Grace Napolitano: “I thank the ranking member on the committee for allowing me this time. Mr. Chairman, I rise to speak in opposition to…”

“I thank the ranking member on the committee for allowing me this time. Mr. Chairman, I rise to speak in opposition to H.R. 2578, the Republican lands package. Specifically, I do oppose title XIV, which is H.R. 1565 of H.R. 2578, the National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act. This legislation creates a 100-mile--as explained by Mr. Markey--from the north border and 100 miles from the south border inland. You might call it operational control, or if you want to call it drone zone, it still waives over 36 landmark laws to give Homeland Security complete operational control and immediate access to these lands. Some of these 36 laws that would be suspended in all or part of the 18 States affected would include the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Air Act, hazardous waste laws, tribal preservation law, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and the National Park Service Organic Act. This legislation overreaches in waiving dozens of environmental laws disguised as a solution for immigration reform. Guess again. I was born and raised in the border town of Brownsville, Texas. My hometown is within this Operational Control Zone, or drone zone, if you want to call it that. I am currently the ranking member of the Water and Power Subcommittee, with jurisdiction over the Bureau of Reclamation, and several of the projects owned and operated by Reclamation are in this drone zone.…”