Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the rule and the underlying bill. The underlying bill contains a wish list of provisions from far-left environmentalists that prevent job creation and energy development in rural communities. One in particular is the proposed buffer zone around the Chaco Canyon national park. This provision is an assault on the private property rights of hundreds of Navajo allottees who own oil and gas rights in the area surrounding the park. This buffer expansion in this bill would make these assets worthless, taking away valuable royalty payments from these impoverished communities. To put this in perspective, in 2015 alone, the Federal Indian Minerals Office distributed $96 million to 20,835 allottees around the country. Instead of listening to all voices, the proponents of this provision have only listened to environmental groups who claim to represent all the relevant stakeholders on this matter but clearly do not. Allottees in the Chaco region have consistently expressed opposition to this proposed withdrawal. Any uncertainty amongst the oil and gas industry when it comes to the ability to extract oil and gas from this region has negative consequences for them and the local economy. In my role as the ranking member of the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, I sent two of my staff to meet with Navajo allottees in New Mexico.…”