[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 64 (Monday, May 22, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E919]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND RELATED AGENCIES 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2007

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                               speech of

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 22, 2006

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration bill (H.R. 5386) making 
     appropriations for the Department of the Interior, 
     environmental, and related agencies for the fiscal year 
     ending September 30, 2007, and for other purposes:

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Chairman, I rise to explain my opposition to the 
Interior Appropriations bill. This important bill should reflect our 
national commitment to protecting our air, our water, and some of our 
most treasured public lands, including our national forests, parks, and 
open spaces. Unfortunately, this bill fails to live up to our 
responsibility to be good stewards of our natural heritage. This bill 
cuts the Clean Water State Revolving Funds by $200 million and cuts 
State Conservation Grants to below last year's levels. Most 
egregiously, this bill cuts funding for essential projects to repair 
and upgrade facilities in our National Parks by $216 million below last 
year's levels and more than $400 billion below the level of six years 
ago. This bill does not meet the federally mandated increase in federal 
pay and other fixed costs of the National Park Service. As a result, we 
will see cutbacks in staff and visitor services at our parks. This bill 
also does not include any funding for schools at Indian reservations.
  I am disappointed to have to vote against this bill because it did 
contain some worthwhile provisions. In it, the Congress finally 
recognized the reality of global warming. Though the bill does not 
include any concrete steps to address the problem, I was pleased that 
Congress finally acknowledged the issue. I also supported an amendment 
included in this bill that would require energy companies to pay 
royalties for the oil and natural gas they obtain from publicly-owned 
lands. This common sense amendment ends an unnecessary and illogical 
subsidy to the oil and gas industry and allows the American people to 
benefit from the use of our public resources.
  There was a Democratic amendment that would have addressed this 
bill's most critical failings. We proposed a plan to add essential 
funds to this bill by making a small reduction to the average tax cut 
for the wealthiest Americans. My Republican colleagues reject this 
proposal, upholding tax cuts for a few at the expense of important 
initiatives that benefit all Americans. As a result, we have a bill 
that fails to adequately protect the air we breathe, the water we 
drink, and our shared natural heritage that we hold dear.

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