Doc Hastings

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I think the gentleman has a good amendment. As he pointed out, it already has passed on a bipartisan basis on the floor, and I think it's worthy to be passed in this instance. I support the amendment.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I think the gentleman has a very good lease. And I've been talking about where Virginia has been shortchanged, from my point of view. I think this amendment goes a long way to advance that debate, and, actually, what we all want is the action. I support the gentleman's amendment.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wittman), the author of title XIII of this legislation.

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

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young). (Mr. YOUNG of Alaska asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to yield 3 minutes to the author of title XIV, the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop).

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

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 material on the bill H.R. 2578.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, the Conservation and Economic Growth Act is aimed squarely at cutting government red tape and bureaucracy to boost local economic development and job creation. This legislation contains 14 commonsense bills from the House Natural Resources Committee, nearly all of which have received bipartisan support. By solving problems and reducing red tape, this legislation will have a real impact on the people it affects. Among its many economic and job creation benefits, the bill will encourage tourism and recreation by ensuring public access to public lands. It will promote responsible use of our resources. It will protect the environment. It will secure Federal lands along our borders. And it promotes clean and renewable hydropower. Month after month, Mr. Chairman, Republicans in Congress have been focused on encouraging and supporting new job creation. The House has passed over 30 job creation bills that sit in the Senate, where Democrat leaders have refused to take any action. By reducing red tape, promoting American-made energy, and streamlining bureaucracy, we can start creating jobs for tens of millions of Americans who are looking for work. The Conservation and Economic Growth Act fits into this same job creation mold. When it comes to the Environmental Protection Agency, the American public is well aware of the ability of this Federal agency to slow our economy with debilitating regulations. And when it comes to our Federal lands, which are predominated located in the Western part of the United States, there is plenty of bureaucracy and red tape to go around. In that regard, there are four primary Federal land management agencies: the Bureau of Land Management; the Forest Service; the Fish & Wildlife Service; and the National Park Service. Combined, they manage over 600 million acres of Federal land and have over 60,000 Federal employees. Many of these Federal employees do important, helpful work. But there are many times when their actions or outdated Federal laws have a tremendous negative impact on their surrounding communities. But these Federal policies, restrictions, lawsuits, and the bureaucratic decisions can harm local economies and the public's ability to access public lands for the multiple uses for which these public lands were intended. It doesn't have to take Federal spending or taxpayer money to solve these problems. It simply takes Congress making commonsense changes in laws and regulations to restore reasonableness, transparency, accountability, and, yes, Mr. Chairman, sometimes sanity to the actions of the Federal Government. That is the purpose of this underlying legislation: to fix local and national problems caused by Federal red tape and policies that are harming the public and our economy throughout America. We will hear more specific information from the sponsors of these solutions during the debate this afternoon. Mr. Chairman, this legislation also reflects the promises of House Republicans when they were elected as a new majority in 2010. The Conservation and Economic Growth Act is an efficient way to uphold Republicans' commitment to an open and transparent House. The text of the act has been online since last Tuesday and available for Members and the public to read now for a week. Each and every one of the 14 bills that is in this package has had a public hearing, has been open to amendment in the committee, has been voted on in the committee, and amendments will be debated and voted on here today by the full House. Now, Mr. Chairman, this stands in stark contrast to the previous way of doing business, when we had monster omnibus bills that were forced through the House without any chance of amendment. In fact, one can compare this small 14-bill package that has undergone full public and legislative review with the 2009 monster omnibus lands bill enacted into law when the Democrats controlled both houses of Congress. The 2009 omnibus bill was over 1,200 pages in length, it cost $10 billion, and it contained over 170 bills, including 75 that had never been considered in the House. Yet through all of this process, not one single amendment was allowed to be offered, and even the minority--the Republicans at that time-- were denied an opportunity with the motion to recommit. Well, those days of the monster omnibus are over. No longer will controversial bills that haven't seen the light of day be hidden deep inside a thousand-page bill. Since the start of this Congress, we reviewed bills one by one in the Natural Resources Committee. Each has had a public subcommittee hearing; and once the committee acts, the full House considers them in a transparent manner. This bill, the underlying legislation we're dealing with, lives up to this standard. It is an antidote to the abusive processes of the past. It is a bite-sized package that can be easily read and today is getting a thorough debate on the House floor. So now the House can act to approve this bill to roll back red tape, to restore some commonsense to solve problems, and to boost economic activity. This bill deserves bipartisan support, and I urge my colleagues to vote for its passage. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I'm very pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Denham), the primary sponsor of this legislation.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I yield the gentleman an additional 1 minute.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, just to correct the record, there is nothing in this bill that affects the Bureau of Reclamation or the hydro-dams on the Columbia River in my district. I'm very pleased right now to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young), who is the author of title III of this bill. (Mr. YOUNG of Alaska asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I yield the gentleman an additional 1 minute.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Amodei), the author of title IX of this bill.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the author of title V of this bill, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Flores).

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Labrador), who is the author of title XI of this bill.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, may I inquire of my friend from Arizona, we have no more requests for time, and I'm prepared to close, if the gentleman is prepared to close.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Canseco), who is the author of title IV of this bill.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Yes.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. The gentleman is correct, with the adoption of the manager's amendment.

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