Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024

Floor Speech

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Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chair, these tours are very important. In fact, the gentleman from Texas talked about the technology. In the Grand Canyon, they have this quiet technology where you can barely hear them on the ground.

There are limitations on these tours already in many of the parks. The problem here is the bureaucracy can't help the private sector. I love the gentleman's aspect about no limitations because that is going to make it happen. It is going to make it happen because they are going to try to put limitations on them.

This makes sure that everybody has the opportunity to experience these. On top of that, air tours require no ground-based infrastructure at the park, which expands accessibility without the need for roads, trails, signs, bathrooms, garbage cans, or other services. These are important.

They also generate a sizable amount of money because every tour generates some kind of fee back to the Federal Government. At $34 trillion and growing, I think we could all use a little bit of that extra money.

If you look at it from the eyes of a businessman and allowing these air tours to help out, you are going to find out that America is singing ``Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah'' all day long, seeing the beautiful landscapes.

Mr. Chair, I join with my friend from Texas and say please vote for this amendment.

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Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chair, I participated and went up to New York to see this site. There are 2,200 men in a camp right next to soccer fields, right next to ice-skating rinks. There is going to be a problem here. In fact, just a couple weeks after that, it flooded. This whole area flooded.

So New York City is going to take a national park--this is the first time this has ever happened or occurred--they don't do a NEPA; they don't do full evaluations, but they are going to turn 2,200 military- aged men into this shelter.

They are higher than a kite if they think that there are not going to be problems. That is what the gentlewoman wants. She wants to have the same things done at this time, at this place as any other place it would be done, such as a NEPA. This is not a good idea to do this in this area. It is going to have a harmful effect on those kids, those children that participate there.

So I agree with the young lady from New York. This is a bad idea. Bad timing. Bad place. Let's follow the rules.

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