Political Quotes

“I thank Chair Westerman for giving me the opportunity to speak in favor of this important bill. This bill would reverse a rule that essentially destroys multiple use of Federal lands. However, to put this in perspective, we should call out how much land we are actually talking about. Looking at the Bureau of Land Management's web page, the Bureau of Land Management administers more surface land, 245 million acres, or one-tenth of America's land base, and more subsurface mineral States, 700 million acres, than any other agency in the United States. The BLM's mission, which is principally defined by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, FLPMA, directs the agency to carry out a dual mandate, that of managing public land for multiple uses while conserving national, historical, and cultural resources. Mr. Speaker, this is incredibly important because what the rule does is to prioritize conservation. Contrary to what we have heard repeatedly from the other side of the aisle, there is a prioritization.…”