Political Quotes

“Madam Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in opposition to H.R. 1373, the so-called Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act. It is an antimining attack on northern Arizona and my district. This legislation imposes a massive land grab of more than one million acres, permanently banning mining and other multiple-use activities in an area nearly the size of Delaware. The withdrawal is also, I would like to point out, very far outside the Grand Canyon. The actual Grand Canyon, of course, is already subject to a multitude of Federal protections. Around one-third of the proposed withdrawal area in this bill is in my district. The rest is in Representative O'Halleran's district. And none of the lands in this bill are in the sponsor of this bill, Representative Grijalva's, district. This bill would have direct negative impacts on six counties in Arizona and Utah, with an estimated two to 4,000 jobs lost and $29 billion in foregone overall economic activity. The withdrawal area also contains 4,204 acres belonging to the Arizona State Land Department for the benefit of Arizona's school children. This withdrawal will mean hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue for local communities and for our schools. I think every single school district is hurting for money in Arizona. Further, the majority of the active and historic mining claims are in my district, and the main point of this bill is to lock up those lands for mineral development.…”