Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of my amendment No. 41 to H.R. 8998, which prevents the Bureau of Land Management from finalizing, implementing, administering, or enforcing its Western Solar Plan. On January 19, 2024, the BLM published a notice of availability for the newly introduced Programmatic Environmental Impact Assessment and corresponding Research Management Plan Amendment. This plan amendment will have serious implications regarding current uses of public lands throughout the West and particularly in my home State of Wyoming. The plan amendment would implement sweeping changes to resource management plans, or RMPs, in 11 States on 162 million acres and affecting hundreds of counties in the West. In Wyoming alone, it will impact 18 million acres of land. I have heard from many county officials in Wyoming that this plan amendment simply glosses over the analysis that would otherwise be given in a planning document developed at a local level. This planning amendment is detached from the priorities held by most Western communities when it comes to economic development on their public lands. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of my amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.”