Robert Smith: “this is a country of laws, not of men. And with respect to the issue of pasturing on public lands by grazers, we have…”

“this is a country of laws, not of men. And with respect to the issue of pasturing on public lands by grazers, we have been operating under the rule of men. It is time, I think, to return to the question of laws, and that is exactly the purpose and the reason that we are here today. Mr. Chairman, we have been operating in the past under the rule of one pen. Now we must operate, it seems to me, with the consent of Congress, which is the way we do business in this country. A little historical reference about this bill. It is a very delicate issue; one that we have been discussing for many years since I have been a Member of Congress. But this is a little different this year because we have agreed now among many factions to bring a bill that has wide support and that has been discussed and rehearsed by many, many people in this country, including such divergent areas of environmentalists, of grazers, ranchers, interested people, senators, representatives. For a period of the last 4 months, this may be the widest traveled bill in America because it has been to every corner and every State and it has been examined by every person who has an interest in this whole discussion. Mr. Chairman, in the past, ranchers who graze more than 270 million acres of public land, primarily in 16 States in the West, have been under great stress.…”