John Chenoweth: “there are few people in this Congress that I have more respect for than the chairman of the House Resources Committee…”

“there are few people in this Congress that I have more respect for than the chairman of the House Resources Committee, Don Young, and some of the other hardworking members of the Committee. But I must oppose this so-called Presidio Package, H.R. 4236. Although there are many good things in this bill--badly needed boundary adjustments and local land exchange benefiting many worthy communities, to name a few--I simply cannot vote for a bill that creates five (5) new national parks, establishes as many as eleven (11) heritage areas, and facilities any number of other Federal designations that expand Federal ownership and control over public and private property. I would consider anything but a ``No'' vote on H.R. 4236 a dereliction of my duty as a Member of Congress from Idaho who came to this body promising to rein in our ever-expanding Federal Government. Although my Chairman and other Members speak eloquently of this compromise package, when boiled down to its essence, this bill expands the Federal Government's control on our land base. Mr. Speaker, I would also like to object to the method by which this more than 600 page bill was brought to the Floor.”