National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022
Floor Speech
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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I seek recognition to make a statement in support of my amendment offered by myself and Chairman Grijalva.
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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my amendment with Chairman Grijalva. It would amend H.R. 4350 to add the text of two bills, H.R. 577, the Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act, and H.R. 1052, the Grand Canyon Protection Act. These bills have already passed the House with bipartisan support not once, not twice, but three times.
They would protect our public lands, natural resources, and Tribal cultural sites and help preserve access to our clean water, clean air, and a livable environment.
Of course, as climate change becomes a growing national security threat, we know that conservation becomes a moral imperative. My bill, the CORE Act, would conserve over 400,000 acres of public land and consists of four titles that Coloradans have been asking for Congress to pass literally for over a decade.
One of those provisions that I would like to focus on tonight is the Camp Hale and 10th Mountain Division legacy. This includes establishing the first ever national historic landscape at Camp Hale in my district in honor of the storied legacy of the Army's 10th Mountain Division in Colorado and around the world.
It was in the mountains of Colorado that American soldiers received the training that allowed them to defeat Germans in the northern Italian Alps and lead our Nation to victory during World War II. Those same soldiers came back to the State of Colorado and literally built the modern ski industry in our wonderful State.
Hut visitors share the special spirit of the 10th Mountain Division in their pursuit of excellence, self-reliance, and love of the outdoors, and my constituents in Summit County and Eagle County and across Colorado have been imploring the United States Congress to take steps to make these protections a reality, literally for years.
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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, with much respect to my colleague from Colorado Springs, he knows, because we have debated this amendment every year for the last 3 years, every time we have successfully added this amendment to this particular bill, that the statements regarding this bill and the notion that it locks up land in the way that he describes is simply not true.
He knows that this bill only includes 73,000 acres of wilderness with respect to the CORE Act. I know my colleague from Colorado Springs certainly is aware that this bill includes 80,000 acres for specific recreational use, to preserve the ability for folks to be able to go mountain biking and to enjoy those outdoor areas. Of course, that is why this particular bill has so much support from local communities.
I was a bit surprised, Madam Speaker, to hear this notion that county commissioners have talked to my colleague from Colorado Springs. I would suggest that he talk to the county commissioners in Gunnison County, in Pitkin County, in San Juan County, in San Miguel County, in Eagle County, or perhaps the city councils in Avon, Basalt, Carbondale, Crested Butte, Glenwood Springs, perhaps Gunnison, maybe Mountain Village, Ridgway, Telluride. I don't want to go through all of the communities, Madam Speaker, because I would expend my entire 5 minutes.
I think my point is fairly clear, which is that this bill has broad support within the communities that it would impact, and therefore I would certainly encourage my colleagues again to support this particular amendment.
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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time remains on both sides?
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Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I would just again say I think many of the communities that I referenced and the various stakeholders that have been engaged and working on this bill would take offense at this notion that it is some, I think the word used was secret environmental wish list or whatever the case may be.
Clearly this bill, in particular the CORE Act, has broad local support.
With respect to wildfires, my district was the site of the first and second largest wildfires in the history of Colorado in 137 years. It is why we created a bipartisan wildfire caucus working with several Republicans in the United States Congress to come together on solutions that would address this epidemic of pervasive wildfires across the Rocky Mountain west.
This bill is about protecting the legacy of public lands in Colorado and across the western United States to ensure that our children can enjoy the same public lands that we are so blessed and treasured to have in our State.
Madam Speaker, again, I would urge a ``yes'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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