It is our duty to ensure that these lands and their diverse resources are maintained for many generations to come.

It simply does not make sense to manage resources according to political and jurisdictional boundaries.

I think it is true that elected officials have unique knowledge about the local community.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to agree with the Chairman that I think there may be more interest in this subject than you realize.

The Agency must have a process for managing their lands and resources that is efficient, effective, and responsive to our ever-changing needs.

What disappoints me even more is that there may very well be ways to improve the current Planning 2.0 proposal that both sides can agree on, but we are not going to learn it here today.

Planning 2.0 proposes to involve the public earlier and more often in the planning process.

Planning 2.0 is the BLM's first major proposal for updating their resource management planning process in over 30 years.

We are very concerned about some of the pending bills in the House that would unilaterally waive laws, and deny those living in the border region protections of those laws.

Securing the lands along our border is a serious responsibility, both at the Southern and Northern borders.

Some would have you believe that the only way to achieve border security is to throw our environmental protections out the window.

There is one person, in particular, who will have you believe that the only way to ensure our safety is to build a concrete wall across the entirety of the U.S.

However, important environmental laws do not need to be sacrificed in order to have Customs and Border Protection do its job.

I encourage the committee to work with these agencies to try to reach a meaningful, long-term solution.

It is clear to me that conservation biology is an accepted science practice, and one that has yielded incredible gains in species protection.

Do you believe that the authors of the Endangered Species Act intended for the species to remain on house arrest, unable to visit the places they go to eat, breed, and avoid conflict?

For me, the legislative history and a reading of the statute--the ESA is designed to conserve both the species identified as endangered or threatened with extinction and the ecosystems they depend on to survive.

my colleague, Representative Debbie Dingell, and I, led a bipartisan Michigan delegation letter that included 11 of our colleagues in Michigan, to raise concerns with regard to the impact these proposed cuts would have on our constituents

Congress must do more to improve the quality and the affordability of these services.

Long-term care financing is in a crisis state in this country and is one of the greatest threats to retirement security for seniors.

I personally was shocked to find that out and I think most Americans, especially putting their parents in nursing homes, would be.

I plan to introduce legislation some time this year to provide a federal role in long-term care financing.

I demand a recorded vote. The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Alaska will be postponed. Amendment No. 16 Offered by Mr. Huffman The Acting CHAIR. It is…

With nothing but the deepest respect for my colleague from Alaska--and I even want to tell him, I was afraid to stand up without getting clearance from one of your other good friends, the resident hunter in my household--but this amendment…

I have nothing but the utmost respect for my colleague from Alaska. I actually think that he and my spouse share the same sportsmanship policies of hunting, but this rule just simplifies and updates procedures for closing an area or…