Jared Huffman

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I want to thank the witnesses for traveling to be with us today and for their testimony.

the Republican budgets that have been passed in the past couple of years really take, they just take a hammer to children across America that rely on Head Start.

I met people where I was in the shelter that tried to get on their feet, but they could not, and without Head Start, I would still be one of them.

I think Sister, you said this highlights some of the diminished prospects that are all too common now, and that will be reinforced under these harsh Republican policies.

Doesn't OSM have a legal responsibility to adjust its rules according to the evolving science about the dangers of mountaintop removal mining?

I would tell the chairman I have no further speakers and am prepared to yield back if the chairman is prepared to close.

I am honored to rise in support of my first piece of legislation as a Member of Congress: H.R. 1411. This bill will add Mendocino's Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands to the California Coastal National Monument. Those of my colleagues who…

I thank the gentleman from the Northern Mariana Islands. Mr. Speaker, I would yield as much time as he may consume to my colleague, the gentleman from Monterey, California (Mr. Farr).

I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlelady from Nevada, Representative Titus.

Today's hearing continues a more than two-year effort by the Committee Majority to stop the Office of Surface Mining from protecting Appalachian streams and communities from destructive mountaintop removal mining.

Committee Republicans should end their wasteful and baseless investigation, and make their case on the merits.

But the Majority's endless and frivolous document requests are wasting taxpayers' money, and diverting OSM and the Interior Department from their core responsibilities of serving the American people.

mountaintop removal mining is dangerous. We risk great harm to children and families in surrounding communities without meaningful protections.

But I want to ask you about the rifeness of these accusations and whether they are premature.

(Mr. HUFFMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

We agree, the Three Kids Mine is an abandoned manganese mine and mill site located in Henderson, Nevada. This bill designates the combined 314 acres of private land and 948 acres of public land as the 1,262-acre Three Kids Mine Project…

Has anyone been denied the ability to build something because it was alleged to encroach on the flood plain?

Can anyone identify any regulatory power that the Blueway designation actually creates for any Federal agency?

What about recreation? Has anyone been prevented from recreating because of a Blueways designation or proposed Blueways designation?

I hope you will also consider the downstream interests, because this is not a one-dimensional situation.

So, I would invite you to comment on that, and also perhaps speak to what you are doing to reach out to and include all the different stakeholders in these challenging water issues.

How about water rights? Anyone lost any water as a result of the Blueways designation?

There was a suggestion that cattle might be kept 180 feet back if there was a Blueways designation.

What about property rights? There has been a suggestion that this could devalue or encroach upon or violate property rights.

How about the suggestion that this Blueways designation could somehow preempt local plans and authorities?