Paul Gosar

Mr. GOSAR

Mr. GOSAR. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6282, introduced by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Serrano). The bill designates a post office in the Bronx, New York, as the Dr. Roscoe C. Brown, Jr. Post Office Building. As a member of the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II, Dr. Brown was the first African American fighter pilot to shoot down a German fighter jet. After serving in World War II, Dr. Brown earned his Ph.D. at New York University, where he later taught, and served as the president of Bronx Community College. His service to the Nation is admirable, and I look forward to learning more about his extraordinary life from my colleague, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Serrano). I urge Members to support the bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOSAR

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and bring attention to an outstanding individual who has come to the United States and demonstrated that the American Dream is still alive and waiting for those who are willing to strive for it and are committed to achieving it. Shen-Yi Michelle Chang, now residing in Phoenix, Arizona, has shown the grit and resolve that has so long been a staple of American pioneers across this country. She founded her own real estate firm and has excelled at real estate development and sales. In so doing, she has helped countless others achieve their dream of home ownership, a cornerstone of the American Dream. Her dynamic office is a mainstay of the community and employs Arizonans from diverse backgrounds. Her peers have recognized her hard work and talent. Soon, Ms. Chang will be installed as the 2017 President of the Arizona State Women's Council of Realtors (WCR) and she will be the first Asian American to take office in its 78 year history. A woman dedicated to public service and the well-being of others, Ms. Chang serves on multiple commissions for the City of Chandler, Arizona. She has founded and runs numerous non-profits and even works in support of the local Little League team. It is an honor to recognize her hard work, diligence and determination. I congratulate Ms. Chang on behalf of the members of Congress and thank her for showing all of us what self-reliance and motivation can achieve and how such success can benefit one's community.

Mr. GOSAR

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Jordan). Under the Obama administration, the IRS has consistently proven that it cannot be trusted to serve the best interests of the American people. Unelected bureaucrats like Lois Lerner and John Koskinen have weaponized the agency and used it as a tool to blatantly target innocent Americans simply for having different political beliefs. Rather than cleaning house and restoring the trust of the American people, the IRS Commissioner John Koskinen has continued the pattern of criminal behavior and lawlessness within the IRS. On Koskinen's watch, more than 24,000 emails and 420 backup tapes providing critical evidence were completely erased. Koskinen failed to comply with a congressional subpoena, failed to testify truthfully in front of Congress four different times while under oath, and is now the ringleader for the cover-up of the targeting of innocent Americans by this rogue agency. Our Founding Fathers specifically empowered the House of Representatives with the authority to hold the executive branch in check when it violates the trust of the American people and, more importantly, when it violates the law. The only way we can change the climate of corruption in Washington, D.C., is to make an example of bureaucratic lawlessness. And we can start right now by removing John Koskinen from his job. Just you watch, if the House of Representatives takes action to fire John Koskinen, I guarantee you that the rest of the Obama administration and future administrations to come will get that message. It is beyond outrageous that not a single IRS employee has been brought to justice for targeting innocent Americans. The House has an obligation to pursue all constitutional options on the table to remove John Koskinen, including impeachment. Koskinen and accountability are within our reach, and my colleagues and I will not yield in our efforts to hold this lawless agency accountable until we get it done.

Mr. GOSAR

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

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to offer a commonsense amendment that will prevent the abuse of Justice Department settlements to line the pockets of environmental lawyers. The Gosar amendment caps settlement payments for attorneys' fees provided in relation to environmental cases at $125 per hour. The Equal Access to Justice Act, EAJA, already contains a fee cap of $125 per hour for attorney fees. Unfortunately, EAJA also contains a loophole that allows specialized attorneys to violate that cap without explicitly defining who meets this standard. The result has been the rampant abuse of this loophole by environmental groups who routinely argue that their lawyers are specialized and can therefore violate the cap. Furthermore, the Endangered Species Act does not contain this cap. As a report by the Congressional Working Group on the Endangered Species Act explains: ``The effect is large, deep-pocketed environmental groups with annual revenues well over $100 million are reaping taxpayer reimbursements from a law intended for the `little guy.' ``These groups--and their lawyers--are making millions of taxpayer dollars by suing the Federal Government, being deemed the `prevailing party' by Federal courts, and being awarded fees either through settlement with DOJ or by courts. ``According to the documents provided by DOJ, some attorneys representing nongovernmental entities have been reimbursed at rates as much as $500 per hour, and at least two lawyers have each received over $2 million in attorneys' fees from filing ESA cases.'' Perhaps most egregious, many of these lawsuits are not even litigated. These attorneys are raking in these ridiculously high fees by filing and settling. This has massively incentivized the ``sue and settle'' tactics that have become all too common in these types of cases. Again, U.S. Code section 504, subsection (b)(1) already caps attorney fees at $125 per hour. My amendment simply closes the loophole that environmental groups use to violate this cap and charge inordinate attorney fees at taxpayer expense. Similar legislation has been introduced in the past, including the Endangered Species Litigation Reasonableness Act, introduced by Representative Huizenga. As Representative Huizenga accurately stated in April of 2015: ``The goal of the Endangered Species Act is to enhance wildlife preservation, not line the pockets of trial attorneys with taxpayer dollars. Every taxpayer dollar spent on litigation is a dollar that could have been spent protecting the environment.'' This amendment is endorsed by the Americans for Limited Government, the American Conservative Union, Family Farm Alliance, the Motorcycle Industry Council, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the Recreational Off-Highway Vehicle Association, the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America, Taxpayers Protection Alliance, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Arizona Farm Bureau. I commend the chairman and the committee for their efforts on this legislation and for recognizing that the settlement process is in desperate need of reform. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chairman, first of all, I would like to agree with the chairman on his analysis of the Equal Access to Justice Act. It has been abused. As I mentioned before, environmental groups with well over $100 million in annual revenues are using the law intended to protect the little guy to siphon money from the American taxpayers. That is why my amendment is so important. By closing this loophole, we can uphold the intent of the law and ensure its continued efficacy. Furthermore, line 15 of the Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act contains a carve-out for environmental litigation. My amendment is, therefore, both germane and critical to preventing attorneys in these environmental lawsuits from using the currently existing loophole to charge upwards of $500 per hour for their service. As my colleague Representative Huizenga has perviously pointed out, every dollar spent on litigation is a dollar that cannot go to protecting or restoring the environment. I also want to make clear that my amendment does nothing to prohibit groups from engaging in litigation or to prohibit repayments for their legal fees. The $125 cap already exists in current law. My amendment simply closes the loophole that environmental groups have used to exceed that cap. Once again, I would like to thank my colleagues for their efforts on this important issue. I encourage the passage of the Gosar amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOSAR

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join The Kiwanis Club of Prescott in honoring the memory of a constituent in my district who I believe is the personification of a compassionate American citizen. On February 6, 2015, Kayla Mueller of Prescott, AZ was killed by her ISIS captors in Syria. A visage of what it means to be a selfless human- being, Kayla's life was taken too short at the young age of 26. In such tragic times it can often be difficult to find the light of hope for a better tomorrow. Kayla Mueller embodied this every day in her service and sacrifice to those less fortunate, especially to the children of the world. Arizona is blessed to have been home to such a compassionate citizen as Kayla. It is easy to see that her spirit has touched not only the hearts of those in her community and state but across this great nation. And with the opening of this new playground, that spirit will continue to impact lives for the better. I extend my sincere admiration and thanks to the Kiwanis Club of Prescott for their diligent efforts on this playground and for their engagement in the community. To Mr. and Mrs. Mueller, I want to once again express my sincerest condolences. While your daughter may no longer be with us, her loving spirit will live eternally.

Mr. GOSAR

Mr. GOSAR. I would like to thank my good friend and colleague, the gentleman from Texas, for taking the time to lead on this important conversation about the size of the U.S. Federal footprint. It is a conversation that many Americans, specifically those living east of the Mississippi River, have never had to think much about. However, in Western States like my home State of Arizona, we face unfair burdens on our communities due to the fact that over 90 percent of all Federal land is located in the West. In Arizona, only 18 percent of the land remaining in the State is privately held. Where land is locked up by the Federal Government, the government controls all aspects of use, development, and access. Local school districts and businesses suffer, having no private land base to grow or tax to support infrastructure. Imagine the impact on corn if only 18 percent of the land in Iowa was privately held, or cotton production in Mississippi or oranges grown in Florida. The agriculture that defines many Eastern States would be severely limited if they faced the same Federal footprint that Arizona and Western farmers must confront. Farmers and ranchers in the West face a tsunami of bureaucracy preventing them from doing their jobs. Additionally, energy development, including traditional and renewable energy, is almost nonexistent on Federal lands. I have held numerous townhall meetings and field hearings to hear from small-business owners, sportsmen, farmers, ranchers, elected officials, and many other stakeholders who adamantly oppose furthering the reach and size of the Federal Government's footprint. Adding insult to injury is the fact that the Federal Government management agencies like the BLM have identified hundreds of thousands of acres of Federal land for disposal that the agency admits it is not effectively and efficiently utilizing. Imagine for a moment that the BLM knows it has land that it doesn't use and yet the Federal Government still keeps the land for itself. The BLM is not alone though. In April of this year, it was reported that the National Park Service has a nearly $12 million deferred maintenance backlog. Wow. The Forest Service Federal footprint is 192.9 million acres, and the total Federal estate exceeds more than 635 million acres. When businesses and the private sector don't develop their leases quickly enough for the extremist environmental groups, they are labeled as ``greedy.'' Yet these same groups give the Federal Government a pass and actually encourage them to acquire more land. The Federal Government is supposed to represent we the people, not the special interest groups like the Sierra Club. In order to return Federal land that is not being used back to the State and communities who desperately need it, I am proud to have introduced a commonsense solution that ensures public lands are utilized more efficiently, while also yielding significant benefits for stakeholders. This legislation, known as the HEARD Act, establishes an orderly process for the sale, conveyance, and exchange of Federal lands not being utilized by public land management agencies that have been identified for disposal. The HEARD Act will yield significant benefits for education, sportsmen, agriculture and natural resource users, counties and States by establishing a revenue-sharing mechanism that ensures a fair return for all. Now the Heard Act is modeled after the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act. This Federal law, enacted in 1998, has a proven track record of success in Nevada. To date, more than 35,000 acres identified by the BLM for disposal have been sold, conveyed, or exchanged in Nevada, and sales have generated nearly $3 billion in revenue. The revenue-sharing mechanism instituted by this law has benefited education, enhanced recreational opportunities, public access, and achieved better overall management of public lands. Imagine what we could do if we returned public lands that were up for disposal back to the public and back to the State. It is long past time that Congress takes action to responsibly shrink our 635-million acre Federal footprint and empower western States to have a voice in determining our land management policies. I thank the gentleman from Texas for giving me the time to talk about this.

Mr. GOSAR

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chair, I appreciate the dialogue back and forth. Once again, let's follow the rule of law. If the agency doesn't want to have incidents like this and have their hands slapped publicly, then do their job and do it right and do it well. This is about safety, but it is in the reverse fashion. With that, I appreciate the work of the gentlewoman and the chairman. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOSAR. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. The issue is very interesting, because we actually issued a FOIA request for emails. This was done egregiously by two people complaining. If you look at the map, what ends up happening by closing this area where families and young kids learn how to water-ski, it forces them into the main channel of the Lake Havasu area, where boats go 50 to 70 to 75 miles an hour. People are going to get hurt. So my point is if the Fish and Wildlife Service doesn't want us to continue to do this, then do their job right. Follow the law. That is the key here.

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to offer a commonsense, bipartisan amendment. The Gosar-Sinema-Cook-Kirkpatrick-Amodei-Buck- Cramer-Duncan-Franks-Jones-McClintock-Schweikert-Zinke-Salmon-Heck amendment will assist with keeping Lake Havasu open for all users. On May 20, 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued new motorized boating restrictions that arbitrarily expanded a no-wake zone on Lake Havasu, a renowned fishing and boating destination on the Colorado River popular with visitors from Arizona, California, Nevada, and around the world. These arbitrary wake restrictions effectively prohibited tubing, waterskiing, and wakeboarding in an area utilized by recreational enthusiasts for decades. This action was taken behind closed doors with no advance notice and without opportunity for public comment. These new mandates were announced and implemented just 2 days before Memorial Day weekend, an economically vital weekend, as tourists spend more than $200 million annually in the area and support 4,000 full-time jobs. Further, 75 percent of tourists are interested in waterskiing and recreational boating activities while visiting Havasu. The Service has attempted to justify the May 2015 ``temporary restrictions'' by stating that they are necessary to address safety concerns. The Arizona Game and Fish Department recently submitted formal comments refuting this claim, stating there were only four incidents in the last 3 years in the area--three groundings and one swamping. The Department went on to state: ``The temporary restriction imposed in May 2015 . . . includes a safe, traditional, very popular waterskiing and wakeboarding flat-area . . . [The Service] does not adequately justify this additional restriction and that the impacts to the recreational area would be significant . . . The reported events do not support the existence of a safety concern.'' On April 12, 2016, the Service announced a draft recreational boating compatibility determination and the agency's intent to pursue even more boating restrictions on Lake Havasu. Due to significant opposition, which included more 1,000 concerned citizens showing up at a public meeting, the Service suspended the agency's pursuit of the April 12 proposed restrictions. While this action was welcomed, the Service still has not reopened the area closed on May 20, 2015, that started this very controversy. These temporary restrictions have now been in effect more than a year. In addition to being arbitrary, unwise, and unsafe, the action by the Fish and Wildlife Service was also unlawful. The agency violated the law by not going through the regular NEPA process and soliciting public comment from stakeholders. Such irresponsible action by Federal bureaucrats should alarm not only the visitors to Lake Havasu, but Americans who value the rule of law and a government accountable to the people it serves. This bipartisan amendment is endorsed by more than 20 local and national organizations, including Americans for Limited Government, the Arizona Game and Fish Department, Concerned Citizens for America Arizona Chapter, the Lake Havasu Area Chamber of Commerce, the Yuma County Chamber of Commerce, New Mexico Federal Lands Council, and many, many more. My amendment is about government accountability. It simply prohibits a press release from closing an area on Lake Havasu that has been utilized by recreational enthusiasts for decades. The Service should solicit public comments and go through the normal scoping process before making major changes that impact users on Lake Havasu. I ask my colleagues to support this amendment. I thank the chairman and the ranking member for their time and for their goodwill on this bill. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. GOSAR

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chairman, I would like to inform the gentlewoman that I am from Wyoming. I actually had to endure and watch what the Fish and Wildlife Service actually erroneously did with introducing the nonnative wolves into the Yellowstone Park area. They made superpacks of wolves and actually ended up costing 60 percent of the Shiras moose herd. So I am very, very aware of this. This amendment will not force the wolf into extinction. They are going extinct because of the Fish and Wildlife Service. States have proven better at species conservation and management than the bloated bureaucracy, and the only way they respond is through frivolous lawsuits. Again, 90 percent of the Mexican wolf's historic range is in Mexico. Arizona and New Mexico both want the ability to manage this species in the United States. The Mexican wolf has lingered on the Endangered Species Act for nearly 40 years, and it will go extinct at the rate that the Fish and Wildlife Service is doing. It is time to do something right and return it back to the States. Again, I urge support of this amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chairman, I rise as the designee of Mr. Pearce to offer amendment No. 78 to H.R. 5538. The Pearce-Gosar amendment allows for the responsible State management of the Mexican wolf in Arizona and New Mexico. It will also prevent the United States Fish and Wildlife Service from expanding the population for this species outside of its historic range. One of the main issues for the wolf recovery is an extremely outdated recovery plan being utilized by the Service. The Mexican wolf was first listed as an endangered species in 1976. In 1982, Mexico and the United States signed the Mexican Wolf Recovery Plan, which the Service is still currently utilizing today. As a result, this plan is significantly outdated and is not based on the best available science. Without an updated plan that includes recovery criteria, the Mexican wolf will remain on the endangered species list in perpetuity. The Service has recently expressed interest in redrafting its recovery plan. However, the agency has done this in the past but has failed to make any updates and has instead caved to radical environmental groups. Another major issue arose early last year when the Service expanded the recovery zone for the wolf by four times its previous size without first securing the funding to manage the new acreage. The results have been disastrous for private citizens who face longer wait times for wolf disturbances, as well as the species, whose numbers have also declined under the failed management plan of the Fish and Wildlife Service. In December 2015, the Service confirmed that the agency was again considering introducing the species into areas outside its historic range. This expansion effort is extremely misguided, as 90 percent of the Mexican wolf's historic range is in Mexico. The four Governors from the States of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah sent a bipartisan letter to Department of the Interior Secretary Sally Jewell expressing serious concern in opposition to this approach. On July 8, 2015, the Arizona attorney general and the Arizona Game and Fish Department filed a lawsuit against the Secretary of the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ``for failing their statutory duty to develop an updated recovery plan to guide the Mexican wolf recovery.'' In April of 2016, the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish also filed a lawsuit against the Service, claiming that the agency was ignoring the ``laws and regulations of New Mexico'' by releasing wolves without State permits. Last month, a Federal judge sided with the New Mexico State government and granted the State a temporary injunction preventing the Service from releasing any more Mexican wolves into the wild. Adding to this debacle, this week the Department of the Interior's Office of Inspector General released a scathing report of the Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Program, which revealed some serious structural issues with the program, including subversive actions taken by the Fish and Wildlife Service staff overseeing the program. In lieu of the current circumstances, I urge my colleagues to vote for this amendment to allow the respective States to protect and manage the species, not the Washington bureaucrats with a track record of failure. The amendment is supported by the American Farm Bureau Federation; Americans for Limited Government; the Public Lands Council; the National Cattlemen's Beef Association; Arizona Cattle Feeders Association; Arizona Farm Bureau Federation; Arizona Liberty; Dona Ana Soil and Water Conservation District; Gila County Cattle Growers Association; Idaho Recreation Council; New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association; New Mexico Wool Growers, Incorporated; New Mexico Federal Lands Council Wildlife biologist Mary Darling; taxpayers John Fowler, James Goughnour, Gary Kiehne, Therese Griffin Hicks, Becky Nutt, Jim and Sue Chilton; and countless other individuals and organizations. I thank the chairman and ranking member for their time and for their good work on this bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chairman, may I inquire how much time I have remaining.

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chairman, as the designee of the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce), I offer amendment No. 78.

Mr. GOSAR

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chair, as I have said, it is well-established legal doctrine that the Constitution and the Clean Water Act strictly limit the Federal Government's authority to usurp State water rights and compacts. I urge my colleagues to join me in protecting State authority, private property rights, and in reining in yet another EPA Federal overreach. I urge a ``yes'' vote on Gosar amendment No. 58. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. GOSAR

Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Chairman, Congressman Grijalva, who represents southwestern Arizona, is seeking to lock up 1.7 million acres in northern Arizona, at the behest of special interest groups, for the sole purpose of preventing mining, retiring grazing permits, closing roads to OHV users, and preventing forest thinning activities. There is significant opposition in Arizona to this proposed land grab, as Americans for Responsible Recreational Access recently reported that a scientific poll found that 71.6 percent of Arizonans are opposed. In April, I held a public meeting to hear concerns about this proposal, and hundreds of local stakeholders showed up in opposition. More than 30 Arizona witnesses submitted formal testimony against this land grab, including Arizona's Governor, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, numerous businesses, sportsmen's groups, ag groups, local officials, and countless taxpayers. In fact, several of the comments pertaining to today are out of line. In fact, in this proposal, the entire town of Tusayan, which is in Coconino County, would be swallowed up by this proposed monument. Town managers testified against it. Arizona State Land Department Commissioner Lisa Atkins submitted testimony stating: ``Of the 1.7 million acres included in the proposal for the Grand Canyon Watershed National Monument, 64,000 acres belong solely to the Common Schools beneficiary: K-12 education.'' The list goes on and on and on. I asked everybody. In fact, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey stated: ``Imposition of a preservation management objective overlay on 1.7 million acres of land in Arizona thwarts Arizona's land management objectives and values, and it does so by bypassing a public process that would most certainly result in a much more thoughtful result. The Grand Canyon Watershed National Monument is not narrow, targeted, warranted, or being considered through an open cooperative public process.'' I, last but not least, bring up that attorneys also have testified that this proposed monument will tie up future surface water use and future groundwater use. I urge a ``no'' vote on amendment 41.

Mr. GOSAR. Madam Chair, while the bill does include nearly $2.9 billion for wildfire activities, which I am thankful for, most of these dollars are focused on suppression activities. As I stated previously, the 2015 fire season set a new record, burning more than 10 million acres throughout the country. It is easy to make that statement when it is not your home burning. Clearly, we must focus on proactive solutions for our Nation's forests. The best way to do so is by providing the Forest Service hazardous fuel account with appropriate funding in order to prevent hazardous wildfires. My amendment accomplishes that task by redirecting scarce resources from the EPA's bureaucracy. The EPA is far from being underfunded. As it stands, this bill currently funds the EPA at over $7.98 billion. This marginal loss to a rogue administration that continues to circumvent Congress in order to implement lawless regulations is better spent through my amendment and will dramatically increase the Forest Service's ability to prevent dangerous wildfires. Again, I urge the support of my amendment. Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOSAR. Madam Chair, how much time do I have remaining?

Mr. GOSAR. Madam Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert).