Raúl Grijalva: “The American people are getting ripped off in this bill. The Chilean mining conglomerate behind this bill makes out like…”

“The American people are getting ripped off in this bill. The Chilean mining conglomerate behind this bill makes out like a bandit. They get two expired leases back, as well as exemptions from several key environmental laws that could be used to stop any of their dreams of massive profits from a giant copper mine. The American people are the ones that are getting ripped off. This land is being given away for next to nothing. For the past 50 years, the leaseholder has been paying rent of $1 an acre per year. Think about that, $1 an acre per year, unchanged for 50 years. The American people are the landlords here. They are charging the Chilean company about $420 per month for 5,000 acres of prime land right next to the most visited wilderness area in the country. {time} 1630 I can only imagine how many hardworking Americans would desperately love to be guaranteed having only to pay $420 a month for their homes for as long as they want, particularly if their home was over 2 million square feet, as these leases are. But we are not talking about someone building a house here. We are talking about a giant, destructive copper-sulfide mine that threatens one of the greatest unspoiled natural spaces in the country, the Boundary Waters Wilderness. Don't be fooled by the claims that the Boundary Waters are protected in this bill. They are not even remotely protected.…”