Jared Huffman

Mr. HUFFMAN

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5040. This is a bipartisan bill introduced by my fellow committee member, Utah Congressman Curtis, along with myself. The Aerial Incursion Repercussion Safety Act, or the AIR Safety Act, requires the Director of BLM, in consultation with the Chief of the Forest Service, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the National Association of State Foresters, to conduct a study on the effects of drone incursion on wildfire suppression. It is already a Federal crime to interfere with wildfire suppression efforts on public lands. In addition, the FAA often implements temporary flight restrictions, or TFRs, around wildfires to prevent aircraft from getting involved and interfering with suppression operations. Despite these deterrents, private drone incursions near wildfires continue to be documented as causes of delays in airborne firefighting response that can pose threats to firefighting on the ground, undermine ongoing suppression efforts, and allow wildfires to encroach on nearby communities. There have been many examples of this, but I specifically remember, during the October 2017 firestorms in Sonoma County, in my district, we received multiple reports of private drones interfering with firefighting helicopters and air tankers, forcing them to stay grounded for the safety of the Cal Fire pilots during the critical days when we needed them in the air. This bill would raise awareness of the impacts of drone incursions on wildland fire suppression while examining ways to avoid future incursions. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources, Washington, DC, September 1, 2020. Hon. Colin Peterson, Chair, Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Chair Peterson: I write to you concerning H.R. 5040, the ``AIR Safety Act of 2019.'' I appreciate your willingness to work cooperatively on this legislation. I recognize that the bill contains provisions that fall within the jurisdiction of the Committee on Agriculture. l acknowledge that your Committee will not formally consider H.R. 5040 and agree that the inaction of your Committee with respect to the bill does not waive any future jurisdictional claim over the matters contained in the bill that fall within your Committee's Rule X jurisdiction. I will ensure that our exchange of letters is included in the Congressional Record during floor consideration of the bill. l appreciate your cooperation regarding this legislation and look forward to working with you as this measure moves through the legislative process. Sincerely, Raul M. Grijalva, Chair, House Natural Resources Committee.

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I request an ``aye'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HUFFMAN. 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 measure under consideration.

Mr. HUFFMAN

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Beyer).

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7489, the Long Bridge Act, introduced by our colleague, Representative Wittman, from Virginia. This bill is a simple piece of legislation, but it is important. It authorizes the National Park Service to convey select parcels of land to the Commonwealth of Virginia or the District of Columbia in order to facilitate updates to the Long Bridge, a critical commuter and freight rail corridor in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The existing bridge, which is used by Amtrak, the Virginia Railway Express, and CSX Transportation was built all the way back in 1904. It has not been substantially upgraded since 1942. The current project is a partnership between the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Virginia Department of Rail and Transportation, and the District of Columbia, and it will double capacity of the bridge by constructing a second bridge alongside the existing structure. Allowing the National Park Service to convey small tracts of land will facilitate completion of this very important upgrade. To be clear, we are not talking about land that includes historic resources, open space, or park-like qualities. The agency has final say in what can be transferred, and the bill includes important safeguards to ensure that the land identified for conveyance is used only for railroad purposes. This project is a priority for this region, and I am happy to lend my support to this commonsense, bipartisan solution. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further witnesses, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HUFFMAN

Mr. HUFFMAN. 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 measure under consideration.

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 906) to improve the management of driftnet fishing.

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am proud today to speak in favor of the Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act. This was sent to us by the Senate on voice vote and sponsored by California Senator Dianne Feinstein. I applaud our colleagues in the Senate for sending us meaningful bipartisan bills--for a change--that were overwhelmingly improved. I hope my colleagues in the House will join me in this bipartisan effort to conserve our oceans and wildlife. I would also like to applaud the recreational fishing and conservation community for their leadership on this bill. Large-scale drift gillnets--or driftnets, as they are called--are wasteful, and they are an outdated type of fishing gear. At 2 kilometers long, their purpose is to simply drift along through ocean currents and catch whatever they may find in their long webbing. The only large-scale driftnet fishery in the country today is the West Coast swordfish fishery, where these driftnets are used to catch swordfish and other commercially valuable species such as thresher, mako shark, and opah. But a 2-kilometer-long net in the ocean catches far more than these target species. Driftnets are indiscriminate. They catch sea turtles, bottlenose dolphins, and short-finned pilot whales. During the committee hearing on this bill, my Republican colleague, Garret Graves, joked that California is finally catching up with his State of Louisiana because they ended driftnet fishing in 1995, to which I say: Good for Louisiana. Elsewhere around the world, driftnets have been banned due to the high rate of bycatch. This important legislation would amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to direct the Secretary of Commerce to conduct a transition program to phase out the use of these large-scale driftnets and to facilitate the adoption of alternative fishing gear. This transition program is supported by key stakeholders. A majority of active permit holders submitted their intent to participate in the program, and a nonprofit has invested $1 million to help these fishermen transition. It is important to note that there really are great alternatives to drift gillnets, like deep-set buoys, which have a lower bycatch rate and can actually fetch higher market rates for fishermen. This bill would also prohibit the use of large-scale driftnet fishing by all U.S. vessels within the U.S. exclusive economic zone within 5 years. Let's join the rest of the world and end the use of drift gillnets. The Senate passed this bill in July, and I urge my colleagues in the House to do the same now. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, for those folks who had the word ``diktat'' on their bingo card, you are a big winner today. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for that, but when he describes this bill as extreme, overreaching, and draconian, he left out the fact that 28 of the 31 fishermen in this particular fishery have already agreed to participate in the transition program that this bill provides. My hope is that the three holdouts will take advantage of the transition assistance being offered and join the rest of their peers. Also, when my colleague mentions far-left Democrats driving this bill, he forgets to mention the long list of Republicans in both the House and Senate who are supporting this bill. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Case).

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HUFFMAN

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, before I reserve after those beautiful remarks, I include in the Record an email from the CBO. From: David Hughes Sent: Tuesday, December 1, 2020 2:51 PM To: Lim, Sarah Subject: Re: Suspension planning. Hi Sarah: Good to hear from you. On a preliminary basis: H.R. 970, Robert E. Lee Removal, Brown, D-MD; no direct spending or revenue effects. H.R. 5458, Rocky Mountain 1, Neguse, D-CO; no direct spending or revenue effects. H.R. 5459, Rocky Mountain 2, Neguse, D-CO; no direct spending or revenue effects. H.R. 7098, Saguaro Expansion, Grijalva, D-AZ; no direct spending or revenue effects. H.R. 7489, Long Bridge Act of 2020, Wittman, R-VA; no revenue effects. Enacting H.R. 7489 would result in an insignificant net decrease in direct spending over the 2021- 2030 period. Best, David Hughes, Analyst, Congressional Budget Office.

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, we were unable to get an official score, but this email confirms on a preliminary basis that all of the remaining bills have no spending effect. They also have no revenue effect, with the exception of H.R. 7489, which has a net revenue decrease. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin).

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I simply thank my colleagues from Maryland for the eloquence and moral clarity they have brought to this issue. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this long overdue and much-needed legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 970) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to develop a plan for the removal of the monument to Robert E. Lee at the Antietam National Battlefield, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 970 introduced by my friend, Representative Brown of Maryland, a member of the Committee on Natural Resources and vice chair of the House Committee on Armed Services. Mr. Brown's bill directs the National Park Service to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee from the Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland. This 24-foot statue of General Lee was dedicated in 2003, 138 years after the end of the Civil War. It was commissioned and placed by a private citizen on private land that the National Park Service later acquired in 2005. As our Nation continues to wrestle and reckon with racial inequality and injustice, it is past time that we take stock of these symbols that we display and the stories that we tell about our past, present, and future. For example, the statue at issue here is not historically accurate and it simply serves to glorify the ``Lost Cause'' narrative. It does not belong on a national battlefield. I thank Representative Brown for his hard work in bringing attention to this issue, and I urge swift passage of this bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Brown).

Mr. HUFFMAN

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1240) to preserve United States fishing heritage through a national program dedicated to training and assisting the next generation of commercial fishermen, as amended.

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I urge an ``aye'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HUFFMAN

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5458) to modify the boundary of the Rocky Mountain National Park, and for other purposes.

Mr. HUFFMAN

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the measure under consideration.

Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7098) to expand the boundary of Saguaro National Park, to study additional land for future adjustments to the boundary of the park, and for other purposes, as amended.