Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012

Floor Speech

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Mr. LANDRY. I move to strike the last word, Mr. Chairman.

The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Louisiana is recognized for 5 minutes.

Mr. LANDRY. I find it very amusing that the gentleman from Virginia and the gentleman from Washington would use an argument that we are overburdening a Federal agency when it is that side of the aisle that has a tendency to overburden and overregulate and demand reporting from our private sector. They have no problem asking the private sector to report things to the government so that they can discern whether or not the private sector is conducting its business accordingly.

And when this amendment comes up--and we're simply asking for transparency in order to see whether or not my constituents are being disingenuous or whether it is the government that is being disingenuous in the permitting process. That is simply all we're asking here.

This allows us to help separate fact from fiction as to whether or not BOEMRE is rejecting permits for ridiculous reasons or legitimate reasons.

And so, again, it just amazes me that when we have an opportunity to shed a little light on a Federal agency that the party who has claimed that it's all about transparency and open government is now trying to shield that agency.

Therefore, Mr. Chairman, I believe this amendment should fail.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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