Ken Calvert

Mr. CALVERT

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, in light of the catastrophic hurricane season last year and the fact that we are already in the midst of another hurricane season right now, I suspect there is additional relief needed for the territories in the weeks and months ahead. So with this reality upon us, I am happy to accept the amendment. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, I am happy to work with the gentleman as we go through this process. If we can find some additional funds as we move to conference, I will be more than happy to revisit this issue with the gentleman.

Mr. CALVERT. Madam Chair, I am happy to accept the gentleman's amendment and to work with the rest of my colleagues to address a need for funding to battle the spread the harmful invasive species. I support an ``aye'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. I thank Mr. Ruiz for raising this issue. I would like to offer and continue working with the gentleman and the Forest Service to amicably and productively resolve the situation.

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

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I move that the Committee do now rise.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, one thing I want to make a point of, and because obviously this deficit is a problem. Everybody recognizes that. Seventy percent of all our spending today is nondiscretionary spending, 70 percent. When I came to Congress 26 years ago it was 30 percent. Today those numbers have totally flipped. Now it is 30 percent discretionary, 70 percent nondiscretionary. Of the discretionary account, half of that goes to defense. The other half goes to nondefense discretionary. No way are we ever going to balance the budget on nondefense discretionary spending. At some point, we all need to come together, Republicans, Democrats, the President, and come to a budget agreement. It has been tried before and needs to be tried again. And the 70 percent of nondiscretionary spending has to be on the table and we have to bend those cost curves. We are not going to--and I dispute the fact that we are at an all- time high on NEH and the National Endowment for the Arts. In past years, those numbers were quite higher. Those numbers have been cut down over the years, and we are trying to do the best we can on these discretionary accounts; but being what it will, this is not, I think, a wise cut. Money is going to every congressional district in the United States. Mr. Chair, I oppose this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to the gentleman's amendment.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Lance).

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, with the change of administrations, we were able to reduce the number of issues addressed in this bill, but some issues warrant continued congressional attention. WOTUS is one of them. Deciding how water is used should be the responsibility of State and local officials who are familiar with the people and the local issues. Under the WOTUS rule, however, the reach of the Federal jurisdiction would be so broad that it would significantly restrict a landowner's ability to make decisions about their property and a local government's right to plan for its own development. The language in the underlying bill simply repeals the misguided WOTUS rule and clarifies what rules will be in effect until a new rule is finalized, specifically, the same rules that were in effect immediately prior to the promulgation of the final WOTUS rule. WOTUS is an issue that warrants continued congressional attention and the provision in the underlying bill is the appropriate action to take. For these reasons, I must urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. CALVERT. I certainly agree with the gentleman that we have a budget problem. I served on the Budget Committee for a number of years and recognize the fact that we are spending too much money. However, if we take a look at the entire budget picture, nondefense discretionary accounts represent 16 percent of total Federal outlays. And if you take a look at the nondefense discretionary accounts, over the last number of years, we are pretty flat. We are pretty flat spending right now. I mean, even with this increase, even with this increase. However, this NEA-NEH program is something I can't support. While I understand, again, why the gentleman wants to save money, this amendment would have unintended consequence affecting the men and women who serve in the country in uniform, military veterans, their families, as well as Native Americans, Alaska natives. We are putting a lot of this money in to help people get through their post-traumatic stress syndrome. This amendment would have devastating consequence on critical work for the National Endowment for the Arts at Walter Reed Medical Center, 11 other clinical sites across the country that are supporting therapy service. We have reformed the National Endowment for the Humanities to make sure that we have low overhead, and that this money is getting out into the country. This money doesn't go to New York or L.A. This goes out to the rural areas around the country that don't have the benefit of large interest in arts. So I certainly urge Members to support the innovative work the NEA and the NEH are providing our men and women in uniform, our veterans, and families. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Maine (Ms. Pingree).

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for bringing this issue to our attention. Invasive species, pests, and diseases have wreaked havoc across the Nation and continue to do so. I know that the emerald ash borer has been a tremendous pest throughout a good part of our country, certainly in State and private forests also. We need to improve management in our forests, and we need those conditions to improve. So I am happy to accept the gentleman's amendment, and I hope we can reduce the emerald ash borer. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I certainly support this amendment. Mr. Ruiz and I represent the same area. Volunteer firefighters are extremely important, especially in our rural areas, and this is something we all should support. Mr. Chairman, I am happy to accept the amendment.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, can I inquire how much time I have left?

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

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, I certainly appreciate the gentleman's desire to show support for robust funding for the National Estuary Program. The FY19 bill provides $26.7 billion for the National Estuary Program, which is equal to the FY18 enacted level. This is an amendment I can accept. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, certainly, I agree with the gentleman that hazardous fuel reduction is something that is extremely important. That is why we provide for a $30 million increase from last year's levels for hazardous fuel reduction in this bill. Second, the national forests are overgrown and prone to severe and catastrophic fires, there is no doubt about it. Colorado, for instance, has already experienced a number of these fires this year, and, certainly, our home State of California is no different. We have had a number of fires, and we have fires going on at this very moment. The timber program, which removes trees from these overgrown stands, significantly reduces the threat of catastrophic fire. We went down a path in the early 1990s that many people in the mainstream environmental movement now realize is a mistake. We have now got out of that enterprise, and a lot of these forests, unfortunately, have overgrown and have bark beetle disease, so that now becomes hazardous fuel. Unfortunately, it wasn't harvested in a responsible way earlier. Responsible harvesting of timber from the national forest is a necessary component of good forest and land management. So taking money from that account is the offset that I can't support. But certainly, I do support hazardous fuel reduction, because, unfortunately, we have created a lot of it in our home State of California and throughout the West. So, unfortunately, I have to urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. CALVERT. Madam Chair, I thank the gentleman. I want to thank my colleague from New Jersey for expressing support for the Superfund program. The Superfund program continues to be a priority of this committee. In the fiscal year 2018 omnibus, we provided a $66 million increase to the program to accelerate cleanup of Superfund sites and respond to the release of hazardous materials. I look forward to working together through the 2019 process to ensure that the Superfund program receives necessary funding to clean up and revitalize our Nation's toxic sites, like the American Cyanamid site, so that they are returned to productive use.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the gentleman's amendment.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, I appreciate the interest in our Nation's water infrastructure needs. Although this amendment does not do what the gentleman intends it to do, I think it is always important for Congress to have a clear understanding of what improvements need to be made to meet the quality goals of the Clean Water Act. Mr. Chairman, this is an amendment I can accept, and I yield back the balance of my time.