Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I rise to offer my amendment that prohibits any funds from being used to designate the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness located within the Superior National Forest in northern Minnesota as a national monument under the Antiquities Act. The Superior National Forest is a working industrial forest, and it should always remain one. Responsible mining and responsible timber harvesting are desired traits of the forest. Mining and timber harvesting are part of our way of life in northern Minnesota, and they exist hand in hand with recreation and conservation. This amendment protects our way of life and protects against an activist administration here in Washington taking steps to change it. In December 2016, while they were on their way out of office, the Obama-Biden administration made a last-minute Antiquities Act designation for Bears Ears in southeastern Utah. The amendment before you today is an insurance policy to ensure that the Biden-Harris administration doesn't make a last-ditch effort to do the same and designate a new monument in northern Minnesota which would jeopardize desired responsible use of the Superior National Forest, again, a working industrial forest. Contrary to what my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will likely argue, this amendment will not jeopardize any existing protections that the wilderness area already enjoys. This amendment does not expand mining or timber harvesting into the Boundary Waters.…”