Ken Calvert

Mr. CALVERT

Mr. CALVERT. I would be happy to work with the gentlemen, and I would urge acceptance of this amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I claim time in opposition, but I don't oppose the amendment.

Mr. CALVERT. I thank the gentlewoman for her generosity, and I will continue to work with her as this process moves forward. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I rise in reluctant opposition to the gentlewoman's amendment only because of the offset. The offset that we are talking about is taking money of the inspector general's office, which is our auditors, and we desperately need auditors in the Federal Government. We, as appropriators, are very reluctant to cut the inspector general's office in general. I want to work with the gentlewoman. I recognize her passion to make sure that the good work that the Smithsonian does gets out to the general community throughout the United States. I am a big supporter of the Smithsonian. We have level-funded the Smithsonian Institution this year. Obviously, we are operating under difficult budget constraints. We certainly support what the gentlewoman wants to do; we just don't support the offset in which she wants to do it with.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition.

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

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I am more than happy to work with the young lady to get additional funding for Indian education at any time in the future, and we can continue to work together to do that.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I wish the gentlewoman was able to share this amendment with both the majority and the minority in the committee where we could have reviewed it. But saying that, I still must oppose the amendment because of the offset. Mr. Chairman, the offset obviously would take money from the Secretary and move it over to the EPA, and at this time we have used the Secretary's Office tremendously as an offset already, and I am afraid that this may start affecting other programs within the Department of the Interior. So I would have to oppose this amendment. The gentlewoman's amendment won't increase the cleanup of a brownfields site, it will only pay for salaries over at the EPA, and I believe that we don't need to do any more for the EPA than has already been done. So with that, Mr. Chairman, I oppose the amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I rise in reluctant opposition to the gentleman's amendment. I want the gentleman to know that I understand that the territories would benefit greatly from additional funding. We funded the assistance to territories at the FY15-enacted levels. We level- funded that because we know that the money is needed, and we know that we have responsibilities in the territories. However, the offset right now, we have cut back that particular operation considerably, so I would oppose that offset. But I would be more than happy to work with the gentleman as we move this process along, along with the ranking member, to see if we can't get additional funds as we move this process along. Mr. Chairman, I certainly appreciate the gentleman's intent, but we would have to reluctantly oppose this amendment at this time, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I know there is no doubt that Indian Country, especially Indian education, is a nonpartisan priority of this entire subcommittee. We are committed to building upon the bipartisan work of former subcommittee chairmen Mike Simpson, Jim Moran, Norm Dicks, and certainly Ranking Member Betty McCollum. We all agree that there are great needs in Indian Country, especially in education. In fact, we were in Arizona recently at both the Navajo and Hopi reservations and saw firsthand the need for education in this country. Although I am proud of what we have done for Indian Country in this bill, that said, I understand where the gentleman is coming from. I recognize there is so much more to do on Indian education that can and should be done. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment. I understand there is a level of frustration regarding the Office of Surface Mining's continued use of funds to develop the stream buffer rule, and we attempted to address that through the bill language to limit funding. I certainly support what you are doing for water infrastructure. It is a good amendment that will leverage jobs, and I urge an ``aye'' vote.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I would just reluctantly oppose this amendment at this time. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, the committee, as the gentleman knows, has included this as a pilot program to test in a few States how community and economic redevelopment can combine in conjunction with reclamation of abandoned mine lands. These funds will be provided to States with the largest unfunded needs to date. If you expand that to include six States, this pilot then starts to look more like a program, and that is not the committee's intent. The committee believes that the lessons learned from this pilot will inform changes, both pros and cons, under the reauthorization of the underlying law. I want to work with the gentleman in the future as this pilot moves forward. When we have more information, we can potentially, next year, reexamine this. I would ask the gentleman if he would withdraw the amendment. I would certainly be happy to work with him in the future. I know the full committee chairman is certainly in the interest of him to address the needs of his constituents. We are certainly sympathetic to that. I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. CALVERT. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I would urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment. I don't agree to the offset. The fact that we have an Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, that should be accessed. I will be happy to work with the gentlewoman to work with the authorizers where we can get more immediate response to these kinds of activities that happen from time to time around the country, but I urge a ``no'' vote on this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

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 consideration of the H.R. 2822, and that I may include tabular material on the same.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to bring to the floor H.R. 2822, the fiscal year 2016 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill. As we begin, I want to personally thank Chairman Rogers for his leadership and support. Under his guidance, the Committee on Appropriations is again setting the standard for getting things done in the House. The Interior bill is the seventh appropriation bill to come to the floor so far this year. I also want to thank the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum), my good friend and ranking member, for her partnership and work on this bill. Finally, I want to thank each of our subcommittee members for their efforts and the collegiality that continues to be the hallmark of our subcommittee's deliberations. Even though we may have differences of opinion within this bill, I greatly appreciate the Members' constructive contribution, and I mean that sincerely. The committee has made very difficult choices preparing this bill. As reported by the Committee on Appropriations, the fiscal year 2016 Interior and Environment bill is funded at $30.17 billion, which is $246 million below the fiscal year 2015-enacted level and $3 billion below the budget request. We have made a sincere effort to prioritize needs within our 302(b) allocation. I would like to point out a few of the highlights. Again, this year, the committee has provided robust wildland fire funding. Fire suppression accounts at the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service are fully funded at the 10-year average level. The hazardous fuels program was increased by $75 million to $526 million in the fiscal year 2015-enacted bill, and that increase has been maintained in this bill. This bill also continues critical investments in Indian Country, a nonpartisan priority of the committee. Building upon the bipartisan work of the former subcommittee chairmen Mike Simpson, Jim Moran, and Norm Dicks, this bill continues to make investments in education, public safety, and health programs in Indian Country. Overall, funding for the Indian Health Service is increased by $145 million, or 3 percent, while funding for the Bureaus of Indian Affairs and Education is increased by $165 million, or 6 percent, from fiscal year 2015 levels, the largest percentage increase in this bill. This bill provides full funding in fiscal year 2016 for the Payment in Lieu of Taxes, or PILT, payments. PILT payments are made to 49 of the 50 States as well as to the District of Columbia, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The bill provides $2.7 billion for the National Park Service, including more than $60 million in new funding, relating to the centennial of the Park Service. We have also addressed a number of priorities within the Fish and Wildlife Service accounts. The bill funds popular cost-shared grant programs above the fiscal year 2015-enacted levels. It also provides additional funds to combat international wildlife trafficking, protects fish hatcheries from cuts and closures, continues funding to fight invasive species, and reduces the backlog of species that are recovered but not yet de-listed. The bill provides $248 million for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, programs that enjoy broad support--bipartisan support, for that matter. Some Members would prefer more funding; others would prefer less for LWCF. We have attempted to forge a middle ground that begins to return the emphasis of the Land and Water Conservation Fund to its original intent of recreation and State and local acquisitions. Overall, funding for EPA is reduced by $718 million, or 9 percent, from fiscal year 2015-enacted levels. Members from the Great Lakes region will be pleased to know that the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is maintained at the fiscal year 2015-enacted level of $300 million. Rural water technical assistance grants and many categorical grants, including radon grants, are level funded at the fiscal year 2015 enacted level. Again this year, there is a great deal of concern over the number of regulatory actions being pursued by the EPA in the absence of legislation and without clear congressional direction. For this reason, the bill includes a number of provisions to stop unnecessary and damaging regulatory overreach by the Agency. Before closing, I would like to address the Endangered Species Act provisions in this bill. We have no interest in interfering with science or letting any species go extinct, but we are concerned about Federal regulatory actions lacking in basic fairness and common sense. The provisions in this bill address problems created by an ESA driven not by science, but by court orders that drain limited Agency resources and force the Department to cut corners to meet arbitrary deadlines. Nowhere is this more evident than with the sage-grouse. States are rightfully concerned that a listing or unnecessarily restrictive Federal land use plans will jeopardize existing conservation partnerships with States and private landowners. These partnerships are necessary to save both the sagebrush ecosystem and local economies. So long as sage-grouse are not under imminent threat of extinction, cooperative conservation must be given a chance to work. That is why this bill maintains a 1-year delay on any decision to list sage-grouse along with full funding to implement conservation efforts. House consideration of this bill is the next step in a long legislative process. I hope over the coming months we will come together, as we do each year, to find common ground. In that spirit, I look forward to continuing to work with Ms. McCollum and the Members of the House on both sides of the aisle. In closing, I want to thank the staff on both sides for their hard work on this bill. On the minority side, I would like to thank Rick Healy, Rita Culp, Joe Carlile, as well as Rebecca Taylor. They have played an integral role in the process, and their efforts are very much appreciated. On the majority side, I would like to thank subcommittee staff Kristin Richmond, Jackie Kilroy, Betsy Bina, Jason Gray, Darren Benjamin, and Dave LesStrang. I would also like to thank Ian Foley, Rebecca Keightley, Alexandra Berenter, and Tricia Evans on my personal staff for their great work. Mr. Chairman, this is a good bill. It deserves the support of the Members of this body. I reserve the balance of my time. 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Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, it is my pleasure to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers), the full committee chairman.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, it is my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Jenkins), our new hard-working member.

Mr. CALVERT. Will the gentleman yield?