Political Quotes

“I wanted to take a few minutes today to talk about the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies bill. I happen to be the ranking member on that Appropriations Subcommittee. I thought it might be interesting to actually talk about what is contained in one of these six appropriations bills that are on the floor while discussions are going on as to how we move forward now. I am one who is proud of the committee product that we have produced. It was not easy, by any stretch of the imagination. It is always hard, but this year it has been even harder. This is an Agency within the Interior that really has oversight of all of our major Federal land management agencies. This is the National Park Service, this is the Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency--the EPA. Included in this broader bill is funding for essential Indian health, education, and resource management programs through the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Indian Health Service. And then, just to add more complexity in terms of the scope of our committee, we also provide funding for important cultural institutions like the Smithsonian, the National Gallery of Art, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Humanities. So it is a pretty broad appropriations priorities.…”