Ken Calvert

Mr. CALVERT

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I urge opposition to this amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, I urge opposition to this amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Jenkins).

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, in May, EPA issued regulations for new and existing oil and gas operations. These are the latest steps in the President's climate agenda. EPA pulled the rug out from underneath these companies, working in good faith to share information with the Agency. The industry was making tremendous progress to reduce emissions through voluntary measures. By any measurable degree, they were making tremendous progress. But this administration feels the need to overregulate the oil and gas industry at every single turn, to use their police powers to bring this industry to their knees. I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Jenkins.)

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, while I appreciate the intent of the gentleman's amendment to increase funding for the Superfund, something that we all support, it is important that Members understand two things: First, top line funding for the Superfund is already increased in the bill by $27 million from the FY16 enacted level. Second, the gentleman proposes to reduce funding for the Payments in Lieu of Taxes, PILT, program which is critical to counties and local governments in 49 States, including New Jersey, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. territories. PILT is fully funded in this bill. It is a program supported by a large, bipartisan majority in the House. A reduction in the PILT funding would have a detrimental effect on counties and local governments across the country. Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the gentleman's amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I oppose the amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole), a valued member of our Interior Subcommittee, for the purpose of a colloquy.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I oppose the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

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

Mr. CALVERT. Reclaiming my time, I thank my friend and distinguished colleague from Oklahoma and the Chickasaw Nation. He has been a true leader for Indian Country during his tenure on the Appropriations Committee. I think we can both be proud of the progress we have made, working together in a nonpartisan way with our friends on the other side of the aisle. On the matter of land into trust and the Carcieri decision, I am grateful for the opportunity to work with you, as well as Chairman Bishop and Chairman Young of the Natural Resources Committee, to try to come to an agreement that would affirm land taken into trust before the Carcieri decision and would improve our understanding of how the Department of the Interior arrived at decisions to take land into trust after the Carcieri decision. It has been over 7 years since the Carcieri decision, and tribal, municipal, and State governments continue to struggle in the aftermath. We need to bring clarity and certainty to the matter of land taken into trust on behalf of our American Indian brothers and sisters. Mr. Cole, you have my commitment to continue to work with you and the rest of our colleagues on a solution. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time. Amendment No. 2 Offered by Mr. Cicilline

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I recognize and support the need for a right size law enforcement presence wherever people visit Federal lands, but this amendment would implement the budget request to hire 16 more Federal wildlife fire officers primarily in urban areas. Urban areas already have a strong local law enforcement presence, so the Federal Government should first look to contract with local law enforcement before deciding to hire more Federal officers. Furthermore, of all the law enforcement responsibilities covered in this bill, the biggest gap exists on Indian reservations, where 911 response times are often measured in hours and days instead of minutes. Before we pull more money out of the account that pays unsung civil servants to carry out the most fundamental functions of the department, let's make sure we are putting the dollars where they are needed the most. I encourage the rest of my colleagues to oppose the amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop), the chairman of the full Committee on Natural Resources.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 5538, and that I may include tabular material on the same.

Mr. CALVERT. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, I thank the Congressman from Georgia (Mr. Graves), a member of our committee who has been closely tracking this. I appreciate his attention to the issue and the update regarding EPA's activities to implement the direction in fiscal year 2016 report. I look forward to working with him to address this as we move forward with the fiscal year 2017 process.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica) for the purpose of a colloquy.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, I would urge adoption of the gentleman's amendment.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I am happy to work with the gentleman and Ms. McCollum in a nonpartisan way to address the concerns of your constituents.