Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to recognize the 40th anniversary of the sister city relationship between Phoenix, Arizona and Taipei, Taiwan. Additionally, I would like to congratulate Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-Je on his successful reelection.

For the past 40 years, Taipei and Phoenix have shared a commitment with the goal of promoting cross cultural understanding along with municipal and technical cooperation and business opportunities. This bond has enabled people-to-people relationships between the residents of Phoenix and Taipei. The program has also offered opportunities to our youth who want to broaden their knowledge of different cultures. Taipei's Mayor Ko Wen-Je has been a strong advocate of the program and I commend him for his continual support.

I would like to take the time to show my appreciation to the Sister City Program for its positive impact on Arizona's economy. The program has helped to form international understanding and goodwill between our two nations. I look forward to continued dedication between these great cities. It is my honor to wish these two cities a happy 40th anniversary and congratulate Kon Wen-Je on his victory.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from North Carolina for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, a study came out earlier this year that said the opioid epidemic today is deadlier than the Vietnam war in 1968. That study found that opioids had cost our country more than 1.7 million years of life. Those are moments of joy, family, and community that are lost irrevocably. And as we move into the Christmas season, it is worth thinking about the millions of American families dealing with addiction and overdose tragedies.

We have done a great deal in Congress to try to fight the epidemic, from beefing up grants, to tougher law enforcement, to fixing the pain medication guidelines, to cracking down on bad actors in the pharmaceutical industry. But we have not addressed the immigration issue, which is central to the crisis.

The book, ``Dreamland,'' written by veteran L.A. Times Reporter Sam Quinones, provides one of the most definitive accounts of how we got to this grim place we are today. It details how Mexican nationals south of Arizona pioneered a new model of drug distribution, decentralized and customer centric, that successfully flooded our towns and cities with black tar heroin just as the availability of prescription opioids was ebbing.

Our porous border was the lynchpin of that model in two ways:

One, it allowed traffickers to be caught by police, to be deported, and to reenter the country, ensuring an unbroken stream of illegal labor for trafficking organizations;

Two, it allowed drug dealers to display their ill-gotten gains at home in Mexico, gaining status in their towns by poisoning our people.

That is above and beyond the simple fact that an insecure border allows massive amounts of drugs to be smuggled into our country.

Make no mistake, we are under chemical attack. Fentanyl is so potent that even a small amount, the equivalent of a few grains of salt, can be lethal. Earlier this year, police seized enough fentanyl to kill 26 million Americans.

Securing the border is a matter of life and death. We have got to build the wall. This amendment that we are talking about here would provide the $5 billion that the President has asked for and ensures that he has the legal authority he needs to get it done.

Let's back the President and the American people here in the House today and put the wall money in the funding bill. It is not going to happen under Nancy Pelosi, that much is certain. Now is the time. This is the bill, and this is the body, and we are at the right place. The American people can't afford any more delay.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Dr. Abraham Lieberman, who just recently announced his retirement. Dr. Lieberman has been a practicing neurologist for over 50 years, working at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona, for much of his career.

Dr. Lieberman dedicated his life to the treatment and eradication of Parkinson's disease, treating over 40,000 patients, including Muhammad Ali. He wrote six books on Parkinson's, including ``100 Questions & Answers About Parkinson's Disease,'' the best-selling book on that disease.

His work has done an immeasurable amount of good in furthering the treatment of Parkinson's and to help create a much greater quality of life for those who have the dreaded disease.

I am pleased that the Barrow Institute has created a way that people can honor Dr. Lieberman by setting up the Lieberman Legacy Fund so individuals can donate money towards Parkinson's research and treatment.

I wish Dr. Lieberman a long and happy retirement with his wife of 50 years, Ina, his 4 children, and 10 grandchildren.

Dr. Lieberman's pursuit to conquer Parkinson's has endeared him to his patients, with his personalized touch to each and every one of them. He has become an iconic pillar of excellence in medicine.

Your patients are so grateful. Thank you, Dr. Lieberman.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mayor Harvey Skoog of Prescott Valley, Arizona, who will be retiring next month after a long career of public service. Mayor Skoog has served the community of Prescott Valley for almost three decades on the city council, 19 years of which he served as mayor.

Along with his many years of public service, Skoog is known for his pride and appreciation for his family. He moved with his family from the Valley of the Sun to Prescott Valley in 1982. He and Edna, his wife of 60 years, have 9 children, 61 grandchildren, and 43 great grandchildren.

During his time as mayor, he has received many honors, including serving on the League of Arizona Cities and Towns executive board and as the chairman of the Greater Arizona Mayors Association. He was also appointed by Governor Jan Brewer to the Homeland Security Senior Advisory Committee for the State of Arizona.

Outside of public service, Mayor Skoog has been a successful small- business owner, developing three accounting practices in the Prescott Valley area.

Mayor Skoog has been a shining example of a true public servant and an outstanding friend to me and my staff over my years in Congress. I wish him well in his retirement and thank him for his service to the Prescott Valley and the entire State of Arizona.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge support of H.R. 6784. Our Federal wolf policy has gone rabid. From a policy standpoint, we are foaming at the mouth. As chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, I have been trying for years now to return some sanity to the way the Fish and Wildlife Service classifies and manages our wolf populations on Federal lands and otherwise.

Make no mistake, everyone who votes for Mr. Duffy's bill are big supporters of making sure wolf populations are robust, sustainable, and healthy for the next century and more. This bill is about fixing a Federal failure. Wolf populations across the country have made impressive gains and recovered quite nicely despite Federal involvement rather than because of it.

I have seen this firsthand, whether it comes to specific habitat listing decisions, or the rate at which the government adapts and responds to new situations on the ground. The Federal Government has been sluggish and out of touch when it comes to managing and recovering wolf populations. But the wolf has, nevertheless, persevered. It is now considered recovered by all relevant measures and metrics evaluating its status.

As a consequence, this bill makes necessary adjustments. It removes the species from the endangered list, as required by the statute for any recovered species, but empowers States to manage their unique habitats and populations in accordance with their storehouse of expertise and local knowledge.

State management plans developed for wolf populations are the antidote to repeat Federal blunders, both for this species and quite a few others. But for now, we are talking about the wolf and the fact that this bill will put States at ease.

We need to stop jerking their chain and hand them the reins. If we do, the wolf will have the best chance of continuing to make steady gains range-wide.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of H.R. 6784.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6146) to authorize, direct, expedite, and facilitate a land exchange in Yavapai County, Arizona, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

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

Like many of my colleagues from Western States, I represent rural counties that are growing quickly but are hitting roadblocks due to the large amount of Federal land in them. Yavapai County in my district is no different.

My bill, the Cottonwood Land Exchange Act, is a commonsense land exchange between the Forest Service and Yavapai County that would allow the county to expand a park by adding new trails and bridges for the residents of Cottonwood to enjoy.

In exchange for 80 acres in the Coconino National Forest, the county has offered to the Forest Service nearly 370 acres of land adjacent to the forest. This land is habitat for the endangered Arizona cliffrose, and the exchange will allow for better protection and conservation of the rose and other sensitive species.

H.R. 6146 is truly a win-win for both the residents of Yavapai County and the Federal Government at no cost to the taxpayers.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 2615) to authorize the exchange of certain land located in Gulf Islands National Seashore, Jackson County, Mississippi, between the National Park Service and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and for other purposes.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2615, introduced by Congressman Steven Palazzo of Mississippi, authorizes the National Park Service to convey to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5699 1.54 acres located within the Gulf Islands National Seashore in Jackson County, Mississippi, in exchange for a 2.16-acre parcel of land owned by the VFW Post.

This bill benefits both the VFW Post and the Park Service. It provides the VFW Post with permanent access to their building via a long driveway currently owned by the Park Service, while also adding land to the Gulf Islands National Seashore.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Palazzo).

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5706) to establish the Pearl Harbor National Memorial in the State of Hawai'i and the Honouliuli National Historic Site in the State of Hawai'i, and for other purposes.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5706 will bring increased recognition to two important World War II sites in Hawaii. The attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, will never be forgotten. Over 2,300 sailors, soldiers, and civilians lost their lives that fateful day the United States entered World War II. Five sites in Hawaii have been designated memorials, including the USS Arizona, the USS Oklahoma, and the USS Utah. Receiving over 1 million visitors each year, these serve as places of reflection and remembrance as well as tombs of honor for the crew members who remain there.

The creation of the sweeping World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument in 2008 incorporated the five Hawaii sites, along with three locations in Alaska and one in California. H.R. 5706 would establish the areas in Hawaii as the Pearl Harbor National Memorial as a distinct unit of the National Park System, giving it the full recognition this hallowed site deserves. This new designation will not affect the existing management of the area in any way.

H.R. 5706 would also redesignate Honouliuli National Monument as a National Historic Site. This site was the largest and longest used World War II confinement facility in the Hawaiian Islands. By war's end, over 2,000 people of Japanese ancestry were interned there--the majority of which were American citizens. The boundaries and management of the site will not change with the enactment of H.R. 5706.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6666) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to grant to States and local governments easements and rights-of-way over Federal land within Gateway National Recreation Area for construction, operation, and maintenance of projects for control and prevention of flooding and shoreline erosion.

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 bill under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 6666, introduced by Congressman Daniel Donovan, is an essential piece of legislation that will protect human life and property in coastal New York from devastating hurricanes and storm surges.

Hurricane Sandy was one of the deadliest and most destructive hurricanes in our country's history, tragically killing 162 people and causing $70 billion in damage. Staten Island, New York, was especially hard hit. H.R. 6666 seeks to ensure this type of devastation does not happen again.

This bill authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to issue an easement across the Gateway National Recreation Area for the construction of a seawall to protect coastal residents and infrastructure. The plan for this seawall was developed by the Army Corps of Engineers in conjunction with the State of New York as part of a coastal storm risk management plan.

The National Park Service, which operates the recreation area, supports this necessary project.

I thank Congressman Donovan for his good work on the bill, and I urge its adoption.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Donovan).

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

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Montana for organizing this tonight.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring this Chamber's attention to the multitude of wildfires that have devastated the Western United States.

Now, Mr. Speaker, the West is on fire and has been on fire since April of this year. This has undoubtedly been one of the worst wildfire seasons in recent memory.

Last month, more than 100 active fires scorched nearly 2 million acres, killed at least 12 people, and caused hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage. As of today, more than 75 wildfires continue to burn throughout the United States.

Wildfires are getting worse, in fact, in the United States just as they are getting better in more similarly advanced nations. A study published in Science last year found that the amount of acreage burning globally has declined by 25 percent over the past 18 years, irrespective of climate and temperature variability. The study's findings point to day-to-day human factors, especially land management, as the most consequential determinants of wildfire acreage burned.

Substantial research and common sense continue to suggest that an imprudent combination of prematurely extinguished spontaneous small burns preventing controlled burns and limiting brush, hazardous fuel, and timber thinning to near-negligible amounts is producing tinderbox- like conditions in our forests, conditions that overdetermine the eventual outcome of catastrophic wildfire.

Our misguided land management assumptions, practices, and policies have ended up as a highly significant factor in ensuring our country's experience with wildfires is worse than that of similarly situated peers. The sad truth is that mismanagement has left our forests vulnerable to insects and disease ripe for catastrophic wildfires.

That is why the Western Caucus led efforts to pass a strong forestry title in the farm bill. The House base bill includes 10 categorical exclusions that allow for active management of our Nation's forests and critical response.

On September 13, a letter spearheaded by the Western Caucus from 40 bipartisan Members of the House was sent to the farm bill conferrees urging conferrees and leadership to include active forest management provisions in the final version of the farm bill. The base bill also reauthorizes the Landscape Scale Restoration Program.

The first meaningful step that can be made to ensure that we can mitigate the frequency and intensity of wildfires next year is for the farm bill conference committee to include these forestry provisions within the final conference report. Otherwise, next year's wildfires, sadly, may be larger than this year's and will be the result of this Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Montana for yielding me the time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 660, the Bureau of Reclamation Transparency Act.

This bicameral, bipartisan legislation increases transparency, consolidates multiple reports, and requires the Bureau of Reclamation, the BOR, to do a thorough inventory of its assets, as well as prioritize major repairs necessary at the agency's facilities.

This bill has a strong history of bipartisan support. It was approved unanimously by the Senate in the 113th Congress, with Senators Barrasso and Schatz ushering passage. The previous administration testified in strong support of the bill last Congress.

This Congress, the Trump administration testified in strong support of the Senate bill, which is identical to the House bill.

The bill has five Democratic cosponsors and 15 Republican cosponsors. The bill passed the House Committee on Natural Resources by unanimous consent. Senator Barrasso and Senator Schatz are again spearheading the Senate companion, and the Senate bill has passed the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

For more than a century, the Bureau of Reclamation has transformed the West into a powerhouse that feeds the Nation and the world while also providing renewable, emissions-free energy for millions of Americans.

BOR provides essential services that benefit water and power users, as well as our Nation's farmers. The agency delivers water to more than 30 million people and provides one in five Western farmers with water to irrigate their crops.

The BOR's assets include more than 476 dams and dikes, and the agency is also responsible for the operations of 53 different hydroelectric power plants.

This legislation is timely and necessary. The Bureau of Reclamation was established in 1902, and much of the agency's now-aging infrastructure was built more than 50 years ago. Many of the facilities operated by the BOR are in desperate need of repairs, to the tune of several billion dollars.

This bill requires the Federal Government make public the estimated cost of repairs for reclamation facilities. For years, Congress and water users throughout the country have asked for such information, only to be rebuffed time and again.

Taxpayers deserve accountability from their government and oversight on how it spends their money. Sunshine on expenditures and increased transparency is good for any Federal bureaucracy or agency.

The Bureau of Reclamation Transparency Act requires a cost estimate and a detailed list of major repairs for BOR facilities. Such actions will allow for meaningful steps to be taken to address the maintenance backlog, as well as to ensure an abundant supply of clean water and power for future generations.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the committee's time and work on this bill, and I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 660.

Madam Chair, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4606, the Ensuring Small Scale LNG Certainty and Access Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by my good friend and colleague, Representative Bill Johnson.

I applaud the gentleman from Ohio for his strong leadership in bringing forward this important bill. This commonsense legislation will further increase American energy dominance by expediting the permitting process for the small-scale liquefied natural gas, or LNG, market. Such action will create thousands of jobs, increase regulatory certainty, and help reduce global emissions.

Thanks to American ingenuity and the efforts of private companies, the United States is now the world's leading producer of oil and natural gas. Despite this remarkable achievement, businesses still face a plethora of bureaucratic hurdles that are unable to export small quantities of LNG expeditiously. Removing unnecessary roadblocks that are shackling LNG job creators will foster economic growth and increase global influence.

As DOE Secretary Rick Perry likes to say, we are not just exporting energy, we are exporting freedom. I saw that firsthand in Lithuania last year.

Further, the U.S. has the highest regulatory standards for producing and exporting oil and gas in the world. Put quite simply, if we aren't making it in America, someone else will, and they will most likely do it in a way that is worse for the environment.

I urge adoption of this excellent legislation introduced by the gentleman from Ohio.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to stand today to recognize the distinguished career of a remarkable constituent of mine, Rear Admiral Pamela A. Schweitzer. Rear Admiral Schweitzer is retiring after proudly serving her country for nearly 30 years.

After receiving her Bachelor's degree in biology in Biological Sciences from California State University Fullerton, Rear Admiral Schweitzer went on to earn a Doctor of Pharmacy from University of California San Francisco and an Ambulatory Care/Administrative Residency at University of California Irvine Medical Center. She is a Board Certified Ambulatory Care Pharmacist, and currently serves as Executive Master of Health Administration Program at the University of Southern California Sol Price School of Public Policy.

On August 7, 2014 Rear Admiral Schweitzer was appointed to be the first female Chief Professional Officer of Pharmacy for the United States Public Health Service. As Chief Pharmacy Officer, Rear Admiral Schweitzer was

responsible for providing leadership and coordination of USPHS pharmacy programs and professional affairs for the Office of the Surgeon General and the Department of Health & Human Services.

While serving her country, Rear Admiral Schweitzer worked in a variety of roles including, progressing in leadership responsibilities in the Indian Health Service, the Veterans Administration, as well as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. She made an indelible mark within each of these organizations, which is a testament to her strong dedication to public service.

Rear Admiral Schweitzer has been recognized for her leadership contributions many times. These recognitions include receiving the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs Champion Award in 2017, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists William Zelmer Lecture Award in 2016, the University of California San Francisco Alumni Award in 2015, American Pharmacists Association Distinguished Federal Pharmacist Award in 2014, IHS Senior Pharmacist of the Year Award in 2013 and the USPHS Mary Louise Anderson Leadership Award in 2012.

Rear Admiral Schweitzer will always be remembered as someone who put her country and the well-being of others above all else. She will be greatly missed and I wish her the best in her retirement on behalf of a grateful nation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bipartisan bill, H.R. 2630, the La Paz County Land Conveyance Act.

La Paz County, Arizona, is a county in western Arizona defined by the Colorado River, the vast Arizona desert, and a massive Federal footprint. This bipartisan bill helps facilitate a land transfer from the Bureau of Land Management to the county.

Specifically, H.R. 2630 directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey 8,800 acres of Federal land to La Paz County for the purpose of economic development opportunities and facilitating renewable electrical generation. The bill allows the county to take advantage of one of the best assets they have--sunshine--and pursue utility-scale solar energy production.

This legislation requires the county to pay fair-market value for the land involved in this transfer. H.R. 2630 also requires the county to pay for all costs related to the conveyance, including all surveys, appraisals, and all other administrative costs.

I would like to provide a little more background about La Paz County to help explain why this bill is so important.

By population, La Paz is Arizona's second smallest county, with just under 21,000 permanent residents. More than a third of those people are over the age of 65.

The unemployment rate in the county is stubbornly high, with La Paz County consistently ranking in the top 5 counties in Arizona, out of 15, in terms of highest unemployment rate.

Currently, only 6 percent of the land in La Paz County is in private ownership. Federal, State, or Tribal governments own almost 95 percent of the land within the county, nearly two-thirds of which is owned by the BLM. Because of the immense Federal footprint in the county, a land conveyance is necessary to allow for new opportunities for economic development.

H.R. 2630, will help create new, good-paying jobs for La Paz County residents and generate new revenues to fund important county services like education, transportation, and law enforcement.

The plot of land the county has identified, with the assistance of the BLM, is ideally situated on the edge of the La Paz-Maricopa County line, adjacent to existing and proposed fiber optic, electric, and natural gas transmission lines. Further, the transferred parcels are conveniently located next to the Ten West Link, a 114-mile transmission line that will further interconnect Arizona and California.

Initial review shows that the land does not contain any endangered species, cultural resources, and already has a significant level of surface disturbance.

The legislation was drafted at the request of the county in collaboration with the Tribes and other stakeholders. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill will generate $6 million for the Federal Government.

Solar energy development on land conveyed by the bill will provide good-paying local jobs and help empower the county to determine its own economic future.

Finally, the renewable energy generated as a result of this bill will assist with ensuring a balanced portfolio and provide clean, renewable power to help meet the electricity demands of the West.

I am pleased to have had La Paz County Supervisor D.L. Wilson out to testify in favor of the bill, and I appreciate all the county's hard work on behalf of this effort.

I am also pleased to have received a letter of support for the bill from the Colorado River Indian Tribes, which started, in part: ``While we acknowledge that this legislation only addresses a small portion of the county, it is our hope that we can use this cooperative model to ensure that future developments on other lands are also conducted in a culturally sensitive way.''

This is good public policy. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' in favor of this bipartisan jobs bill that embraces a true all-of-the- above energy strategy.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to this amendment.

Mr. Chair, this amendment previously failed by recorded vote in July of 2016. The amendment taxed ranchers and attempts to relitigate the Bundy matter.

DOJ was found to have withheld evidence and to have violated these ranchers' rights. There is no reason to relitigate this matter at this juncture. The regulations are already in place.

This is an unnecessary political amendment.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, the gentleman brings up exactly the point I am trying to make. We are trying to relitigate a previously settled issue. It was actually found that these ranchers' rights were violated by the Department of Justice.

We started looking--the Hammonds were brought up. When we were actually looking at this case where they actually tried to look at the fire danger on their land, and it got beyond their lands and on to public land, they were fined exclusively and hardlined.

Where is the same type of justice given to the Forest Service or the BLM when their prescribed burn fires go out of hand and take private holdings? It is not the same. This isn't about freeloading. This is about a case where we need to look at how we take care of our public lands.

Mr. Chair, I ask everybody to vote against this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I rise to offer an amendment that supports recreational shooting, K-12 education, and responsible energy development by prohibiting funds for the Ironwood Forest National Monument that was unilaterally designated under the Antiquities Act.

By looking at the map here, it is very clear that this monument was a political land grab meant to prevent responsible energy and mineral production, as well as multiple use on Federal lands. You couldn't construct something even worse than that.

As you can see, the monument boundary starts in the right corner here in the yellow and includes a large mineral deposit that includes molybdenum, manganese, gold, and peripheral lead-zinc-silver.

The boundary then works its way up and also encircles the purple, which is a significant copper deposit.

Continuing to move up to the green, the monument encompasses significant amounts of lead, zinc, and silver veins.

Moving further up the map to the next yellow, the monument encircles the entire Silver Bell Mine and operations, as well as other claims, and also encompasses massive mineral deposits that contain molybdenum, manganese, gold, and peripheral lead-zinc-silver.

Moving to the blue and to the top left of the monument, the boundary almost entirely encircles two large veins that contain barium, lead, and silver.

Essentially, all the colored areas on the map are off limits to new energy and mineral exploration and development as a result of the monument land grab.

Proponents claim the 188,619-acre monument is necessary to protect a stand of ironwood trees covering 640 acres. Let me repeat that. Proponents claim the 188,619-acre monument is necessary to protect a stand of ironwood trees covering 640 acres.

Wow. If this unilateral monument designation was not political, it would have had a significantly different boundary and been much smaller.

There is nothing glamorous about this monument, and it was an unconstitutional taking by then-Secretary Babbitt and the Clinton administration, pointblank.

The Arizona Mining Association, Arizona Rock Products Association, Arizona Mining Industry Gets Our Support, and the Southern Arizona Business Coalition recently asked for this monument to be modified significantly, stating: ``One-third of the area encompassed in the Ironwood Monument is either State trust lands or privately owned. These lands have effectively lost all economic potential as a result of the national monument designation. . . . At the time of the designation, the State government estimated that it would lose $100 million in mineral rights. This does not include financial losses to private companies or the lost employment potential for the mines.''

Asarco and Liberty Star Uranium and Metals Corporation of Tucson have also asked for this monument to be significantly altered.

Further, the Ironwood Forest National Monument has caused harm to the common schools beneficiary, K-12 education, by locking up these lands, preventing multiple use, and stopping important revenues from flowing to the educational coffers.

The Ironwood Forest National Monument enacted a complete ban on recreational shooting. No utility corridors are allowed in the monument. One-quarter of the monument can be closed to human entry for over one-third of the year due to the presence of sheep, and nearly 10,000 acres of this monument are completely locked up at all times. Further, the monument constitutes an attack on ranchers by negatively impacting grazing.

This monument designation was an unconstitutional taking. Asarco invested $72 million prior to the monument designation in hopes of expanding the mine. They will likely invest several hundred million more, create new jobs, and grow the economy if the mine is no longer within the monument boundary.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department has not been able to fully implement vital management activities within the monument boundaries, including fencing to protect wildlife, predator control, law enforcement wildlife investigations, and responses to illegal wildlife activities.

In November, 24 Members of Congress sent President Trump a letter recommending a recession of this monument amongst other monument recommendations. That letter was endorsed by the American Farm Bureau Federation, Americans for Responsible Recreation Access, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, and the Public Lands Council.

This amendment is endorsed by the American Exploration and Mining Association, American Encore, AMIGOS, Asarco Mining, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Free Market America, the Arizona Farm Bureau, Arizona Liberty, the Arizona Pork Council, Concerned Citizens for America, Eagle Motorcycles, Rim Country Custom Rods, the Southern Arizona Business Coalition, and Yavapai County Supervisor Jack R. Smith, amongst others.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman and ranking member for their time and for their good work on this bill.

I urge a ``yes'' vote on this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, look at how this monument is connected and concocted. I think every which way. You couldn't make a worse definition for a monument.

What it basically does is it goes to the far side to catch these two minerals over here. Down here in the middle, it goes to the far edge. This is called gerrymandering for minerals. This is a political bias based upon takings from the people of Arizona.

Remember, I responded by saying: Listen, one-third of this designation was private and State lands. These are part of the dedication to the citizens of Arizona.

So when you look at this, this is the worst concocted. This is the vanity of, actually, atrocities of monuments gone haywire.

Now, I am happy to work with the gentleman from southern Arizona to rightsize this monument. I would be happy to do that. But this concoction is a blatant exercise in overjurisdiction of the Federal Government and misutilizing the Antiquities Act.

Mr. Chairman, I ask everybody to vote for my amendment.