On the recordJanuary 29, 2014
Thank you to the chairman and the ranking member for your incredible hard work. The folks of Oklahoma and Minnesota should be proud of the representatives that they have sent here. I am proud of this piece of legislation. I stand in support of it. It has been 2 years. I feel like we have been at it most of our lives. And while I hear people pointing out problems, I am certainly there. If we had each written this bill, it would look different. I hear people say it is not perfect. We had a former colleague once who said, Of course it is not perfect. If you want perfect, you will get that in Heaven. And at times, this place is closer to Hell. So this is a pretty good compromise that we have come up with. It certainly does things, and I am proud to say it makes bold new investments in clean and renewable, American-made energy. This is a tough decision in a tough budgeting time; and of the commitment of this committee to make that happen, I could not be prouder. It also takes bold steps moving the country forward on conservation measures. One piece in here, protecting our native prairies in the Midwest, is fabulous. And I want to thank the gentlelady from South Dakota (Ms. Noem) for her unwavering effort on this. I would say this: we reject the false choice that you have to choose between sportsmen's conservation and producing food on the land. You can have all things.…
