Providing for Consideration of H.R. 2996, Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010
Floor Speech
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 2996, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2010 -- (House of Representatives - June 25, 2009)
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Mr. POLIS. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, House Resolution 578 provides for consideration of H.R. 2996, the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2010.
I rise in support of the rule and the underlying bill, the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2010. I thank Chairman Obey and Chairman Dicks and the Appropriations staff for their hard work and dedication in bringing this bill to us.
Madam Speaker, I am a lucky man. I am truly blessed to represent communities in Colorado like Vail, Breckenridge, and Boulder, some of the most awe-inspiring forests, mountains, and wilderness that our country has to offer and I had the opportunity to witness as a kid growing up to this day.
Visitors from across the globe come to my district in Colorado and others like it across the Nation year-round to get a taste of what we experience every day. Amidst this beauty, Coloradans grow up understanding the great responsibility we all share to protect our precious natural resources for generations of Americans to enjoy.
This bill, I'm proud to say, reflects that great responsibility and priority by providing a total of $32.3 billion for the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Forest Service, the Indian Health Service, and related agencies--an increase of $4.7 billion over the 2009 enacted levels.
These funds are absolutely critical in addressing the problems that have come with historic underfunding and have a tangible impact not only on communities in my district, but across the country. This bill also keeps its foundation in fiscal responsibility and contains over $320 million in program terminations for programs that simply don't work, reductions in other savings for the fiscal year 2009 level, and over $300 million from the budget request. Included in this amount is a $142 million recission from EPA prior year STAG account funds based on an inspector general report of unliquidated obligations and $18 million in reductions from a number of requested increases for EPA administrative functions.
This bill also terminates $28 million for a new initiative in Federal aid in wildlife restoration programs due to concerns about implementation of this program.
Our natural environment plays such a critical role in the quality of our lives not only in my district, but across the country, and this bill will help continue the proud tradition of Federal stewardship of our public lands.
I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, to address the gentleman from California--in a previous discussion at the Rules Committee, we talked about the fact that the Secretary of the Interior, Secretary Salazar, has agreed to visit San Joaquin Valley and learn more about the situation firsthand to address the very legitimate concern that the gentleman from California has raised.
As a fellow Coloradan, I can attest to the savvy ability of our former Senator, former Attorney General, former water lawyer, one of the most knowledgeable minds and best minds that we have in the area of water law, water rights and water. I know that the gentleman from California shares our desire to address the legitimate issue raised by his constituents. I have every degree of confidence that the Secretary will play a constructive role in doing that.
The health of our communities is our most precious resource. This bill provides a historic and much needed investment in the Environmental Protection Agency, $10.5 billion, a large portion of which will improve our water and wastewater infrastructure. As a westerner, I understand the vast challenges we face with water. Establishing the water infrastructure that encourages and promotes conservation is of incredible importance for regions that will only see their water sources become fewer and farther between as demands grow.
In Colorado, we rely on clean water not just for municipal and agricultural use--many of our communities are supported by visiting kayakers, fly fishermen and outdoorsmen from across the country who flock to our pristine rivers and in doing so, are a key driver of the success of our economy. Our environment, communities, industries and businesses all stand to gain under the water provisions of this bill. Without significant infrastructure investment and improvement, our water quality could be further compromised, endangering the future health and economic viability of our communities nationwide and our environment. Building upon the job creation and stimulus of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, this bill will provide loans and assistance to more than 1,500 communities across this country and will also create as many as 40,000 new construction jobs to help get our economy going again. Moreover, Madam Speaker, wildfire season has grown exponentially over the last decade, and it is just beginning in Colorado and across the West. The cost of fighting fires has continued to increase. The House recently passed the FLAME Act, and I hope the Senate will move quickly to do the same. The communities in my district are growing increasingly worried about another fire season that has the potential to be very dangerous to both property and to people. We've been hit hard, as have many communities across our country, by the mountain pine beetle epidemic, an epidemic that has killed millions of acres of trees. Hard-hit counties in my district, like Grand County and Summit County, have had their mighty lodgepole pines felled across the district, turning the area into a potential powder keg for forest fires, bringing the threat of wildfire literally to our backyards. Over the past 10 years, this outbreak has spread, and it is devastating the Mountain West. There is a strong correlation between previous outbreaks of mountain beetles and forest fires 10 years after the event. We are now coming upon the 10-year time frame when the risk of forest fires is at its maximum.
This bill is of particular note to my home State of Colorado as it reinstates a vital program, the good neighbor authority, which is currently helping to protect communities from wildfire threats with collaboration at both the State and Federal levels. Collaboration is key to forest fire prevention. Climate modeling predicts a large change in the frequency of precipitation and intensity of drought in the area, which will only add to our increasing wildfire risk.
This bill provides a significant increase for programs that address wildland fire mitigation and suppression at both the Forest Service as well as within the Department of the Interior, and that will directly aid our communities that are most at risk. In past years, Federal wildfire accounts have fallen dangerously low. This bill provides $3.6 billion to address wildfires, including $1.49 billion for suppression and $611 million for hazardous fuels reduction. It also provides $357 million for wildland fire suppression contingency reserve funds, which are critical to protect the health of our communities and health of our public lands. This bill is an important part of our overall strategy to prevent forest fires across the West and on public lands across our country.
Madam Speaker, I would like to reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, the economy of Colorado and many other States rely on the health of our public lands. Our public lands draw visitors every year to explore Rocky Mountain National Park, hike the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness, or enjoy skiing on our hundreds of world-class slopes.
To protect the historic and natural beauty of our State and our country, this bill includes much-needed increases for both the national parks as well as the wildlife refuges. The $2.7 billion provided for the National Park Service includes a $100 million increase to operate the parks and $25 million for the Park Partnership Program.
I was lucky enough to have grown up in Boulder, Colorado, hiking in Mount Sanitas, the Flat Irons, and Flagstaff Mountain, areas under public management. This bill will protect and defend some of America's truly great public lands so that children all across the country can grow up enjoying our environment and interacting with it every day just as I and many of my colleagues did.
We provide over $500 million to operate the National Wildlife Refuge System, $20 million above the request. These funds will provide critically needed staff for many areas, implement climate change strategies and improve conservation efforts. Currently more than 200 of the 550 National Wildlife Refuges have no on-site staff. This bill also provides $386 million for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, including an $11 million increase for the stateside land acquisition account in the National Park Service.
Colorado's landscape goes hand in hand with its character. All of us define where we come from by the character of our natural heritage. We're lucky to have as many beautiful places across our country set aside as public lands. Over half of the State of Colorado is held in public trust as a national forest. My district is home to the Indian Peaks Wilderness and the White River. The White River is the single most visited national forest in the Nation, and we have many other marvelous attractions as well in the public trust.
This bill invests in public land management, State assistance, and science programs at the U.S. Forest Service. The nonfire Forest Service budget is $2.77 billion, including $100 million for the Legacy Road and Trail Remediation Program at the Forest Service to protect streams and water systems from damaged forest roads. This effort is a key part of our effort to protect the national forests and grasslands.
American arts and artists, not to mention their invaluable impact on education and recreation, are another important American resource which we must protect. Under this bill, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities will each receive $170 million, a $15 million increase above 2009 for each endowment. This bill also supports the Smithsonian Institution here in Washington, D.C. and across the country, the world's largest museum complex, with an increase of $15 million above the President's request and $43 million above 2009 levels.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, with regard to fiscal responsibility, this is an issue that we all care about for this generation and future generations. Americans across the country are tightening their belts in response to our financial meltdown, and the government is doing the same.
Opponents of this bill may claim that the $4.7 billion increase over 2009 is extravagant or unwise. But the programs in this bill are expected to return more than $14.5 billion to the Treasury next year. The Department of the Interior alone has estimated to return more than $13 billion to the Treasury through oil, gas, and coal revenues, grazing and timber fees, recreation fees and the revenues from the sale of the duck stamps, not to mention the secondary impact of tourism on economies like the one in my district in Colorado. And the EPA's Leaking Underground Storage Tank program, which is financed by a 0.1 percent tax per gallon of gas, has a balance of more than $3 billion that offsets the deficit.
The provisions in this bill have been built with strong bipartisan support and were designed to pay for themselves. And by protecting the health of our Nation's drinking water, boosting support for our beautiful parks and wild lands, and, in turn, our national tourism industry, and reducing the threat of global climate change, I can't think of a wiser investment to make or a better time to make it than now.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, the jobs that this bill creates are very real: repairing our roads, doing trail work. Over 40,000 jobs are created, just as real as the jobs that are created under the American Recovery Program.
As I was driving through the mountain area of my district just last week, I saw signs alongside the road that these jobs are created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. There were men and women at work making necessary improvements in our infrastructure and preparing it for the next generation. This bill provides crucial investment in America's resources, natural and human.
As representatives of the people and land of this great Nation, it's our responsibility to protect our resources and be good stewards of our forests, our parks, our wild lands, and our waters. This bill reinforces that imperative and makes sure that we keep our resources safe and take great steps to ensure that future generations will be able to enjoy them for years to come.
I urge a ``yes'' vote on the previous question and the rule.
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