Federal land ownership is a heated, but critical, topic in my home state of Utah, and I appreciate the Committee for holding a hearing and advancing this dialogue.

I rise in support of H.R. 461, the South Utah Valley Electric Conveyance Act of 2011. I would first like to thank the chairman and the ranking member of the Natural Resources Committee for advancing this needed bill to the floor. It…

It is neither logical nor responsible for the Federal government to own and manage surplus lands.

The current land disposal and exchange system is broken.

The federal government owns a disproportionate amount of land and is seemingly doing little to reverse the trend.

That is one of the problems that we have down there.

It enjoys broad public support in Michigan and especially locally.

Locking-up lands throughout the West has the potential to restrict access for energy production, recreation, and other job-creating activities.

This is an important hearing.

I can tell you that maintaining and protecting access to the lakeshore is absolutely vital as a part of that economy.

That was just viewed as completely unacceptable.

The road to this piece of legislation has not been an easy one.

You talk about magnets. You put in place some magnet that draw illegals to this state which was giving $100,000 of tuition credit to illegals that come to this country, and then you have states -- you have states -- the big states of…

You talked about magnets. You put in place a magnet to draw illegals into the state, which was giving $100,000 of tuition credit to illegals that come into this country, and then you have states -- the big states of illegal immigrants are…

I think there are a number of features in the Massachusetts plan that could inform Washington on ways to improve health care for all Americans.

astonishing failure to secure an orderly transition in Iraq.

Mr. President, I hope to be able to work with my colleagues on the other side. This should not be a difficult exercise. It is just a smart thing to do. Once again, I am certain this amendment would have the support of a broad majority, a…

Mr. President, 20 years ago this week Justice Clarence Thomas took his seat on the Supreme Court of the United States. With the expectation that these are only the first two of his decades on the Court, I want to offer a few thoughts about…