Harry Reid: “many States, especially those in the West, are dominated by Federal lands. For those States, and many others, the…”

“many States, especially those in the West, are dominated by Federal lands. For those States, and many others, the Interior appropriations bill is a singularly important piece of legislation because of the funding it provides for our public land agencies. Take Nevada, for instance. While my State contains nearly 71 million acres within its borders, 61 million of those are managed by Federal agencies. That's 86 percent of my State, or nearly 9 out of every 10 acres. And if that number doesn't get your attention, consider the fact that two out of every three acres in Nevada are controlled by one Federal agency: the Bureau of Land Management. I offer these statistics to highlight the significance of today's debate. While the Department of Interior may not be the center of attention in some areas of our country, in the West, the agencies funded under this bill have a measurable impact on our quality of life, our access to public resources, and the protection of our greatest public assets. Senator Burns and Senator Dorgan have done a good job crafting this bill. We all know that this year is especially tough in terms of overall funding allocations and that some tough decisions had to be made. Considering the constraints they faced, these two senators have produced impressive legislation. I commend them for the time and effort that they and the rest of the committee have put into this bill.…”