[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 73 (Friday, June 9, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1091]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES 
                 APPROPRIATIONS ACT OF 2007 (H.R. 5386)

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, June 9, 2006

  Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to 
the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies 
Appropriations Act of 2007, H.R. 5386. As a vigorous supporter of our 
national parks and natural resources, I object to this bill's dangerous 
cuts and I regret the message of waning support for our natural 
treasures that it sends to the youngest generation of Americans.
  H.R. 5386 provides $25.9 billion for federal agencies including the 
Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Forest Service, the National 
Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This bill 
represents a $145 million cut from the funding level enacted for fiscal 
year 2006. It eliminates the successful and popular state matching 
grants, which are delivered through the Land and Water Conservation 
Fund. It cuts $200 million in federal assistance to the clean water 
activities of states--over the last 3 years, the Clean Water Fund has 
been cut by 50 percent, or over $660 million.
  H.R. 5386 also cuts $100 million from the National Park Service's 
budget at a time when parks are struggling to cope with past 
reductions. The number of rangers in Yosemite National Park has fallen 
from 45 to 8 over the past 5 years. These dramatic reductions make it 
impossible for the remaining rangers to fulfill their vital and far 
reaching duties, which include educational programming, ensuring safety 
and security and management of historical, cultural and natural 
resources. Visitors to America's National Parks this summer are 
saddened to see that Congress has made America's cherished park ranger 
the most recent addition to the endangered species list. ABC news 
reports that the number of rangers has dwindled to a point where 
visitors are now seen photographing them.
  In reality, these cuts represent a pattern of calculated 
disinvestment in the agencies and programs that exist to protect the 
health of our communities and safeguard our natural resources for 
future generations. Year after year of cuts to environmental and 
natural resource spending are seriously eroding the ability of these 
agencies to improve our air and water quality and to protect and 
restore our wildlife and natural spaces.
  The Bush administration and the Republican leadership in Congress are 
choosing to mortgage America's natural resource legacy to pay for the 
spiraling costs of the Iraq war and the unconscionable tax cuts to the 
wealthiest in our society. These decisions do not reflect my priorities 
or the priorities of my constituents in Minnesota.
  Ijoin the National Audubon Society, National Parks Conservation 
Association and many other conservation organizations in opposing H.R. 
5386 as insufficient, unsustainable and unacceptable.

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