Alan Simpson: “First, let me apologize to the gentleman from Virginia for the last amendment. We both had some concerns, that he…”

“First, let me apologize to the gentleman from Virginia for the last amendment. We both had some concerns, that he expressed very well, about taking $20 million out of the Secretary's office and the impact that that could have. As we discussed during his debate, I think both of us are concerned about the underfunding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund and would like to see that fund increased. During his debate in opposition to the amendment, we decided to accept the $20 million in the amendment from the gentleman from New Hampshire and the gentleman from Connecticut's amendment. So I apologize for the confusion in the middle of all that. The gentleman's issues that he raised about the Secretary's budget and the impact that could have are real. We will have to address those in conference, and I want to work with you to do that. Let me rise in opposition to this amendment. I have concerns that this is eliminating all of the funds, especially since we just increased them by $20 million. When we had this limited allocation, we had to make some tough decisions. The Secretary wanted it fully funded at $900 million as did the Obama administration. We simply did not have that kind of money, and to put more money into it, given our allocation, we would have had to take the money out of some other programs that are very important to other people.…”