Jared Huffman

I consider this an opportunity for this body to act in a bipartisan fashion to address the humanitarian crisis that is gripping Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

I think we may disagree on the merits of Ms. Pingree's bill, and certainly I think we disagree on whether private property owners who want to donate land to help create national monuments should be allowed to do so.

This bill establishes the first Federal program to protect and improve working waterfronts that are so integral to these coastal economies.

I think this is a great bill. I like the fact that it recognizes the historic, social, and economic importance of waterfronts.

I am always looking for common ground, and I think I have found one thing that you and I can agree on.

I think this is a good bipartisan piece of legislation.

I appreciate the fact that we are here today talking about bills that have bipartisan support, and that is a good thing.

I thank the gentleman from Arizona for yielding. Mr. Chairman, this bill that we are debating today has been touted as Congress' solution to the longstanding issue of fire borrowing that has plagued the Forest Service. I represent a…

This is a bipartisan attempt to provide much-needed Federal support for working waterfronts across our country.

We don't always agree on legislation in this Subcommittee, but there are ways that we can and should work together.

I have a district that includes a ground fish fishery that has struggled in the past.

Do you believe that Mr. Rafael's assets should be sold to one company, as has been reported in the media, or broken up to prevent his crimes repeating?

I think it is really important that we ensure Federal capacity for hydrographic surveys, for mapping and charting.

I have spent a lot of time with my friend, Congressman Mike Thompson, over the past week because our districts neighbor each other. While the worst of this fire was in Congressman Thompson's district, portions of that terrible Santa Rosa…

I urge that $580,000 for the study and $150,000 for Independent External Peer Review be included in the FY 2017 work plan.

I urge inclusion of the associated costs of leading on this project in the USACE's budget.

This, after all, is an Act that is named after two bipartisan Senators. It could just as easily have been named after the bipartisan duo in the House.

Most importantly, instead of moving us back to the shakier and divided ground of the past, this draft bill builds on the solid and successful foundation of recent amendments to the MSA.

It is our duty to make them whole.

I hope this is a sign of more bipartisan cooperation to come.

I am confident that Congress will provide additional resources to aid in the recovery.

Let's work together to improve this law, and not weaken the very components of it that have made it successful over the last 40 years.

I am certain that our draft does not do everything that any one group wants, but it pulls together concepts from both sides of the aisle that have broad support across a range of fisheries stakeholders.

But I would be remiss if I did not point out the especially challenging circumstances faced by our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and remind members of the Committee of our duty to make them whole, as well.

I think that would be a good idea.