Ken Calvert

Mr. CALVERT

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. I would be happy to engage the gentleman from Colorado in a colloquy.

Mr. CALVERT. I thank the gentleman for his comments and for his amendment, and I fully agree with his concerns about the backlogs, but I have concerns with the proposed offset and appreciate the intention to withdraw it. The committee has made a concerted effort in recent years to fix these problems and has increased the recovery account by almost $4 million over the last 2 years. Under House Republican pressure over the past 7 years, the Fish and Wildlife Service has delisted more species than all other previous years combined, but, clearly, we still have a long way to go. The Service has been directed and funded to complete all 5-year reviews within the period required by law, and the committee will continue to press the Service to see that they eliminate these backlogs. I thank the gentleman again for raising this issue, and I pledge to work with him on this.

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

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I certainly appreciate the gentleman's support for robust funding of the Superfund program, particularly the cleanup program. There is a need for Congress to make progress to address the backlog of 1,300 sites on the national priority list. The bill proposes to do so with a $47.6 million increase for cleanup work. However, the amendment proposes merely to increase EPA's enforcement budget by $12 million, with a stated objective of reducing BLM's oil and gas management program. The committee wrote a balanced bill, and I support the wise use of Federal oil and gas resources. Therefore, I oppose the amendment and urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the gentleman's amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I ask Members to vote ``no'' on this 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 reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the en bloc, and I urge its adoption. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Poliquin).

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

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 have no other speakers. I rise in support of the amendments en bloc, and I urge its adoption. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT

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

Mr. CALVERT

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. CALVERT

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for drawing attention to the issue. It is my hope that we can move forward with the fiscal year 2018 process, and my colleague and I can continue to work together with the relevant agencies to address this issue so that his constituents and others around the Nation can continue to enjoy all that the Park Service and other Interior lands have to offer without compromising military readiness.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, I yield to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Kilmer) for the purpose of a colloquy.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hudson) for the purpose of a colloquy.

Mr. CALVERT. Reclaiming my time, I thank the gentleman for drawing the House's attention to the road construction and maintenance needs of the Forest Service. I would be pleased to work with him and anyone else interested in our national forests as we move through the FY 2018 spending process.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, it is my distinct honor to bring to the House floor the fiscal year 2018 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill. Before I go into the details of the bill, I would like to commend Chairman Frelinghuysen for his commitment to the appropriations process. Under Chairman Frelinghuysen's leadership, the committee has moved its bills through the full committee and is now bringing all 12 fiscal year 2018 bills to the House floor. As reported by the Appropriations Committee, the fiscal year 2018 Interior and Environment bill is funded at $31.456 billion, which is $824 million below the fiscal year 2017 enacted level and $4.3 billion above the budget request. This legislation makes a concerted effort to prioritize critical needs within our allocation while also addressing specific interests and concerns brought to our attention through more than 5,000 individual Member requests. In the interest of time, I won't outline all of the programs and activities funded in this bill, but I would like to point out a few highlights. The committee has provided robust wildland fire funding in this bill. Fire suppression accounts are again fully funded at the 10- year average level, and the bill increases funding for hazardous fuels reduction. The bill funds the Payments in Lieu of Taxes, PILT, program at the fiscal year 2017 enacted level. Rural counties in 49 of the 50 States rely on these funds to make up for lost tax revenue. Overall, funding for the EPA is reduced by $534 million, or 6.5 percent, from last year. This legislation provides $5 billion worth of investment in water infrastructure through funding in the WIFIA program and the Clean Water and Drinking Water revolving loan funds. This bill also provides increases to accelerate the cleanup of contaminated Superfund and Brownfield sites. These programs help create jobs and spur economic development in communities across the country. The bill provides $2.9 billion for the National Park Service. It increases the construction account by $10 million and maintains increases provided last year to address longstanding park operations and deferred maintenance needs. We have also addressed a number of concerns within the Fish and Wildlife Service accounts. The bill restores core programs and popular grant programs to fiscal year 2017 enacted levels. It also restores funds to combat international wildlife trafficking, protects fish hatcheries from cuts and closures, continues funding to fight invasive mussels and Asian carp, and reduces the backlog of species that are recovered but not yet delisted. The bill provides $275 million for Land and Water Conservation Fund programs that enjoy bipartisan support. The West Coast, and my home State of California in particular, is counting on the expertise of the USGS to make earthquake early warning systems operational. This bill provides $10.2 million for this public safety program that will protect millions of lives and critical infrastructure. The bill also makes critical investments in Indian Country--a top priority of the committee. It honors our commitment to Native Americans with particular emphasis on Indian health, law enforcement, education, and water settlements. In closing, I would like to thank the staff on both sides of the aisle who have worked long hours on this legislation. On the minority side, I would like to thank Rita Culp, Jocelyn Hunn, and Rebecca Taylor. On the majority side, I would like to thank Darren Benjamin, Betsy Bina, Jason Gray, Jackie Kilroy, Kristin Richmond, and Dave LesStrang, our chief clerk from the committee staff; as well as on my personal staff, Ian Foley, Rebecca Keightley, Tricia Evans, and Dave Kennett for a job well done. Lastly, I would like to thank my good friend and ranking member, Betty McCollum, for working with me to address a number of critical needs throughout the bill. While we may disagree on some issues, we are never disagreeable with each other and we continue to work well together. Mr. Chairman, this is a good bill, and I urge its adoption.

Mr. CALVERT

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I support competition, and these competitions, as a whole, have been beneficial to the Department of Defense. The OMB has reported that, regardless of whether the Federal Government or the private contractor win the competition, the act of competition alone has saved or generated a cost savings up to 10 to 40 percent--10 to 40 percent, just having the competition. This amendment would block opportunities for the defense industrial base, protect the status quo within the DOD civilian workforce, prevent cost savings at the DOD, and negate the natural innovation that comes from competition. I urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment.

Mr. CALVERT. I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I claim time in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I would say we have a duty to taxpayers to perform the best we can, to give the best product to our warfighters at the best price. I urge a ``no'' on this amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.