Bruce Westerman: “I thank my friend and colleague from Wyoming (Ms. Cheney) for yielding to me. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of…”

“I thank my friend and colleague from Wyoming (Ms. Cheney) for yielding to me. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this rule for H.R. 3905 as well as the underlying bill. Mr. Speaker, earlier this year I had the opportunity to travel to Minnesota with Minnesota Congressmen Emmer and Nolan and others to visit the Superior National Forest in northeast Minnesota. While northeast Minnesota is a long way from the Fourth District of Arkansas, the people, areas, and the economics are somewhat similar. This is a rural area where local economies and constituencies depend on the ability to sustainably and responsibly harvest and mine the natural resources found there. Unfortunately, the previous administration placed the wants of special interest environmental groups before the needs of Minnesotans and others who depend on natural resources management. In my opinion, they trampled our Article I constitutional authority of the legislative branch when doing so. On January 19, 2017, one day before President Trump was sworn in, the Obama administration published a 235,000-acre Federal mineral withdrawal application in the Federal Register to impose a 20-year moratorium on lands within the Superior National Forest in northeast Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, this was in direct conflict with the will of Congress and the law going back to when the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness was established.…”