Jerry Moran: “I wish that our friends who just spoke on an amendment to add $20 million were still around, because their points are…”

“I wish that our friends who just spoke on an amendment to add $20 million were still around, because their points are well taken. We've already cut 78 percent from this program. The gentleman from Colorado wants to eliminate it entirely. The Land and Water Conservation Fund is one of the premier environmental programs in this country. Most Americans have no idea how important it has been to their quality of life and to the ecology of this great country. But by wiping out these funds entirely, the amendment would force land management agencies to cease all work on congressionally approved projects that are now under way using previous year appropriations. This mean-spirited amendment will hurt willing sellers--landowners who are willing to sell--because it's going to prevent agencies from finishing the commitments that are already in place. Among the willing sellers who would be unfairly thrown to the curb are owners who are partway through contracted sales and are counting on Land and Water Conservation funds to complete those sales, those contracts that they have already been working on. Many landowners, who range from elderly widowers and family trusts to ranchers and forest owners, have pressing financial needs that now depend on the completion of what are ongoing Land and Water Conservation projects. The amendment would also frustrate land exchanges that are currently in process.…”