Nancy Pelosi: “I rise in opposition to the Interior appropriations bill before us today. It is a bill rife with Federal giveaways--an…”

“I rise in opposition to the Interior appropriations bill before us today. It is a bill rife with Federal giveaways--an interesting juxtaposition given the Republican interest in balancing the budget and reforming welfare and other programs for the poor. The real message is: It's OK to attack welfare for the poor, but do not question Federal welfare to those who can make billions off our Federal lands with a minuscule return to the Government. Why are we offering this giveaway to those who benefit from the largesse of our natural resources, and at the expense of our public lands and our Federal Treasury? The biggest giveaway in the bill is the fire sale of our Federal lands and their mineral deposits to a single beneficiary--the mining industry. And this is done in the name of mining reform. This isn't reform; this is a retreat. The House is already on record opposing what the Senate has included in H.R. 1977. We voted 271 to 153 in opposition to lifting the moratorium on mining claim patents--only 2 months ago. Now, we are retreating from this vote and our position against this giveaway. Mining companies stand to gain millions, or billions, in mining these underground resources with literally no return to the Federal Government. If this is Republican reform, then I can only imagine what is in store for the American people. Let's look at real reform and let's stand by the vote we took in July and let's not rip off the American people.”