Doc Hastings

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I'm pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Chaffetz), who is the author of title II of this bill.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones) who is the author of title X of this bill.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Herger), who is the author of title VIII of this bill.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, can I inquire as to how much time I have remaining.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Chairman, let's go back to the basic issue, really, that's facing this country--and I alluded to it in my opening statement. What Americans really want is jobs. And while this package of bills is in line with that, what it really does is add some certainty to those that live in and around Federal lands. Therefore, allowing for at least some certainty as it relates to jobs, but probably as important, if not more important, is access to our public lands for those that want to utilize our public lands. There's been much discussion here about how this bill does some damage to the environment. Well, let me just touch on a couple of issues that were mentioned on the other side and I think it needs to be clarified, at least here, before this debate is over. First, the reference was made to sea lions that were guilty of one thing, and that was eating only fish. Well, I happen to be the author of the title of that bill. Let me clarify. There's a rest-of-the-story here. We had a hearing in the full committee of the Natural Resources Committee today on the Endangered Species Act. I think, frankly, it hasn't been reauthorized for 25 years, and I think we need to update that act to make sure that we recover species. And my colleagues on the other side of the aisle said it's a great act. That's good. We at least have some establishment of commonality. The reason that provision is in the bill regarding sea lions is that salmon are listed as threatened on the Columbia River. And as they move upstream after coming back from the ocean, they get crowded going up Bonneville Dam. Now, there's a nonindigenous animal called the California sea lion that comes up there and feasts on these fish as they're going through the Bonneville Dam. So it's destroying an endangered species. The California sea lion is not listed as endangered, and they're not indigenous. So that part of the legislation simply allows for lethal taking of those sea lions so the fish can pass upstream and spawn. Nothing more than that. It's a cute way, to borrow a phrase, to say that they're guilty of only eating fish. But there's more to that story. This legislation also encourages the development of renewable hydropower. What could be cleaner than that? It promotes healthy forest and prevents forest fires, as my colleague from northern California just said in regard to the title of the act he has in there. It restores access to different parks for recreational purposes in the North Cascades and at Cape Hatteras on the Atlantic Coast, and it preserves old growth in Alaska. So, Mr. Chairman, there is a lot to be liked about this bill, but it seems most of the discussion is around title XIV. Let me read the title of title XIV one more time. It is the National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act. Now why do we need that? Because, unfortunately, there are those that want to come into our country illegally, and they don't have the same feelings as we do about our public lands. When they come through illegally, in many cases, they trash those lands. We're simply giving the Border Patrol more tools to protect those public lands and to provide for our national security. I don't know why anybody on the floor of this House should be opposed to that aspect. That's all that title XIV does, as was explained very well by the author of that provision, Mr. Bishop of Utah. So, Mr. Chairman, this bill is worth supporting. It has been developed in a bipartisan method. It has been developed in a transparent method, having gone through the committee process. I urge adoption, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This amendment makes some technical, clarifying, and conforming changes to the underlying bill. It amends title IV to delete a portion of the land that the National Park Service does not want to acquire for the San Antonio missions and which would expose it to liability for cleanup costs. It conforms the text of title VI to match what the House passed in the 111th Congress in H.R. 2806. And it conforms title VIII with the leadership protocols regarding length and amount of authorizations. And, finally, it clarifies what funds States may use to increase access to target ranges under title XII. With that, I urge adoption and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I urge adoption of the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition, obviously, to this amendment because this amendment would single out one particular group of Native Alaskans for restrictions that currently only apply to timber harvested from certain Federal lands in the lower 48. Now, the irony here, as was pointed out by the gentleman from Alaska, is that the Forest Service in the Tongass allows for 100 percent export of red cedar harvested in the Tongass and 50 percent of old growth harvested in the Tongass. So I think it is, in all honesty, Mr. Chairman, a bit hypocritical to impose the domestic limitations on Natives while the Forest Service is doing just exactly the opposite. Now, I'll also add that this amendment does not affect other landowners on the Tongass; it only affects the Natives of Sealaska. Now, I don't think that's really what we should be doing here on the floor of the House is singling out one group for a penalty, and that's precisely what this amendment does. So I urge rejection of this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I rise to claim time in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Labrador), the author of the title of this bill.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the motion to recommit.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I've had an opportunity several times to come down here to debate the motions to recommit, and I've prefaced virtually every time I've come down here with, history repeats itself. Mr. Speaker, history is repeating itself one more time. Why do I say that? Because probably the biggest issue that Americans are concerned about is jobs. This is another effort that deals with American jobs by dealing with regulation that slows down economic activity. So what does the other side do? They try to put up another impediment to a bill that is straightforward, had transparency in committee, had a full debate in committee, and put together to debate on the floor. It's the same arguments that we have that, frankly, are meaningless. Now, to the essence of what the gentleman's amendment does. All of this is essentially redundant. It's in law right now. Is this just a political move on the minority's part? Is that what it is? If the issue is really trying to deal with firefighting in the West, I would remind this body, Mr. Speaker, that 2 weeks ago, we passed legislation to allow the Forest Service to buy tankers to fight forest fires. We've already done that. All I can say, Mr. Speaker, is that history repeats itself. Let's vote down this motion to recommit and let's vote for the jobs bill. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4027) to clarify authority granted under the Act entitled ``An Act to define the exterior boundary of the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation in the State of Utah, and for other purposes''.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4027 is a bipartisan bill that would clarify the boundaries of the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation as passed by the Hill Creek Extension of 1948. The bill would authorize Utah's School and Industrial Trust Land Administration to relinquish to the Ute Indian Tribe its subsurface mineral rights in exchange for subsurface rights to an equal number of acres of other land owned by the Federal Government. The exchange would allow the school trust fund and the tribe to explore additional oil and gas development that will help support Utah education and create jobs for the tribe while preserving more culturally sensitive land for the tribe. I urge adoption of the resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I'm prepared to yield back if the gentleman has no more requests for time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I urge adoption, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1556) to amend the Omnibus Indian Advancement Act to allow certain land to be used to generate income to provide funding for academic programs, and for other purposes.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. The Santa Fe Indian School in Santa Fe, New Mexico, established in the late 1800s, is a Federal off-reservation boarding school for the 19 pueblo governors of New Mexico. On December 20, 2000, Public Law 106 568 transferred 115 acres of property to the school with certain limitations. H.R. 1556 would allow the Santa Fe Indian School to use its 115 acres of land for economic development. The bill will retain the prohibition on Indian gaming on the transferred land. I urge adoption of the measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 404) to modify a land grant patent issued by the Secretary of the Interior.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, S. 404 would simply modify a land patent that was issued by the Department of the Interior to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society in 1998 to reflect an agreement between the historical society, the Michigan Audubon Society, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The current land patent references an outdated 1992 Comprehensive Plan for Whitefish Point, a 43-acre spit of land surrounded by Lake Superior. The Michigan Audubon Society sued when this plan for development was proposed, and following a court-ordered settlement of the lawsuit, a new plan was negotiated in 2002. This bill would modify the land patent to appropriately reference the 2002 plan and finally allow for the development to go forward. Congressman Dan Benishek, our colleague from Michigan, is the author of the companion House bill, H.R. 3411, and he should be commended for his commonsense approach to help manage this important tourism area in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. And with that, I reserve the balance of my time.