[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 98 (Friday, June 26, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1607]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2010

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                               speech of

                           HON. RUSH D. HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 25, 2009

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2996) making 
     appropriations for the Department of the Interior, 
     environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending 
     September 30, 2010, and for other purposes:
  Mr. HOLT. Madam Chair, I rise today in support of H.R. 2996, the 
Fiscal Year 2010 Interior Appropriations Act.
  This bill provides the much needed funding to protect and preserve 
our natural resources for future generations.
  I applaud the Chairman for providing robust funding for the Land and 
Water Conservation Fund in this legislation. I have long been a 
supporter and a leader in Congress for increasing the funding for the 
Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Since its creation in 1965, 
LWCF has provided funding to four federal agencies including the 
National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife 
Service and the Forest Service to acquire public lands.
  In July of 1999 during my first term in Congress, I secured passage 
of a key amendment to resurrect the state-side portion of LWCF, 
providing funding for that program for the first time in five years. To 
date, the stateside program has preserved over 73,000 acres of land in 
my home state of New Jersey. I strongly support the Manager's amendment 
which would increase the funding for the state-side matching grants to 
$40 million, which is over double the amount that it received in Fiscal 
Year 2009.
  I strongly oppose the amendment of the gentleman from Utah, Mr. 
Chaffetz, that would strip funding from the state side portion of the 
LWCF. This amendment would be detrimental to the ability of states to 
preserve at risk open space and I urge my colleagues to oppose it.

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