Joe Neguse

Mr. NEGUSE

Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from California for his remarks, and I couldn't agree with him more. I appreciate his support of this important bill. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. I want to thank my colleague and neighbor from the Third District for his very kind remarks and for his support of this bill, and my fellow Members of the Colorado delegation for their unanimous support of this bill. Madam Speaker, I must take a moment to thank the advocates who have worked on this legislation for many years, Jane DeDecker, who is a constituent of mine in the wonderful community of Loveland, Colorado, who conceptualized the statue for which our bill is named; and the president of the Every Word We Utter board, Jody Shadduck-McNally, who also worked tirelessly. Both of these women have worked very hard to ensure that this piece of women's history and the long legacy of women's civic engagement that followed is commemorated effectively and can stand as an inspiration for generations to come. I would close just on a personal note. As the Speaker knows, my daughter, Natalie, is just a year and a half old now. As she grows up, I want her to feel represented, empowered, and assured of the fundamental role that she plays in our society. When Natalie visits our Nation's Capitol, she will hopefully be able to visit this statue and learn of the great struggle to ensure her equality and be assured America's sons and daughters stand on equal footing at the doors of opportunity. In reverence to the brave women who fought for equality in the past, and on behalf of all of those who will follow, I thank my fellow Members for their consideration in support of this legislation. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, ``Every word we utter, every act we perform, waft unto innumerable circles beyond.'' Those are the words Elizabeth Cady Stanton that inspired the movement for H.R. 473, which will create Washington, D.C.'s first statue memorializing the women's suffrage movement. Today, we have the opportunity to honor the diverse and multigenerational group of women who fought for decades to secure women the right to vote. This bill is strongly bipartisan and, in accordance with the Commemorative Works Act, will cost nothing to the Federal Government. It received positive feedback from the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission and passed the Natural Resources Committee with bipartisan support in October. Leading women's organizations are in support of H.R. 473, including the Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission and multiple chapters of the American Association of University Women as well as the League of Women Voters. I am honored to carry this legislation that recognizes and honors the suffragists' tireless efforts and the ripples of hope and civic progress they have elicited for generations. Madam Speaker, I urge your support for this commonsense tribute to our Nation's history, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. NEGUSE. Madam 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. NEGUSE

Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2427) to amend the Chesapeake Bay Initiative Act of 1998 to reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network, as amended.

Mr. NEGUSE. Madam 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. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, H.R. 2427, introduced by Representative Sarbanes, would reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network. The Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network is a State, local, and Federal partnership that helps the National Park Service and its partners connect people to the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. This system of more than 170 sites tells the story of the connection between people and nature throughout the region and has been critical for expanding public access to the Chesapeake Bay, supporting enhanced interpretation, education, youth employment, and recreation associated with the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. This program is a great example of collaboration and partnership, and I want to thank my colleague from Maryland for his hard work to ensure that it succeeds. The Chesapeake Bay Gateways and Watertrails Network deserves our support, and so I urge my colleagues to support this bill and authorize this program for an additional 5 years. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from California for his support of the bill. In closing, Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. NEGUSE

Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, H.R. 560, which was introduced by my colleague, the Delegate from the Northern Mariana Islands (Mr. Sablan), will address an issue involving certain long-term residents in his district that was not addressed when we extended the U.S. immigration laws to the CNMI in 2009. The Natural Resources Committee held a markup of the bill on September 18, 2019, and ordered the bill reported favorably to the House by voice. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from the Northern Mariana Islands (Mr. Sablan) to explain his legislation.

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

Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 560) to amend section 6 of the Joint Resolution entitled ``A Joint Resolution to approve the Covenant To Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America, and for other purposes'', as amended.

Mr. NEGUSE

Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2490) to amend the National Trails System Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study on the feasibility of designating the Chief Standing Bear National Historic Trail, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. NEGUSE

Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, again, I thank my colleague, friend, and neighbor, Mr. Tipton, for his leadership on this bill. I certainly urge my colleagues to support it. I also want to make sure we take a moment to take stock and reflect on the benefits of the Antiquities Act of 1906, that bedrock law signed into law by President Teddy Roosevelt so long ago that has enabled us to move forward with protecting monuments like the one included in the bill that is before the House today. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1492, sponsored by my friend and fellow Coloradan, Representative Tipton. This bill would support access to one of the most significant cultural and archaeological sites in southwest Colorado, the Yucca House National Monument. Yucca House was an important community center for the ancestral Puebloan people and serves as an enduring example of the history of these lands. H.R. 1492 would add 160 acres of donated land to the monument, quintupling the size of the site and guaranteeing permanent public access. The addition would also allow the National Park Service to build a new public entrance to the monument, including parking, visitor services, and interpretive facilities. This new access will allow more Americans to utilize and learn about the exceptional ancestral Puebloan sites protected at the monument. I congratulate my colleague on his efforts to support access with respect to this monument and to help enhance our appreciation for the Native American history enshrined in the kivas, towers, and plazas of the Yucca House National Monument. As a fellow lover of Colorado's public lands and public land heritage, I again thank the gentleman for his leadership on this bill and certainly urge my colleagues to support it. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. NEGUSE. Madam 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. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1492) to update the map of, and modify the maximum acreage available for inclusion in, the Yucca House National Monument, as amended.

Mr. NEGUSE

Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I very much enjoyed this fascinating debate, and I appreciate the leadership of our colleague from Louisiana on this issue for many years and, of course, our colleague from California for initiating the bill before the House. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support it, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Harder) and his nutria, whose name is Nellie.

Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 3399, the Nutria Eradication and Control Act of 2003. In case you were not lucky enough to see the stuffed nutria that the distinguished gentleman from California brought to our hearing in the Natural Resources Committee, you are in luck, because I understand that it is making another appearance here today on the floor. You can see firsthand that nutria are a large, invasive rodent species that have infested and damaged wetlands across the United States. This species was originally introduced to the United States in 1899 for fur production, but its rapid breeding and destructive burrowing became a huge problem in areas like the Gulf of Mexico and the Chesapeake Bay. In 2003, by way of background, Congress passed the Nutria Eradication and Control Act to provide assistance to Maryland and Louisiana to eradicate or control nutria and to restore wetlands destroyed by nutria. According to some estimates, if these measures had not been adopted, nutria could have destroyed 17 percent of the Chesapeake Bay's marshes in a 50-year period. While this program has been successful in Maryland and Louisiana, now the nutria have invaded habitats across the United States. Representative Harder's much-needed bill would expand the Nutria Eradication and Control Act of 2003 to include any State with a nutria infestation issue and make them eligible for funding under the act. It is important to consider this bill in the context of the state of our wildlife and habitat today. Species are going extinct at a faster rate than ever before in human history. Habitat loss is a major driver of the extinction crisis that we are experiencing, and so protecting and restoring wetlands from invasive species like nutria is an important piece of the puzzle for protecting biodiversity in our country. In the face of the climate crisis, we must do all we can to protect habitat and wildlife, and eradicating this destructive invasive species is a step in the right direction. I thank my distinguished colleague from California for his leadership in introducing this bill, and I urge my colleagues to support it. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. NEGUSE. Madam 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. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3399) to amend the Nutria Eradication and Control Act of 2003 to include California in the program, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. NEGUSE

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

Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation. I thank Representative Kim and Representative Ratcliffe for bringing the bill forward. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.