together with environmental folks and scientists who understand the nature of some of these challenges from a scientific and climate standpoint.

I will tell you that I have gone to more than my share of nomination hearings, but what I saw was a nominee with exceptional backbone and decency, who was being clear, being straightforward. At times, it was a little hard to take because the questioning, I thought, was not just strong but over the line. At the same time, the Congresswoman showed her calm, her knowledge, and her perseverance in the face of this.

I am just going to close with this.

Colleagues, I have tried to kind of make my calling card a public service of bringing people together, finding fresh ideas, and the very kinds of approaches that the Congresswoman talked about during two, I felt, very draining kinds of sessions. My view is that it is critical for the Senate to be able to recognize there are going to be disagreements. The Senate is made up of a lot of people with very strong views, and what I believe we ought to insist on of all candidates is a level of decency and respect for all concerned. The Congresswoman showed that in the face of some very strong questioning.

When I was done, I said: Not only am I going to support you because of your views on rural jobs and your recognizing that protecting jobs and the environment are not mutually exclusive--that we can do both-- but because of your track record of bipartisanship, featuring Congressman Young's coming here.

Also, I come to the floor of the U.S. Senate to say that I was there for both sessions, and I saw an elected official, a Congresswoman, handle a lot of very tough, strong questions, and at every level, she tried to stick to the facts. She tried to make the case for what she thought was a great opportunity, especially in the West, but that she would be in all of the communities that the Department of the Interior is responsible for and that everyone would get a fair shake. Every Democrat and every Republican would get a fair shake.

That is the kind of fundamental decency we want in a nominee.

And I will close with this: It sure stands in sharp contrast to what we saw over the last 4 years, two Secretaries, essentially, infamous rather than famous, who too often were willing to set aside the science and support the powerful and those who were going to walk away making quick dollars at the expense of the environment.

People of this country now have a chance, almost like you take a dilapidated stage out of an auditorium, and now we have got a chance to start anew. We have got a nominee who is qualified. She is fair. She is going to concentrate on bringing people together, and she is going to make history.

It is long, long, long past time, colleagues, that this country had a Native American leading the Interior Department.

So I pledge after that second hearing, I am going to come back on the floor and not just vote for her but speak for her because her decency, her thoughtfulness--I see my friend from New Mexico here--that sense of caring and that fairness in the face of some very, very aggressive questioning makes me feel that this is a very special sort of leader.

Congresswoman Haaland has my full, unqualified support, and westerners are looking forward very much to working with her, get her to Oregon, and see what our challenges are.

I urge all Members of the Senate on Monday to support the historic nomination of Congresswoman Haaland to head the Interior Department.

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