Department Of The Interior, Environment, And Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010

Floor Speech

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Mr. COLE. I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I must begin by expressing two reservations about the legislation in front of us. The first is the manner in which it arrived at the floor. Like my colleagues on my side, we're used to and treasure the idea that appropriations bills should come to this floor under an open rule so every Member can come forward and offer good suggestions, and the product can be improved. We didn't do that in this case, and I think that's regrettable. The bill would have been better; and frankly, I think the process a little less rancorous.

Second, I want to express my sentiments in agreement with Mr. Simpson about the spending levels here. There's a lot of good projects in this bill. But whether or not we can sustain them over the long term I think is a very legitimate question that we're going to have to wrestle with again and again in bill after bill.

Having said that, Madam Chairwoman, I'd like to balance my comments with three very positive observations about this product. The first is the process under which we arrived at a bill. I have to echo Mr. Simpson's appreciation for Chairman Dicks' wonderful cooperation and open process. Certainly the chairman and the ranking member worked together well. They included all of this, and I'm very grateful for that.

Second, I agree with the chairman and the ranking member's emphasis on the importance of water projects. I too represent many small communities that struggle to have sufficient revenue to actually build the water systems they need. That's an appropriate focus, and I am grateful for that. And finally, Madam Chairwoman, all too often in this body the First Americans have been the last Americans. That's certainly not the case in this bill. The chairman, in particular, deserves extraordinary credit for the effort and resources he's put behind Native American concerns in health care, law enforcement and education. I am personally very grateful for it. It's one of the best efforts we've seen certainly in over a decade.

In conclusion, Madam Chairwoman, I hope we can do a little bit better going forward in working on the spending and the prioritization. But I appreciate the process, and I'm confident we can improve this bill as we work it through.

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