Department Of The Interior, Environment, And Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008

Floor Speech

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2008 -- (House of Representatives - June 27, 2007)

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Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 2 minutes.

Mr. Chairman, I realize that the other side is reserving a point of order on this because of a previous objection to an amendment which would have allocated $425 million into the Safe and Secure Rural Schools program, a program which I very much support. I am on the authorizing committee and I can assure them that the authorizing committee is determined to move forward on, one of the authorizing committees at least, in the near future. In the last Congress, the Resources Committee did act and the Agriculture Committee did not on reauthorizing this program.

So we are engaging in that process in good faith and hope to be working with our friends on the Appropriations Committee in the not-too-distant future to extend this program for a number of years as we phase it down.

But in the interim, the Appropriations Committee and this Congress did, in the emergency supplemental, approve 1 year of temporary funding, which was excellent. It staved off disasters in county after county in terms of closed jails, loss of rural sheriffs patrols and many, many other vital services.

But, unfortunately, in doing that there was an oversight, and it is a simple oversight, easily rectified if there is not an objection. One of the most beneficial parts for the Federal taxpayers generally beyond the services that are provided within the counties and school districts across America is the Resource Advisory Committees, committees made up of a broad cross-section of communities across the Western United States, both environmental, timber interests, general community members, who have come forward, worked collaboratively, and have put 15 percent of the funds under the program, reinvested it back into the Federal lands, providing tremendous benefits ecologically to those lands, economically, in terms of thinning projects and other things, things that were not within the budget of the United States Forest Service or the Department of the Interior in the case of the O&C lands.

Unfortunately, since these committees, which are widely applauded in a bipartisan way across the Western United States, were not reauthorized, this language simply would give them authorization to monitor the ongoing activities.

It is extraordinarily noncontroversial, and it would be extraordinarily regrettable if in some sort of a misplaced tit for tat there was an objection to this bipartisan amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden).

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Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Chairman, to the point of order, again, the gentleman is technically correct. But again, unlike the previous amendment, this amendment not only does not cost money, it actually benefits the Federal Government and the Federal taxpayers.

I wish the gentleman would reconsider that point and not target this because of an earlier debate on a different issue having to do with spending levels. This actually would save the taxpayers money. I would ask that the gentleman reconsider his objection.

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Mr. DeFAZIO. We have heard speaker after speaker on the Republican side say how concerned they are about spending. The minority whip stood in the well and castigated the Democrats for spending. He has $950,000 of earmarks in the bill.

The woman from Colorado has $150,000 of earmarks in the bill.

If the gentleman is so sincere, let's entertain a unanimous-consent request.

Mr. Chairman, is it in order to make a unanimous-consent request?

The Acting CHAIRMAN. It depends on the nature of the request.

Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent that the Republicans be allowed to voluntarily strip their $45 million of earmarks from this bill, which would save one-quarter of the amount of money that the gentleman is trying to save by cutting all the funding for the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Acting CHAIRMAN. The order of the House allowing only certain amendments may not be varied by the Committee of the Whole.

Mr. DeFAZIO. In conclusion then, we have a bit of hypocrisy here. They want to complain at the same time as they put the projects in their pocket and they go home and brag about it. They brag about how they want to cut spending in Washington, and they brag about the money they bring home.

I believe in investment in America in many ways, and this bill is making many crucial investments in America.

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