Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McHenry), a gentleman who has never been on our committee, but we have appreciated his friendship and helping to move this package. Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the former chairman and the ranking member for bringing this package today, and the bipartisan work that we are advocating for here on the House floor. I rise in support of this important bill for two reasons, two reasons directly related to western North Carolina, where I am honored to represent. First, it has a permanent reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. This is a very important program that uses offshore energy resources to fund protected lands that are of national importance: our rivers, our scenic byways, our lakes. Clean water in western North Carolina, access to the great outdoors has been a great driver of our economy, and LWCF has helped fund the preservation and protection of those areas. Second, I stand in support of this important bill because it reauthorizes the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area. These two pieces of legislation, the LWCF reauthorization, and the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area, are two items that I have sponsored independently of this package, and I am glad they are a part of this resolution before us.…”