Raúl Grijalva

Mr. GRIJALVA

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1722, the Grand Ronde Reservation Amendment Act of 2023 offered by my colleague from Oregon (Ms. Salinas). This legislation will correct a decades-old error that restricted the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde in raising land claims in the State of Oregon. During the ``termination era,'' a shameful time for our country, the Confederated Tribes, and other Tribes in Oregon, had their Federal recognition terminated by Congress in 1954. The Grand Ronde Tribe was later restored in 1983 with the passage of the Grand Ronde Restoration Act. However, in 1988, the Bureau of Land Management discovered a land surveying mistake on the eastern boundary of the Tribe's original reservation. The survey excluded an 84-acre piece of land known as the Thompson Strip. To compensate the Grand Ronde Tribe for the loss incurred by that error, the Bureau of Land Management subsequently arranged a land exchange with the Tribe to be approved by Congress. Unfortunately, through that legislation in 1994, the Grand Ronde saw their rights further restricted with language that prohibited the Tribe from making any additional land claims if new errors were delivered. Today's bill would end this unfair restriction on the Tribe so that they may pursue recourse if additional survey errors are ever found. No other Tribe in the State of Oregon faces this kind of legal restriction. This legislation has bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, having passed out of committee by voice vote in the Senate, and unanimously here in the House. The passage of this legislation would be immensely consequential for the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Salinas), the sponsor of this bipartisan legislation.

Mr. GRIJALVA

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1607, introduced by my colleague from Arizona (Mr. Schweikert) and co-led by Representative Greg Stanton, also from Arizona. This bill would reserve certain lands in Arizona to the United States for use as part of the Salt River Federal Reclamation Project. The Salt River Project was first authorized in 1903 and provides water and power to over 2 million people in central Arizona today. Under this legislation, the reserved lands will be used for development, generation, and transmission of electrical power and energy to assist the Salt River Project in expanding pumped storage hydropower facilities to meet increasing energy demands. I thank my colleagues from Arizona, Representatives Schweikert and Stanton for introducing and promoting this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GRIJALVA

Mr. GRIJALVA. My Republican colleagues are always quick to protest about process, but it seems that their actions speak louder than their crocodile tears. Their rejection of this amendment demonstrates yet again that this appropriations process is a sham. This particular bill ignores climate and the effects of climate change that are ongoing worldwide and in this country. It undoes any protections to vulnerable communities and communities in general by gutting essential programs and monitoring an enforcement of clean air and clean water, and it erases history. It says we are going to wash this part of history out as, for example, the blocking of the Latino museum, that that part of American history does not exist, and we will not appropriate for that. Mr. Chair, I urge rejection of this legislation. It is not just a step backward, it is a dismantling of basic public health, environmental, and consequential issues dealing with the identity of this great Nation of ours.

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Chair, this Interior and Environment appropriations bill, much like the House Republican appropriations bills that have come before it, is an extreme MAGA manifesto. It is not at all representative of the values of the American people. This bill is full of reckless policy riders that undermine the most basic environmental protections, take us backwards in the climate fight, and introduce climate change denial as part of a policy for the Republican majority. It pads Big Oil's profits by selling off our Nation's public lands, waters, wildlife, and endangered species. It rips away the historic and hard-fought climate wins in the Inflation Reduction Act that are not only for protecting our future but growing the middle class with hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs. It bullies American communities that have already been overburdened by pollution and guts environmental justice efforts. We have seen many of these riders in the Natural Resources Committee this year. They don't have a future as stand-alone bills. Instead of putting in the work to govern and finding meaningful solutions, seeking compromise that the American people actually want, House Republicans are shamelessly burying these provisions in the most extreme Interior Appropriations bill we have ever seen. House Republicans are following the marching orders of their monarch, former President Trump. It doesn't matter how many times he is indicted for fraud, for stealing classified documents, or for orchestrating an insurrection and a coordinated attempt to overthrow our democracy, they are here doing his bidding to prop up Big Oil and its favorite oligarchs, no matter who gets hurt. To protect the American people, I and 33 of my colleagues submitted an amendment to strip from this bill the dangerous policy riders, but the Rules Committee, controlled by the most extreme members of the Republican Conference, wouldn't allow a vote on the floor.

Mr. GRIJALVA

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of University of Arizona-led NASA mission of spacecraft OSIRIS-REx and the first ever return of an asteroid sample to Earth. Launched seven years ago, in 2016, the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) successfully arrived at the asteroid Bennu in 2018. Because Bennu is older than Earth, studying a sample of Bennu will provide understanding of what might have been delivered to early Earth during Precambrian time. The asteroid is 500 meters across, roughly the height of the Empire State Building. OSIRIS- REx used complex imagery to successfully map and determine the best place to obtain a sample. On October 20, 2020, OSIRIS-REx landed and collected a sample of Bennu, four times more sample than originally expected. On May 10, 2021, OSIRIS-REx began its return voyage to Earth. This past Sunday, September 24, OSIRIS-REx released a capsule containing the Bennu sample before continuing on to rendezvous with the asteroid Apophis. Apophis will come very close to Earth's orbit in 2029. The sample return capsule made a spectacular descent as it hit the Earth's atmosphere, traveling 27,000 miles per hour and reaching five thousand degrees Fahrenheit. The capsule safely reached the drop zone, traveling a mere 11 miles per hour. Crews determined the integrity of the capsule; it is now in a clean room preparing for analysis. The sample will be analyzed by students at the University of Arizona to determine Bennu's physical and chemical properties, windows into the most fundamental questions of our universe--namely how planets formed and how life began. Examining Bennu will also aid scientists in planning for possible impact mitigation missions. Asteroids like Bennu contain natural resources such as water, organics, and precious metals. I am extremely proud that Tucson is once again a key player in a critical NASA mission, just as it has been with many others throughout our Nation's history. OSIRIS-REx is an $800 million University of Arizona-led NASA mission that demonstrates the importance of vital scientific investments. The OSIRIS-REx mission is funded by NASA and its science is led by the University of Arizona (UA). I would like to once again congratulate Dr. Dante Lauretta of the UA Lunar and Planetary Laboratory for his leadership as principal investigator and, along with his team, for bringing this exciting mission to the sample analysis phase. I greatly look forward to celebrating even more milestones with his team as analysis reveals untold mysteries of our universe and as the now OSIRIS-REx-APEX continues towards the asteroid Apophis. This mission is the latest in a long list of achievements by scientists at the University of Arizona in my home district. In fact, UA scientists have collaborated in every single American mission to the Moon and Mars since 1964, including serving as the lead on the Phoenix Mars Mission. The University of Arizona is involving undergraduate and graduate students and continuing to cultivate the next generation of STEM leaders--many of whom will be from my home state of Arizona. I wish the OSIRIS-REx team the best of luck in the analysis stage of their historic mission and congratulate them in their profound success in the first ever return of an asteroid sample to Earth.

Mr. GRIJALVA

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Huffman).

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3324, introduced by my friend from California, Representative Huffman, would extend the Forest Service's existing authority to collect and retain marina fees in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. The chairman has outlined the content of the legislation, and I won't repeat that again. It is a good bill and it is essential to the operation and the management of the recreation area. It is a critical tool that needs to be extended. The continuation of this authority has been an ongoing priority for the Forest Service and the surrounding communities. I thank and congratulate Mr. Huffman for his leadership on the issue. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GRIJALVA

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3389, the Emergency Wildfire Fighting Technology Act, was introduced by my colleague, Representative Valadao of California. The bill requires the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior, in coordination with the National Interagency Aviation Committee and Interagency Airtanker Board, to complete an evaluation of the container aerial fighting system to support wildland fire mitigation and suppression. In 2011, the Forest Service conducted a study and determined that this particular delivery system did not meet existing standards and posed safety risks to our communities and forests. However, there have been technological advancements in the decades since the initial report, and this bill aims to kick-start research that could promote the use of under-utilized technology. The climate crisis is clearly increasing the severity and the duration of the wildfire season, so it is imperative that we continuously research and re-evaluate any emerging technology. Mr. Speaker, I thank the majority for their willingness to work with us on amending the bill at markup. The updated text that we are considering today ensures that the Forest Service retains the decisionmaking authority with respect to the use of this particular tool. This is an important safeguard for the safety of wildland firefighters and the communities impacted by the wildfire crisis. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GRIJALVA

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 1567 introduced by my colleague from Wisconsin, Representative Tiffany. The United States Forest Service manages millions of acres of forestland, including vital watersheds, critical wildlife habitat, and countless outdoor recreational areas. The Forest Service's 10-year Wildfire Crisis Strategy Implementation Plan stresses the importance of fire-adapted landscapes and hazardous fuel treatments to build resilient forests. Wildfire risk reduction projects are complex multistep processes requiring significant planning and investments often carried out over several years. Therefore, it is important that we receive accurate, transparent, and accessible data on how forest management projects are being planned and implemented. This legislation would require the agency to include a report in the President's annual budget on hazardous fuel activities carried out in a given fiscal year to account for each treated acre. This ongoing reporting requirement will enhance transparency and accountability, providing critical information that can help guide investments in management of our national forests--including how we deploy our historic investments in wildfire risk reduction efforts that were included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and in the Inflation Reduction Act. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GRIJALVA

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 1450 is the Treating Tribes and Counties as Good Neighbors Act introduced by my colleague from Idaho, Representative Fulcher. This bill updates the Good Neighbor Authority program to update the incentives for Tribes and counties to partner with the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management on restoration projects designed to enhance resilience and promote healthy landscapes. As climate change intensifies, it is crucial that land managers utilize collaborative, consensus-driven tools such as Good Neighbor Authority to facilitate conservation, restoration, and resiliency of Federal lands and neighboring lands. However, under current law, only States are authorized to retain revenues from timber sales and contracts executed through this program. This legislation provides parity for Tribes and counties to increase community participation in the restoration of our public lands. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Perez), the sponsor of the legislation.

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. It creates parity and access for two significant constituencies, counties and Tribes, and creates parity for them. I think at the end of the day, it creates a collaborative effort that is more comprehensive and more extensive. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GRIJALVA

Mr. GRIJALVA. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, today, I rise in opposition to the resolution, but before I go into that part, I was thinking. Today doesn't feel like it is a day that we are debating chickens and bats. It feels strangely like Groundhog Day and that we are doing this over and over again. Anyway, Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to the resolution. Like the one we just saw, this resolution doesn't do anything the American people have asked for. In my 20 years in Congress, no constituent has ever asked me what we are doing to put the northern long-eared bat on the brink of extinction. I suspect I am not alone. That raises a question. If the Republicans aren't answering to the American people with these absurd resolutions, who are they answering to? Unfortunately, the answer is the same as it has been since the beginning of this Congress. Nowhere is the answer clearer than on the Natural Resources Committee, where we see countless hearings and bills just like this one that attack the Endangered Species Act and our other fundamental environmental protections like the National Environmental Policy Act. To put it simply, the GOP's environmental and energy agenda is designed for one constituency and one constituency only--the polluting industry. If you have any doubts, let's just do a brief recap. Starting back in January, after they finally finished the 15 votes it took to elect a Speaker, the Republican majority wasted no time in getting H.R. 21, their first and apparently last open rule bill, to the floor. That bill was a shameless giveaway of our public lands to Big Oil. Despite the fact that they already have millions of acres of leases and they don't even use them, it was still the first important bill for the Republican majority. Next, we had H.R. 1, fittingly dubbed the polluters over people act. Bill number ``H.R. 1`` is typically reserved for the majority party's most important and visionary piece of legislation. In this case, it seems the GOP's vision for America is a desperate and deliberate attempt to give oil, gas, and mining companies every handout and every loophole they can dream up. H.R. 1 lowered royalty rates, repealed interest fees, reinstated noncompetitive leasing, weakened public health and safety guardrails, and, of course, systematically gutted NEPA. Given the bill's unpopularity and the grim outlook anywhere beyond this extremist House majority, Republicans decided that the only way to pass it would be to hold the American people hostage with their MAGA- manufactured debt ceiling crisis and make the polluters over people act part of that ransom note. Unfortunately for all of us, that wasn't the end of their pro- polluter crusade. Industry's favorite GOP enablers have already signaled that they are planning to use the next must-pass legislation opportunity that they have, likely our appropriations bills, as the next hostage situation. I guess a policy agenda that only polluters want isn't something you can pass through regular order in this House, which brings us back to where we are today. These resolutions attack the Endangered Species Act, one of the country's most beloved and successful environmental laws. In the 50 years since it was signed into law, the ESA has protected 99 percent of listed species from extinction. No time is more important than now, while we are facing the compounding crisis of climate change and biodiversity loss. We should be strengthening and supporting ESA science and implementation, not pecking at it in order to destroy ESA. Before we go further, we heard from Republicans in the previous debate about how it is hurting energy and Big Oil. We have heard a lot from my colleagues about how the lesser prairie-chicken and the northern long-eared bat are supposedly hurting oil and gas development. I want to take a moment to assure my Republican colleagues that they don't need to worry about Big Oil. Last year, the top oil companies-- BP, Chevron, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Shell, and TotalEnergies--more than doubled their profits from 2021. Combined, these companies raked in $219 billion in just profits. That is not revenue; it is just profits. This windfall of cash allowed these companies to pay out a record $110 billion in dividend buybacks to investors and CEO bonuses. Needless to say, Big Oil is doing okay. The chicken and the bat are not a threat to them, and any crocodile tears about their dire circumstances are just that. Let's remember we work for the American people and not these industry polluters. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GRIJALVA

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise in opposition to this resolution. There was a lot I could say and thought about saying about this resolution and the one that we will see after it. I could talk about how badly these two measures undermine conservation efforts for species that are endangered and threatened across our Nation and across the globe. I could talk about how these resolutions give industry and not science the upper hand in making decisions about our endangered species. I could talk about how this latest offering from team extreme takes the GOP's vendetta against the Endangered Species Act to a level that should offend us all. Nevertheless, as I thought about it, I realized that what is more offensive than these resolutions themselves is the fact that these resolutions are on the floor right now today. We are about to leave the House for 6 weeks. By the time we come back, summer will be nearly over. If the current temperatures stay on track, it will have been one of the most brutal summers in this country's recorded history. In my home State of Arizona, Phoenix has now broken records with what is now a 27-day streak of more than 110-degree heat. In Florida, the ocean heat wave has warmed the waters to 5 to 7 degrees above normal. That level of heat is a disaster for corals, marine life, and all the local businesses and economies that depend on them. Tragically, last month a heat wave in Texas was so oppressive it claimed 13 lives. That also happened to be the same month that was awarded the grim honor of being the hottest June ever on record. July isn't looking any different. Climate change isn't about some distant warning about melting ice caps in the far-off future. The climate crisis is here. It is now. People are suffering, and people are dying, and the GOP isn't doing anything about it. This year, in the Natural Resources Committee, the Republican majority has had zero hearings on climate change. They have introduced zero bills to seriously address climate change. They have introduced zero bills to help communities being hurt by climate change, and they have accepted zero Democratic amendments to include climate change in any of their legislation. Today, Republicans have decided that the most important thing they could do before we leave for 6 weeks would be a couple of resolutions to kill off the lesser prairie-chicken and the northern long-eared bat. We are about to go back to our districts where our constituents will have questions about what we are doing to protect their homes, their businesses, and their livelihoods from the increasing threat of climate change. I have to wonder if my Republican colleagues think that bullying chickens and bats would be a sufficient answer. I don't agree, and I am certain our constituents won't agree either. Fortunately for Democrats, we can assure our constituents that we passed the country's biggest ever investment in climate and clean energy through the Inflation Reduction Act last year and that the Biden administration is working to get that funding out the door as quickly and as equitably as possible against ongoing efforts in appropriations to defund those initiatives and to dismantle, as we see today, existing environmental protections. Unfortunately, the Big Gas and Big Oil industry in this country is making Americans more and more dependent on fossil fuels as their source of energy and thus increasing the climate crisis that we are experiencing now. Common sense says that the new party in charge of the House would want to keep that historic momentum going, but sometimes common sense ain't that common. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this resolution. I urge my Republican colleagues to come back in September with a better plan to help the American people than a couple of go-nowhere resolutions that beat up on bats and chickens, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, during the markup of this particular bill, the chair of the Natural Resources Committee agreed with the Democrats that these CRA resolutions are extreme. He said: The CRA process is an extreme process because it does take that ability away from a Federal agency, and if we enact this resolution, the agency can't take those steps again. That was repeated right now by my colleague who spoke. I ask my colleagues on the other side of the aisle who are taking this extreme step what their plan is. When the lesser prairie-chicken or the northern long-eared bat slips closer to extinction, what is the backup? There is no backup. The CRA is permanent, and extinction then becomes the only avenue and the only probability. Mr. Speaker, I suggest that 99 percent of the species that have been listed on the Endangered Species Act continue to exist. That is the track record that should be highlighted, and that is the track record, on this 50-year anniversary of the Endangered Species Act, that we should all be proud of. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, oil and gas companies raked in record profits last year, but it appears that House Republicans aren't done trying to give them handout after handout. This week, they are trying to give them a free pass to avoid conserving the lesser prairie-chicken and the Endangered Species Act in and of itself. H.R. 1, their top priority, the polluters over people act, lays out a blueprint on exactly how to reward the industry, how to make those handouts permanent, how to undermine and dismantle protections and laws that have been put in place for 50-plus years in reaction to the need to conserve species and, more importantly, to protect the American people and their health. Going forward, we have to understand that while these two resolutions we are dealing with today are part of it, there is a bigger agenda, a bigger blueprint, that talks about turning over the public policy and legislative arm of Congress to the oil and gas companies, to the big corporate interests that are raking in profits, ensuring that we continue to be dependent on their source of energy and not develop the renewable and clean energy the American people need and want and that is cheaper and will create jobs. That is what is on the agenda, as well. As we debate these two particular resolutions, let's not forget or ignore the underlying reality of what we are talking about in terms of energy policy, period, in this country. Let's not forget that, during the hostage taking on the debt ceiling, the principal point and the principal attack was against those fundamental environmental laws, again moving us in a direction that increases dependence on polluting industries and lessens our ability to respond to what the American people need, and that is a safe, secure environment for themselves and their families. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.