Raúl Grijalva: “After September 30, the authorization for the Land and Water Conservation Fund expires. That date is a looming date for…”

“After September 30, the authorization for the Land and Water Conservation Fund expires. That date is a looming date for the Republican leadership of this House. With it comes the talk and potential of a government shutdown. Other critical programs that face reauthorization are also ending on September 30. Part of the issue of leadership is to allow the House to work its will. Until this House has the opportunity to deal with this issue of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, we will continue to not know its status and we will watch the agonizingly slow and painful dismantling and end of this program. The reauthorization has, in its history, been bipartisan and bicameral. This legislation enjoys bipartisan and bicameral support. Both Republican and Democratic colleagues are part of the 165 sponsors of the legislation in the House. The compromise in that committee was between the ranking member and the chair of that committee in the Senate. So I think it behooves us to look at this fund, for every day past the 30th of September $2.5 million will be lost to that fund, money that we cannot afford to lose. Mr.…”