Political Quotes

“I want to thank the gentlewoman from Wyoming for working with us on this issue, and I appreciate the concerns that she has raised and also that the gentleman from Utah has raised. The committee has attempted to address both the requests of the Department of Homeland Security and the interests of Members on both sides of the aisle in drafting section 547. It was narrowly tailored to address only the most necessary environmental mitigation activities directly related to border security construction, operations, and maintenance. It included strict controls on the transfer of funds from the Department of Homeland Security to the Department of the Interior, only where the Secretary of Homeland Security certifies that the transfer is absolutely necessary for border security and that the Department of Homeland Security does not have the authority to carry out the necessary activities. Further, the Secretary of the Interior must provide a detailed spend plan with advance notification, allowing the committee to reject the plan. The committee's interest was border security. Unfortunately, we were not able to balance the various viewpoints and the concerns to find the compromise in this process. For that reason, I support the Lummis amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.”