Bruce Westerman: “I thank the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gosar), my friend and colleague, for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, I rise…”

“I thank the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gosar), my friend and colleague, for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3905, the Minnesota's Economic Rights in the Superior National Forest Act, or the MINER Act. This act does not remove or reduce the permitting requirements should a future project ultimately be developed in the Superior National Forest. But nearly a year after President Obama's departure from the White House, I stand before this body to speak in favor of a bill that would rectify an injustice placed upon Minnesotans by the previous administration. As we have heard throughout this debate, on President Obama's last day in office, the previous administration pulled such a politically motivated stunt that appears more as a thumb-in-the-eye of hardworking Minnesotans than sound policy. Without a second thought, and one stroke of his pen, President Obama proposed withdrawing over 200,000 acres from future mineral exploration while, simultaneously, rejecting a renewal application for a hard rock mining operation that had been renewed in 1989 and 2004, without controversy. This decision endangered thousands of jobs. These are good-paying jobs that are significantly higher than the median average wage in Minnesota and the United States.…”