Nick Rahall: “reclaiming my time, these places I just mentioned, they are incredible treasures. They are incredible treasures; from…”

“reclaiming my time, these places I just mentioned, they are incredible treasures. They are incredible treasures; from the Atlantic to the Pacific, historic sites, glacial fjords, towering mountains and fragile deserts. Indeed, they are a lasting legacy that we as Americans can hand down for generations to come. Are we really that desperate that we will allow coal mining or oil and gas drilling in these national monuments? I do not believe so. Yet there are some, there are some who see things differently. Under the Bush administration, the Interior Department has conducted a new analysis of the energy potential of national monument lands, not all monuments, mind you, not an analysis of all monuments, just those it so happened were designated by President Clinton. What a surprise. This new analysis found that a number of our national monuments may contain some oil and gas and coal resources. These areas apparently now represent the administration's monument hit list. So the question comes down to this: 95 percent of BLM lands in the western energy-producing States are already open to oil, gas and coal leasing; 95 percent BLM lands are already open to oil, gas and coal leasing. Must we now sacrifice the remaining 5 percent of protected areas, our wilderness, our historic sites, our wildlife preserves? Must they now be subjected to exploitation and speculation? I say no, and I sincerely hope that this body says no as well. Vote for our heritage.”