Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2019

Floor Speech

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Ms. MURKOWSKI. As the chairman of the authorizing committee, the Energy Committee, I will be objecting at this time. But I want to acknowledge not only the work of the Senator from North Carolina but the passion with which he has put himself into this issue, which is something I think all of us--whether we are from North Carolina or Alaska or points in between, coastal, inland--care about. We care about our Nation's environment. We care about the land that supports us. In our hearts, I think we are all conservationists.

When you think about the purposes for which the Land and Water Conservation Fund was established, it is to do just exactly what Senator Burr has outlined. Some of the good work we see in North Carolina; some of the good work we see with stateside LWCF. In my State, and in all of our States, I think we have seen that role.

What the Senator has laid out here today I think is, in fairness, very right. It is a very popular program. We have had individuals look at it and see the concrete benefits in the places they love. It does have good support in both bodies. I think that is an absolute, when you look at the cosponsorship, particularly on the House side. Sometimes it is a little bit difficult over there to get those strong numbers.

The Senator rightly points out that the language he has used was part of an Energy bill that enjoyed strong, strong support on this floor--85 to 12--a year or so ago, and the language he has utilized in his proposed bill is language that we had included, for the most part, in our bill, with the addition of what he has suggested, with the opportunity every 3 years to revisit this. So it takes a good core of a bill that has already passed and kind of stood the test of fire, if you will.

I think it is important to note, with that Energy bill, that LWCF piece was part of a negotiated package that did include other components. I think we would still like to see those other components moving through. I am certainly committed to working to advance them and have told the Senator from North Carolina that is my intention.

I also believe Senator Burr when he says that he will continue with this effort--that he will continue to bring this issue to the fore-- because he believes it is the right thing to do. Permanent reauthorization is timely. I will note to colleagues that while this authorization does expire September 30, it is important to remember that the outlays from the LWCF will continue. So the appropriations he has referenced--$450 million for this particular year--still go out. But he raises a very valid point that we have an authorization. As it is coming due at the end of this next month, this is an opportunity for us to act. It seems that we act best when there is a little pressure from behind or with a timeline, and my commitment to him this morning is to continue this work and continue this effort.

I appreciate what he has done to address some of the concerns. I think we both know there are still outstanding issues that we have with some colleagues. In an effort to not only move this across the Senate floor but allow it to get to the point at which it is successfully implemented into law--I want to work with him to achieve that. But at this point in time, I reluctantly will object to the request of the Senator from North Carolina.

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