Raúl Grijalva: “My amendment would limit the Administration's ability to co-opt important public lands for an unnecessary, hateful, and…”

“My amendment would limit the Administration's ability to co-opt important public lands for an unnecessary, hateful, and expensive wall at our Southern border--my home region. This amendment would defund Section 2 of the President's National Emergency Declaration by barring agencies from using the funds appropriated in this bill to turn parks, wildlife refuges, and other public lands into a militarized border zone administered by agencies lacking the expertise to take good care of them. Our border lands are comprised of a diverse array of ecosystems that support over 100 different endangered or threatened species, per a 2016 Fish and Wildlife Service report. The border wall would fragment important habitats, limiting the ability of animals to find food, water, and potential mates across their range. We always need to be conscientious of the ways that any major federal project affects our natural world. But when the project is so hateful and useless, and when it impacts such vulnerable ecological communities, we must do something. I refuse to stand by while our President abuses his powers to remove jurisdiction over our public lands from the agencies best able to take care of them. They are our heritage, not an expendable construction zone. Trump's border wall is unnecessary, harmful and ineffective.…”