George Miller: “I rise in support of the Porter-Farr-Ehlers amendment. I think it a well-reasoned amendment, for reasons my colleagues…”

“I rise in support of the Porter-Farr-Ehlers amendment. I think it a well-reasoned amendment, for reasons my colleagues from New York just reiterated. It is also very fiscally responsible for those of us who are concerned about the Federal Treasury and potential raid on the Treasury that the underlying legislation holds out. It is also a good amendment because it keeps in place what happens in most instances under the current laws, and under the current laws the matters between the enforcement of the Endangered Species Act, more importantly the enforcement with the Clean Water Act is a matter of negotiations between the landowner and the local agency and the Federal Government about how that land shall be developed or not be developed, and to bring it into compliance with the purposes of both the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act. We are all well aware, you cannot serve in the Congress of the United States and not be aware that we have had enforcement of these laws that defies common sense, that we have had enforcement of these laws that is about the arrogance of an agency.”