Political Quotes

“I thank Chairman Gosar for his leadership on this and other issues in the Congressional Western Caucus. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation. Mr. Speaker, mining in the Superior National Forest, where these leases are located, has previously been authorized by Congress on several occasions. First in 1950, and again in 1978. With that bill--the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Act-- Congress established a compromise in which mining was prohibited within the 1.1 million acre Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, but specifically authorized in the Superior National Forest. Likewise, U.S. Forest Service plans for these areas have identified mining in these Superior Forest locations as a ``desired condition.'' Despite this longstanding precedent, in December of 2016, the Obama administration abruptly canceled mining leases that have been held and renewed for decades in northern Minnesota. Then in January, the day before leaving office, President Obama signed off on a mineral withdrawal for an area spanning 425,000 acres, including 95,000 acres of State school trust fund lands. There is a torrent of misinformation surrounding this bill, with alarmist groups begging that we ``save the Boundary Waters.'' Mr. Speaker, the Boundary Waters were saved in 1978. The low-impact mining arrangements that these mining leases entail do not endanger the Boundary Waters, which is itself protected by a significant buffer as well.…”