Garret Graves

If we were to charge fees under the auspices of using it for a particular purpose and then spending it elsewhere in the private sector, that is called embezzling. In the Federal Government that is called budgeting.

Welcome everyone to the hearing today: 'Building a 21st-Century Infrastructure for America: Water Resources Projects and Policy.'

The subcommittee will come to order.

I think we could identify a couple of sites in Colorado that would provide a good opportunity to demonstrate a pilot program.

I think it is taking advantage of projects where you have lots of potential partners and parties.

Absolutely, I would agree with that. I think it is critical to provide states with that type of liability protection to implement projects where the end result may not be meeting Clean Water Act standards but is an improvement to water…

What we typically term as a legacy site or an abandoned site in Colorado is that mining took place prior to environmental laws being enacted in Colorado.

I think it is in the best interest of each of our constituents to have accountability, whether we like or dislike the direction of the agency, to have that oversight, that accountability.

I don't think it is really going to fit or address some of the solutions there.

I want to thank you for that.

I think that would be a healthy debate, and I would encourage all my friends--

I want to be clear that I am very supportive of the objectives.

This is an effort to prevent regulation, to prevent litigation, getting on the front end, preventing endangered species, ensuring sustainability of habitat--I think it is very important.

I want to commend Mr. Fortenberry and Mrs. Dingell for introducing this legislation, the objectives of which I could not be more supportive of.

I think we have to have better discussion, more discussion about is this a Federal resource or is it not.

You can manage, these things can co-exist.

I have spent 20 years of my life busting my butt to restore our coast and protect our coastal environment.

So, all these people sitting here saying, oh well, this is suddenly an awful situation, where were you when President Obama was there?

We have bought all these natural resources and protected these grounds all over the United States, which I support, if bought from willing sellers.

You are saying that the state of California should unilaterally be able to determine what happens with the Federal resources off the coast of their state.

President Obama and President Trump have issued these budget documents and they said that this is a Federal resource that belongs to all Americans and they all should benefit from it.

We have paid for land and water conservation funds.

This committee, in December, I believe it was, passed H.R. 4460. It allowed for, basically, eliminating a policy obstacle...

So, if you can improve the efficiency of that transportation system, you are reducing gasoline payments, you are reducing emissions into the environment...

Many of our issues are with redundant permissions.