Ken Calvert: “As I mentioned, so long as sage-grouse are not under imminent threat of extinction, cooperative conservation must be…”

“As I mentioned, so long as sage-grouse are not under imminent threat of extinction, cooperative conservation must be given a chance to work. That is why this bill maintains a 1-year delay in any decision to list the sage-grouse along with full funding to implement conservation efforts. House consideration of this bill is the next step in a long legislative process. I hope, over the coming months, we will come together, as we do each year, to find common ground. In that spirit, I look forward to continuing to work with Ms. McCollum and Members of the House on both sides of the aisle. As this bill moves forward, hopefully, the Senate will act on a bill soon, and we will be able to get back to regular order, which is, I think, the hope for both sides. In closing, I want to thank the staffs on both sides for their hard work on this bill. On the minority side, I would like to thank Rick Healy, Rita Culp, Joe Carlile, as well as Rebecca Taylor. They played an integral role in the process, and their efforts are very much appreciated. On the majority side, I would like to thank subcommittee staff Kristin Richmond, Jackie Kilroy, Betsy Bina, Jason Gray, Darren Benjamin, and Dave LesStrang. On my personal staff, I would also like to thank Ian Foley, Rebecca Keightley, Alexandra Berenter, and Tricia Evans for their great work. Mr. Chairman, this is a good bill, and I have enjoyed the debate over the last couple of days.…”