This amendment is one more controversial poison pill rider that sadly shows that the extreme Republicans are not interested in bills that can gain bipartisan support and become law. In 2012, before the Bush tax cuts, the Congressional…

I want to be clear. Congressional funding and inclusion in the annual appropriations bill is congressional oversight of the EPA. That is what Chairman Simpson, I, and the other members of the committee do every year so there is oversight…

I would just reiterate that I oppose this amendment that would defund the National Endowment for the Humanities. I thank the chair for his eloquent remarks about the importance of it in Idaho. Idaho and Maine have a lot in common. Our…

I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chair, may I inquire how much time is remaining? The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Idaho has 3\1/2\ minutes remaining.

To close, I appreciate the words of Mr. Simpson, and I appreciate his acknowledgment that it is the rural communities, whether in his State of Idaho or my State of Maine, where there are so many communities that don't have the benefit of…

I am just so sad that we have to debate this amendment to eliminate funding for the National Endowment for the Arts. The NEA is the Federal agency that funds, promotes, and strengthens the creative capacity of our communities by providing…

I demand a recorded vote. The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Pennsylvania will be postponed. Amendment No. 60 Offered by Mr. Perry The Acting CHAIR. It…

This amendment is back again. I think it is still deja vu all over again because this is now the third time we have taken up this amendment. It is to, once again, eliminate the Council on Environmental Quality. We have a pending roll call…

I claim time in opposition to this amendment. The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Maine is recognized for 5 minutes.

I am pretty sure this is deja vu all over again. I think we have already had an amendment to cut or eliminate the Council on Environmental Quality. This one does it by cutting 36 percent. This office is responsible for coordinating the…

I claim the time in opposition to this amendment. The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Maine is recognized for 5 minutes.

To be clear, I fully support all oversight efforts and believe the mission of the inspectors general across government is vital, but I disagree with the offset and the treatment of the EPA in this bill generally. In the base bill, the EPA…

I want to address some of the same concerns about this amendment as I did in the previous amendment. To be clear, I fully support active forest management at the Forest Service. I feel very bad about the wildfires that have occurred in…

I want to be clear. I fully support hazardous fuels reduction activities at the BLM. I am so sorry for the wildfires that have occurred in Colorado and in so many other States across our Nation. I come from the most forested State in the…

This is another partisan amendment that wastes more time on a bill that should go nowhere. Cutting $15,000 and taking away the Cabinet Secretary's ability to host Tribal members and other important dignitaries is just petty. At a time when…

Let's just remember, we are here to protect the welfare of the American public, and we cannot close our eyes to the impacts of climate change: the drought, the flooding, the severe storms, the wildfire events that we are experiencing…

I demand a recorded vote. The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from Wyoming will be postponed. Amendment No. 16 Offered by Mr. DeSaulnier The Acting CHAIR. It…

Once again, this is a terribly misguided amendment to completely defund and eliminate the Council on Environmental Quality. I appreciate the remarks by the chair that, while in different administrations, we may feel differently about the…