Doc Hastings

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I am the author of H.R. 2351, the North Cascades National Park Service Complex Fish Stocking Act. This bill has enjoyed broad bipartisan support for some time. It passed the House under suspension of the rules in the last Congress and was favorably reported from the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee by voice vote. H.R. 2351 is necessary to ensure 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. This complex includes the North Cascades National Park, Ross Lake National Recreation Area, and the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area. In 2008, the park service prepared an environmental impact statement regarding the management of the fisheries in these mountain lakes. The preferred alternative was to allow continued fish stocking in 42 of those lakes. The park service also requested explicit authority to allow fish stocking to continue within the park complex. And this is exactly what H.R. 2351 does. Many tourists visit the park for its scenic beauty as well as fishing opportunities, making fish stocking an important component of the central Washington economy. I urge support of this legislation. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. The Ysleta del Sur Pueblo was originally based in New Mexico and then relocated after the 1860 Pueblo Revolt to its present location in El Paso County, Texas. In 1967, Congress enacted Public Law 90-287, terminating the Federal trust relationship with the tribe and placing the tribe under the jurisdiction of the State of Texas. In 1987, the Federal trust relationship was restored by Public Law 100-89. The Restoration Act limited the tribe's membership to individuals listed on a certain tribal membership roll and to descendants of such individuals as long as they have a minimum of one-eighth degree of Ysleta del Sur Indian blood. In recent years, the tribe has passed resolutions in favor of legislation to eliminate this limitation which is consistent with the modern congressional policy of allowing recognized tribes to set their own membership when they enroll Indian people. H.R. 1560 permits the tribe to enroll Indian members with a minimum blood requirement. Similar versions of this bill have been passed by the House in the last two Congresses. The Committee on Natural Resources has not heard any objection to passing this bill again. I think it's a good idea to treat the tribe consistently with how Congress treats other federally recognized tribes. With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1560) to amend the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Alabama and Coushatta Indian Tribes of Texas Restoration Act to allow the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo Tribe to determine blood quantum requirement for membership in that tribe.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

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

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I appreciate the opportunity to bring to the floor the Providing for Our Workforce and Energy Resources or POWER Act, introduced by our colleague from Louisiana (Mr. Landry). The House Natural Resources Committee is dedicated to creating domestic American jobs and protecting the safety of our workers. When we pass legislation that encourages safe and efficient energy development on Federal lands, not only are we decreasing domestic energy production, but we are also generating the millions of jobs that support those industries; and when I say that, I mean all energy jobs. Republicans in Congress are committed to an all-of-the-above energy strategy. We are committed to promoting jobs in wind, solar, oil, gas, hydro, and geothermal energy. Developing all of these resources to ensure reliable and affordable energy for the American people will benefit families and businesses across our country in the form of lower energy costs and greater job growth. To help foster this private sector job growth, eliminating regulatory uncertainty can really clear the way to spur investment, protect American workers, and spur job creation. The bill under consideration does just that. The POWER Act clarifies the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to ensure the full and fair application of our Nation's laws to all offshore energy development, including renewable energy, rather than waiting for various rulings and interpretations by Federal agencies. This simple, commonsense bill will provide greater certainty to those looking to invest and develop renewable energy projects and the infrastructure to support those projects off our shores. I want everyone to be clear that this is not a major change in law. It is merely a technical clarification to ensure that Federal agencies have the important guidance they need to ensure that our Nation's laws are applied in the manner in which they were intended. Although not a major change, it is an important one, and Mr. Landry should get the credit for putting this bill forward. American companies are on the verge of investing hundreds of millions of dollars in developing renewable energy on our Outer Continental Shelf, and they need the certainty that our laws will be applied fairly to their activities. Developing our Nation's energy resources benefits our economy, our people, and our national security. I believe this bill helps provide the certainty needed to help move America down the path. I applaud Mr. Landry for his work, and I urge my colleagues to support the bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2360) to amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to extend the Constitution, laws, and jurisdiction of the United States to installations and devices attached to the seabed of the Outer Continental Shelf for the production and support of production of energy from sources other than oil and gas, and for other purposes.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Senate Concurrent Resolution 32 is an enrolling correction for H.R. 470, bipartisan legislation introduced by our Nevada colleague, Dr. Joe Heck. Dr. Heck's bill, which allocates hydropower generated at Hoover Dam to a number of utilities in California, Arizona, and Nevada, has been passed by both the House and the Senate. However, some in the Senate insisted that a number of technical changes needed to be made to the bill even though the affected agency indicated that it could implement H.R. 470 as passed by both Chambers. Nevertheless, we'll not object to this enrolling resolution making such technical changes because the base legislation is important for that area. So I urge adoption of this measure. I reserve 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 include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 944, introduced by our colleague from California (Mr. Campbell) will remove an unused lighthouse reservation currently in place for certain rocks and small islands along the coast of Orange County, California. The bill would add them to the California Coastal National Monument. The lighthouse reservation has been in place since 1935 to provide locations for searchlights and other coastal defense equipment of that time. The bill will provide for the consistent management of geological features along the coast of Orange County. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 944) to eliminate an unused lighthouse reservation, provide management consistency by incorporating the rocks and small islands along the coast of Orange County, California, into the California Coastal National Monument managed by the Bureau of Land Management, and meet the original Congressional intent of preserving Orange County's rocks and small islands, and for other purposes.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I urge the adoption of this 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. 535) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to lease certain lands within Fort Pulaski National Monument, 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 urge the adoption of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. S. 535 would allow the Savannah Bar Pilots Association to continue leasing a facility at Fort Pulaski National Monument as they have done since the 1940s. Congressman Jack Kingston of Georgia is the author of the House version of this bill, H.R. 2687, that the Committee on Natural Resources heard in September. The National Park Service testified in support, and we are pleased that this is one piece of legislation that will not cost the taxpayers a dime. So I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.J. Res. 2, which would require the Federal Government to do what American families do every day--balance our budget. One of the first votes I cast in Congress was in support of the Balanced Budget Amendment. That was in 1995 when the Federal deficit was $4.9 trillion--a level that I considered unacceptable to pass on to our children and grandchildren. And we came so close, Madam Speaker. The Balanced Budget Amendment passed by a two-thirds majority in the House. This included 72 Democrats. Many of my colleagues from the other side of the aisle that I see here today stood with us to do what is best for the future of our country. We came just one vote shy of passing it in the Senate, and have paid for this failure every day since, Madam Speaker. It has been 16 years and over 10 trillion dollars more in debt since I voted for the Balanced Budget Amendment. The Federal deficit was unacceptable then, and it is unconscionable today--growing an incredible $1.6 billion per day. This has led us to where we are today--facing a $15 trillion dollar debt that leaves future generations in even greater jeopardy and is causing serious harm to our economy. Former Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen recently said that the greatest threat to our country is not Al-Qaeda--it is our national debt. It is threatening our economy, our standard of living, and our very way of life. Madam Speaker, just think of how different our country would be if we had succeeded in 1995. It seems like such a simple concept--only spending as much as we take in. This is our chance to make history. Let's not force future generations to look back and see how Congress once again failed to change the course of American history and get our economy back on track. As a grandfather, Madam Speaker, I strongly urge all of my colleagues, regardless of political affiliation, to stand up for the future of our country and join me in voting for this vital resolution.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 3 minutes to the author of this legislation, the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Harper).

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Madam 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. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 588) to redesignate the Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge as the Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Madam Speaker, I too urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Under H.R. 588, the Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge in Mississippi will be renamed after the former Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Sam Hamilton, who recently died at the young age of 54. It's my understanding, Madam Speaker, that his first outdoors job was at the Noxubee Refuge, where he learned to band wood ducks and manage wildlife habitat. I want to compliment my friend and colleague from Mississippi, Congressman Gregg Harper, for introducing this no-cost legislation, which I think is a fitting tribute to Sam Hamilton and all that he stood for. With that, I urge adoption of the measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, when I became chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources this last January, I established a new subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs. The purpose was to ensure a special forum for the issues and concerns important to Indian tribes and native people. I respect the views and special concerns of Indian tribes, and it's important that they have a role and are consulted in decisions that affect the people on their reservation lands. This bill before the House today explicitly includes a section requiring government-to-government consultation. Section 4c, Mr. Chairman, of the bill is titled, and I quote, ``Consultation with Indian tribes.'' Consultation must occur before the mine operations ever begin. To repeat, the mine cannot happen without consultation with interested tribes. To be clear, the mine is a site that is not located on reservation land. The closest Native American reservation is the San Carlos Apache, located more than 20 miles east of the mine site. And it should be noted too that where this mine is proposed to be developed is right in the heart of what we call Arizona's historic copper triangle right here. These orange dots here are where copper is mined or quarried right now. This is the proposed site of the mine. And the San Carlos Apache reservation is up here. As you can see, there's activity between here and the San Carlos reservation. The real effect of this amendment would be to allow the Department Secretary to veto and block the project on the subjective grounds that a previously identified cultural site exists on these lands. As stated previously, this is a geographic triangle that's historically home to numerous mines. I might add too, Mr. Chairman, the Forest Service completed an environmental assessment in 2008, 3 years ago, in which, and I quote, ``several attempts were made to identify sacred sites and effects on ceremonial use of sacred sites.'' The official conclusion was a Finding of No Significant Impact, and that finding was sustained on appeal. Furthermore, the terms ``Native American,'' ``sacred,'' and ``cultural'' in the amendment offered by my friend from New Mexico are undefined, and thus it cannot be predicted what effect this amendment would have. It opens the door to time-consuming litigation and subjective or political decisions. In the land exchange within the bill, environmentally sensitive and culturally important lands are given protection. Thousands of more acres, as I alluded to earlier on, are added for the protection than are made available for the development of this mine; the ratio is roughly 2-1. The bill specifically and permanently, for example, protects Apache Leap. Because this bill ensures and requires tribal consultation before development of the mine and because the real effect of the amendment would be for political mischief, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the Lujan amendment. Harrison Talgo, Sr., Bylas, AZ, October 21, 2011. Hon. Eric Cantor, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Majority Leader Cantor: I am the former Chairman of the San Carlos Apache Nation and served in the Tribal Council for 16 years. Many times I have come before Congress as an official representative of my government to present issues affecting and in the best interest of the San Carlos Apache Tribal Government. But today I write to you as a concerned private citizen of Bylas, Arizona which is located within the San Carlos Apache Tribal Reservation and want to express my support of H.R. 1904, The Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act of 2011. The current Tribal leadership does not share my position. I have tried very hard to understand why they oppose this project when we are in such desperate need of jobs and industry. I believe that traditional Apache values are not mutually exclusive with economic development. We are one of the poorest Indian tribes in the nation. Seven in 10 eligible workers in the Tribe are unemployed. Almost 80 percent of our people live in poverty. Alcoholism and drug use are rampant and suicide rates are high. The average Apache male has a life expectancy of 54 years, about 20 years shorter than the average American male. The proposed Resolution Copper Mine would bring hundreds of new, high-paying jobs to our region. It represents progress and hope and prosperity. I have previously testified before Congress in support of economic development projects. I have done so in the face of opposition from other leaders who have opposed these same opportunities on and near the reservation. Some of those projects experienced costly delays as a result of the Council's opposition, but they all were built eventually. And to our benefit, they have all hired Apaches. I am confident the Resolution project will be no different. In fact, some members of the San Carlos Apache Nation are already employed by the company and its contractors. I respect the Council's desire to protect sites that have cultural or historical significance. I want that, too. But Oak Flat is a long way from us, and I believe strongly that it is possible for our traditional values to co-exist with economic progress. In fact, I don't believe one can survive without the other. Economic progress and prosperity leads to a better standard of living, better health, better services and better education. It increases our capacity to learn and expands our cultural horizons. It gives us additional resources to explore and study our past, to protect what we hold sacred, to showcase and display those things that are culturally important, and to help the outside world better understand and appreciate the stories and traditions of our fathers. For all these reasons, I respectfully urge your support and passage of the H.R. 1904. Sincerely, Harrison Talgo, Sr., Former Chairman, San Carlos Apache Nation. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I claim time in opposition.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 45 seconds to the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce).

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Chairman, I understand the other side has yielded back their time. How much time do I have left?