[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 108 (Wednesday, July 18, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5135-S5139]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. SESSIONS (for himself and Mr. Cardin):
S. 3396. A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for
a national campaign to increase public awareness and knowledge of
Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia, and for other purposes; to the
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation,
along with my friend and able colleague, Senator Ben Cardin of
Maryland, that would create a national campaign at the Department of
Health and Human Services to bring attention to congenital
diaphragmatic hernia.
What is CDH? It is a birth defect that occurs when the fetal
diaphragm fails to fully develop, allowing abdominal organs to migrate
up into the chest.
This invasion of organs--including the bowel, stomach, spleen, and
liver--may severely limit the growth of a baby's lungs.
Regrettably, some have recommended terminating the pregnancy when a
woman learns that her unborn child has CDH.
This is an important issue, and makes promoting awareness of this
birth defect and the positive outcomes of good treatment especially
important.
CDH will normally be diagnosed by prenatal ultrasound as early as the
16th week of pregnancy. That is important. If undiagnosed before birth,
the baby may be born in a facility that is not equipped to treat its
compromised respiratory system because many CDH babies need to be
placed on a heart-lung bypass machine, which is not available in many
hospitals.
The lungs of a baby with CDH are often too small, biochemically
immature, structurally immature, and the flow in the blood vessels may
be constricted, resulting in pulmonary hypertension.
As a result, the babies are intubated as soon as they are born, and
parents are often unable to hold their babies for weeks or even months
at a time.
Most babies are repaired with surgery 1 to 5 days after birth,
usually with a GORE-TEX patch. The abdominal organs that have migrated
into the chest are put back where they are supposed to be and the hole
in the diaphragm is closed, hopefully allowing the affected lungs to
expand. However, hospitalization often ranges from 3 to 10 weeks,
depending on the severity of the condition.
Survivors often have difficulty feeding, some require a second
surgery to control reflux, others require a feeding tube, and a few
will reherniate and require additional repair.
Congenital diaphragmatic hernia is a birth defect that occurs in 1
out of every 2,500 babies. Every 10 minutes a baby is born with CDH,
adding up to more than 600,000 babies with CDH since just 2000. CDH is
a severe, sometimes fatal defect that occurs as often as cystic
fibrosis and spina bifida. Yet most people have never heard of CDH.
In my opinion, awareness and early diagnosis and skilled treatment
are the keys to a greater survival rate in these babies. Fifty percent
of the babies born with CDH do not to survive.
In 2009, my grandson, Jim Beau, now 2\1/2\ years old, was diagnosed
with CDH during my daughter Mary Abigail's 34th week of pregnancy.
Although she had both a 20-week and a 30-week ultrasound, the nurses
and doctors did not catch the disease on the baby's heartbeat monitor.
Thankfully, when Mary Abigail and her Navy officer husband Paul and
daughter Jane Ritchie moved to southeast Georgia, the baby's irregular
heartbeat was heard at her first appointment with her new OB.
She was sent to Jacksonville, FL, for a fetal echo. The technician
there told her she wasn't going to do the echo because there was
something else wrong with the baby. She asked my daughter if she had
ever heard of congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Of course, Mary Abigail
had not, and at that time our family did not know of this problem or
the extent of our grandson's birth defect.
The Navy temporarily allowed my daughter and her family to move to
Gainesville, FL on November 16, and Jim Beau was born 2 weeks later on
November 30. They heard their son cry out twice after he was born,
right before they intubated him, but they were not allowed to hold him.
The doctors let his little lungs get strong before they did the
surgery to correct the hernia, when he was 4 days old. As it turned
out, the hole in his diaphragm was large, and his intestines, spleen,
and one kidney had moved up into his chest cavity. Thankfully, Jim Beau
did not have to go on a heart-lung bypass machine, but he was on a
ventilator for 12 days and on oxygen for 36. In total, he was in the
NICU--the neonatal intensive care unit--for 43 days before he was able
to go home, all under the constant watch of his angel mother. I could
not have been prouder of her. She and Paul were wonderful during this
time.
This country has superb health care--the world's best. Without even
our knowledge, this young Navy family had their unborn child diagnosed
and sent to a university hospital three hours away the University of
Florida's Shands Hospital.
Fortunately for my family, and for thousands of other similar
families across the United States, there are a number of physicians
doing incredible work to combat CDH. By chance, the University of
Florida's Shands Children's Hospital is surely one of the world's
best--maybe the best. The CDH survival rate at Shands in Gainesville is
unprecedented. The survival rate of CDH babies born at Shands is being
reported at 80 to 90 percent, while the nationwide average is 50
percent.
Dr. David Kays, who directs the CDH program and who was the physician
for my grandson's surgery, is a magnificent surgeon and physician. He
uses gentle ventilation therapy as opposed to hyperventilation. Gentle
ventilation therapy, he has discovered over the years, is less
aggressive and therefore protects the underdeveloped lungs. Jim Beau, I
have to say, is a wonderful little boy, full of energy and enthusiasm.
He is active and happy--one of the most happy young children I have
ever seen--and so quick to smile.
This weekend, he attended his big sister Jane Ritchie's 5 year
birthday party and he was totally happy and running around, climbing
over all the playground equipment, with the older children just as
though he was one of them. He thought he was in high cotton to be
playing with these big boys and girls.
While the challenges are many, so are the successes with this
condition. Every year more is learned and there are more successes. My
family has been very lucky that Jim Beau's defect was caught before he
was born and that he was able to go to the right place--a first-rate
place--to seek excellent care for his CDH.
The bill Senator Cardin and I are introducing today is important
because a national campaign for CDH will help bring awareness to this
birth defect and save lives, I am convinced of it. Although hundreds of
thousands of babies have been diagnosed with this defect, the causes
are unknown and more research is needed. The thousands of happy,
growing children who have overcome this condition validates what
[[Page S5136]]
has been accomplished to date and encourages us to do even more.
I hope my colleagues will join me and my friend and colleague Senator
Cardin in supporting this bill to bring awareness of CDH to the world.
I think it will create many more happy and healthy young people in the
years to come.
______
By Mr. HATCH (for himself, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Grassley,
Mr. Enzi, Mr. Coburn, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Thune, Mr. Burr, Mr. Kyl,
and Mr. McConnell):
S. 3397. A bill to prohibit waivers relating to compliance with the
work requirements for the program of block grants to States for
temporary assistance for needy families, and for other purposes; to the
Committee on Finance.
Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, today I introduce the Preserving Work
Requirements Act of 2012. Chairman Camp of the House Committee on Ways
and Means will introduce a companion measure in the House. This bill
halts last week's unprecedented power grab from the Obama
administration, whereby unelected bureaucrats unilaterally granted
themselves the authority to waive Federal welfare work requirements.
To put this another way, unelected bureaucrats ignored the law passed
by Congress, the elected representatives of the American people. They
ignored the work requirements intended by Congress and by the
Presidents of both parties who signed welfare reform and its subsequent
reauthorizations.
Ultimately, they decided they knew better than the American people.
The American people, through their representatives, enacted work
requirements in welfare reform. These unelected administrators decided
they did not like these work requirements, so with the stroke of a pen,
they have attempted to eliminate them. Not to put too fine a point on
it, but this action is fundamentally illegitimate in a Democratic
Republic and is just the latest example of President Obama's
administration acting without legal warrant when the law stands in
their way.
The Camp-Hatch bill, introduced today, is cosponsored in the Senate
by my friends and colleagues, Leader McConnell and Senators Grassley,
Kyl, Crapo, Roberts, Enzi, Cornyn, Coburn, Thune, and Burr--valuable
and distinguished members of the Senate Finance Committee.
This bill includes dispositive findings clearly demonstrating that
the Obama administration acted outside the scope of the law and the
clear intent of Congress. I would like to stress the fact that I am
introducing this legislation because I believe the Obama administration
grossly undermined the constitutional authority of the legislative
branch to effect changes and settle the law.
It does not mean I believe the 1996 law is perfect in every way and
cannot be improved upon. That could not be further from the truth. A
case could be made that due to prolonged inaction the TANF Programs,
the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Programs, have withered on
the vine, and now many States see TANF as a funding stream rather than
a welfare program.
An exception to this is my State of Utah. Utah runs a gold standard
welfare program which focuses, like a laser, on work. By work, I mean
real work, as in a paying job; work as most Americans define work, not
work as defined in the ``Alice in Wonderland'' world of TANF, where
running errands, smoking cessation, and bed rest count as work. Utah
would like some relief--I think a lot of other States, in addition to
Utah, would like some relief--from a number of administrative
procedures in order to focus even more vigorously to moving welfare
clients to jobs. This is a very reasonable proposition, especially if
combined with a robust evaluation of the success of moving clients into
work.
I do not want the introduction of this legislation to prevent the
Obama administration from bypassing Congress to imply that when
Congress does take up the reauthorization of the TANF Programs, that I
will not be open to giving States flexibility in exchange for results.
The fact remains that this administration and the Democratically
controlled Senate could have made welfare reform a priority for several
years. They did not. For the administration to be arguing now that they
need to give States flexibility under TANF rules is so urgent the need
to bypass Congress right this very minute does not pass the laugh test.
I am going to do everything I can to stop the administration from
going forward with its waiver scheme. Then we should roll up our
sleeves and take a good, honest look at how welfare reform has been
working for the past 16 years.
Domestic social policy is rarely permanently settled. Things change;
people change. A law that is more than halfway through its second
decade can most assuredly be updated and improved. That is why we have
reauthorizations. I do not view the Preserving Work Requirements for
Welfare Programs Act of 2012 as the end of the debate on how best to
get families out of poverty. In fact, I see it as the beginning of what
I hope will be a thoughtful and deliberative discussion of these
critical issues.
Finally, some in the press have attempted to characterize this
debate, which at its heart is one of Executive overreach as a standoff
between me and my own home State of Utah. As they say in the country,
that dog just won't hunt. I have consistently supported State
flexibility in exchange for measurable outcomes. One of the few pieces
of domestic social policy legislation that has actually been enacted
during this session of Congress, Public Law 112-34, was authored by
Chairman Baucus and me to provide States with waivers to improve
outcomes in their child welfare systems. Utah has applied for one of
these child welfare waivers. As Casey Stengel said: You can look it up.
I worked very hard back in the middle 1990s to get welfare reform
passed. We required a work part of that. We said: We are going to help
you folks. We are going to subsidize you, we are going to give you help
financially, but at the end of a certain period of time, you better
have a job. The work clauses of that bill have helped millions of
people to get jobs and get the self-esteem that comes from working and
supporting themselves. To have this administration unilaterally, and
without any congressional authorization, modify that work requirement
is just plain wrong.
Frankly, I will be for flexibility in the work requirement, but I
don't consider bed rest work. We can list 10 or 15 other things that
the administration has been talking about that don't qualify for work
either.
This is an important issue. I hope the Congress will stand up for
itself and let this administration know there is a limit to what we are
going tolerate from an Executive order standpoint.
______
By Mr. BINGAMAN (by request):
S. 3398. A bill to provide for several critical National Park Service
authorities, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources.
Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, last month the Department of the
Interior transmitted two draft legislative proposals relating to the
National Park Service. Both executive communications were referred to
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
The first legislative proposal, the National Park Service Critical
Authorities Act of 2012, would address three National Park Service
management concerns. The second proposal, the National Park Service
Study Act of 2012, would authorize the Park Service to undertake or
update fifteen special resource studies to determine the
appropriateness of adding the study areas to the National Park System.
I am pleased to introduce these bills, S. 3398 and S. 3399, by
request as a courtesy to the Administration. Mr. President, I ask
unanimous consent that the transmittal letters from the Secretary of
the Interior, including a section-by-section analysis of each bill, be
printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[[Page S5137]]
Department of the Interior,
Office of the Secretary,
Washington, DC, June 5, 2012.
Hon. Joseph R. Biden, Jr.,
President of the Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. President: Enclosed is a draft of a bill entitled,
``National Park System Critical Authorities Act of 2012.''
Also enclosed is a section-by-section analysis of the bill.
We recommend that the bill be introduced, referred to the
appropriate committee for consideration, and enacted.
This proposal is needed to resolve three specific National
Park Service issues that are of critical concern. Enactment
of this legislation would promote more effective and
efficient government operations. None of the three measures
would result in costs to the federal government, other than
very nominal costs.
These new authorities address:
District of Columbia Snow Removal: The proposal amends a
1922 law by requiring federal agencies in the District to be
responsible for the removal of snow and ice in the public
areas associated with their buildings. Although federal
agencies have assumed responsibility for snow removal at
their respective sites, the language in the 1922 law
specifies that the National Park Service is responsible.
Enactment of this provision would eliminate a longstanding
legal liability burden for the National Park Service.
George Washington Memorial Parkway: The proposal authorizes
the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) and the National
Park Service to exchange lands along the George Washington
Memorial Parkway. Currently, the Service has a written
agreement with the FHA permitting public access to the Claude
Moore Historical Farm. Land exchange authority would allow
for a permanent guarantee of visitor access to the site as
well as the ability to increase security at the FHA's Turner-
Fairbank Highway Research Center and the Central Intelligence
Agency complex adjacent to the farm.
Uniform Penalties for Violations on Park Service Lands: The
inclusion of a number of military and historic sites into the
National Park System during the 1930's created
inconsistencies in the penalties used for violations at
various parks. This disparity in penalties undermines fair
and effective law enforcement and criminal prosecution. This
proposal would eliminate these inconsistencies in federal
penalties for crimes committed in certain park units.
The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 provides that
revenue and direct spending legislation cannot, in the
aggregate, increase the on-budget deficit. If such
legislation increases the on-budget deficit and that increase
is not offset by the end of the Congressional session, a
sequestration must be ordered. This proposal would affect
revenues, but the effects of this proposal would net to zero;
therefore, it is in compliance with the Statutory PAYGO Act.
The Office of Management and Budget has advised that there
is no objection to the enactment of the attached draft
legislation from the standpoint of the Administration's
program.
Sincerely,
Ken Salazar.
Enclosures.
National Park System Critical Authorities Act of 2012 Section-by-
Section Analysis
Section 1: Provides a short title, ``National Park System
Critical Authorities Act of 2012''.
Section 2: Amends ``An Act providing for the removal of
snow and ice from the paved sidewalks of the District of
Columbia'' by directing federal agencies in the District to
be responsible for snow and ice removal in public areas in
front of or adjacent to their managed properties.
Section 3: Authorizes an exchange of land between the
National Park Service and the Federal Highway Administration.
The exchange would allow for permanent access to the Claude
Moore Colonial Farm, part of the George Washington Memorial
Parkway, and for improved security at the Turner-Fairbank
Highway Research Center and the Central Intelligence Agency's
Langley Headquarters.
Section 4: Amends the Act of March 2, 1933, to make
violations occurring in various park sites consistent with
the penalties set out in 16 U.S.C. 3 and 18 U.S.C. 3571.
Section 5: Authorizes appropriations to carry out this Act.
____
The Secretary of the Interior,
Washington, DC, June 22, 2012.
Hon. Joseph R. Biden, Jr.,
President of the Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. President: Enclosed is a draft of a bill entitled.
the ``National Park Service Study Act of 2012.'' Also
enclosed is a section-by-section analysis of the bill.
We recommend that the bill be introduced, referred to the
appropriate committee for consideration, and enacted.
This proposed legislation would authorize the National Park
Service to conduct several studies of areas and themes that
merit consideration. The studies would include:
Kau Coast--Adjacent to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the
area includes more than 20,000 acres along 27 miles of the
spectacular Kau Coast on the south side of the island of
Hawaii. A reconnaissance survey completed in 2006 found the
area contains significant natural, geological, and
archeological features including both black and green sand
beaches as well as a significant number of endangered and
threatened species, most notably the endangered hawksbill
turtle. It also exhibits some of the best remaining examples
of native coastal vegetation in Hawaii.
Rota, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands--Rota
was the only major island in the Mariana Archipelago to be
spared the destruction and large-scale land use changes
brought about by World War II and its aftermath. The best
remaining examples of this island chain's native limestone
forest are found on Rota. Rota is also regarded as the
cultural home of the indigenous Chamorro people and contains
the most striking and well-preserved examples of their three
thousand-year old culture.
Aleut Relocation and Confinement--Nine sites in the State
of Alaska are associated with the forced relocation of the
Aleut people by the United States during World War II. Unlike
the internment of Japanese-Americans during the war, the
forced evacuation and confinement of Alaska natives is little
known but equally poignant and historically significant. Four
Unangan villages were left behind in the evacuations and
never permanently resettled. Residents of the villages of
Biorka, Kashega, and Makushin, all in the Unalaska Island
area, were removed and taken to southeast Alaska. Residents
of Attu were taken by Japanese soldiers to an internment camp
on Hokkaido, Japan for the duration of the war.
Japanese American Relocation Camps--Japanese Americans were
forced into 10 internment and relocation camps in the
contiguous United States by the U.S. Government during World
War II. The special resource study proposed by this
legislation would look at seven camps where the extant
resources remain without National Park Service protection:
Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Wyoming; Gila River and
Poston in Arizona; Grenada in Colorado; Jerome and Rohwer in
Arkansas; and Topaz in Utah.
American Latino Heritage in the San Luis Valley and Central
Sangre de Cristo Mountains--The San Luis Valley represents
the northernmost expansion of the Spanish Colonial and
Mexican frontiers into North America. Here at the edge of the
southern Rocky Mountains, the legacy of this Latino
settlement is still clearly evident. A reconnaissance survey
conducted in 2011 identified a distinctive and exceptional
concentration of historic resources associated with Latino
settlement, including Colorado's oldest documented town, only
communal pasture, first water right, and oldest church, and
called for further study.
Goldfield--Goldfield is a historic mining community in
southwestern Nevada. A reconnaissance survey completed in
2009 found the site contained nationally significant
resources, and recommended that a special resource study be
completed. The study would include extensive public
involvement with local landowners, government agencies, area
businesses and non-profit organizations. It would examine a
wide range of public and private options for the future
protection and interpretation of the Goldfield site in
relation to the mining history of the United States and the
State of Nevada.
Hudson River Valley--The Hudson River Valley in New York is
known for its unique natural resources, its archeological
remains documenting 6,000 years of human occupation, and its
history as the river that revolutionized a new method of
waterborne transportation--the steamboat. It also provides
recreational opportunities to millions of residents. The area
may provide an opportunity to explore a new prototype of
landscape scale protection in an urban, suburban and rural
setting through the combination of potential unit designation
and a Federal, state and local cooperative effort to protect
non-federally owned natural and historic resources.
Norman Studios--Norman Studios was a silent movie
production house in Jacksonville, Florida during the 1920s
specializing in what were then known as ``race films.'' These
films used African American writers and actors to create
entertainment for an African American audience, portraying
African Americans in realistic terms rather than the
caricatures and stereotypes commonly found in Hollywood films
of that era. On the basis of a reconnaissance survey
completed in 2010, the National Park Service concluded that a
special resource study of the Norman Studios site is
warranted.
Mobile-Tensaw River Delta--This delta, in southern Alabama,
is the second largest delta in the United States, after the
Mississippi River Delta, and is considered the best remaining
delta ecosystem of its kind in the country. At 40 miles long
and 6 to 16 miles wide, it contains 300 square miles of flood
plains, cypress-gum swamps, tidal marshes, and bottomland
forests. The Delta is ecologically rich, supporting 126
species of fish, 46 species of mammals, 99 species of
reptiles and amphibians, and over 300 species of birds. It
was designated as a national natural landmark in 1974 and has
more than 100,000 contiguous acres of Federal and state
property.
Galveston Bay--Galveston Bay is the largest, most
biologically productive estuary along the Texas Gulf coast.
The shallow bay's 600 square miles (384,000 acres) of open
water, freshwater and tidal marshes, seagrass meadows, and
oyster reefs are surrounded by bottomland forest and prairie
wetland and are home to over 1,800 pairs of
[[Page S5138]]
endangered brown pelicans. The bay produces more oysters than
any other body of water in the United States, and yields
about one third of Texas' commercial fishing harvest. Dredged
shipping channels cross the bay to the busy port of Houston.
The east and west lobes of the bay adjoin the Anahuac and
Brazaria National Wildlife Refuges, which together protect
over 77,000 acres of habitat.
Peleliu--A special resource study of the World War II
Peleliu battlefield was completed in 2003. The study found
that the Peleliu battlefield met significance and suitability
criteria but the village clans who claim ownership of the
lands would consider setting aside only a small portion as a
battlefield site. The area was considerably smaller than that
identified by the NPS as the minimum area for which a
determination of feasibility could be made. There has been a
substantial shift in support by the local people for the site
becoming a unit of the National Park System and an updated
study would allow a reexamination of the feasibility issue.
Vermejo Park Ranch--A special resource study of the Vermejo
Park Ranch in New Mexico and Colorado was completed in 1979,
and concluded that the ranch possessed nationally significant
cultural and natural resources that merited inclusion in the
National Park System. Thirty-two years have elapsed since the
special resource study and several significant changes to the
ranch have occurred during the interim. A recent
reconnaissance survey recommended an update of the 1979 study
to determine whether this area still meets the criteria for
addition to the National Park System.
Buffalo Soldiers in the National Parks--In the early years
of the National Parks, the Buffalo Soldiers were the
forerunners of today's park rangers, patrolling the
backcountry, building trails, and stopping poaching. The
study would evaluate the suitability and feasibility of
establishing a national historic trail commemorating the
route traveled by the Buffalo Soldiers from their post in the
Presidio of San Francisco to Sequoia and Yosemite National
Parks. It would also identify sites that could be further
evaluated for listing on the National Register of Historic
Places and for designation as National Historic Landmarks.
Reconstruction Era in the South--A National Historic
Landmark theme study would identify sites that are
significant to the Reconstruction era in the south. It was a
controversial and difficult period in American history
characterized by the adoption of new constitutional
amendments and laws, the establishment of new institutions,
and the occurrence of significant political events all
surrounding the efforts to reincorporate the South into the
Union and to provide newly freed slaves with political rights
and opportunities to improve their lives. The theme study
would include recommendations for the nomination of any new
National Historic Landmarks, and sites which merit further
study for potential inclusion in the National Park System.
Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area--A study of a
boundary expansion for the Chattahoochee River National
Recreation Area is proposed for an area extending
approximately 45 miles from the southern boundary of the
existing National Recreation Area south to the junction of
Coweta, Heard, and Carroll Counties. These areas along the
Chattahoochee River corridor include several state and county
parks.
The Office of Management and Budget has advised that there
is no objection to the enactment of the attached draft
legislation from the standpoint of the Administration's
program.
Sincerely,
Ken Salazar.
______
By Mr. BENNET (for himself and Mr. Udall of Colorado):
S. 3400. A bill to designate certain Federal land in the San Juan
National Forest in the State of Colorado as wilderness, and for other
purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, I have come to the floor to talk about
Colorado. This summer, most people have been thinking about the
wildfires we have had up there. These fires were widespread throughout
the State, and it is still just the beginning of fire season. We have
already seen a lot of damage, including the destruction of hundreds of
homes, and, most sadly, the loss of life.
I wish to say in this Chamber, to all my colleagues, how much I
appreciate their kindness. The knowledge that all of you have been
thinking about people at home has been very comforting to the people I
represent. Thanks to the heroic work of the firefighters, and with a
lot of help also from Mother Nature, the fires are under control. So I
wish to remind people, as I have been doing now for months, that
Colorado is the best place to visit during the summer. It is the best
place to bring your family.
In fact, last week--or during the recess--Susan and I loaded up the
minivan and drove across the State with our kids. It takes all the fun
out of playing the license plate game when you are driving in Colorado
because in about 2 hours the kids saw half the license plates
representing half the States in the United States--just 2 hours from
Denver, CO. So I would say, as I have said time and time again, over
the coming months, if you have plans to come to our State, please do.
Today, I wish to focus on one area that illustrates how special our
State of Colorado is.
The Hermosa Creek watershed is a beautiful parcel of land just up the
road from Durango in the southwest corner of our State.
Over 4 years ago, an incredibly diverse group of local citizens,
mountain bikers, fishermen, outfitters, local elected officials, and
others got together to talk about the future of this striking land.
Everybody involved likes to visit the area for recreation or to do
business there. Their discussion was about how to put together a plan
from the local level up to manage the area so everyone could enjoy it
and benefit, and so that we could protect it for the next generations
of Coloradans and the next generations of Americans.
A little over a year ago, the group invited my family and me to take
a hike through the watershed and join the discussion. During a tour
over the last Memorial Day weekend, we unloaded at the Hermosa Creek
trailhead, we tied up our boots, and my youngest daughter Anne made a
hiking stick out of a nearby fallen branch. We started up the trail
with 40 or so others from the local community.
As we climbed higher and higher, we were all overcome by the beauty.
People stopped talking. I stopped talking largely because I was out of
breath. But the people I was with were as awestruck as I was by the
beauty of this place. It was a particularly settling walk after being
cooped up with my children.
There are forested valleys, crystal-clear streams, and unspoiled
views. After about an hour, the group pulled off the Forest Service
trail into a meadow. And as Anne, Helena, and Caroline Bennet made
themselves and their father and mother dandelion necklaces, we started
a discussion about what this area means to the people who live there
and the people who visit. The sportsmen come to fish for native
Colorado cutthroat trout and for back-country elk hunting. The mountain
bikers come to enjoy single-track riding on trails known throughout the
United States of America, and actually in other countries as well. The
local water districts love Hermosa because it provides drinking water
for the great city of Durango. Workers in the timber and mining
industries stress that some of the watershed could contribute to
extractive development in the future. Some might not know that mining
has long been an economic driver in that region of our State.
This is a photograph of the group that hiked that day. The upshot of
the discussion we had in that meadow was an agreement to work together
on a bill, a balanced bill that managed the watershed so it would
contribute to the local economy long into the future. After nearly 14
months of discussions and negotiations since that hike, I introduced
that bill earlier today.
The Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Act governs the entire
108,000-acre watershed. It includes provisions to allow for multiple
uses, such as timber harvesting for forest health; access and trails
for off-road vehicle enthusiasts, and for mountain bikers.
It keeps getting better. The bill also adds nearly 40,000 acres to
the National Wilderness Preservation System, lands that provide unique
and important opportunities for solitude and reflection, lands that
will remain undeveloped forever, so they will always have clear streams
of fish and lush forests for a local outfitter to take clients into the
wilderness on horseback.
I am proud to report the bill has the unanimous bipartisan backing of
the two county commissions involved, the San Juan County Commission and
the La Plata County Commission. I ask unanimous consent to have printed
in the Record a copy of letters of support from both counties.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
[[Page S5139]]
San Juan County,
Silverton, CO, June 27, 2012.
Sen. Michael F. Bennet,
Russell Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Bennet: San Juan County is supportive of the
collaborative community process conducted by the Hermosa
Creek Workgroup. This was an open, inclusive process that has
brought together local citizens and organizations that are
concerned with protecting the special values of the Hermosa
Creek Watershed in San Juan and La Plata Counties in
southwest Colorado.
For more than two years the Hermosa Creek Workgroup worked
within the framework developed by the River Protection
Workgroup whose goal is ``Involving the public in protecting
the natural values of selected streams while allowing water
development to continue.''
As a result of this process, the Hermosa Creek Workgroup
determined that ``The Hermosa Creek Area is exceptional
because it is a large intact (unfragmented) natural watershed
containing diverse ecosystems, including fish, plants and
wildlife, over a road elevation range, and supports a variety
of multiple uses, including recreation and grazing, in the
vicinity of a large town.''
San Juan County supports the proposed Federal Legislation
for the Hermosa Creek Watershed Protection Act of 2012 and
respectfully requests that your office initiate a legislative
process to achieve the goals set forth by the Hermosa Work
Group.
Sincerely,
Ernest F. Kuhlman,
Chairman,
San Juan County Commissioners.
____
La Plata County,
Durango, CO, November 3, 2011.
Hon. Michael Bennet,
Hart Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Bennet: You recently released draft
legislation to protect the Hermosa Creek area just north of
Durango, and we wish to express our strong support for that
component of the legislation. We have previously supported
the work and recommendations of the Hermosa Creek Workgroup,
and believe that this draft accurately reflects those
recommendations.
The Board of Commissioners has followed the public process
conducted by the Hermosa Creek Workgroup since its beginning
over two years ago, and we believe that the process has been
open, transparent, and effective. Virtually every group with
an interest in the Hermosa watershed participated in the
discussions, which were constructive and well-facilitated.
The Hermosa Creek watershed is an invaluable resource for
La Plata County for a number of reasons. The recreational
opportunities the area offers, from hunting and fishing to
hiking, mountain biking, and skiing, are world class, and
contribute significantly to the County's recreation and
tourism economic base. Local outfitting businesses, hotels,
restaurants, gas stations, and gear shops all benefit from a
protected Hermosa Creek region.
With its Outstanding Waters designation by the State of
Colorado, Hermosa Creek provides a major clean water
contribution to the Animas River, which is the water source
for many of La Plata County's residents. As a source of clean
air and spectacular scenery, Hermosa Creek also plays a key
role in maintaining the natural amenities that make La Plata
County attractive to new residents and businesses.
The proposal to protect the Hermosa Creek watershed through
a special management designation, containing wilderness and
un-roaded designations for portions of the area, is truly a
community-based approach to local land management. We commend
you for respecting the hard work of the Hermosa Creek
Workgroup by including the group's recommendations in your
draft legislation. We support the legislation, and stand
ready to help in whatever way to see it enacted into law.
Sincerely,
Kellie C. Hotter,
Chair.
Robert A. Lieb, Jr.,
Vice-Chair.
Wallace ``Wally'' White,
Commissioner.
Mr. BENNET. It has the support of the Hermosa Creek Workgroup,
ranging from hard-rock miners to wilderness advocates. I am pleased to
carry this bill on behalf of the people of Colorado. I am especially
proud because this was a community-driven process at its very finest,
through and through, from beginning to end. Colorado wrote this bill.
This bill wasn't written in Washington, DC. The bill has grown from the
grassroots up, Republicans, Democrats, and Independents working
together to cement a long-term plan for the community's future.
I also want to thank my senior Senator, Senator Udall of Colorado,
for joining me as a cosponsor of the bill, and to thank Senators
Bingaman and Murkowski for their past help moving Colorado land bills
through their committee. I am confident that as we work on this bill
together we will find similar consensus.
To bring this back to the beginning, I don't have to convince most
people that Colorado is a special place. Many have visited our State
over their lifetimes to ski our mountains, run our rivers, or climb a
``14er.'' The Hermosa Creek watershed represents some of the best
Colorado has to offer. It deserves to be protected for our outdoor
recreation economy, and for future generations.
I want to thank all of the people who have spent countless hours
working together to make sure they could overcome their differences and
reach a consensus on this bill. As I have told all of them, it makes my
work so much easier when people work in such a constructive way
together, and for that, they have my deep appreciation.
____________________