I always remind my constituents in town meetings, no matter what anyone says at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, we write the laws.

It's time for us to impress the world again, the young people of the world and their own young people.

We should be encouraging them. Instead of giving them subsidies, we could give them tax breaks.

I encourage you to support and provide adequate funding for new watershed projects and for the rehabilitation of aging watershed dams.

Nothing can be more important than protecting our natural resources, the lives of our fellow citizens, our domesticated livestock, and wildlife too.

This hearing of the Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry entitled, Small Watershed Infrastructure: Continuing the Mission, Building Upon Success, will come to order.

I am confident that a modest investment now will pay off greatly over the next 70 years, across rural America.

Congress needs to reinvest in this important conservation program.

By the end of 2017, nearly 5,500 structures will have reached the end of their intended life-span.

This rural infrastructure may be largely out of sight, but it is of critical importance to those communities affected.

If we take no action to rehabilitate, we will be left with the cost of removing these structures or faced with constant threats to life and property as these dams continue to age.

Maintaining and updating these structures is often unaffordable for the communities that have benefited from the P.L. 83-566 program.

We have been blessed that we had some Federal dollars for rehab in Oklahoma, thanks to Congressman Lucas, in the 2014 Farm Bill.

I introduced legislation to rehabilitate many of our watershed projects through the Small Watershed Rehabilitation Act.

The USDA Small Watershed Program changed the face of western Oklahoma and when it did . . . it also changed our future.

It is not all about the structures. You talked about in Georgia, it is about managing the land above that.

I want to thank the gentleman from Texas, Chairman Smith, for his continued leadership on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, and for bringing forward this important legislation. H.R. 353, the Weather Research and Forecasting…

I claim the time in opposition to the motion, Mr. Speaker. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Oklahoma is recognized for 5 minutes.

I look at this language--and I am a farmer by trade; I am not an attorney; I will confess that--but the phrase ``or other entity'' seems to be a very broad concept. How will that affect people who work for research foundations at…

I would note to the body, part of the challenge that we face here today on this bill is like so many challenges we face as Members of Congress: How do you avoid the short- term perspective? How do you take the long view? How do you set…

I include in the Record the following letters: a letter of support from the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, a letter of support from the American Chemistry Council, a letter of support from the National Cotton Council of America…

I thank Chairman Smith and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Biggs for their hard work on this important piece of legislation. I also thank my good friend, Representative Peterson for, yet again, working--helping, I should say--to make…

I include in the Record the second set of letters which I referred to earlier. National Association of Home Builders, Washington, DC, March 8, 2017. Hon. Lamar Smith, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Smith: On behalf…

This institution has continued to fulfill its' Congressional mission, as directed by this Committee, for nearly 30 years.

We write farm bills for the bad times--not the good times--and our nation's farmers and ranchers are certainly struggling right now.