[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 36 (Wednesday, March 1, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S1511]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        NOMINATION OF RYAN ZINKE

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, one other issue is our nominee today, Mr. 
Zinke. I want to spend a minute on him. He is the nominee for Secretary 
of Interior. One of the most important issues handled by the Interior 
Department is the stewardship of our national parks. These are some of 
the great national resources of our country.
  When my children were younger, my wife and I would take them to 
national parks, and we would go hiking. We loved it. We so looked 
forward to going out West. I remember the reward at the end of a big 
hike was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I probably wanted it even 
more than my kids did. I loved peanut butter and jelly.
  From Niagara Falls to the Erie Canalway, to places like Seneca Falls, 
Stonewall, and Ellis Island, my dear State of New York is home to some 
of our country's most famous national parks and monuments. They are 
places I have visited and treasured my whole life. I have been 
concerned in recent years about the reluctance on the other side of the 
aisle to properly care for these great national beauties, these great 
national resources. Currently, there is a $12 billion maintenance 
backlog for our national parks. Our Republican majority has not seen 
fit to address them.
  Now, adding insult to injury, the new administration's hiring freeze 
across Federal agencies has already affected parks like the Women's 
Rights National Historic Park in Seneca Falls, which I have visited 
many times. It has had to cancel tours due to insufficient funding.
  Most troubling, our Republican colleagues want to make it easier to 
sell off or give away public lands and expand the footprint of the oil 
and gas industries on public lands--as usual, helping those narrow 
special interests, hurting the average American. That seems to be the 
trademark of this administration, which our friends on the other side 
of the aisle are happily going along with.
  That is the context in which I approach Congressman Zinke's 
nomination. He claims to be a conservationist in the spirit of Teddy 
Roosevelt, a great New Yorker. He has demonstrated support for rules, 
however, that would make it easier to sell off public lands. It is the 
opposite of what Teddy Roosevelt wanted.
  Congressman Zinke claims to be a conservationist, but he said he 
would revisit actions taken by the last administration to use the 
Antiquities Act to permanently protect endangered places of cultural, 
tribal significance. He claims to be a Roosevelt conservationist but 
pledged his support for the Trump administration's energy agenda--once 
again, centered on efforts to expand drilling and mining on Federal 
lands and waters. A few big oil companies would be made happy, but 
America would lose a great resource that is an economic resource as 
well as a beautiful natural resource.
  I would say to Mr. Zinke: You can't be a Roosevelt conservationist 
when you vote to make it easier to sell off public lands. You can't be 
a Roosevelt conservationist when you support opening up public lands to 
increased extraction and drilling. You are not much of a 
conservationist when you downplay the authority of the legislation that 
allows the President to create national monuments.
  In sum, Congressman Zinke says he is a dyed-in-the-wool 
conservationist but doesn't have the record to back it up. That should 
concern every outdoor enthusiast, every lover of our great and grand 
national parks.
  Unfortunately, because of his record, I will vote no on Mr. Zinke's 
nomination. I urge my colleagues to do the same.
  I yield the floor.

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