Raúl Grijalva

Mr. GRIJALVA

Mr. GRIJALVA. There are no additional speakers.

Mr. GRIJALVA

Mr. GRIJALVA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor an incredible public servant and community leader who has made an indelible mark on the Sonoran Desert region and on the community of Tucson, Arizona. Maeveen Marie Behan has changed the face of Pima County and will leave a legacy of successful community-based conservation planning and endangered species protection throughout the country by the work she has accomplished in Southern Arizona. Maeveen Marie Behan, JD, PhD, was born July 13, 1961 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Maeveen lived in numerous states as a child and graduated from the University of Georgia with a BA in English. While in high school, Maeveen was the first woman in Georgia to break the six-minute mile. She continued her athletic prowess on the tennis court and has always loved to run races in any city where she vacationed. She is a rabid lifelong Alabama football and Chapel Hill basketball fan. Maeveen met the love of her life, Harry Goldwasser, while they were students together at the University of Georgia. Harry and Maeveen married in 1986. Maeveen is devoted to her bloodhounds, ``Sweet Peas'' Charlie and Hermione, and has written a series of children's stories based on her dogs. After Maeveen received her Juris Doctorate from the University of Alabama School of Law, and her husband Harry completed his residency at UNC Chapel Hill, they moved to Arizona, where they lived in Chinle while Maeveen worked for the Navajo Nation. They moved to Tucson in 1992 and Maeveen went to work for Pima County, where her career has encompassed numerous projects. In December 2006, Maeveen received her doctorate in Arid Lands Research Sciences researching the role of folklore in conservation; the title of her dissertation is Science and Lore in Animal Law. Reading up to four books a day, her interests are extremely diverse. She relishes mysteries, cartoons, myths, fables, and folklore throughout history. Her extraordinary intelligence, integrity and high standards are reflected in everything she sets her hand to. Maeveen has accomplished the culmination of her life's work over the last decade as the principal author and guiding light of Pima County's national award winning Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan and as the first Director of the County's Office of Conservation Science and Environmental Policy. Maeveen is a prolific author, writing dozens of reports for the plan and directing over 200 others covering a wide variety of topics. Maeveen has been the leader in developing the County's efforts to preserve the key biological resources of the Sonoran Desert through a precedent setting Multi-species Habitat Conservation Plan. Maeveen has provided leadership for the community response to the listing of the cactus ferruginous pygmy-owl as a federally endangered species. The result has been hailed as a national model by local, regional and national media, planning and government agencies, and non-profit organizations for how to respond to the dilemma posed by urban growth and living with the environment. She recommended that the County broaden the scope of discussions to other important and vulnerable species as well as infrastructure, taxation, history, archeology, open space, housing, water, recreation and ranching. Instead of limiting the response to the boundaries of unincorporated Pima County, Maeveen suggested that the Board of Supervisors open the process to all affected entities, including ranchers, developers, environmental groups, tribal entities, interested citizens, and elected leaders of the incorporated entities. Maeveen Behan's efforts have catalyzed support for open space acquisition, funding for repairing wildlife corridors, improved cooperation among jurisdictions, strengthening of Federal land commitments, and revisions of County policies and procedures. Maeveen personally attended over 600 meetings with citizens and elected officials about the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan and made herself available night and day for over 3 years. She also inspired the science community to participate in developing the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan in a way that honored their integrity as scientists without intrusion of jurisdictional concerns or political pressure from interest groups. Maeveen also created the Sonoran Desert Kids program to educate and inspire generations of young citizens about the importance of the desert ecosystem. In 2001 the Board adopted the Conservation Lands System as the long- term, locally adopted vision for balancing economic integrity and protecting natural resources and cultural heritage in Pima County. Pima County is completing the final draft of its Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan for submittal to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Her commitment to transparency in government and to an open public process involving scientists, conservationists, business interests, multiple jurisdictions, government agencies and other stakeholders has been a model for the nation. Her keen insight, sense of duty, and humor inspires us all. Maeveen's professional and life mantra has always been, ``Just do the right thing''.

Mr. GRIJALVA

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent for 5 legislative days during which Members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on H. Res. 806 into the Record.

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of this bill that enhances the Morris K. Udall Foundation and honors the life of Stewart Udall. The Morris K. Udall Foundation is an independent Federal agency based in Tucson, Arizona, which operates exceptional educational programs focused on developing leadership on environmental issues and Native American issues. It also includes the U.S. Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution, the only program within the Federal Government focused entirely on preventing, managing, and resolving Federal environmental conflicts. The legislation today will enhance the foundation's programs and operations, and at the same time honor one of the greatest public servants and conservationists in history, Stewart L. Udall, by adding his name to the foundation of his late brother, Morris K. Udall. The Udall Foundation was established by Congress in 1992. Initially, the foundation's mission was to provide educational opportunities for studies related to the environment and Native American tribal policy and health care. In 1998, Congress amended the Udall Foundation's enabling legislation to add a new mission: resolving conflicts related to the environment, natural resources, and public lands through services including mediation, facilitation, and training. The work of the Udall Foundation has become even more important today as the Nation seeks long-term responses to climate change, sustainable energy supplies, and a sustainable economy for all Americans. Through its education programs, the Udall Foundation identifies and educates tomorrow's leaders in fields that are critical to the energy, climate change, and economic issues that face our Nation. These programs include: The premier college scholarship and doctoral fellowship for studies related to the environment and a scholarship for Native Americans studying tribal policy or health care. The Native American Congressional Internship Program that has provided to many of our offices over 150 young Native American leaders that have been part of that internship program. The Native Nations Institute for Leadership, Management, and Policy that provides both governance and economic development resources for tribal nations as they develop their own self-determination and fully develop the sovereignty that they have. The Parks in Focus Program which connects underserved youth to nature through the art of photography and instilling them with a long-last understanding and appreciation for our national parks and other public lands. I think it is very appropriate for Congress to provide solid support for the Udall Foundation and very important programs through this legislation, while at the same time recognizing the unsurpassed contributions of Stewart Udall by adding his name to the foundation's title. Stewart Udall served in the House of Representatives with distinction from 1955, representing an area that included what is now my district, until he was appointed Secretary of the Interior in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy. As Secretary of the Interior, Stewart Udall had an unmatched record of environmental leadership, overseeing the creation of 4 national parks, 6 national monuments, 8 national sea shore and lake shores, 9 recreation areas, 20 historic sites, and 56 wildlife refuges. He continued to make substantial contributions to environmental and Native American policy as a lawyer and author following his tenure at the Interior. For these reasons, I believe that the legislation deserves the support of the House. At this point, Mr. Speaker, I yield the remainder of my time to the gentlelady from Florida (Ms. Castor) and ask unanimous consent that she manage the remainder of the bill.

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 806) providing for the concurrence by the House in the Senate amendment to H.R. 1035, with an amendment.

Mr. GRIJALVA

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, in summary, I think H.R. 324 is a good piece of legislation. When the heritage areas were formed 25 years ago, I don't believe Members of Congress, Republicans and Democrats, knew how successful they were going to be, how popular they were going to be, how much private money that these initiatives would leverage in communities, and, because of that, it continues to be popular with Members of both sides of the aisle. The other issue is, as we go through this legislation and debate what is in there or not, I don't believe that there is a level of appeasement that we can put into this legislation that would garner the support from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. It is a good piece of legislation. I consider this not only good for the region that I represent, but beginning the process of on-the-border lands dealing with issues comprehensively. One of those issues is to recognize the richness, the diversity and the history of the region. The other area that I want to talk about briefly is the issue of border enforcement. The problems along the border with enforcement are not due to the creation of heritage areas. They are not the reason that we have unauthorized crossings. They are not the reason that we have drug cartels. They are not the reason that we have organized gun runners from the United States. Those are not the reasons. Heritage areas are not to blame for that horrible situation. And the inability of Homeland Security over the last 5 years to effectively put their technology to work, to effectively do the kind of border security initiatives that they needed, environmental issues are not the cause of that. I would say ineptitude, inefficiencies and waste of money were the reasons that that didn't get done. This bill solves a problem. It solves a problem of a region badly needing a shot in the arm, an acknowledgement that it is and continues to be a valued part of this great Nation of ours. I yield back the remainder of my time and ask that the legislation be supported.

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 760, I call up the bill (H.R. 324) to establish the Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on H.R. 324.

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in strong support of H.R. 324, legislation I was proud to introduce earlier this year along with my friend and colleague Representative Giffords. My own history began in the Santa Cruz Valley at the Canoa Ranch where my father worked. My earliest memories are of life in an extraordinary, scenic valley; and they comprise a very important part of who I am today. H.R. 324 designates the Santa Cruz Valley region of Arizona as a national heritage area. This would allow the National Park Service to support existing and future State and local conservation efforts through Federal recognition, seed money, and technical assistance. The Santa Cruz Valley is one of America's longest inhabited regions, with traces of human occupation extending back 12,000 years. The region was not only the center of centuries of Native American culture and history but also served as a corridor of Spanish exploration, colonization, and missionary activity; and a frontier of Mexican and early American mining, ranching, and agriculture. Today the valley is a leading center of desert ecology, climate research, astronomy, optics, and archeology. The historic Spanish missions, presidio fortresses, and ranches are found throughout the valley. Streets lined with Sonoran-style adobe houses recall the period when the region was part of Mexico. Ghost towns, old mines, territorial-style ranch houses, remnants of the mining and cattle industries date to the 1850s when this area became part of the United States. The valley sweeps across the Santa Cruz and eastern Pima County, encompassing cactus-covered slopes, open grasslands, rugged canyons, forested mountain ranges rising to more than 9,000 feet, and lush oases created by rare desert streams. That varied landscape provides many different habitats that are home to a diversity of plant and animal life, including tropical species, unique desert species, and mountaintop survivors from the Ice Age. The heritage area designated by H.R. 324 includes two national parks, four State parks, six large county parks, four major lakes, two designated scenic highways, and several hundred miles of backcountry trails and urban bikeways. The Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail, designated by Congress in 1990, runs along the Santa Cruz River for the length of the heritage area. The Butterfield Overland Dispatch Trail also crosses the valley. Also included are 32 museums, as well as 28 districts and 102 individual buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and dozens of prehistoric and historic archeological sites. A July 2005 study by the Center for Desert Archaeology, on which the bill is based, examined the many resources of the region and found that the area meets the 10 criteria set forth by the National Park Service for proposed heritage areas. H.R. 324 designates the area; sets out the duties of the management organization and the requirements for a management plan; requires the Secretary of the Interior to approve or disapprove of the plan within 180 days; provides criteria for judging that plan; allows the Secretary to provide technical assistance and grants; and authorizes $15 million over 15 years, with no more than $1 million to be appropriated in any fiscal year. All Federal funds must be matched by contributions from non-Federal sources. The bill includes extensive protections for private property owners and prohibits the use of Federal lands received under the act for land acquisition. H.R. 324 is strongly supported throughout the Santa Cruz Valley. All incorporated local governments have supported it and have given this proposal their formal support. Other supporters include two Native American tribes, chambers of commerce and other civic organizations, the Arizona Office of Tourism and other tourism councils, the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association, conservation groups and developers, and many other businesses and individuals. Mr. Speaker, at this point I would like to say a few words about the heritage areas in general. This is a well-established, well-tested program that has been operating for 25 years. There are 49 heritage areas running in 29 States. Well over 50 million people live, work, and recreate inside the national heritage area. Mr. Speaker, the National Park Service and the Alliance of National Heritage Areas commissioned Michigan State University to study the economic impacts of the national heritage area. The study found that just one national heritage area resulted in $780,000 in wages and salaries; $1.2 million in value added, mostly from dining and lodging; and created 51 jobs. If you extend this to all the heritage areas, we are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars in economic benefit to local communities and roughly 2,500 jobs. In closing, Mr. Speaker, let me once again urge my colleagues to support H.R. 324, my bill to help preserve a fascinating area full of history and culture and the wonders of nature. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GRIJALVA. I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Ms. Giffords).

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the chairman of the full Resources Committee, the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall).

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I would just extend congratulations to my colleague that just finished speaking. He caught us. This is a grant- funded program. Heritage areas have been grant-funded programs for 25 years, and I am glad that he was able to find that and point that out. Those of us that represent the border understand how painful, how divisive, and in some areas how devastating what is going on on the border is. Not only with unauthorized entries, but with the drug cartels coming one way, the gun runners going the other way sending guns to Mexico, we understand it is very painful, and the inactivity of this Congress to deal with that immigration issue has made that pain even more severe. But I think it is wrong to try to deal with an immigration issue that people are either afraid to deal with or exploit for political purposes and try to layer that on to a heritage area in the Santa Cruz Valley. I say that for far too long when we talk about the border region, it is always in a negative context. Always. And for too long, the people that live there, the people that raise their families there, the people that work there, the culture, the natural heritage that that area has is ignored, underfunded, and never really dealt with. This is an opportunity to do something along a border region that is not going to promote illegal crossings, that is not going to impede any law enforcement, including Border Patrol, from carrying out their duty and the application of the law; to do something for an area, a part of the United States of America, to do something for that area and say this is special, this is unique, we want to work with this area and show that uniqueness to the rest of the country. I think it is an opportunity to do more than just scapegoat and fear monger about border issues and do something positive, something necessary, and something that will tell the people that live there, like many of us do, you are worthy, you are in this country, you are United States citizens, and we acknowledge that because of the special unique heritage that you bring to this country. I think this is part of this discussion today, and we shouldn't let fear- mongering and we shouldn't let scapegoating dominate the decision that needs to be made on this legislation, which is to approve it. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve my time.

Mr. GRIJALVA. No.

Mr. GRIJALVA. I object, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. GRIJALVA. I rise to claim time in opposition to the motion to recommit.

Mr. GRIJALVA. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have come to accept the fact that redundancy is part of the process here that we go through. So in accepting that reality, let me just state one more time, nowhere in this legislation is there an infringement, a taking of private property rights. Nowhere. The motion asks that close to a quarter of a million property owners, if not more, be notified and asked to either be part of or not be part of this heritage area. That process would create a Swiss cheese designation for that area; and in the previous 49, there is not one incident where a private property owner has been forced, coerced into being part of or permitting their private property to be used as a designation. That is already in the legislation. With regard to the issue of border enforcement, again, I asked the Rules Committee to insert that so there would be clarification that the activities of Homeland Security, plus all other local enforcement--the sheriffs, local police, tribal police, et cetera--that their ability to carry out their mission and enforce the law was part and parcel and that the heritage area in no way would impinge, infringe or restrict that ability. That is already in the legislation. So why the motion to recommit? I think it's just part of a very cynical exploitation of a very, very divisive issue in this country, the issue of immigration and the issue of unauthorized people in this country. The heritage area is not responsible for that situation. It has been the inability of this Congress to come to grips with the situation that has aggravated and made it worse. And as a person who represents the border and has to deal with constituents that are affected by this decision every day, the lack of attention, serious, rational, mature attention to this issue, rather than exploitation of this issue, is what they're asking this Congress to do. The heritage area has nothing to do with how we're going to resolve this issue. The heritage area, for once, is an acknowledgement of a part of this country that for too long and, most recently, in a very cynical way has been exploited both as a region and the people who live there. We are saying, this heritage area is your acknowledgement that you're part and parcel of this country. I ask that the motion to recommit be defeated. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the instructions of the House in the motion to recommit, I report the bill, H.R. 324, back to the House with an amendment.

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. GRIJALVA

Mr. GRIJALVA. Madam Speaker, on September 22, 2009, I was unavoidably detained and was unable to be present for the recorded votes. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall #720, ``yea'' on rollcall #721, and ``yea'' on rollcall #722.

Mr. GRIJALVA

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to our majority leader, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 726, I call up the bill (H.R. 965) to amend the Chesapeake Bay Initiative Act of 1998 to provide for the continuing authorization of the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on H.R. 965.

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 965, introduced by our friend and colleague, Representative John Sarbanes. H.R. 965 is a simple, straightforward bill that would permanently authorize the highly successful Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network. Over 10 million people each year visit one of the 166 gateway sites supported by this program. They come to kayak or canoe, hike or bike, picnic, hunt or fish, or to watch wildlife. Others come to visit the Chesapeake's many maritime museums or to renew their acquaintance with the turning points in our Nation's history, such as the sites at Fort McHenry and Yorktown battlefield. Each of these visitors comes away with a strengthened awareness of the crucial role the Chesapeake Bay plays in our national story and as the ecological and economic heart of the mid-Atlantic. And that is the goal of the gateway network, to renew our connection with that great Bay. The program is so successful that the National Park Service has heaped praise upon it, and the White House in 2005 declared it to be a ``cooperative conservation success story.'' Congress originally authorized this program for 5 years and renewed that short-term authorization in 2002. In 2004, a National Park Service special resource study concluded that a permanent commitment to the program would ensure its long-term viability and enhance the Chesapeake's status among America's national treasures. Anyone who reads The Washington Post knows that the Bay's oyster population is in trouble. That situation is both a symptom and one of the causes of the precarious health of the Bay. Keeping people connected and concerned about the Bay is vital to each step in restoring that great estuary, from its headwaters to its oyster beds. The Gateways Network does just that. This program is a proven success and should be permanently authorized. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 965. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, the motion doesn't tell us who would have the certification power or how we would meet the standard that the motion to recommit attempts to make. It's like saying we on the Republican side ran up a huge deficit. Now we want to penalize this one little program until you clean up the mess. Why this program? Why not a program that was done this morning during the Natural Resources Committee meeting where the sponsor of the motion to recommit, the gentleman from Washington, had legislation that passed for a road which runs through his district? Should we put the same standard on that legislation? This is arbitrary, this motion to recommit. While it attempts to score political points, it also, if passed, jeopardizes a very valuable resource that, if not restored and protected through the legislation, will cause disastrous economic, environmental, cultural, and health consequences--bad consequences for the Mid-Atlantic and for the Nation as a whole. The motion to recommit, while an attempt to score points, has no merit. It is arbitrary and I urge its defeat. I yield back the balance of my time.