Political Quotes

“I would like to thank my good friend and colleague, the gentleman from Texas, for taking the time to lead on this important conversation about the size of the U.S. Federal footprint. It is a conversation that many Americans, specifically those living east of the Mississippi River, have never had to think much about. However, in Western States like my home State of Arizona, we face unfair burdens on our communities due to the fact that over 90 percent of all Federal land is located in the West. In Arizona, only 18 percent of the land remaining in the State is privately held. Where land is locked up by the Federal Government, the government controls all aspects of use, development, and access. Local school districts and businesses suffer, having no private land base to grow or tax to support infrastructure. Imagine the impact on corn if only 18 percent of the land in Iowa was privately held, or cotton production in Mississippi or oranges grown in Florida. The agriculture that defines many Eastern States would be severely limited if they faced the same Federal footprint that Arizona and Western farmers must confront. Farmers and ranchers in the West face a tsunami of bureaucracy preventing them from doing their jobs. Additionally, energy development, including traditional and renewable energy, is almost nonexistent on Federal lands.…”