They are the ones who have carried this banner, they are the ones who have passed this legislation.

I think I am excited about the three bills that we are taking up today.

I have helped introduce the Rebuilding Rural Roads Act, which Congressman Finstad from southern Minnesota and I lead.

I also have cosponsored the Simplifying Grants Act, which would require Government agencies to simplify the difficult process.

If we had a say in the final bill, we probably wouldn't have had so many discretionary grant programs.

I am proud to co-sponsor this important legislation to promote habitat conservation from the ground up.

I would like to enter into the record a stack of pretend money, we affectionately call it 'Bruce bucks,' as evidence of the actual value of the investments from this legislation.

We know for sure that under this bill there are going to be some cuts: $1.4 billion rescinded from the IRA and IIJA.

the most compelling reason to support H.R. 7408 is the urgency that we see every single day on the landscape.

To be clear, that is not exactly true. This bill doesn't invest anything because it doesn't appropriate any additional money.

The bill imposes congressional oversight on the expenditure of taxpayer money.

This legislation would invest in state wildlife programs such as congressionally-mandated State Wildlife Action Plans.

I would like to thank Congresswoman Dingell and the other Members of the Subcommittee who supported that legislation for your efforts on this important issue.

This formed the foundation of Representative Debbie Dingell's bipartisan Recovering America's Wildlife Act, or RAWA.

this bill that we are considering today is all we got.

It passed with bipartisan support in the 117th Congress.

Again, I want to thank each of you for being here today and providing the testimony that you have, working with us to put forth a bill that is actually going to succeed at recovering species, rather than being used as a zoning mechanism to control land and water use.

I cannot support the America's Wildlife Habitat Conservation Act because, simply put, it doesn't meet the recommendations laid out by the blue ribbon panel.