Rodney Frelinghuysen: “I rise in support of H.R. 2217, the Interior Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2002. In this bill, we make clear our…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 2217, the Interior Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2002. In this bill, we make clear our historic commitment to protecting and maintaining our nation's parks and wildlife refuges, and to preserving more open space. Overall, this bill provides $1.32 billion for the Title VIII Conservation Trust Fund that was established in last year's Interior Appropriations bill. This funding will help our states and the Federal government to protect and preserve our nation's forests, fields and wetlands--green spaces that, especially those of us from the Northeast know only too well, are disappearing much too quickly. I want to particularly congratulate President Bush for fully funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund at $900 million in his Fiscal Year 2002 Budget Request, a critical component of the conservation trust fund. This bill maintains and improves our stewardship of America's greatest natural resources, our national parks and wildlife refuges.”