Political Quotes

“this amendment would create limitations for new Federal land designations to ensure responsible management of our natural resources. These limitations are modeled on those in the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, which authorizes the protection of national marine sanctuaries. Under the act, the Commerce Secretary cannot designate a new sanctuary unless the Secretary publishes a finding that, No. 1, the addition of a new sanctuary will not have a negative impact on the overall system, and No. 2, sufficient resources were available in the fiscal year in which the finding is made to effectively implement management plans for each sanctuary in the system. These are commonsense limitations that ensure the administration will not add more land to the Federal system without considering the impacts to the overall system and without sufficient funds to manage those resources effectively. At a time when the national park system has a $13 billion maintenance backlog, we need to consider the impacts to the overall system and whether there are sufficient resources to effectively manage additional land holdings. In the context of energy policy, we should also consider our stewardship choices. American energy production on private and State- owned lands has increased significantly in recent years while decreasing on Federal lands. Through leasing restrictions and permitting delays, the Obama administration has tied up energy production on Federal lands in redtape.…”