Political Quotes

“Madam Chair, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum), the chair of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee. Ms. McCOLLUM. Madam Chair, I rise today to speak about the fiscal year 2020 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill. First, I want to thank Chairwoman Lowey and Ranking Member Granger for their leadership. I also want to thank Ranking Member Joyce for his collaboration and partnership through this process and all the members on our committee for their contribution. The Interior bill is a product of hard work and collaboration. The subcommittee held 16 hearings. We received 6,500 requests from Members of Congress, and we worked hard to create a bill that reflects the priorities of the entire House. As a result, we have a strong bill before us today that makes critical investments for the American people and the planet. For fiscal year 2020, the subcommittee is recommending a total of $37.3 billion in discretionary funding. That is an increase of $1.7 billion over last year's enacted level. There is also an additional $2.25 billion in fire cap adjusted funds for suppression operations. These critical funds allow the Forest Service to fight wildland fires without borrowing from non-fire programs. Some of the biggest increases in this bill go to honoring our Federal trust and treaty responsibilities to provide for the health, safety, and education of our Native American brothers and sisters.…”