Alan Lowenthal

I believe it is important to listen to these local voices regarding the impacts of oil and gas development, and what that will mean to the Coastal Plain and the way of life that it sustains.

For the oil and gas industry, it is a promising cash cow, with billions of dollars of oil awaiting to be sold.

And for the Gwich'in people, it is simply sacrosanct. They call it, 'the sacred place where life begins.'

But destroying a wilderness to get a $1 billion offset to a $1.5 trillion tax bill is clearly not about fiscal responsibility.

But for others, such as myself and the majority of Americans, it is a fragile ecosystem with exceptional wilderness values.

I think we should all be able to agree that decisions about the future of the Arctic Refuge should be made thoughtfully, carefully, and with an understanding that this is a one-way street.

We are proud to share the work we have accomplished to increase responsible access to public lands, streamline administrative processes, and provide savings to the American taxpayers without sacrificing environmental protections.

Production of domestic energy keeps energy prices low for American families and businesses, reduces our dependence on foreign oil, creates American jobs, and generates billions of dollars in revenue to states and the Federal Treasury.

I am pleased and proud to stand here in support of H.R. 1, but I am especially proud that H.R. 1 contains the Redistricting Reform Act, legislation that was introduced by Representatives Lofgren, Brownley, and myself. This legislation…

How successful have you been in terms of actually reducing speed?

If that is the case, why are these restrictions not mandatory? And why are we not enforcing them, then?

I look forward to working with my colleagues, and especially I want to include my cochair of the PORTS Caucus, Randy Weber.

I strongly support the passage of this bipartisan public lands package. This broad, sweeping legislation is important because it includes provisions that will permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund, but it will also…

Forty percent of our Nation's goods come in and out of the port area in my district.

I represent an area that is impacted by climate change very much, southern California--sea level rise.

I still--I have circled in his--but emissions are--no matter what--even though what we are doing--emissions are still rising.

I think that much of what we have done in California, I am wondering how that translates to the rest of the Nation.

What we are talking about here is the national emergency that the Nation confronts, and the planet confronts.

it's my intention as Chairman to run this Subcommittee in a way that keeps the discussion thoughtful and respectful, based on facts, and with an eye toward finding agreement whenever possible.

I know this is doubted by some of my colleagues on the other side, who say we have no jurisdiction over climate change and no reason to discuss it. That is flat-out wrong.

I think that is just not right.

There must be changes in how we produce and use energy in this country.

Putting all your chips on fossil fuels I think now is a bad bet, and we need to at least address those issues.

There is no doubt that a transition away from fossil fuels to zero-emission energy sources is essential.

I would like to follow up on something that Mr. Gosar... used to, at the end of the hearing, ask all the panelists if there is one question they would have liked to have been asked and what their answer would be.