Mike Simpson

I don't want to pit any programs against each other, I simply want to focus our efforts on using the long-time practice of existing energy revenues to fix public lands.

We are also considering the Legacy Act, introduced by Congressman Hurd.

I am thankful to Congressman Hurd, Ranking Member Hanabusa, Congressman Garamendi, and Congressman Schrader for supporting this bill in an effort to fix our parks.

I introduced the LAND Act to help pay for both backlog maintenance and the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

Would it be helpful to have a change of statute, so that you had to do reforestation after wildfires?

So while doing the budget cap adjustment is an important step, addressing the 10-year average is a necessary step in trying to do the full fix to solve the wildfire funding.

I am hopeful we are going to get it done this year, and it seems like we have some agreement between leadership in the House and the Senate.

I want to thank you and your staff for the help you have been in trying to do this wildfire fix that I have been working on for 4 or 5 years.

I am a little concerned that we are using existing funds in the appropriation to address the wildfires.

No lives left behind.

That return on investment is harder to measure right now.

Help us help you by educating the public that it is their tax dollars that are doing this through NIH.

Over 80 percent of the NIH funding goes to extramural grants to you all.

I don't even pay any attention to what is going on with the administration because I don't care. They're a distraction. The family is a distraction, the president is a distraction.

This budget request reflects the importance of the Department of Energy's national security responsibilities.

We have got a WRDA target that is about $375 million or something like that, a million above what the request was for

That is amazing. As I read your report last night, and I did read all of it.

I am pleased that the Administration has taken steps to provide relief from the WOTUS and CERCLA financial assurance rule.

The Rural Water Technical Assistance Program is very important to these communities for being able to get that assistance that they would not be able to afford otherwise.

I am introducing another bill that you might be interested in that I would like the Department to take a look at.

We live in Idaho because we love our public lands.

The Administration's budget is just in general terms disappointing, especially after all the work we have done on this committee

We need to have a broader discussion on how to deal with this.

But it is a difficult issue because I will tell you that the lost coal mining jobs in Appalachia region is no different than the lost timber jobs in Idaho.

Mr. Chairman, I just want you to know that in parts of Idaho, we consider Californians an invasive species.