[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 50 (Tuesday, March 24, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H3753-H3754]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SECOND AMENDMENT VOTE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. Hastings) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, for weeks and weeks now, 
Democrat leaders in both the House and Senate have engaged in 
parliamentary contortions to block every Representative in this body of 
both parties from being able to offer even one amendment to the 1,200-
page $10 billion omnibus lands package that contains over 170 
individual bills. Since over 100 of these bills were never voted on in 
the House, this giant piece of legislation needs careful review in a 
fair and open process. Yet, fair and open consideration is precisely 
what Democrat leaders have denied in this House.
  Today, the House Rules Committee will meet to decide how the most 
recent Senate-passed omnibus lands bill will be debated and voted on in 
this House, presumably tomorrow. While there are many areas of this 
bill that need improvement, there are several that rise to a serious 
level of concern. Let me cite four of them:
  First, addressing prohibitions against American-made energy on public 
lands, prohibitions that would deny job creation in the energy sector 
on public lands;
  Second, ensuring our border security by making certain that 
provisions of this bill don't ban the use of vehicles and other 
technology to patrol our border;
  Third, ensuring that public lands continue to be open to public 
enjoyment. That includes wheelchair access for the disabled who would 
be banned under this bill, as well as access by Americans using 
bicycles and motorized bikes for recreation.
  Lastly, Mr. Speaker, an area of the bill that rises to a very high 
level of concern after a Federal judge's ruling last week, and that is 
the protection of Americans' second amendment gun rights on public 
lands.
  Specific amendments have been filed with the Rules Committee to 
address each of these issues. Democrat leaders should now provide the 
House with a chance to vote on them. But more specifically, Mr. 
Speaker, the House must act on the omnibus lands bill to immediately 
protect the second amendment rights of Americans. Last week, Democrat 
leaders in the House and Senate added the Altmire language to the 
omnibus land bill to prevent the Federal Government from banning 
hunting and fishing on certain types of Federal land. At the time this 
amendment was added, the right of Americans to carry concealed firearms 
on park lands and wildlife refuges was in accordance with State laws, 
and that was already recognized in Federal regulations.

[[Page H3754]]

  However, last Thursday a U.S. District Court judge based in 
Washington, D.C. single-handedly decided to block this second amendment 
policy. Now there is a giant hole in the current Altmire language, and 
Congress must fix it. Congress must not allow one Federal judge to 
single-handedly deny Americans their second amendment rights on Federal 
land.
  I have introduced an amendment, along with the gentleman from Utah 
(Mr. Bishop) to the omnibus lands bill that would write into law the 
very protections struck down by this lone Federal judge. The House must 
vote on this amendment to repair the big void in the current Altmire 
language contained in the omnibus lands bill. There should be no 
excuses, no more delays, no waiting for another day or another bill. 
The omnibus lands bill is the best place to fix what this Federal judge 
has done.
  If we are going to pass a 1,200-page bill that dramatically expands 
Federal lands in our country, Congress must protect American second 
amendment rights while on these lands. The Constitution and the second 
amendment should not be pushed aside by an activist judge and a 
complacent Congress. House leaders must allow a vote on the Hastings-
Bishop amendment to the omnibus lands bill to protect the gun rights of 
Americans when we take up this bill presumably tomorrow.

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