Nick Rahall: “I would note that the pending bill continues a trend that we have seen from the White House and the Republican…”

“I would note that the pending bill continues a trend that we have seen from the White House and the Republican leadership. I certainly commend the ranking minority member, the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Dicks) for his leadership, as well as the subcommittee chairman, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Taylor), but it is a trend that is coming out of this pending legislation as well as the Congress, the trend of not keeping faith with the American people when it comes to various Federal trust funds. With the highway bill, it is very apparent. There are those of us who want to return to the American people from the Highway Trust Fund the taxes that are paid at the pump in the form of better roads and bridges, and there are those who do not. In the pending legislation, there is a trust fund account called the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund, financed by a fee imposed on the coal industry. This is the industry's version of Superfund. It is meant to provide funding to finance the cleanup of abandoned coal mine sites that pose a threat to human health and safety. The unspent balance in that trust fund is approaching $2 billion. Yet the pending bill flatlines the amount it would make available. I could go on and on. There is another trust fund involved with the pending legislation; and here, too, this bill does not keep faith with America. That is called the Land and Water Conservation Fund programs, which is authorized at 900 million.…”