Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Utah for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act of 2024 introduced by my colleague Representative Maloy from Utah. Around the country, and particularly in the West, thousands of historic hardrock mines lay abandoned, posing risks to public health and the environment. Many of these sites sit on the same public land on which we recreate and thoroughly enjoy. The leftover residues, chemicals, and harmful contaminants affect thousands of miles of streams and waterways, endangering wildlife and fish. Clearly, there is a problem to be solved here. Too often in this body of Congress, we create more problems than actual solutions. This bill is fundamentally different for the way that it tries to approach and address this issue that exists out in our communities. This bill will accelerate remediation work by allowing Good Samaritan organizations and State agencies to voluntarily take action and clean up abandoned mines to protect water quality. With the enactment of this bill, we will help ensure that these sites are restored and no longer pose risks to the public. A key word on that is ``voluntarily.'' If we get in the way of these Good Samaritan and State agencies to actually solve this issue, we will continue to have these problems going forward.…”