Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I rise to offer an amendment that will reaffirm Congress' support for the enforcement of grazing fees on public lands. Grazing on public lands is a privilege, not a right, and it is critical that individual ranchers who use these lands abide by the law and pay their fair share. My commonsense amendment simply confirms that grazing permits or leases should not be issued to anyone who does not comply with BLM regulations. My amendment does not penalize people for forgetting to repair a fence or for forgetting to make a payment once or twice. Rather, this amendment ensures that egregious violations of grazing regulations are not going to be allowed to happen under the taxpayers' watch, as there are American taxpayers who work every day to ensure that all of their regulations are met. Mr. Chairman, revenues from grazing fees go toward the management, maintenance, and improvement of public rangeland. The vast majority of ranchers understands how important these efforts are and pay their fees on time, but some ranchers are outright refusing to pay their grazing fees. One particular rancher, who is well known to the media, has been more than $1 million in arrears since 1993. He has ignored the executive and judicial branches of our government, expanding his herds further onto our lands without permission. Unauthorized grazing, such as in this case, has the potential to destroy habitat for protected species and to damage public property.…”