Dean Heller

Mr. HELLER of Nevada

Mr. HELLER of Nevada. Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 243, Motion to Table, had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

Mr. HELLER of Nevada

Mr. HELLER of Nevada. Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 240, H. Res. 952--Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that there should be established a National Teacher Day to honor and celebrate teachers in the United States, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. HELLER of Nevada

Mr. HELLER of Nevada. Madam Speaker on rollcall No. 244, motion to adjourn, had I been present, I would have voted ``nay''.

Mr. HELLER of Nevada

Mr. HELLER of Nevada. Madam Speaker, on rollcall No. 242, H. Res. 1011--Calling on the United States Government and the international community to promptly develop, fund, and implement a comprehensive regional strategy to protect civilians, facilitate humanitarian operations, contain and reduce violence, and contribute to conditions for sustainable peace and good governance in Chad, as well as in the wider region that includes the northern region of the Central African Republic and the Darfur region of Sudan--had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. HELLER of Nevada

Mr. HELLER of Nevada. Madam Speaker, on rollcall no. 241, Motion to Table, had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

Mr. HELLER of Nevada

Mr. HELLER of Nevada. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Gas prices have risen 50 percent since Democrats took control. Was it the comprehensive energy bill passed last December? Gas prices have risen 7.6 percent and diesel has risen 16 percent since December's highly touted energy bill passed. Earlier today, I heard on this floor one member of the majority blame others for the increases of the last 16 months. We would hate to take responsibility around here, wouldn't we? To make matters worse, Democrats are actually rallying behind a plan to increase the gas tax by 50 cents per gallon. Mr. Speaker, in my home State of Nevada, gasoline is already on average $3.60 a gallon. This is well over $1 per gallon over what it was when the current majority party took control of Congress. In the course of holding a number of town hall meetings over the last 16 months, I have spoken to small business owners and more than 100,000 households across my district. During these town hall meetings, I have asked the question, do you support the proposed 50 cent per gallon gasoline tax? Roughly 82 percent of Nevadans asked about this proposal oppose this tax increase. If passed, this gas tax would be devastating for each of the 204,000 small businesses in my home State. High gasoline and diesel prices are affecting everything and have contributed in part to the rising costs of food and commodities. Increased food prices this year have resulted in a financial burden for many, including small businesses, seniors on Social Security or fixed incomes, and other low-income families. Prices for beef, bakery products and eggs are up sharply. Several factors have affected food prices, Mr. Speaker, but the most damaging are the gasoline and diesel prices for the operation of equipment and transportation of food to the market. Our solution to this problem is economics, supply and demand. We need to increase supply, and to that end exploration and production must be increased, including domestically. Refineries need to be built and energy sources expanded, including alternative fuel technology. Mr. Speaker, in this light I offer my motion to recommit, which will help research ways to lower the price of fuel for Americans and small businesses. This motion simply states that the energy-related research topics in this bill should also include projects that have potential to lower gas and diesel costs. It is critical that Congress act on this issue of high fuel prices now, not only to help American workers have a better way of life, but to help our struggling small businesses. Mr. Speaker, on that note, I yield back.

Mr. HELLER of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. HELLER of Nevada. In its current form.

Mr. HELLER of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address the concerns American workers and small businesses have with fuel prices. The majority party in Congress has offered the American people no real solutions to lower fuel costs. Speaker Pelosi said, ``Democrats have a comprehensive plan to help bring down skyrocketing gas prices,'' and the American people want to know, where is that plan? Gas prices have risen 50 percent since Democrats took control. Was it the comprehensive energy bill passed last December?

Mr. HELLER of Nevada. I would yield.

Mr. HELLER of Nevada. Gas prices have risen 50 percent----

Mr. HELLER of Nevada. Gas prices have risen 50 percent----

Mr. HELLER of Nevada. Yes, I do.

Mr. HELLER of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

Mr. HELLER of Nevada

Mr. HELLER of Nevada. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, it's a great honor to rise today to support passage of legislation honoring the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the minting of a commemorative $1 coin. It is a particular honor to be working on a bill sponsored by one of the heroes of the civil rights movement, Congressman John Lewis and my colleague Deborah Pryce. Madam Speaker, the Civil Rights Act is widely recognized as one of the most effective, influential pieces of legislation passed by the United States Congress in the last century. The statute helped dismantle the insidious system of legalized discrimination in voting and public accommodations in America and served as a model for subsequent civil rights laws. Equally important, the Civil Rights Act helped America belatedly reach the promise put forth by our Founding Fathers, that all men are indeed created equal. The Act is the bedrock for the America we know today, a Nation that recognizes the equal rights of the disabled, women, the elderly, minority citizens, and other groups as invaluable contributors to our society, and all inherently equally deserving of the protections afforded by our Constitution. The bill before us today provides for the minting of a Civil Rights Commemorative Coin, with the proceeds expected to raise up to $2.5 million for the United Negro College Fund, providing scholarships and internships for minority students and assisting our Nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities. As the bill honors our Nation's past, it helps to fund our Nation's future. Madam Speaker, it is a great honor for me to be joined in this legislative effort by Congressman John Lewis. Mr. Lewis, the principal sponsor, is a man whose courage, thoughtful advocacy, and leadership in the struggle for civil rights speaks for itself. His brave leadership in the first Selma to Montgomery march, and his support for nonviolent revolution in the face of the brutal attacks of that fateful Sunday are the very acts of courage the coin seeks to honor for future generations. It is especially auspicious that we are taking up the bill this week, because Friday marks the tragic 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Today, we can help honor his legacy and his indelible and inalterable imprint on America by authorizing a tribute to his historic works in the form of a commemorative coin. While it is but a small tribute to a man who gave his life for our betterment, it is a permanent statement of gratitude from a Nation forever thankful for his vision, compassion, and determination. Madam Speaker, pick up any newspaper in the country and you will see that the topic of race relations continues to be an important part of our American dialogue. But we should not be a Nation that hides from its past. We cannot sweep our past mistakes under the rug and refrain from debate on topics that we might find uncomfortable. Rather, we must know that the fight for equality for all is never ending and that recognizing and understanding our Nation's past is critical if we are to ensure a just America for all in the future. The fight for civil rights continues, and the Civil Rights Commemorative Coin honors both our Nation's historic struggles and the promise for justice and equality for all the generations that will follow us. I urge immediate passage of this bill, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HELLER of Nevada. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HELLER of Nevada

Mr. HELLER of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I was absent for a series of votes today due to personal family reasons. I request that my votes be recorded in the Congressional Record. On rollcall No. 1156 on Ordering the Previous Question on House Resolution 869, I would have voted ``nay.'' On rollcall No. 1157 on Ordering the Previous Question on House Resolution 859, I would have voted ``nay.'' On rollcall No. 1158 on passage of House Resolution 859, I would have voted ``nay.'' On rollcall No. 1159 on the motion to recommit the Conference Report (H.R. 2082) with Instructions, I would have voted ``nay.'' On rollcall No. 1160 on agreeing to the Conference Report (H.R. 2082), I would have voted ``nay.'' On rollcall No. 1161, to table the appeal of the ruling of the Chair, I would have voted ``nay.'' On rollcall No. 1162, on passage of H.J. Res. 69, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. HELLER of Nevada

Mr. HELLER of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2246, which will resolve outdated Federal reversionary interests in land important to the City of Reno, Nevada, which I represent. The reversionary interest concerns a rail line that goes through downtown Reno. The City of Reno and the Union Pacific/Southern Pacific join together to submerge a portion of the track below street level as a result of merger between the two railroads. As part of the project, known as RETRAC, the railroad agreed to grant the City of Reno title to the land immediately surrounding the right- of-way for the project within the city. This bill assists in the revitalization and economic development in this community. Title for these lands was originally granted to the railroad in 1866 to facilitate construction of a transcontinental rail system. However, when the United States granted the right-of-way to the railroad, it retained a reversionary interest in the land to ensure that it was, in fact, used to facilitate the building of the railroad. This purpose obviously was satisfied many years ago. This reversionary interest is an obsolete restriction on the title of the land granted to the City of Reno, and H.R. 2246 instructs the Secretary of the Interior to release the reversionary interest originally created in 1866. I appreciate the chairman of the committee, and also Chairman Grijalva and his staff, for the work they have done on this legislation. I also want to thank Reno Mayor Cashell, who came out to Washington to testify on this piece of legislation, and the City of Reno for their continued support and the efforts by their citizens. I would encourage all of my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. HELLER of Nevada

Mr. HELLER of Nevada. I want to thank the ranking member for his hard work the last 10 months. I also want to thank the chairman of the committee, Mr. Rahall, for his efforts on the bill. He was very patient, very respectful. I appreciate his time and energy. We may disagree, but I certainly do appreciate him listening to my concerns and oppositions to this particular bill, so thank you so much. Also, I thank the subcommittee chairman for a field hearing in Elko, Nevada. I certainly do appreciate that also, giving them a chance to be heard. I know that was appreciated. Mr. Chairman, mining is the second largest industry in the State of Nevada, which employs approximately 32,000 Nevadans, supporting, obviously, countless numbers of families. These high-paying jobs and their related services are the backbone of the rural community in our State and other rural economies. I would take, for example, a couple, Larry and Vickie Childs of Spring Creek, Nevada. Larry retired from the mining industry approximately 25 years ago and subsequently went to work for a company in Elko, Nevada, providing miners the tools and equipment that they need. Vickie works at a health clinic for miners and their families provided by the two largest mining companies in the area. Vickie's clinic employs two pharmacists, four doctors, physician's assistants, nurses, lab technicians, maintenance and clerical people. Larry and Vickie raised four children in Elko, Nevada, one of whom currently today works in the mining industry. When this bill closes down the local mining operations, the equipment suppliers and the health care clinics will have layoffs, and, obviously, close their doors. The Childs family will begin to lose their homes. The mining industry will join other domestic industry crushed by foreign competition and overregulation. Despite opposition to this bill in Elko, one of the most affected communities by this bill, the new excessive taxes and burdensome regulations of this bill will kill this industry, and with that industry will go the towns and families that depend upon it. Clearly, this was not the result of the field hearing that the community had hoped for. All of these measures, many of the supporters will say, are in the name of fairness. The question is, fairness to whom? Fairness to Nevada? Fairness to New Mexico? Arizona? I know that China thinks it's fair. I would guess that South Africa thinks that this is a fair bill. I would probably even guess that Australia thinks it is a fair bill. But do you think it's a fair bill to the Childs family in Spring Creek and the many thousands like them? I don't think so. But just like this bill ignores the futures of the families in Nevada, H.R. 2262 also fails to embrace the realities of the future of our Nation. India and China, with their State-funded purchases of global mineral commodities, should make us consider the long-term ramifications of the health of the domestic mining industry. Also, the technological advances we all want in our future, such as alternative energy, rely heavily on minerals and metals. A hybrid car, for example, requires twice as much copper as a traditional SUV today. Our national defense will rely on foreign sources of minerals to build our military equipment. Frankly, I don't want to rely on China when we are in a war-time situation. I urge my colleagues to support rural communities, urge them to support our domestic mining industry for the sake of our families, our economy, and our national security by voting against H.R. 2262.

Mr. HELLER of Nevada. I want to express my appreciation to the chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, again thanking him for his respect and efforts on this particular bill and hard work, and giving me time and efforts for my comments and concerns that I shared during the committee. I want to thank him for accepting this amendment.

Mr. HELLER of Nevada. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. HELLER of Nevada. Yes, I will.

Mr. HELLER of Nevada. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HELLER of Nevada. Mr. Chairman, more hardrock mining occurs in my district than in any other State; therefore, the remediation of abandoned mine lands is very important to my constituents. As many of us are aware, abandoned mine lands are the unfortunate legacy of the irresponsible mining practices of the past. Fortunately, mining operations today are held accountable for their practices. So with bad practices of the past ended, we have an opportunity to focus on cleaning up the abandoned mine lands. And the amendment I am offering will do just that. My amendment will direct half of the revenues deposited in the hardrock reclamation fund to States for the purposes of abandoned mine land remediation, while preserving the Federal Government's ability to fund the national priorities in the bill. My amendment allows the Federal Government to distribute half of the funds as it sees fit. The other half of the funds would go proportionately to States where production is occurring to fund in-place, successful AML programs. In multiple committee hearings, we heard that States currently do a great job of remediating abandoned mine land sites. They often are only limited by their available resources to conduct remediation projects. To give some of you perspective of how effective State programs are, Nevada has identified more than 20,000 AML sites in need of remediation and is still in the process, of course, of identifying more. The good news is that to date we have secured more than 9,000 of those sites. Likewise, in Colorado it is estimated that there are about 23,000 abandoned mines. More than 6,000 have been made safe by the State Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety. So in an effort to get money on the ground to remediate abandoned land mine sites quickly and efficiently, a portion of these funds needs to be dedicated to States where production is occurring. Given that many States have already prioritized their AML needs, we should get funding to them as directly as possible, as quickly as possible. This amendment will expedite the cleanup process that we all want. My amendment bolsters the ability of States to continue their good work on the ground while providing a way to remediate historic hardrock sites in States where mineral production will not generate sufficient funds to deal with current abandoned mine land issues. I would urge support of the Heller amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HELLER of Nevada

Mr. HELLER of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the rule for H.R. 2262. The State of Nevada is the fourth largest gold producer in the world, ranking behind South Africa, Australia and China. But this bill is bad for Nevada, bad for this important industry, and bad for the families that I represent. Who here doesn't think that China wouldn't love to immediately see these jobs moved overseas? Who doesn't think that South Africa would like to see these foreign investments moved to their country, and who here in these Chambers doesn't think that Australia would love to see mineral exploration move from the United States to their country? This legislation hurts, perhaps even kills, the domestic mining industry and, with it, the towns and communities in northern Nevada and western rural America. The proposed royalty structure, this new tax, would levy a new 8 percent gross royalty payment to this industry, all this despite the fact that not one witness testified before the House Natural Resources Committee in favor of it. Let me repeat that. Not one witness came before the committee to testify in favor of it. This untried, untested, new tax would hardly bring funds to the Federal Treasury, because when mining communities are decimated, there will be no royalties to collect. Everybody knows that 8 percent of nothing is still nothing. I offered an amendment at the Rules Committee that was ruled out of order because of fuzzy math that my colleagues used to enforce PAYGO. That amendment replaced the 8 percent gross royalty tax with a more modest 5 percent net proceeds of royalty. This amendment is good for three reasons. First, the net proceeds system is modeled after Nevada's proven and successful program. Why reinvent the wheel and ignore a model that encourages production rather than jeopardizes it? Second, a net proceeds system provides flexibility for the mining operation when commodity prices are down. This protects the good jobs in rural communities like Elko, Eureka, Lander, Humboldt, White Pine and other counties in Nevada. Third, my amendment would help prevent significant revenue and job losses for States. Their proposed 8 percent gross royalty, this new tax, will cripple States like California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, in addition to exporting our jobs overseas. But somehow, CBO scoring my amendment at zero somehow runs afoul of PAYGO rules. The majority party seems to want to waive this in every other circumstance. This bill, this rule, is simply bad policy, unless you want the mining industry to suffer. If passed into law, the effect will be to hurt the mining industry in the same way we have hurt the automobile industry, the same way we have hurt the steel industry, the same way we have hurt the seafood industry in coastal regions or, perhaps, the textile operations in the Southeast. I urge my colleagues to oppose destroying State budgets, oppose job loss in rural communities, and oppose the decimation of our domestic mining industries. Oppose the rule on H.R. 2262.