Providing for Further Consideration of H.R. National Defense

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning in support of this amendment offered by myself and Chairman Grijalva.

The amendment would amend H.R. 7900 to add the text of two bills, H.R. 577, the Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act, otherwise known as the CORE Act, and H.R. 1052, the Grand Canyon Protection Act.

Both of these bills have already passed the House multiple times with bipartisan support. In fact, each of the bills has passed this Chamber four times, including last year in the NDAA and the year before that.

They would protect public lands, natural resources, Tribal cultural sites, and help preserve our access to clean water, clean air, and a livable environment.

My bill, the CORE Act, in particular, would conserve over 400,000 acres of public lands and consists of four titles that Coloradans have been asking Congress to pass for literally over a decade.

One provision in particular that I would note 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 Eagle County, Colorado, in honor of the storied legacy of the Army's 10th Mountain Division in Colorado and around the world.

The mountains of Colorado are where American soldiers received the training that allowed them to defeat the Germans in the northern Italian Alps and lead our Nation to victory during World War II.

Today, Camp Hale is home to a network of 34 backcountry huts connected by 350 miles of trails. Hut visitors share the special spirit of the 10th Mountain Division in their pursuit of excellence, self- reliance, and love of the outdoors.

We believe this national historic designation will certainly ensure that future generations can learn about the incredible contributions to our country by the patriots in the 10th Mountain Division.

We believe that this bill would do much to preserve our public lands in Colorado and beyond.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have remaining?

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Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, a couple quick points.

One, I certainly have a lot of respect for my colleague, and he and I work together on a number of different issues. I think we can have a debate about uranium mining. I would hope that he would rethink or reevaluate his comment regarding the dead of night because he knows, just as well as I do, that these amendments come as no surprise to anyone in this Chamber. They have passed repeatedly in the NDAA. They were debated and obviously considered as part of the Rules Committee--I serve on the Rules Committee--it is not our choice that this debate, in particular, is happening at 1:30 in the morning--certainly not mine. I would hope my distinguished colleague on the other side would reconsider that comment.

With respect to uranium mining, let me just simply say that I am glad to hear that my colleague believes that there should be no mining in the Grand Canyon. If that is the case, I would certainly encourage him to vote for this bill because it is precisely what Chairman Grijalva is attempting to do by virtue of proposing this bill.

As the ranking member of the full Natural Resources Committee knows, the withdrawal in this particular bill covers less than 1 percent of known U.S. uranium reserves. I certainly believe we can meet our uranium needs more cheaply and easily elsewhere in the United States without mining the Grand Canyon--it is obviously a national monument that we all treasure as Americans.

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Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time the respective sides have remaining?

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Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, I would just simply say this with respect to wildfires: My district has been the epicenter for wildfires in Colorado over the course of the last 3 years. Two of the largest wildfires in the history of Colorado happened in the Second Congressional District, and the most destructive fire in the history of our State happened just 6 months ago in my community.

I have worked tirelessly with my colleagues. I am the co-chair of the bipartisan Wildfire Caucus with Representative John Curtis out of Utah. We have worked closely together on this issue.

We passed a bipartisan infrastructure law out of this Chamber as well as the Senate, and the President signed it. It allocated literally billions of dollars to forest management, to doing that critical mitigation work, which is already happening in Colorado, in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, thanks to that bill. It is unfortunate that only 13 of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle chose to join us in that effort.

With respect to support for the underlying legislation, we can disagree about the contours of this particular bill. What we can't disagree about, in my view, are the facts: Gunnison County, Pitkin County, San Juan County, Ouray County, San Miguel County, Eagle County, the city of Aspen, the town of Avon, Basalt, Carbondale, Gunnison, Mountain Village, Ridgway, Telluride, Glenwood Springs--city after city, town after town, county after county, across the great State of Colorado, support the CORE Act, and it is because the vast majority of the people in my wonderful State support it, too.

Mr. Speaker, that is exactly why I ask my colleagues to support it tonight, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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