Political Quotes

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for yielding. I rise in support of H.R. 4089, the Sportsmen's Heritage Act. I have appreciated the opportunity and have helped with the introduction of legislation that will protect and enhance opportunities for recreational hunting, fishing, and shooting. I am proud that the Recreational Shooting Protection Act, legislation that I introduced earlier this year, is a critical measure towards protecting the rights of recreational shooters and is included in the bill that we're debating today. As I stand here, the Bureau of Land Management is actively working to ban recreational shooting in both the Sonoran Desert and Ironwood Forest National Monument in Arizona. That's more than 600,000 acres of taxpayer-supported public lands that, if the administration had its druthers, would be closed to recreational shooting in my State of Arizona alone. Don't be confused; this isn't just an Arizona issue. In 2010 alone, the agency unilaterally closed more than 400,000 acres across three States to recreational shooting. Just as troubling as the closures themselves is the process by which they're coming about. The mechanism for these closures is just bureaucratic fiat. Too often, the BLM seems quick to point to the action of some bad actors and just as quick to ignore that many recreational shooting enthusiasts responsibly use their Federal lands and the existing laws already on the books that make disreputable actions illegal already.…”