Rob Bishop

Mr. BISHOP of Utah

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This bill, H.R. 1219, sponsored by the great Congressman from Oklahoma, allows a water district in Oklahoma to take ownership of two buildings and 2 acres of land that they have paid for, they have operated, and they have maintained for the last several decades. Unfortunately, they still remain in Federal ownership, and they need this legislation to actually transfer it to relieve the district of burdensome paperwork and also relieve the Federal Government of some liability. This bill has been done 27 other times over the last two decades, which simply means there needs to be some kind of reform in the process to remove the slow pace of the Bureau of Reclamation so we don't have to go through such a complicated effort for such a worthy cause. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole).

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock), who is the chairman of the Federal Lands Subcommittee and who has jurisdiction over this.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. August 25, 2016, marked the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service; still making it newer than the Antiquities Act, but it was their 100th anniversary. Today, the Park Service has 400 units covering 84 million acres, but they do have some significant problems; namely, a $12 billion backlog in their maintenance issues. We seem to add new parks all the time, and that makes the Park Service fall further behind in this effort. It is fun to create a new national park. It is not sexy to talk about fixing a sewer system. So that requires us to be a little bit more creative than we have been in the past, and to provide new tools so that the Park Service can meet this challenge that they have. This bill before us has been crafted in consultation with the Park Service, the Park Foundation, and other interested parties. It establishes two significant things. One, a new Centennial Challenge Fund at the Treasury to help the Park Service maintain and improve visitor service facilities. This fund will raise money on a one-to-one match between the Federal Government and a private match. Last year in appropriations, $15 million was put into this concept and it was matched by $33 million in private donations, which is a number that I think we will be able to improve on in the future. H.R. 4680 also establishes a Second Century Endowment at the National Park Foundation, which will allow the private sector to truly work with the Park Service in a true public-private partnership. It also raises the spending authorization for volunteers in the parks. This does not fix all of the National Park Service problems, but it is a good start. For their centennial, this is an excellent way to move forward into the challenges that they face. I will include in the Record exchanges of letters with Chairman Kline of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, as well as Chairman Conaway of the Committee on Agriculture. We appreciate their cooperation in scheduling this bill and any of the others, either by unanimous consent or by general leave. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this measure. It is a good measure. I reserve the balance of my time. House of Representatives, Committee on Agriculture, Washington, DC, April 11, 2016. Hon. Rob Bishop, Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for the opportunity to review H.R. 4680, the National Park Service Centennial Act. As you are aware, the bill was primarily referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, while the Agriculture Committee received an additional referral. I recognize and appreciate your desire to bring this legislation before the House in an expeditious manner and, accordingly, I agree to discharge H.R. 4680 from further consideration by the Committee on Agriculture. I do so with the understanding that by discharging the bill, the Committee on Agriculture does not waive any future jurisdictional claim on this or similar matters. Further, the Committee on Agriculture reserves the right to seek the appointment of conferees, if it should become necessary. I ask that you insert a copy of our exchange of letters into the Congressional Record during consideration of this measure on the House floor. Thank you for your courtesy in this matter and I look forward to continued cooperation between our respective committees. Sincerely, K. Michael Conaway, Chairman.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4680) to prepare the National Park Service for its Centennial in 2016 and for a second century of promoting and protecting the natural, historic, and cultural resources of our National Parks for the enjoyment of present and future generations, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This bill for the Grand Ronde Tribe in Oregon allows them to ease the process to apply for trust lands within the original 1857 boundary jurisdiction. It deems property placed in trust for the tribe after 1988 as part of the tribe's reservation and lands acquired by the tribe to be part of the reservation. This bill is also identical to another House bill that we considered in our committee. I urge its adoption. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 817) to provide for the addition of certain real property to the reservation of the Siletz Tribe in the State of Oregon.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in honor of Utah Highway Patrol trooper and Brigham City resident Eric Ellsworth, who was killed on November 18 in the line of duty. Eric was selflessly working to ensure the safety of others on a rural road in Box Elder County when he was tragically struck by a car and died several days later of the wounds that he sustained. In the days since his death, Eric's family, friends, and fellow troopers have honored his memory, recalling his love for his family, his passion for life, his kindness, and his faith. Today, Mr. Speaker, we honor Eric for the courage that he demonstrated on a daily basis to protect the citizens of Utah. We are going to remember his heroic sacrifice and those of others like him who dedicate themselves to the safety of others, regardless of personal danger. My prayers go out to Eric's wife, his sons, and his extended family during this very difficult time.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 1475) to authorize a Wall of Remembrance as part of the Korean War Veterans Memorial and to allow certain private contributions to fund that Wall of Remembrance, with the Senate amendment thereto, and concur in the Senate amendment.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from South Dakota (Mrs. Noem), who is a sponsor of this bill.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, once again, this is a great bill. Without this bill, they run out of space. With this bill, we continue to actually help people, which is one of the reasons why Congress exists, to do good things for people. I urge my colleagues to adopt this measure. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This is a unique bill, and I rise in strong support of the Black Hills National Cemetery Boundary Expansion Act that is offered by the gentlewoman from South Dakota (Mrs. Noem). This bill is one of those things that actually helps people. Instead of being bureaucratically stuck in the predicament that we are, this will transfer from BLM 200 acres, roughly, to the Department of Veterans Affairs so they can actually have an expanded cemetery there for Native Americans. This is one of those things where we are actually doing something good to help people, and it takes a piece of legislation to allow that to happen when it should have been done administratively. At this point, I include in the Record an exchange of letters with Chairman Jeff Miller of the Veterans' Affairs Committee and thank him and his staff for their cooperation in scheduling this particular bill. House of Representatives, Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Washington, DC, July 6, 2016. Hon. Rob Bishop, Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources. Dear Mr. Rob: I am writing to you concerning H.R. 3839, the Black Hills National Cemetery Boundary Expansion Act. There are certain provisions in the legislation which fall within the Rule X jurisdiction of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. In the interest of permitting your committee to proceed expeditiously to floor consideration of this important bill, I am willing to waive this committee's right to sequential referral. I do so with the understanding that by waiving consideration of the bill, the Committee on Veterans' Affairs does not waive any future jurisdictional claim over the subject matters contained in the bill which fall within its Rule X jurisdiction. I request that you urge the Speaker to name members of this committee to any conference committee which is named to consider such provisions. Please place this letter into the committee report on H.R. 3839 and into the Congressional Record during consideration of the measure on the House floor. Thank you. Sincerely, Jeff Miller, Chairman.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3839) to transfer administrative jurisdiction over certain Bureau of Land Management land from the Secretary of the Interior to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for inclusion in the Black Hills National Cemetery, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Chairman, I don't know quite how many cliches to use here, but where a scalpel could have been helpful, this is a meat ax that not only has missed the fingers, it has cut off the entire hand. In 2012, the Fish and Wildlife Service did declare the gray wolf was recovered, and the Endangered Species Act demands that that goes back to State for enforcement. A court vacated that not on the basis of the science, but on a technicality. So the Fish and Wildlife Service, what it wishes to do is done in the bill. This amendment would force them to do what they don't want to do. Fish and Wildlife Service doesn't get it right that often. For heaven's sake, let them do what they want to do this time. In 2014, the prairie chicken was listed, but they did not look at the State requirements, so it was vacated by a district court. So, once again, the underlying bill tells them what they wish to do. In fact, the Department of Justice has said they don't have any intent of appealing that decision. This allows them to do what they do. The amendment would require the Department of Justice to do what they don't want to do. The sage-grouse last year was not listed even though it was then put in plans that would act as if it were listed, but the issue is when it was first started, Secretary Salazar told the States to actually come up with plans. Every State that has a sage-grouse population has a plan. The basic bill allows those State plans to go into effect. This amendment would prohibit the State plans from going into effect. So, in essence, this amendment tells the Fish and Wildlife Service to do what it doesn't want to do, the Justice Department to do what it doesn't want to do, and the States can't do what they do want to do. In essence, we are doing the thing backwards, and we are harming people in the process. This is an amendment that simply sounds good on paper, but it misses the mark, and it hurts people.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Chairman, I raise a point of order against section 128--that is, page 71, lines 19 through 25--of an otherwise excellent H.R. 5538 for failure to comply with clause 2 of rule XXI. This provision proposes to construe existing law by approving after the fact certain actions of the Secretary of the Interior found to violate section 5 of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1939 by the Supreme Court in the case of Carcieri v. Salazar. That case held that lands taken into trust by the Secretary of the Interior for tribes that were not federally recognized on June 18, 1934, were invalid. This constitutes legislation on an appropriations bill in violation of clause 2 of rule XXI. I ask for a ruling from the Chair.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Chairman, this is not an easy budget area. In fact, it is a very complex one, but this subcommittee has worked to produce what, I believe, is one of the best bills we have seen in years in this particular area. Is it perfect? Of course not, but it does move the ball forward. It moves us forward. I appreciate the efforts on the part of Chairman Calvert, especially to work with us in the authorizing committee to try and see if we can coordinate as many of these programs that are in here. Because it is important to realize that this appropriation bill is not just about programs of the government. Every one of these programs affects people. And if we are not moving it forward so that the people are helped instead of harmed, then we are doing something that is very myopic, and we put blinders on us, and we don't see where we are actually trying to go. That is why I appreciate this particular bill. This is an effort to move us forward so we are actually doing programs that assist and help people. I want the committee, the appropriators here, to realize I do appreciate their effort to work with us on the authorizing side so that we can work together for a common goal. I am happy to be able to support this particular effort.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Curbelo). He is from the southern tip of Florida, as close to Puerto Rico as you can get on the mainland.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Garrett).

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Labrador), my good friend, who has done a whole lot of work on this particular bill.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to one of the senior members of our committee, a senior member of his delegation, and someone who happens to be celebrating today not only his anniversary, but also his birthday; and what better way of giving a birthday present to the Representative from Alaska than to allow him to speak on the floor on the subject of Puerto Rico. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young).

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 5278.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman), one of the premier members of our committee.