Raúl Grijalva: “I offer my amendment to strike section 433 regarding the availability of vacant grazing allotments and waiving one of…”

“I offer my amendment to strike section 433 regarding the availability of vacant grazing allotments and waiving one of our key environmental laws. While grazing on our public lands is an important part of our Nation's culture and economy, this section of the appropriations bill is redundant and unnecessary. The BLM and Forest Service already have the authority to transfer permits when grazing lands are deemed unusable. Furthermore, this section would have the effect of waiving section 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA. NEPA is one of our Nation's bedrock environmental laws, serving to establish policies to protect our air, water, and our natural resources. Section 102 of NEPA contains key provisions to make sure that Federal agencies act according to the spirit and letter of the law. By stating that section 102 shall not apply to agency actions, this bill is, in essence, waiving NEPA and putting our public lands at risk. Our Federal agencies did not ask for a NEPA waiver, and Congress should not be in the business of dictating to professional land managers when they should or should not have the flexibility to use NEPA in making land management decisions. Allowing section 433 to be included in the appropriations bill could have unintended consequences for our public lands and environment, particularly when conditions on the ground change.…”