Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2007 (H.R. 5386)

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT OF 2007 (H.R. 5386)

Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2007, H.R. 5386. As a vigorous supporter of our national parks and natural resources, I object to this bill's dangerous cuts and I regret the message of waning support for our natural treasures that it sends to the youngest generation of Americans.

H.R. 5386 provides $25.9 billion for federal agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This bill represents a $145 million cut from the funding level enacted for fiscal year 2006. It eliminates the successful and popular state matching grants, which are delivered through the Land and Water Conservation Fund. It cuts $200 million in federal assistance to the clean water activities of states--over the last 3 years, the Clean Water Fund has been cut by 50 percent, or over $660 million.

H.R. 5386 also cuts $100 million from the National Park Service's budget at a time when parks are struggling to cope with past reductions. The number of rangers in Yosemite National Park has fallen from 45 to 8 over the past 5 years. These dramatic reductions make it impossible for the remaining rangers to fulfill their vital and far reaching duties, which include educational programming, ensuring safety and security and management of historical, cultural and natural resources. Visitors to America's National Parks this summer are saddened to see that Congress has made America's cherished park ranger the most recent addition to the endangered species list. ABC news reports that the number of rangers has dwindled to a point where visitors are now seen photographing them.

In reality, these cuts represent a pattern of calculated disinvestment in the agencies and programs that exist to protect the health of our communities and safeguard our natural resources for future generations. Year after year of cuts to environmental and natural resource spending are seriously eroding the ability of these agencies to improve our air and water quality and to protect and restore our wildlife and natural spaces.

The Bush administration and the Republican leadership in Congress are choosing to mortgage America's natural resource legacy to pay for the spiraling costs of the Iraq war and the unconscionable tax cuts to the wealthiest in our society. These decisions do not reflect my priorities or the priorities of my constituents in Minnesota.

Ijoin the National Audubon Society, National Parks Conservation Association and many other conservation organizations in opposing H.R. 5386 as insufficient, unsustainable and unacceptable.

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