Annie Kuster: “I first want to thank my friend, the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Polis) for his work on this issue and for leading this…”

“I first want to thank my friend, the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Polis) for his work on this issue and for leading this amendment. I rise today in support of this substitute amendment that I am offering with Mr. Polis and several colleagues in an effort to fix the issues with this legislation, but I wish I wasn't even here today to talk about this amendment. That is because this bill was originally introduced as a bipartisan bill to address a specific problem. As we have seen all too often around here, the bill that is on the floor today doesn't look anything like it did when it was introduced. The bill that we are considering today wouldn't just address a water rights issue between ski areas and the Forest Service. It would go much further than that, impacting our national park system, wildlife refuges, hydropower relicenses, and so much more. Where I come from, that doesn't make much sense. I came here to work with both parties to find common ground and to get things done. Instead of pushing partisan legislation that has no chance of becoming law, we should be working together on real solutions. That is why I joined Mr. Polis to offer this substitute amendment. What it will do is simple. It will narrow this bill so that it only addresses the issue between ski areas and the Forest Service. There is no need for this legislation to do anything more than that.…”