[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 23 (Thursday, February 6, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E176]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   H.R. 357, H.R. 3590, AND H.R. 3964

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. PAUL A. GOSAR

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, February 6, 2014

  Mr. GOSAR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize passage this week 
of three important pieces or legislation: H.R. 357, the G.I. Bill 
Tuition Fairness Act; H.R. 3590, the Sportsmen's Heritage and 
Recreational Enhancement Act; and H.R. 3964, the Sacramento-San Joaquin 
Valley Emergency Water Delivery Act. Unfortunately, I was not able to 
vote on final passage of these important bills because of a death in my 
family and my attendance at the subsequent funeral.
  The G.I. Bill Tuition Fairness Act is commonsense legislation for our 
veterans that will lead to more affordable education opportunities when 
our men and women in uniform return from service.
  The Sportsmen's Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act is a 
bipartisan package of eight individual bills that will strengthen and 
preserve important outdoor traditions and some of our pristine natural 
treasures for American sportsmen, recreational enthusiasts and future 
generations. I am proud to have been a cosponsor of this bill.
  H.R. 3964, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Emergency Water Delivery 
Act seeks to address the crisis that is taking place in California that 
has resulted from extreme drought and other challenges. I am supportive 
of measures that provide much needed relief to our farmers. Having said 
that, as I am a strong supporter of state water rights, I could not 
have supported this legislation without the inclusion of provision 501 
which states these dire circumstances are unique to California and 
should not serve as a precedent for other states.
  Finally, I want to address three quick items that came up during 
debate on H.R. 3590. The first is H. Amdt. 541, offered by Mr. Holt, 
which would have allowed the Secretary to prevent hunting and fishing 
on public lands based on speculative climate change studies. Any 
proposals to limit hunting and fishing should be made by state fish and 
game agencies and local communities, not Washington bureaucrats. The 
second item is H. Amdt. 537 offered by Mr. DeFazio that would have 
undermined the bill, lead to frivolous lawsuits and the eventual 
closing of public lands for hunting and fishing. Clearly, this 
amendment is contradictory to the intent of the bill and would have had 
negative consequences. The third and final issue that came up during 
debate on H.R. 3590 was in relation to condors and lead ammo. I would 
encourage legislators who opposed the bill based on this premise to 
visit my home state of Arizona where they have put forth a voluntary 
program that is having fantastic results and could serve as a model for 
the country on how to address this issue.
  Had I been present for these votes, I would have voted in support of 
these three important bills with a ``yea'' vote on rollcall Numbers 33, 
41 and 50. I would have opposed the two dangerous amendments and voted 
``nay'' on rollcall numbers 38 and 39.

                          ____________________