I respectfully ask my colleagues to collaborate with our Federal agencies who are experts in the field, rather than rushing through this legislation.

Previously, I had equated our discussion of EPA's role in the Gold King Mine as blaming the cardiologist for failing to save a heart attack patient who had been smoking and drinking for 40 years; but this is actually worse.

We are having another hearing that ignores the elephant in the room.

We need to be looking at meaningful Federal solutions to address abandoned mine lands; we cannot ignore the cause of the problem and the lack of funding to clean them up.

We can't let the mistakes of the past relieve us of our responsibility to make NEON come true in a good and meaningful way in the short run.