Nick Rahall: “I am pleased to call up this legislation which is comprised of 61 separate measures that were already considered by this…”

“I am pleased to call up this legislation which is comprised of 61 separate measures that were already considered by this body, packaged by the Senate, and sent back to us for further and final consideration. This is a bipartisan package, almost evenly split between bills sponsored by Democrats and Republicans. Further, I would note that 57 of the measures included in this package originated in the Committee on Natural Resources. In this regard, I salute the committee's Chairs who worked so hard on this legislation: Raul Grijalva, chairman of the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands; Grace Napolitano, chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Water and Power, and Donna Christensen, chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Insular Affairs. The pending measures include new protections for wilderness, national parks, historic sites and trails, and precious water resources from sea to shining sea. This bill will finally designate the long-awaited Wild Sky Wilderness in Washington State, championed by our colleague, Rick Larsen.”