Steve Daines

Mr. DAINES

Mr. DAINES. I want to thank the gentlelady from Minnesota. In fact, my family roots in Montana began in Minnesota. My great- great-grandmother was in Minnesota. She came from Norway and then pushed westward. I think she heard the skiing was a little better out in Montana and continued westward and homesteaded out there as a widow with seven children, just north of Great Falls, Montana. Well, every day it seems we hear about yet another aspect of ObamaCare that is getting delayed or exempted or ignored. Two months ago, it was the employer mandate. A few weeks later, it was announced that the administration had delayed a significant consumer protection in the law that limits how much people may have to spend on their own health care. A Washington Post headline from Monday read, ``One week away, ObamaCare's small business insurance exchanges not all ready for launch.'' And a recent POLITICO story summarizes perfectly what a disaster ObamaCare has become: The ObamaCare that consumers will finally be able to sign up for next week is a long way from the health plan President Barack Obama first pitched to the Nation. Millions of low-income Americans won't receive coverage. Many workers at small businesses won't get a choice of insurance plans right away. Large employers won't need to provide insurance for another year. Far more States than expected won't run their own insurance marketplaces. And a growing number of workers won't get to keep their employer- provided coverage. With key parts of the President's health care overhaul set to start on October 1, one thing is certain to supporters and opponents alike: ObamaCare is not ready for prime time. Rather than fulfilling the President's promise of, ``If you like your coverage, you can keep it,'' ObamaCare has become a tangled web of broken promises, backroom deals, with no relief for American families and hardworking taxpayers in sight. This is no more apparent than with the Office of Personnel Management's decision to grant Members of Congress and their staff with a special exemption from a provision in ObamaCare. This decision demonstrates how deeply broken Washington is, and it unmistakably suggests that Congress is focused more on their self-interests than the interests of the American people. That's why I've signed on to the No Special Deal for D.C. Insiders Act and the James Madison Congressional Accountability Act, both of which would reverse the OPM rule. It's absolutely unacceptable for Washington to impose new burdens and costs upon the American people and then carve out special loopholes for itself. Until this failed law is fully repealed, Washington must live by the same rules that have been forced upon the American people. This train wreck of a law will raise health care costs, force businesses to close their doors, and hurt Montana's access to quality health care. In fact, ObamaCare could increase underlying insurance rates by up to 158 percent for the average 27-year-old Montanan and 149 percent for 40-year-old Montanans, according to a recent analysis by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. And in August, the KULR-8 news station in Billings, Montana, reported that, according to a Montana health expert: It's entirely possible that there will be businesses that go out of business solely because of this law. I was in Missoula, Montana, this summer, meeting with local business owners who are concerned about how ObamaCare will affect not only their businesses but their employees' benefits and access to affordable care. ``We don't know what to do,'' Opportunity Resources' Carrie Purdy told me. She shared how her employees are at risk of having their health benefits decrease and premiums increase next year, as Opportunities' own projections show an $800,000 increase in insurance costs for 2014 alone. Unsurprisingly, a recent poll shows that two-thirds of Montanans believe that the President's health care law should either be delayed or stopped altogether. I was elected to represent the people, the people of Montana. Two- thirds of Montanans say the law should either be delayed or stopped altogether. And that is why I am on the floor here today, because this is the House of the people. We're the voice of the people, and we are standing up against the President's law. As Montana's sole Member in the House of Representatives, it is my job to ensure the Montana voice is heard, and Montanans are speaking loud and clear. Mr. President, why don't we allow individuals to opt out for the first year? You cut a deal with businesses to push the mandate out for a year. Let the American people opt out, if they so choose, for their first year. If they like their health care coverage today, let them keep it, as you promised would be the case when you pushed for this law a few years ago. ObamaCare is deeply flawed. It's a law that hurts Montana, and it must be stopped. And I will continue fighting to repeal it, delay it, take it apart piece by piece so that Montanans never have to face the full consequences of the President's failed health care overhaul.

Mr. DAINES

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Chairman, I respect the comments made by the gentleman from Oregon; but when we look at the State of Montana and see a 90 percent reduction in forest timber harvest on national forestlands, and when we hear from the Forest Service officials the number 1 issue is litigation, it is time that we put in place measures and reforms this amendment addresses, that addresses that those kind of concerns of procedural nature will not stop an entire forest project. This is a very real issue in my home State. I saw it literally firsthand when I was visiting the Pyramid sawmill in Seeley Lake, when we saw, because of, literally, a small, little procedural error on one of 14 counts, that stopped an entire timber harvest. This is getting out in front and saying, let's not let the trial lawyers and the courts control the forests. Let's let the people have control of the forests and restore the jobs that are needed and the revenue back to our schools. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time

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

Mr. DAINES. I just would say that, as I've been back here, moving from the private sector to the public sector, sometimes you have got to lay out in specificity the need for a one-page summary of what's going on so that Members and anybody else that wants to see can see, can take the 30,000-foot view here in terms of this program being successful or not. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DAINES. I appreciate the gentleman from Oregon's remarks there. Let me say this. I spent 28 years in the private sector having managed complex operations. And so what this amendment does, it doesn't preclude the Forest Service from generating all the data in the format that the gentleman from Oregon referenced. What this is asking for here is a one-page summary, a dashboard, if you will, so we can see, kind of cut to the bottom line in terms of the numbers that I pointed out here. So often in Washington we are drowning in data. We're starving for wisdom. This is a simple dashboard that cuts to the bottom line here of looking for the volume of board feet actually harvested, the cost of the preparation of sales, the revenues generated from the sales, and the amount of receipts distributed to the beneficiary counties. That's the one-page summary. All the other data can be contained in the other reports for the perusal of Members and others who want to see it, but this just cuts to the chase to give a simple, one-page dashboard of what the bottom-line results are as a result of this bill. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. DAINES. I yield to the gentleman from Washington.

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Chairman, nationwide, more than 73 million acres of Forest Service lands and hundreds of millions of acres of other Federal lands are at risk for catastrophic wildfire. As our timber industry has declined by 90 percent in recent decades, however, our National Forest System has lost much of the labor force to sustain our forested ecosystems and to protect our communities. The Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act addresses both challenges, providing the Forest Service with much-needed latitude to reduce the risk of catastrophic fires while revitalizing our country's dying timber industry. I'm offering an amendment to hold the Forest Service accountable for doing the work required in this legislation. My amendment would simply require the Secretary of Agriculture to submit to Congress an annual report. In fact, the amendment specifies this annual report is one page in length. Rarely do we see a report here in Washington that is less than about 3 inches thick. This is going to require that it's just a one-page summary, simple, focused on the results for each Forest Service revenue area. On this report, we would report the annual volume requirements in effect for that fiscal year: the volume of board feet actually harvested, the average cost of preparation of timber sales, the revenues generated from such sales, and the amount of receipts distributed to each beneficiary county. The amendment would also require that the Forest Service place the report on its Web site. The American people whose lives are often in the paths of catastrophic wildfire, whose jobs rely on access to timber, and whose school systems and public works rely on revenues generated from Federal land within its borders deserve transparency and accountability in our Federal Government's land management, and our country needs results. My amendment brings all three principles to the Forest Service as the agency implements H.R. 1526. I urge the adoption of my amendment.

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Chairman, as a fifth generation Montanan and an avid sportsman, I understand how protecting our beautiful landscapes and unmatched recreational opportunities are important to our way of life in Montana. As much a part of Montana as our enjoyment of the great outdoors is our timber industry--or at least what used to be one. The timber industry has declined by 90 percent since I was a kid. Since then, the wildfires and beetle kill have worsened. Our loggers play an important role on the front lines of protecting our outdoor heritage, and we must never forget that. I'm very concerned that many of these special places are being destroyed because the Forest Service does not have the tools necessary to manage these lands responsibly. H.R. 1526 gives the Forest Service the tools to protect and enhance our forests and will allow our timber industry to get back to work. It will cut the red tape that has held up responsible forest management and timber production. It includes comprehensive reforms to discourage and limit the flood of frivolous appeals and litigation. It also requires the Forest Service to increase timber harvests on nonwilderness lands now that it will have much needed latitude to do its work. This improved management will protect the health of our forests and watersheds, the safety of our communities, jobs in the timber industry, and our cherished access to the outdoors. H.R. 1526 would help create 68,000 jobs and nearly 5,000 jobs in Montana. H.R. 1526 would allow access to marketable timber for our mills in Montana and breathe life back into this dying industry. This bill keeps the Federal Government's commitment to provide crucial revenue to our forest counties. It extends the Secure Rural Schools program for 1 year as the new timber program stands up. SRS has provided essential stopgap funding for timber counties since 2000, but many of our counties are tired of seeing the funds depend on the whims of Congress. This bill has the support of the National Association of Forested Counties. This bill also has the support of the National Education Association because they recognize the economic development and revenue that will be generated by our bill will strengthen our rural schools in States like Montana. Importantly, this bill helps to protect healthy forest management from habitual lawsuits brought by fringe groups. My amendment would strengthen the bill's protections against court- ordered obstruction. Unfortunately, obstructionist tactics too often stop them from going forward. In region one alone, at least 40 percent of timber sales in fiscal '12 and fiscal '13 have been appealed or litigated. A top U.S. Forest Service official recently acknowledged that the abundance of litigation has played a ``huge role'' in blocking responsible timber sales. In March of this year, the Friends of the Wild Swan, Alliance for the Wild Rockies, and others halted a much needed timber sale called the Colt Summit Project near Seeley Lake in Montana due to a minor technical error by the Forest Service involving the impact on the habitat of a listed species, the Canadian lynx. Like the Colt Summit Project, oftentimes timber sales are stopped in their tracks by court-issued injunctions that are based solely on alleged procedural violations such as mere paperwork errors. My amendment would prohibit these injunctions that are based on nonsubstantive allegations. Injunctions on timber sales often turn into permanent delays, leaving dying timber to rot and lose value. My amendment would allow these critical projects to move forward while litigation on the merits of the case is pending. In doing so, it will help ensure that responsible timber sales come to fruition. My amendment simply allows projects like the Colt Summit Project to move forward while the merits of the case continue to be examined. I urge my colleagues to join me in support of making our forests healthier.

Mr. DAINES. I yield to the gentleman from Washington.

Mr. DAINES. I urge my colleagues to join me in support of making our forests healthier, and for the adoption of my amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DAINES

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 460, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. DAINES

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Utah, and I thank the chairman for reserving this hour for this very important issue, saving our national forests and our forested communities, which is very important to my home State of Montana. H.R. 1526, the Restoring Healthy Forests and Healthy Communities Act is important to Montana because many of our counties in Montana rely on the forest economy or at least the relics of what used to be one. Several decades ago, Montana forests supported local timber jobs and provided a steady revenue stream for our counties and schools. In fact, I remember growing up when I was riding in the back seat, mom and dad in front in the station wagon and I would be in back with my sisters, we would watch logging trucks drive up and down our highways. Our counties enjoyed the benefits of the receipts from timber sales. It used to help support our schools. But today, as I now drive around the State representing the State of Montana, most of our forest counties struggle with unemployment. In fact, Lincoln County, the most northwest county of my State, which is comprised mostly of national forest land, it used to generate timber jobs. They now face double digit unemployment. The Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest faces a very high mortality rate due to beetle kill. The tragedy here as we drive all over the State this time of year, we are seeing forest fires on one hand and then standing dead timber on the other that has died because of beetle kill. We can't even go in and harvest the dead trees, which we have a couple years to do so, because of the onerous process here on our national forest. Inflexible and outdated Federal laws like the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act have imposed a huge administrative burden on Federal agencies, which limits our timber industry's access to wood and ultimately resulted in the mismanagement of our forests, allowing places where we love to recreate instead to burn up in smoke. And when they burn up in smoke, as the gentleman from Oregon mentioned, it threatens our watersheds as well. In fact, so far over 100,000 acres in Montana have burned this year. The number of large fires--large fires--has been as high as five just this week. My son last year played high school football his senior year. We had ``Friday Night Lights'' high school football games in Montana canceled because of air quality, because of forest fires. Laws like NEPA and the Endangered Species Act are often the basis of lawsuits. These aren't filed by the rank and file Montanans who are working to collaborate to improve access to our national forests, but they're filed by fringe extreme groups to halt healthy timber management projects that could help prevent these fires and, importantly, create hundreds of jobs. In fact, in one of our hearings in our committee, a top national forest official, Deputy Chief Jim Hubbard, said litigation has played a huge role in blocking responsible timber sales in Montana and other region 1 States, including projects supported by collaborative groups consisting of timber as well as conservation leaders. To quote Mr. Hubbard, he said this: ``It has virtually shut things down on the national forest.'' As the gentleman from Oregon mentioned, the numbers in Montana are the same. Timber harvests are down 90 percent on our Federal lands from where they were when I was growing up. Mr. Chairman, something must be done, and I'm glad to join you in introducing this very important bill. H.R. 1526 will help revitalize the timber industry throughout Montana and create thousands of good, high-paying jobs. It also tackles beetle kill, protecting our environment for future generations and reducing the threat of catastrophic wildfires in Montana. The Restoring Healthy Forests and Healthy Communities Act will cut the red tape that has held up responsible forest management in timber production. It also includes comprehensive reforms to discourage and limit the flood of frivolous appeals and litigation. It requires the Forest Service to increase timber harvest on non-wilderness lands now that it will have much needed latitude to do the work it knows how to do. This improved management will protect the health of our forests, the health of our watersheds, the safety of our communities, and allow jobs to return to the timber industry. In addition, the legislation restores the Federal Government's commitment to provide 25 percent of timber sales receipts to timber counties. It extends the Secure Rural Schools program pending the full operation of the new timber program. SRS has provided crucial stopgap funding to timber counties after timber sales, and the corresponding receipts, after they plunged in recent decades. It is the taxpayer now who is funding that gap when instead we could have the timber industry cutting down trees and supplying jobs and supplying revenue to support our schools. Recently, we welcomed Chuck Roady, the vice president and general manager of F. H. Stoltze Land and Lumber in Columbia Falls, Montana. He came back to Washington, D.C., as a witness for a House Natural Resources hearing on forest and fire management. During the hearing, Chuck perfectly summed up the challenges we face. He said: This is a nonpartisan, nonregional issue. It's simply the case of doing the right thing to manage our public forest. If we don't, Mother Nature is going to do it for us, and when she does it, it's uncontrollable and catastrophic. Mr. Speaker, I could not have conveyed our challenges any better than that. We all know too well how devastating wildfires can be to our communities and our local economies. I urge passing the Restoring Healthy Forests and Healthy Communities Act.

Mr. DAINES

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, earlier this week I held a tele-townhall meeting and had the opportunity to talk with several thousand Montanans about the House's efforts to bring needed accountability to Washington and the regulatory burdens that are hurting Montana families and job creators. Montanans are tired and frustrated by the EPA's ever-changing rules and unreasonable compliance costs. The status quo is not acceptable. That's why I'm proud to have voted in support of the REINS Act, which will bring much needed accountability to the regulatory process. This isn't a Republican issue or a Democrat issue. This is about doing the right thing for the American people and the future of our country. It's time to rein in Washington's overbearing, costly regulations and provide Montana families, business owners, and hardworking taxpayers with the relief they deserve.

Mr. DAINES

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

Mr. DAINES

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, after spending 12 years in the technology sector--more specifically, cloud computing--I know firsthand the power that data holds. I also understand the potential for abuse and the threats to Americans' civil liberties that come with mass collections of data. Recent reports of the NSA blanket collection of Americans' phone records demonstrate the serious need for reforms to protect liberty and prevent abuse. That's why I'm proud to support Congressman Amash's amendment to prevent the NSA from using the Patriot Act to collect the records of Americans who are not subject to a Patriot Act investigation. This amendment helps protect law-abiding Americans from government overreach. The status quo is not unacceptable, and I hope this amendment will be a driving force for much-needed reforms and greater transparency and accountability. We've seen what Big Government looks like. No one would have thought that the IRS would turn against the American people, and yet here we are. We must always be vigilant and guarded against the overreach of power. I will continue fighting to defend liberty. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment and stand for Americans' Fourth Amendment protections.

Mr. DAINES

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, Montanans tell me every day how the EPA's ever-changing rules are preventing them from hiring new workers or forcing them to foot the bill for unreasonable compliance costs. In fact, one Montanan said, you know, the EPA must stand for the Employment Prevention Agency. The EPA's out-of-control regulatory overreach costs hardworking American taxpayers billions of dollars and thousands of jobs every year and all-too-often is put into place with a lack of oversight or public input. The Energy Consumers Relief Act is an important step in making the EPA accountable to the American people. This bill blocks the implementation of rules that harm the economy and ensures that before the EPA finalizes any rule costing more than $1 billion, it informs Congress of the rule's impact on the economy and on energy prices. Another important bill, the Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act, brings much-needed regulatory certainty to job creators and helps keep energy costs low by taking the power out of the EPA's hands and returning it to the States where it belongs. These commonsense proposals will help keep energy costs low for American families, protect thousands of good-paying jobs, and ultimately ensure that the EPA's accountable to the American people.

Mr. DAINES

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

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Chairman, I stand in strong opposition to this amendment, which amounts to the unilateral reduction of our nuclear forces. Unilateral reductions of our nuclear forces are wrong for national security--period. These reductions have been directly and explicitly recommended against by the Joint Chiefs and senior DOD civilian officials, all who have said that reductions must be made bilaterally in concert with Russia. I am deeply concerned that not only is this proposal to unilaterally disarm unwise; it is also shortsighted. It could seriously diminish the long-term security of our Nation. We face a world today in which nuclear threats to the United States are increasing and our conventional military capabilities face dramatic reductions. Given this, our nuclear deterrent is becoming more important, not less. Malmstrom Air Force Base, in my home State of Montana, is home to 150 of our Nation's intercontinental ballistic missiles. Earlier this year, I visited Malmstrom and I met with the leaders of the 341st Missile Wing to discuss the importance of our ICBM mission to our national security. Colonel Robert W. Stanley, the commander at Malmstrom, gave me this commander's coin, which bears a motto that truly sums up why our defense strategy is effective. It says this: ``Scaring the hell out of America's enemies since 1962.'' This motto clearly demonstrates the importance of our peace-through- strength strategy. We cannot underestimate the role that our strong nuclear defenses have played in keeping America secure and maintaining peace not only with Russia, but throughout the world. In fact, some say we have never had to use our ICBMs. I would argue we use them every day to ensure that the world is a safer place. That is why I urge my colleagues to also support the amendment that I've introduced, alongside Congressman Lamborn, Congresswoman Lummis, and Congressman Cramer. Our amendment will help keep America safe by maintaining a strong nuclear deterrent and preventing the Obama administration from pursuing efforts to unilaterally reduce our nuclear arsenal. The Obama administration requested funds in their 2014 budget proposal to do environmental impact studies of our ICBMs, which is widely seen as a back door to attempting to reduce our ICBM fleet. Our amendment simply prohibits this study. Now is not the time to reduce our ICBM fleet, which is why I would urge all of my colleagues to oppose Mr. Quigley's amendment and to support the Daines-Lamborn- Lummis-Cramer amendment. I yield such time as she may consume to the distinguished gentlewoman from Wyoming (Mrs. Lummis).

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert).

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Chairman, I am always concerned when the Joint Chiefs have a strong opinion about our national defense. Given that, these reductions have been directly and explicitly recommended against by the Joint Chiefs and by senior DOD civilian officials. These gentlemen have all said the reductions must only be made bilaterally, in concert with Russia. This is shortsighted; it is unwise; and it is a threat to our national security. Therefore, I oppose this unilateral reduction in our nuclear forces. With that, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAINES

Mr. DAINES. Madam Speaker, one of the best parts of my job is meeting with Montana students. These young people are the future leaders of our State, and it's exciting to hear about their ideas and aspirations for making their communities and our State a better place to live and to work. As a father of four and personally, myself, as a product of Montana's public schools--in fact, from kindergarten in Bozeman all the way through college at Montana State University--I know that Montana's students have so much potential. Our oldest daughter, Annie, will be graduating from Montana State University this fall with a degree in elementary education. That's why it's critical that they have access to quality education and training that prepares them to pursue careers and goals they are passionate about. We must work towards commonsense reforms that empower our schools and teachers to innovate and address our students' unique needs. No two students or schools are the same. More local and State input and less Federal bureaucracy will help provide our educators with the flexibility they need to help our kids learn. I am looking forward to our upcoming debate on how we can work to improve our education system.