[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 97 (Tuesday, June 26, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1143]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  CONSERVATION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH ACT

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                               speech of

                            HON. RON BARBER

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 19, 2012

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2578) to 
     amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act related to a segment of 
     the Lower Merced River in California, and for other purposes:

  Mr. BARBER. Mr. Chair, I rise today to raise concerns about H.R. 
2578. I support the goal of the provision (H.R. 1505) which will 
strengthen our efforts to secure the border, but I believe it was 
overreaching.
  I have long believed that securing our border is of paramount 
importance to the safety of the people who live and work along the 
border, but I do not believe that this end needs to be achieved at the 
expense of maintaining a strong commitment to our environment and the 
regulations that ensure its protection. I would have preferred that we 
consider a standalone bill which specifically responded to the 
expressed needs of the Department of Homeland Security regarding access 
to public lands.
  I do not support those provisions of H.R. 2578 which seek to 
privatize public land and significantly reduce the scope of existing 
laws which protect those lands.
  I am against the rule specifically because I believe that amendments 
should have been heard to improve this bill.

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