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Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009

Floor Speech

Date: March 11, 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Animals and Wildlife


OMNIBUS PUBLIC LAND MANAGEMENT ACT OF 2009 -- (House of Representatives - March 11, 2009)

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Mr. STUPAK. Mr Speaker, I am troubled by the manner in which this bill, S. 22, the Omnibus Public Lands Act, was brought to the House floor with no opportunity to amend and little input from members of this chamber.

We are all aware of the challenges in moving legislation, particularly this legislation, through the Senate. But that does not mean we should defer to the judgment of 99 Senators and let the voices of the 435 members of the House and their constituents go unheard.

There are a lot of good things in this bill. For example, I am pleased S. 22 includes stand alone legislation I have introduced, H.R. 488, to decrease the matching funds requirement and authorize additional appropriations for Keweenaw National Historical Park in Michigan. Another provision in the bill would support the North Country National Scenic Trail, which snakes more than a thousand miles across my state.

Despite the inclusion of these provisions, this could be a stronger bill with input from the House. There is no better example of this than the one amendment that was allowed, that offered by Mr. ALTMIRE. His amendment protects access to public lands for recreational activities otherwise allowed by law or regulation, including hunting, fishing and trapping and clarifies states' authority to manage fish and wildlife populations.

I have drafted an amendment, which due to the way this bill was brought to the floor I was unable to offer, to strip a provision designating 11,739 acres at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore as the Beaver Basin Wilderness Area. The proposed wilderness designation is located entirely in my congressional district and lacks the support of the local city and county governments. This issue deserved debate and consideration by the House before pushing through this public lands bill.

Quickly adding S. 22 to the suspension calendar and effectively blocking input and changes is not appropriate regular order. Ultimately, the good things in this bill outweigh my frustrations over the process so I will support final passage. But I urge you, Mr. Speaker, to restore regular order to the House floor.

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