Ken Calvert

Mr. CALVERT

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, I think it is important that EPA right the wrong that was caused by the Gold King Mine spill and ensure that the affected States, and the Tribal areas, have the resources they need following the spill. The FY17 bill included $4 million to work with the States and Tribes on an independent water monitoring plan as authorized by the WIIN Act. Therefore, the proposed level in this amendment would exceed the authorized level. And for that reason, I must oppose the gentleman's amendment. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. In 1977, Congress made a deliberate policy choice to exempt ordinary farming, silviculture, ranching, mining, related activities, from the requirements to obtain Clean Water Act permits when undertaken as normal activities: prepare and maintain land, roads, ponds, and ditches. Unfortunately, we heard concern for several years that, under the Obama administration, the EPA and the Corps of Engineers changed implementation of these provisions to significantly reduce the application of the statutory exemptions. Section 430 of the bill makes clear that Congress has always intended that statutory exemptions are to have meaning, that the agencies cannot simply ignore the will of Congress as set out by law. For these reasons and a number of others, I oppose the amendment and urge a ``no'' vote. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, I won't take 1 minute. I just want to support the gentleman's amendment. It is my hope that the gentlemen from Virginia and Pennsylvania may be able to work with the new administration, find common ground on approaches that will improve water quality in a flexible manner which works for everybody. Mr. Chair, I support the amendment and urge an ``aye'' vote.

Mr. CALVERT

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter).

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, I am sorry. I didn't hear the gentleman, and I happily accept his offer to withdraw the amendment. I will happily work with him to see if we can't work some time in the future to find room for this program that the gentleman is obviously supportive of.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, I urge a ``no'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, I certainly appreciate my friend's support for the research conducted at the EPA, and particularly the Research Triangle Park. I am a supporter of the world class research that occurs at RTP with respect to the computational toxicology program. That research has helped to identify alternative high throughput testing methodologies that have reduced the number of animals used in laboratories. Given the current allocation, however, which is $824 million below the fiscal year 2017 level, we had to find areas to trim. We certainly don't have a funding level that can support the fiscal year 2017 enacted levels, but we tried to do the best we could to find common ground. I certainly look forward to working with the gentleman in the future, if we happily come to some kind of budget agreement, where we can reallocate funds to something as important as this. But, again, because of our allocation, I must oppose the amendment and urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the gentleman's amendment. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, given our allocation, which was $824 million below the fiscal year 2017 level, we had to find areas to trim. It is also important to note that the bill does not support the elimination of the program, as has been proposed in the President's budget. It was the committee's effort to find some middle ground. While I can certainly appreciate the gentleman's interest to maintain fiscal year 2017 enacted level, the allocation of the committee doesn't support those levels. So, therefore, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the gentleman's amendment. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, as the designee of Chairman Frelinghuysen, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I urge a ``no'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Harris) for the purpose of a colloquy.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, as I mentioned at our full committee markup, I understood that my colleague, Dr. Harris, was offering his amendment to address local concerns from his residents with respect to the visibility of offshore turbines. With all of these offshore projects, many varying viewpoints need to be taken into account. I appreciate that we have been able to discuss many of these views and concerns here today. It is my hope that we can work with the authorizing committees of jurisdiction, the administration, and all interested stakeholders to identify some better solutions as we move forward through the fiscal year 2018 process. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Jody B. Hice) for the purpose of a colloquy.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, as the designee of Chairman Frelinghuysen, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I am certainly prepared to accept this amendment. I understand the importance of the program to the gentleman from Pennsylvania and other Members in the Appalachian region. I look forward to working with him and all of the interested Members. Mr. Chairman, I encourage adoption of the amendment.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, as the designee of Chairman Frelinghuysen, I move to strike the last word. The Acting Chair. The gentleman from California is recognized for 5 minutes.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the en bloc and urge its adoption. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the gentlewoman's amendment. I certainly urge Members to support it. This bill maintains the increases provided last year for deferred maintenance and increases the construction account by $10 million. This amendment will further our efforts to address the longstanding deferred maintenance needs. I urge an ``aye'' vote on the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, pursuant to section 3 of House Resolution 504, as the designee of the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Frelinghuysen), I rise to offer amendments en bloc No. 2. The list of the amendments included in the en bloc is at the desk and has been agreed to by both sides.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Emmer).

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I understand the gentleman's overall goal is to continue funding for the AML pilot project, consistent with a fiscal year 2017 enacted level, and structure for the six Appalachian States. Therefore, we can accept this package of amendments at this time, work toward maintaining funding for 6 States in a final fiscal year 2018 enacted bill. If we are able to achieve that goal, I hope we can count on the gentleman's support to pass both this House package and to enact the 2018 end-of-year spending bill. Mr. Chairman, I encourage my colleagues to adopt this amendment.

Mr. CALVERT

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I wanted to jump up and support this amendment. Obviously, the agency has not leaped fast enough and problems persist. So I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this amendment, and I know it will squeak by with a large margin.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, this amendment would prevent the Department of the Interior from performing a necessary and thorough review of the existing 5-year plan. Meanwhile, the committee encouraged a review of the 5-year plan in the 2017 omnibus, which we just enacted just a few months ago. For these reasons and others, I certainly urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment.