Devin Nunes

Mr. NUNES

Mr. NUNES. Mr. Speaker, I would like to inquire how much time is remaining.

Mr. NUNES. I yield myself as much time as I may consume. The key here, Mr. Speaker, is that 86 percent of our Federal lands are off-use for drilling. What we have to really recognize in this country is that we have to quit blaming people and have to start, in my opinion, place the blame on ourselves. It's not a Democrat problem; it's not a Republican problem. It's the whole Congress itself that's the problem, because for decades now, we haven't been able to open up the Federal lands for drilling for oil. And there's a lot of us in this body who believe that what we ought to do is open up these areas for drilling, but, instead of using that tax revenue to go to pay for a lot of the things that we waste money here in Washington on, but instead take that tax revenue and invest it into the next generation of energy. That's what we're attempting to do on the Republican side of the aisle. We actually, I've worked with, including Mr. Costa and other Democrats, to develop bipartisan legislation that would, in fact, open these areas up for drilling, and then basically make the largest investment in American-made energy in our Nation's history. And that's how we move from fossil fuels to the next generation of clean and renewable energy. Today a half a percent of our total energy is produced from solar and wind power; and so to think that we're going to go from a half a percent anywhere close to the energy needs that we need, it's not possible at this time, Mr. Speaker, and we need to be honest with the American people about what really is the problem, why don't we have an abundant energy availability in this country? Why are we exporting so many dollars overseas? And the longer that we sit around and blame oil companies or blame OPEC or blame speculators, quite frankly, the longer it is the American people are going to be paying $5 per gallon per gas, as they are in California, or possibly even higher. What I'd like to see us do, Mr. Speaker, I said this earlier, bringing bills to the floor that are not only wilderness bills but would actually open up large vast areas for drilling, and not only bringing these bills to the floor, but bringing them up in a way where they don't come to the floor with a closed rule, where the Republicans can't offer any of their alternatives. Because, essentially, what's happening is that a majority of this Congress, I believe, both Republicans and Democrats, would vote to open up for drilling in this country. They would vote for that. We'd probably get 230, 240 votes, I would think. Because a lot of the folks that were elected last year, that helped put the Democrats in the majority, they ran on a pro-drilling platform. The problem is that we have to allow those people that were elected here, the new Members to this body, to have a chance, under an open rule, to vote on things that will really make substantial impacts for the American people. And I believe that if we have open rules in this Congress, where we bring bills to the floor that we can actually vote on, the majority will rule, and it would be a majority of Republicans and Democrats working together to open up our energy resources in this country so that we can begin to rely on American-made energy, and not continuing to export so many dollars outside of this country, which is, in my opinion, one of the most irresponsible things that this Congress has done for decades. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. NUNES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I want to commend Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack for including the language in this wilderness legislation that will allow fuels reduction and prescribed burns in wilderness areas, just as the 1964 Wilderness Act allows. Also commendable is codifying an energy corridor which will allow renewable energy to be created and transferred through this new wilderness area. I would like to thank Chairman Rahall and his staff for allowing this language to be included in the bill, and I look forward to seeing this commonsense language included in future wilderness legislation. It will help protect lives and help provide energy which I think is critical as we begin to look at new wilderness areas being created around the country. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. NUNES. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Westmoreland).

Mr. NUNES

Mr. NUNES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I take this opportunity to express my support for H.R. 3022, the Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park Wilderness Act. I would also like to thank my good friend Mr. Costa and Senator Boxer for their willingness to work in a bipartisan manner to secure protections for my constituents. When the idea of this designation was proposed, my constituents had three main concerns: Specifically, continued access to the hydroelectric facilities in the area; continued access for private and commercial horse stock users; and, finally, the cabin owners in the Mineral King and Silver City area needed assurances that they will continue to have access to their cabins in accordance with their Park Service permits. In each case, Congressman Costa and Senator Boxer agreed to add language to the bill that would resolve these concerns. First the cabin owners were provided a half-mile buffer zone around the cabins in order to ensure that management of the wilderness does not impact their access to and their maintenance of the cabins. Second, operators of the hydroelectric facilities were ensured they will continue to have access to their facilities to conduct maintenance and inspections as necessary. They will continue to be allowed motorized access, including helicopters, if non-motorized access is not reasonably feasible. Finally, the private and commercial horse stock users were provided strong assurances that nothing in the act precludes access to the areas that are designated wilderness. There have been recurring problems with such access to surrounding wilderness areas, and the language in this bill intends to ensure that those issues will not be repeated in this wilderness. Again, these were hard-fought protections, and the work of my colleagues during the drafting period was invaluable and much appreciated. At this time, I would like to yield to my colleague Mr. Costa and would appreciate any comments he may have about these specific provisions that I mentioned.

Mr. NUNES. Reclaiming my time, I want to thank the gentleman for his statements. I think this is a fitting tribute to Mr. Krebs, who dedicated his life to public service. He served on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors and also in the United States Congress honorably. Hopefully this wilderness bill ends up being something that is really done in a bipartisan manner, that after it is passed is also enacted in such a way that ensures use by all of our constituents, because really these are America's parks and resources and we want to make sure that access is granted to those that want it. So, thank you, Mr. Costa and Senator Boxer for honoring Mr. Krebs in this way, and I strongly urge passage of this bill. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. NUNES

Mr. NUNES. Mr. Speaker, at this time I would like to yield such time as he may consume to my good friend from Georgia (Mr. Westmoreland).

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

Mr. NUNES. Mr. Speaker, I think the issue here is really not about what is available for exploration and the amount of wells that have been able to be drilled on what's been allowed for exploration. The key here, as most people know, is that there is literally hundreds of billions of barrels of oil that is totally off-limits for us to research. I know that my friend from California is part of the solution, because he is one of the few Members of the Democrat Caucus that actually believes in drilling for oil. I know that he agrees with drilling in Alaska, and he agrees with drilling in the gulf and other places where we have tremendous resources of oil. So really the key here, like Mr. Westmoreland said earlier, is we need to have open time here on the floor with bills that come to the floor with open rules so that we can allow the majority to govern, meaning the majority of Members, not just one party. The longer that the Democrats continue to take bills up to the Rules Committee and send them down here to the floor to where we have no chance to offer amendments, we never have an opportunity to increase exploration. I believe that the American people, now that gas is soon to be $5 a gallon, that the American people have had enough of us buying all of our oil from the Middle East and South America and Africa. They have had enough. They are fed up with it. One-third of our trade balance is basically because of the money that we send out of this country for importing oil. What I am hoping to get back to is some reasonable common sense here in the Congress to where Republicans and Democrats can work together and build a majority that will allow drilling in our own country, because I believe that's what the American people are asking for. Until the Speaker of the House and the rest of the leadership decide that they want to let the majority rule, a majority of Members of Congress and not just one party, we are going to continue to pay high prices at the pump. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield to my good friend from Georgia (Mr. Westmoreland) for as much time as he may consume.

Mr. NUNES. Mr. Speaker, I have no more speakers on this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. NUNES

Mr. NUNES. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield myself such time as I may consume. House Resolution 1158, introduced by Congressman John Boozman and supported by the entire Arkansas delegation, recognizes the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Ozark National Forest. 100 years ago, President Theodore Roosevelt set aside, by Presidential proclamation, 917,000 acres of hardwood forest land in Arkansas. I want to commend Congressman Boozman on his hard work and dedication to recognize this unique and wonderful resource area that we have in our country. At this time I yield to my good friend from Georgia (Mr. Westmoreland) as much time as he may consume.

Mr. NUNES. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity over the weekend to meet with several legislators from Mexico. And a couple of the legislators asked me--they were very confused as to why the United States is asking Mexico to produce more oil because one of the legislators said, Well, don't you have more oil in your country than we do? And why don't you use your own oil in your own country? We will gladly sell it to you, especially at $140 a barrel, but we don't understand why your government doesn't allow for your own companies to drill for oil in your own country. Now, if the Mexican legislature has figured that out, you would think that our legislature and our Congress could figure that out. And so if we really want to end our reliance on foreign oil, it's very simple. There's two major ways to do it: You can drill for oil and gas in our own country on the 86 percent of the Federal lands that are off-limits to our use, that's one way; and the second way is to build nuclear power plants. If we don't get serious about those two options, Mr. Speaker, we're going to continue to pay higher prices for gas and oil, and we're also going to continue to pay higher prices for electricity. If we continue to make excuses, as people in this body have done for decades, decades this has been happening, we're going to continue to pay higher prices for fuel. I think it's time that we get serious about this in this Congress, we pass meaningful legislation that opens up our own areas for drilling for gas and oil so that we quit buying gas and oil from the likes of the Middle East, Venezuela, Nigeria, places that are, quite frankly, hostile in most cases towards our country, and we start to buy energy in our own country, drill for oil in our own country, create American-made energy, create American jobs. And then as we begin to put that revenue into solar and wind and future technologies that are going to allow for the next generation of energy to come on line, that, coupled with nuclear power, we can solve our Nation's energy problems. But if we continue to allow the Democrat majority to place blame on oil companies, place blame on OPEC, place blame on any everyone else but themselves, we're going to pay high prices at the pump. So I want to thank the gentleman, my good friend from California, for allowing us this opportunity to express our thoughts on this, the current energy situation, and on the wilderness areas that we're creating today in these bills.

Mr. NUNES. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. NUNES

Mr. NUNES. Madam Speaker, I am honored to join with my colleague, Mr. Costa, to recognize these two brothers, Mario and Joe Simoes, for their accomplishments as both immigrants and farmers. After the death of their mother when they were only 9 years old, Mario and Joe, aged 15, along with their father and younger sister, emigrated from Portugal in search of a better life for their family. Their first jobs were with the Manuel Faria and Sons Dairy in California. In 1970, some 20 years after coming to America, Mario and Joe bought their first dairy farm from this same family. Today, Mario and Joe, along with their extended families, own more than 10,000 cows and farm around 3,000 acres between them. These brothers, born only 12 minutes apart, embody the hard work and perseverance that are so emblematic of the first American immigrants. They have always shared a special bond that has pushed them to share both their lives and livelihoods with each other. They even share the same wedding anniversary, although Joe was married four years after Mario. Because of their active involvement in the agricultural community, Mario and Joe were both named as the 2007 Dairyman of the Year by the Tulare High School's SOPAS Club. Both brothers have served as president of the SPDES and both are members of the TDES, Land O' Lakes Tulare Division, the Dairy Farmers of America, and the St. John's of Tipton Men's Club. On April 25, Mario and Joe will be honored as ``Farmers of the Year'' at the annual Kiwanis Luncheon in Tulare, CA. On behalf of myself and Mr. Costa, it is an honor to recognize their hard work and dedication to community. Mario and Joe serve as a constant reminder of the values of this Nation and the unbreakable spirit of the American people.

Mr. NUNES

Mr. NUNES. Madam Speaker, on the legislative day of Wednesday, April 16, 2008, I was unavoidably detained and was unable to cast a vote on a number of rollcall votes. Had I been present, I would have voted: Rollcall 192--``no''; nay''; rollcall 193--``no''; nay rollcall 194-- ``no''; nay; rollcall 195--``no''. ``nay.''

Mr. NUNES

Mr. NUNES. Madam Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. NUNES. Madam Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. NUNES. I want to thank the gentleman from Georgia for bringing this issue up. And I know that the bill here today is this beaches bill, but the concern that I have is that we're not addressing the needs of the American people. When the Democrats took the majority, we were told that we were going to go back to 5-day workweeks. Last week, we were in 3 days; we did two votes each day. This week, we've only done a couple votes each day. And here we are doing a bill that now I'm being told we're not even going to finish the bill today, a bill regarding beaches, while we have truckers going around the Capitol honking their horns, trying to get the attention of the United States Congress, to get the attention of the Democrat majority to do something about lowering their fuel price. And the answers that we've received from the other side of the aisle are always the same answers: We need to repeal the tax breaks to the oil companies. Well, if we want to repeal the tax breaks to the oil companies, that's not going to lower the fuel price. As the gentleman from Alaska stated and the gentleman from Georgia stated previously, the way that you lower the fuel price and the way that you stop buying fuel from foreign countries is you have to drill in America. We have to drill for oil in America. I'm a big supporter of solar energy and wind energy, they're great renewable fields, but we get less than 1 percent of our energy from these sources. So if we want to talk about renewable sources of energy, we're going to have to look seriously at nuclear power. We're going to have to look at using the oil that we have in this country if we don't want to buy oil from foreign countries. These are the types of things that we're going to have to do in this Congress. But unfortunately, we've made this commitment, supposedly, to the American people that we're going to work 5 days a week, but instead we only work a few hours a day and end up working 3 days a week. Today we have to get out of here by 4, I'm told, because the Democrats don't want to stay in so that they can get on an airplane and fly home. We're not even going to finish a bill on beaches. And meanwhile, the American people are outside this Congress driving their trucks, honking their horn, asking for the attention of this Congress, and this Congress is not paying attention. We've got to do something to lower these fuel prices, Madam Chairman. The Democrats are in control, they're in the majority. We need answers. My constituents need answers. They need their fuel price lowered. They need their electricity cost lowered. The only way we can do this is by building nuclear power plants, investing in wind and solar power, and drilling for oil in America. And I would hope, as the gentleman from Alaska has stated over and over again, the last time we've gotten serious about drilling for oil in Alaska was 1973. 1973. And here we are, 35 years later, with no more oil production. Now we used to have at least half of our oil came from the United States, now we're less than 30 percent of our oil that comes from the United States. And we send money to Venezuela, we send money to Saudi Arabia, and the other side of the aisle complains about it. But their only answer is that we need to repeal the tax cuts to the oil companies. So in their last energy bill, what did we repeal? We picked the American companies. We repealed the tax breaks on the American companies and we gave tax breaks to the Venezuela oil companies. So I don't know what we're going to do in this Democrat majority to solve the country's problems. President Bush has said that he will sign a bill to drill for oil in America. He will sign any bill that promotes nuclear power. These are the answers that the American people need and they should demand from this Congress to have those answers. And I would hope, Madam Chairman, that this Democrat majority listens to the truckers that are outside right now honking their horn trying to get this Congress' attention. And I am happy that at least on our side of the aisle, the Republican side of the aisle, we are taking this opportunity, during a bill that we're talking about beaches here, but we're trying to bring to the American people, to bring to the attention of this Congress that we need to lower the fuel price, and we need to do it today. So with that, Madam Chairman, I will yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. NUNES. I was listening to your conversation on the floor. I want to reiterate what's going on outside. You made the point, but there are trucks driving through this Capitol right now trying to drive around to raise awareness to the people of the United States that the gas price is too high. And meanwhile today, we are debating a bill on beaches on the floor of the House while gas prices are soaring to $4 plus a gallon. And so I thank the gentleman from Georgia for bringing this up and for yielding to me because this is something that we should be debating on the House floor. We should be talking about energy, not talking about how we're going to save the beaches.

Mr. NUNES

Mr. NUNES. Mr. Speaker, on the legislative day of Friday, March 14, 2008, I was unavoidably detained and was unable to cast a vote on a number of rollcall votes. Had I been present, I would have voted: Rollcall 143--``nay''; rollcall 144--``nay''; rollcall 145--``nay'', rollcall 146--``nay''.

Mr. NUNES

Mr. NUNES. Mr. Speaker, I have heard several Members come down to the floor and talk about FISA and talk about this is not part of the bill; we are supposed to be here to debate energy. In fact, what the gentleman from Florida is talking about is that we have a responsibility here in the Congress to protect the American people, and our military commanders say we need this, this FISA extended, a permanent extension, so that we can continue to watch over terrorists that are trying to call in and out of our country. This is imperative that we get this done. And so when you start to look at what are we doing here today talking about this energy bill, well, this is once again one of these energy bills where we are just going to tax the American consumer. We are going to tax domestic oil producers. And this bill has no chance to make it through the Senate. This bill has no chance to become law. So why would we be here today when we are on day 11, as Mr. Hoekstra said earlier, we are day 11 where we have not been able to surveil terrorists that are trying to call in and out of this country, but instead we are debating an energy bill that taxes domestic oil producers, taxes big oil companies, and leaves a glaring loophole so that Hugo Chavez's CITGO still continues to get tax breaks. So I can understand if some of the Democrats want to tax Exxon and the big oil companies. They don't like oil. They don't want to use oil. They want to raise the oil prices of the American consumer. But why, why would you give tax breaks to Hugo Chavez? That I cannot understand. We need to get off of this bogus debate on taxing oil companies, and we need to get back on to protecting the American people and bring up this FISA bill today.

Mr. NUNES

Mr. NUNES. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this bill. Ninety-six percent of our energy comes from nuclear, oil and coal in this country. Only 4 percent comes from solar and wind. And I am very supportive of creating more energy by wind, creating more energy by using solar panels, but the problem, Mr. Speaker, is that this is not going to solve our problems. We've heard many Members talk about the price of oil here today. When the price of oil is $100 a barrel, it's because there's not enough oil on the market to meet the demand, largely because we have refused in this country to drill for oil anywhere. We've barred the east coast, the coast of Florida. We even have Cuba now coming in and drilling off the coast of Florida. In California, we don't drill there for oil anymore. And even to go as far as Alaska, the northern slope of Alaska where we have an oil reserve there, we won't even drill for oil in Alaska. So when you talk about having $100 a barrel oil, it's because we refuse to drill for oil, and we rely on oil from other countries to meet our growing demand. When you look at the problems here that this bill creates, it's taking away tax subsidies to oil companies. But what it does is it only hits the top five oil companies, and you leave out one of the biggest oil companies in the world, and that's the oil company called CITGO which is owned by Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. If you really wanted to tax the oil companies, you ought to tax all of the oil companies, not just tax our domestic companies that, quite frankly, puts us at a disadvantage to those that produce oil in the Middle East and Venezuela and everywhere else. And so if we're going to look at real energy policy here, more solar, more wind, that's all great, but, folks, we're going to rely on oil, nuclear power and coal power in this country for a very long time. I think this Congress has a responsibility to the American people to lower the cost of energy that the American consumer uses, and this bill doesn't do it. So, with that, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this bill.

Mr. NUNES

Mr. NUNES. Madam Speaker, I would like to pay tribute to the distinguished life of BG Edward E. Munger of Fresno, CA, who lost his brave battle with cancer on February 11 at the age of 68. General Munger lived an extraordinary life of service to his country, community and family. He served more than 3 decades in the California National Guard, and served in Washington, DC under Presidents Nixon, Carter and Reagan. General Munger retired on October 30, 1990 after completing 33 years of service to our country. General Munger's love for his country was also evident in the service he gave to his local community. He served as a Fresno County Reserve Deputy Sheriff for several years on the Power Board Squadron; was a member and at his death the president of I.R.O. Soararsis, a support organization for Kings Canyon National Park; was on the Board of Trustees of Children's Hospital Central California; on the Rotary Club of Fresno Board of Directors; on the Fresno County Planning Commission; and on the Fresno County grand jury. Even being diagnosed with cancer could not prevent him from public service, as he continued to serve the community as chairman of California's 21st Congressional District Military Academy nomination committee. General Munger inspired all of those he knew, including myself. He was a man full of character and integrity who treated all human beings with dignity and generosity. Munger helped thousands of young people achieve goals that otherwise might not have been possible. From simple guidance to providing a stable home environment or providing free rent to a student in his apartment building, he asked only that they ``pay it forward'' by helping others when they are in a position to do so. General Munger is survived by his wife, the former Tamsen Nichols, whom he married 37 years ago, and their adult children, Edward Earl and Eleanor Elizabeth of the San Francisco Bay area.

Mr. NUNES

Mr. NUNES. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the life of a wonderful woman and friend. Joan was a devoted wife to Earl Mann of 49 years and mother to two daughters, Paula and Laura. For 29 years, she worked for the Woodlake Elementary School as a teacher's aide and was active in the Parent-Teachers Association. She served on the Tulare County Grand Jury, was active in her church and served as the local representative of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. She loved to write poetry, sometimes about events or people in her life. The following poem is one of her family's favorites. I've Sailed Upon Life's Seas I've walked upon the shores of life A-kicking up the sands I've met each eye that chanced my way And shook each friendly hand. I've sailed upon the seas To cross to other places I've met each smile with smiles to spare And cherished those dear faces. The song I've sung along the way 'Tis joyous and carefree It tells of life, of wondrous times And speaks of days to be. And when my days on earth are through God grant me one last thought I'd love to do it all again Remembering what life's taught. Joan Mann's life demonstrated her love of her family, her community and her country. Mrs. Joan Mann of Woodlake, California, passed away January 24th. She will be greatly missed.

Mr. NUNES

Mr. NUNES. Madam Speaker, I take this opportunity to pay tribute to Tulare County Sheriff's Detective Kent Haws, who, at the age of 38, sacrificed his life in the line of duty so others may live. Detective Haws honorably served our Nation in the United States Army and subsequently went on to serve his community as a member of the Tulare County Sheriff's Department. After spending time overseeing local prisoners, he was posted to a community officer position covering the Porterville area. His talents and commitment to duty were quickly recognized with an appointment to the prestigious Sheriff's Tactical Personnel Unit. In this capacity, he led his team in tactical responses to drug cartel activities in our Nation's forests and parks. Detective Haws' commitment to his community was proven last December when he fearlessly confronted a suspicious individual on a back road of our farming community. That confrontation ended with Detective Haws' making the ultimate sacrifice for his family and his community. His true act of heroism will only be known between himself and his God. Those of us that he left behind will forever remember his brave actions that day. His heroics deserve a place in history on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial here in Washington. This memorial contains a fitting quote that sums up Detective Haws' life-- ``In Valor--There is Hope''. Detective Haws, a devoted husband, and a loving father, is survived by his wife Francis and three wonderful sons Dominik, Nicholas and Evan. I ask that my colleagues join me in solemn tribute to Detective Kent Haws, whose actions undoubtedly saved others.