Doc Hastings

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 251, sponsored by our colleague from Utah (Mr. Chaffetz) transfers the Federal title of an electricity distribution system to a local entity that already operates and maintains the system. This transfer resolves ownership uncertainty due to a Federal paperwork error, gives the local electricity provider equity to leverage capital investment, and reduces Federal liability and cost. Congress has passed over two dozen similar transfers, including one in my district, the Yakima-Tieton transfer, under both Republican and Democrat majorities. The House passed this identical transfer bill by a voice vote in the last Congress due to its noncontroversial and commonsense nature. So I urge my colleagues to support its adoption once again. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I'm very pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Chaffetz), the sponsor of this legislation.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests. If the gentleman from Arizona is prepared to yield back, I'm prepared to yield back.

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

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 993) to provide for the conveyance of certain parcels of National Forest System land to the city of Fruit Heights, Utah.

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, H.R. 993, introduced by our distinguished subcommittee chairman, Mr. Bishop of Utah, would authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to convey approximately 100 acres of National Forest System land to the city of Fruit Heights in Utah. Fruit Heights is completely surrounded by Federal land and is in desperate need of a place to develop a cemetery. This legislation would convey a small parcel of Federal land for that important public service. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I'm very pleased to yield 4 minutes to the author of this legislation, the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop).

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I advise my friend from Arizona I have no further speakers, and I'm prepared to yield back if he is.

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

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1157) to ensure public access to the summit of Rattlesnake Mountain in the Hanford Reach National Monument for educational, recreational, historical, scientific, cultural, and other purposes.

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

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1157 directs the Department of the Interior to provide the public with motorized, nonmotorized, and pedestrian access to the summit of Rattlesnake Mountain, located in my district on the Hanford Reach National Monument. This 195,000-acre monument, designated by President Clinton in 2000, is near the Hanford Nuclear Site and is the only one in the continental United States managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. At 3,600 feet, Rattlesnake Mountain is the highest point in the region, and it provides unparalleled views for miles around the monument, the Hanford Site, the Snake River, the Columbia River, and, of course, the Yakima River. Unfortunately, it took the Fish and Wildlife Service 8 years to write a management plan that effectively closed Rattlesnake Mountain to public access, despite the public comments favoring just the opposite. After I first introduced this bill in 2010, the Fish and Wildlife Service offered two public tours for selected individuals and then suddenly reneged on the offer just days before the tours were to occur. During a 2011 committee hearing on the bill, the Interior Department's testimony suggested that the Fish and Wildlife Service supports tours of Rattlesnake, but very carefully didn't go the extra step of ensuring the Service would allow public access to the summit. Finally, last month, the Fish and Wildlife Service granted a few dozen people the opportunity to tour Rattlesnake Mountain summit over two tours. These were the first two public tours offered since the monument was designated. Mr. Speaker, this bill is necessary to ensure reasonable and regular public access can be guaranteed by law to the citizens of that area. The legislation is sponsored by the Tri-Cities Development Council, TRIDEC; the Board of County Commissioners; Benton County Commissioners, in which Rattlesnake Mountain is located; the Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce; the Tri-Cities Visitor and Convention Bureau; and the Back Country Horsemen of Washington. The American people deserve to have access to public lands, including Rattlesnake Mountain in my district. I ask that the House pass this reasonable legislation today to make that possible. With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, let me explain a little bit about Rattlesnake Mountain and where it's located. I mentioned it is on the Hanford Nuclear Site. The Hanford Nuclear Site was part of the Manhattan Project, in which we built and assembled weapons that won the Second World War. And then for 40 years after the Second World War, this was in a defense production where we were producing fuel for our atomic weapons. Now, Rattlesnake Mountain, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, is 3,600 feet. For obvious reasons, it was closed off to access because you had a secret site there producing weapons of war and you didn't want people to have access to look down at Hanford Site. That's totally understandable, and for that reason nobody really objected to having the top of Rattlesnake open. However, now that Hanford is no longer in defense production--and it hasn't been for nearly 25 years; it's now in a cleanup mode--things have really changed. When I typically have townhall meetings or meetings with people in the Tri-Cities area, I ask how many people have been on top of Rattlesnake, and it's surprising how few have been up there. But when you're on top of Rattlesnake--it's 3,600 feet, like I mentioned--there are no trees, so you can see 360 degrees around you. On a clear day, which we generally have in central Washington, you really can see the Columbia River coming in from the north. You can see where the Snake River--and, by the way, that's where Lewis and Clark encamped before they made their trip down to the ocean--you can see where the Snake River comes into the Columbia River. And you can see where the Yakima River comes also into the Columbia River. So it is a really wonderful site, and I think it deserves to have access to the people. More and more people have had the opportunity in the past to go up there. This simply ensures that the Department of Energy will come up with a plan in which that area will really be accessed. So I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1158) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to continue stocking fish in certain lakes in the North Cascades National Park, Ross Lake National Recreation Area, and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area.

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. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1158, the North Cascades National Park Service Complex Fish Stocking Act, has enjoyed broad bipartisan support, passing the last Congress by a voice vote. It was also reported out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee during a previous Congress on a voice vote, with a recommendation that it pass. H.R. 1158 is necessary to ensure that the National Park Service, in coordination with the State of Washington, has the authority to continue stocking fish in certain alpine lakes in the North Cascades National Park Complex, including the North Cascades National Park, Ross Lake National Recreational Area, and the Lake Chelan National Recreational Area. In 2008, the National Park Service prepared an environmental impact statement regarding the management of the fisheries in these mountain lakes. That document identified the preferred alternatives as the one to allow continued fish stocking in 42 lakes in that area where the Agency concluded there would be no adverse impact on the native ecosystems. The Park Service also requested explicit authority to allow fish stocking to continue within the park complex. That, of course, is exactly what H.R. 1158 does. Many tourists visit the park complex for its scenic beauty as well as for its fishing opportunities, making fish stocking an important component of the central Washington economy. Now, Mr. Speaker, let me deviate a bit here. While we are discussing public lands legislation, I would also like to inform the House that the Committee on Natural Resources will soon begin consideration of several proposals to designate new wilderness areas. As Public Lands and Environmental Regulations Subcommittee Chairman Bishop of Utah stated last week, in July the subcommittee plans to hold a legislative hearing on wilderness proposals. Congressman Dan Benishek's Sleeping Bear Dunes legislation and Congressman David Reichert's Alpine Lakes legislation will be considered at this hearing. These and other proposals will be judged on a case-by-case basis. Mr. Speaker, Congress has the sole authority to decide which of our lands should be included in the wilderness system. Establishing wilderness is the most restrictive land-use designation that Congress can apply to our Nation's lands. It greatly limits the American public's access. The committee will, therefore, carefully and thoughtfully examine wilderness proposals to determine if the designation is appropriate and listen to local citizens and community leaders whose livelihoods and recreational opportunities could be affected. The committee will also consider proposals to ensure multiple uses of our public lands so that they provide a full range of recreational, economic, conservation, and resource benefits. Any land-use decisions by Congress should be made carefully. It should reflect our country's current economic situation, it should keep our lands healthy, and it should exemplify the importance of ensuring public access to public lands. That's why we are going to have a very thoughtful process on wilderness designation now, back to H.R. 1158, since this borders a wilderness area. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I have no requests for time, and I am prepared to yield back if the gentleman from Arizona will yield back.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I will just respond to my friend, I know he has 11. He knows my general feeling on that. But I do believe that wilderness designation should be taken on a case-by-case basis, and we'll go through that process. With any luck you may be on that list. With that, I yield back my time and urge adoption of H.R. 1158.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 723) to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate a segment of the Beaver, Chipuxet, Queen, Wood, and Pawcatuck Rivers in the States of Connecticut and Rhode Island for study for potential addition to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and for other purposes, as amended.

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 material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 723 would authorize the study of 86 miles of rivers in the States of Connecticut and Rhode Island for potential addition to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. The Natural Resources Committee amended the legislation to specifically require that the study consider any potential limitations on existing uses and any impacts to private property that could occur in an eventual designation. These are important protections and are necessary for this study bill to move forward. With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

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