Keep America’s Refuges Operational Act of 2022

Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished chair for yielding, as well as his continued leadership of this all-important committee and in connection with this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in favor of H.R. 6734, the Keep America's Refuges Operational Act. I thank my colleagues, Representatives Thompson and Sablan, and certainly Representative Wittman for his leadership on the other side of the aisle.

This commonsense and bipartisan legislation reauthorizes the National Wildlife Refuge System volunteer, community partnership, and education program. Because of this program, refuges continue to benefit from volunteer support, which has successfully saved taxpayer dollars, generated millions for local economies, and promoted jobs in communities throughout America.

The National Wildlife Refuge System is comprised of over 560 refuges located in every United States territory and State. They make up over 800 million acres of habitat dedicated to the conservation of fish and wildlife. Each year, National Wildlife Refuge System hosts more than 60 million visitors, generating over $3 billion in revenue for local economies and supporting more than 40,000 jobs.

Visitors come from all over to explore, hunt, fish, and enjoy America's natural beauty. Refuges help to mold the next generation of conservationists and outdoor enthusiasts by providing learning experiences and cherished memories.

But this wouldn't be possible without the dedicated refuge volunteers and community partners who donate their time and their energy to keep refuges open and operational. During fiscal year 2021, approximately 11,700 volunteers gave close to 649,000 hours of their time, which is the equivalent of nearly 318 full-time employees or a contribution of more than $18 million.

Volunteers provide critical support to full-time staff in numerous ways. They operate visitor centers, conduct fish and wildlife population surveys, maintain visitor structures, roads and paths, fight invasive species, and protect native plants and animals. They also help refuges raise money for key infrastructure projects and visitor centers.

Volunteers are of all ages, come from diverse walks of life, work in many different capacities, and truly represent the gorgeous mosaic of the American people. But one thing they all have in common is their commitment to preserving America's natural beauty so that we can all enjoy it for years to come.

In the 115th Congress, the House passed an identical reauthorization bill, which was signed into law by President Trump in April of 2018. Since that time, the program has continued to leverage volunteer hours allowing wildlife refuges to remain accessible for millions of visitors each year. It is my hope that we can again work across the aisle to support, in different ways, our National Wildlife Refuge System.

I will take a moment to acknowledge the cosponsors of this legislation, Chairman Grijalva and Representatives Graves, Thompson, and Sablan, with a particular special thanks to Representative Wittman for partnering with me, once again, to advance this legislation. I greatly appreciate their leadership and longstanding support for the National Wildlife Refuge System.

Supporting this bill in this Chamber means supporting the economic benefits to be gained from being good stewards of the environment that God has given to this great country.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 6734.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6734) to amend the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 to reauthorize the volunteer services, community partnership, and refuge education programs of the National Wildlife Refuge System, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. 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. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6734, the Keep America's Refuges Operational Act, introduced by our colleague, Representative Hakeem Jeffries.

This bill will reauthorize the volunteer services, community partnerships, and refuge education programs of the National Wildlife Refuge System.

The refuge system spreads itself across 568 national wildlife refuges and protects nearly 837 million acres of land, water, and wetlands. These important lands serve as homes for over an array of species, including 700 birds, 220 mammals, 1,000 fish, and 250 reptile and amphibian species.

Volunteers in the refuge system are crucial to keeping the refuges running, encouraging millions of the tourists each year, and generating billions of local revenue while creating jobs for neighboring communities.

Reauthorizing these volunteer services allows the Fish and Wildlife Service to continue providing transportation, uniforms, lodging, awards, subsistence, and training for those who selflessly choose to volunteer on these projects.

During the March hearing on the bill, we heard from Ms. Caroline Brouwer of the National Wildlife Refuge Association, and Ms. Joan Patterson from the Coalition of Refuge Friends and Advocates about the outside role that volunteers and friend groups play in keeping refuges running, as well as serving and connecting with the local community.

The Fish and Wildlife Service also testified in support of the legislation. In June, the National Resources Committee reported the bill to the House by unanimous consent.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the bill sponsor and my colleagues on the committee for the bipartisan support for this legislation, and I urge its adoption.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries).

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate all involved on a significant partnership on this legislation that has brought benefits historically to our park systems and refuge systems and will continue to do so. Let me thank my friends across the aisle for their bipartisanship on that.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6734, the Keep America's Refuges Operational Act of 2022.

This bill introduced by my colleagues, Mr. Jeffries, Mr. Wittman, and Mr. Graves, reauthorizes volunteer programs at our national wildlife refuges.

Specifically, this bill would reauthorize for 5 fiscal years several U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services programs, including those related to volunteer services, community partnerships, donations and gifts, and education projects.

The Fish and Wildlife Services currently utilize volunteers for tours, restoring the habitat, plant and animal surveys, staffing refuge stores and visitor centers, and all other activities.

While I believe more work needs to be done to improve our overall management of our national wildlife refuges, the volunteer activities that this bill will reauthorize are an effective tool to perform needed work without increasing costs to taxpayers.

Solutions such as this legislation are especially welcome during times like these when our national debt continues to balloon, and inflation continues to soar because of reckless spending pushed forward by the majority and the current administration.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.