[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 123 (Thursday, July 20, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4094-S4098]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXECUTIVE CALENDAR
Mr. ENZI. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
resume consideration of the Bernhardt nomination.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will report the nomination.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read the nomination of David
Bernhardt, of Virginia, to be Deputy Secretary of the Interior.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.
Mr. NELSON. Madam President, I want to discuss this nomination.
I am here to add my voice to those of my colleagues who oppose the
nomination of David Bernhardt to be Deputy Secretary of the Interior.
There are a host of reasons--from his history of censoring scientists
to his denial of climate change--but I am going to limit my remarks to
his allegiance to the oil industry and, specifically, his disregard for
the importance of a moratorium on any drilling in the eastern Gulf of
Mexico.
During his confirmation process, he gave some very troubling
responses to questions about the moratorium from the ranking member,
Senator Cantwell. She asked: ``Do you support the current moratorium in
relation to offshore drilling in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico?''
He responded:
I am aware that, in response to the President's recent
Executive Order on the Outer Continental Shelf, Secretary
Zinke issued a Secretarial Order 3350 directing the Bureau of
Ocean Energy Management to review and develop a new five-year
plan. I support the President's and the Secretary's actions
to examine new leasing opportunities within the OCS in order
to advance the Administration's energy agenda.
Then Senator Cantwell asked him: ``Do you support extending this
moratorium?''
He responded: ``I support the President's and the Secretary's actions
aimed at increasing offshore production while balancing conservation
objectives.''
First of all, when it comes to the eastern gulf, there is no good way
to increase offshore production while balancing environmental concerns.
The gulf--the eastern gulf is still recovering from the horrific 2010
Deepwater Horizon explosion, which fouled the gulf all the way east
into most of the Panhandle of Florida.
Secondly, as I have explained time and again, it makes no sense to
drill in an area that is critically important to the U.S. military and
is the largest testing and training area for the U.S. military in the
world, where we are testing our most sophisticated weapons systems and
where we are sending our fighter pilots who need the open space to
train. That is why they have the F-22 training at Tyndall Air Force
Base. That is why they have training for pilots on the F-35 at Eglin
Air Force Base. That is also why the Chief of Staff of the Air Force
wrote in a letter just recently, ``The moratorium is essential for
developing and sustaining the Air Force's future combat capabilities.''
I ask unanimous consent to have the two letters printed in the
Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Office of the Under Secretary
of Defense,
Washington, DC, April 26, 2017.
Hon. Matt Gaetz,
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Representative Gaetz: Thank you for your letter dated
March 24, 2017, regarding maintaining the moratorium on oil
and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico beyond 2022. Since
military readiness falls under my purview, I have been asked
to respond to your letter on behalf of the Secretary of
Defense. The Department of Defense (DoD) cannot overstate the
vital importance of maintaining this moratorium.
National security and energy security are inextricably
linked and the DoD fully supports the development of our
nation's domestic energy resources in a manner that is
compatible with military testing, training, and operations.
As mentioned in your letter, the complex of eastern Gulf of
Mexico operating areas and warning areas provides critical
opportunities for advanced weapons testing and joint training
exercises. The moratorium on oil and gas ``leasing, pre-
leasing, and other related activities'' ensures that these
vital military readiness activities may be conducted without
interference and is critical to their continuation. Emerging
technologies such as hypersonics, autonomous systems, and
advanced sub-surface systems will require enlarged testing
and training footprints, and increased DoD reliance on the
Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act's moratorium beyond 2022.
The moratorium is essential for developing and sustaining our
nation's future combat capabilities.
Since signing the 1983 ``Memorandum of Agreement Between
the Department of Defense and the Department of the Interior
on Mutual Concerns on the Outer Continental Shelf,'' the two
departments have worked cooperatively to ensure offshore
resource development is compatible with military readiness
activities. During recent discussions between the DoD and the
Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management, a question arose concerning whether Congress
intended the moratorium to prohibit even geological and
geophysical survey activities in the eastern Gulf. We would
welcome clarification from Congress concerning this matter.
On behalf of the Secretary, I appreciate your interest in
sustaining our testing and training activities in the eastern
Gulf of Mexico.
Sincerely,
A.M. Kurta,
Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary of Defense for
Personnel and Readiness.
____
Department of the Air Force,
Office of the Chief of Staff,
Washington, DC, June 27, 2017.
Hon. Bill Nelson,
United States Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Nelson: I write this letter in whole-hearted
support of a proposal seeking to extend the moratorium on
leasing, preleasing, or any other related activity in any
area east of the Military Mission Line in the Gulf of Mexico.
I understand this provision is being considered for inclusion
in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2018.
The Air Force fully supports the development of our
nation's domestic energy resources in a manner that is
compatible with the military testing, training, and
operations. The complex of eastern Gulf of Mexico operating
areas and warning areas provides critical opportunities for
advanced weapons testing and joint training exercises. The
moratorium on oil and gas leasing, pre-leasing, and other
related activities ensures that these vital military
readiness activities may be conducted without interference
and is critical to their continuation. Of course, we are
always willing to work with the appropriate agencies to see
if there are ways to explore for energy without hampering air
operations.
The moratorium is essential for developing and sustaining
the Air Force's future combat capabilities. Although the Gulf
of Mexico Energy Security Act's moratorium does not expire
until 2022, the Air Force needs the certainty of the proposed
extension to guarantee long-term capabilities for future
tests. Emerging technologies such as hypersonics, 5th
generation fighters, and advanced sub-surface systems will
require enlarged testing and training footprints, and
increased Air Force reliance on the moratorium far beyond
2022.
[[Page S4095]]
Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any
questions. I look forward to continuing our work with you to
ensure America's Air Force remains the very best.
Sincerely,
David L. Goldfein,
General, USAF, Chief of Staff.
Mr. NELSON. The letters--one from the Office of the Secretary of
Defense and the other from General Goldfein, the Chief of Staff of the
Air Force--state they are needing to put a major investment of
telemetry into the eastern gulf range for all of these sophisticated
weapons systems, and they don't want this investment of the
infrastructure with the moratorium ending in the year 2022. They want
to extend the moratorium for another 5 years, to 2027. That is a
reasonable request by the Department of Defense and the Department of
the Air Force.
For example, a test can start way down in the South, off of Key West,
and a cruise missile could go all the way, 300 miles, because of the
size of this test range, and then it could have a land impact on Eglin
Air Force Base. That is part of our testing regime.
One could ask, Why couldn't the cruise missile weave around oil rig
activities? Well, look at the new miniature cruise missiles that are
out there. It is not one, but a swarm, which takes up a big footprint
that we are testing. This is just one example of a weapons system that
needs a lot of open space. This is a national asset. We don't want to
give it up. That is why the top brass in the Pentagon is asking that we
extend this moratorium so that those expensive investments in telemetry
can be made.
We should not put someone in charge at the Department of the Interior
if he has an open objection to what is obviously needed for national
security and if he has demonstrated a history of siding just with
special interests. It would be a bad decision when it comes to the
national security of this country.
I am going to oppose the nomination, but that is just one reason, one
item, on an ever-growing list of concerns that this Senator has with
the Department of the Interior these days.
On June 29, Secretary Zinke announced that the Department was seeking
public comment on a new 5-year plan for offshore oil and gas leasing.
In case anyone has forgotten, the current 5-year plan was just
finalized 6 months ago and is supposed to run through 2022. Why would
the Department spend more taxpayer money to go through the whole
process all over again? The only reason this Senator can see is that
the oil industry wants more acreage. They are going after the eastern
Gulf of Mexico, despite the fact that the Department of Defense is
asking for exactly the opposite.
By the way, they ought to take from the very productive sections of
the Gulf of Mexico off of Louisiana. There are acres and acres under
lease, but of all those acres under lease, how many are actually
drilled and/or in production? It is a small percentage of the acreage
under lease that is actually drilled. So why don't we take advantage of
the existing leases, particularly in the central gulf, which is where
the oil is? That is where all the sediments over millions of years came
down the Mississippi River, settled in what is today the gulf, into the
Earth's crust, compacted it, and made it into oil. That is where the
oil is.
Now, remember, also out there in the eastern gulf, this is the area
that is off limits. This is the Eglin Gulf Test and Training Range. The
Air Force wants to extend that moratorium from 2022 by 5 years--out to
2027--in order to protect it for all of these reasons we have been
discussing. It is all of that open space, and we ought not give it up.
I will give you another example of the short memories over at the
Department of the Interior.
After the 2010 BP oilspill, it became clear that the relationship
between regulators and the oil industry was a problem so the Minerals
Management Service was divided into two separate agencies in the
Department of the Interior--the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management,
which regulates lease sales, and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental
Enforcement, which is supposed to ensure that safety standards are
followed. Less than a decade later, people seem to have forgotten all
of that, and they want to put the two back together again. It is
another example of what is going on. Not only that, but the
administration is trying to roll back the safety rules, like the well
control rule that was finalized in November of last year. This long-
overdue rule seeks to prevent what went so tragically wrong on the
Deepwater Horizon rig from ever happening again.
Every day, it seems like the administration is coming up with a new
way to put the gulf at risk and Florida's coastline and tourism-driven
economy at risk. It is now putting at risk the national security of the
country by messing up the largest testing and training range for the
U.S. military and the world. It is utilized by all branches of service.
As a matter of fact, when they stopped the Atlantic fleet of the Navy
from doing all of its training off of Puerto Rico on the Island of
Vieques, all of that training came to the gulf. The Navy squadrons come
down for 2 weeks at a time to the Naval Air Station Key West, with the
airport actually being on Boca Chica Key, and when they lift off on the
runway, within 2 minutes, those F/A-18s are over restricted airspace so
they do not have to spend a lot of time and fuel in getting to their
training area.
I have heard from business owners, and I have heard from residents
across the entire State of Florida. They do not want drilling in the
eastern gulf. They have seen what can happen when the inevitable spill
happens. We lose an entire season of tourism, and all of that revenue
goes away, along with that loss.
Why do they know that?
The BP oilspill was off of Louisiana, but the winds started carrying
the oil slicks to the east. It got as far east as Pensacola Beach, and
the white, sugary sands of Pensacola were covered in black oil. That
was the photograph that went around the world. The winds continued to
push it, and tar mats came over and got onto the beach at Destin. We
were desperately trying to keep the oil from going into the
Choctawhatchee Bay at Destin like it had already gone into the
Pensacola Bay at Pensacola. The winds kept pushing it to the east, and
the tarballs ended up all over the tourism beaches of Panama City. Then
the winds did us a favor--they reversed, and they started taking it
back to the west.
So there was oil on some of the beaches, but what happened for an
entire year of the tourist season? The tourists did not come to the
gulf beaches, not only in Northwest Florida but all down the peninsula,
all the way down to Marco Island, and they lost an entire tourist
season. That is why people are so upset about any messing around.
This Senator brings this to us as I have spoken of what has happened
and have stood up for over the last four decades in order to fight to
prevent those kinds of spills from happening again off the coast of the
State of Florida.
Yet now we have, right here, an issue in front of us, something that
could threaten the Department of Defense's mission for being ready to
protect this Nation. In that case, my recommendation to the Senate is
not to vote for this nomination for Deputy Secretary of the Interior
because of his history and because of how he responded to Senator
Cantwell in the committee.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Ernst). The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Ms. CANTWELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Ms. CANTWELL. What is the pending business?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Bernhardt nomination is pending.
Ms. CANTWELL. I thank the Chair.
Madam President, I rise today to speak about the Bernhardt nomination
to be Deputy Secretary of the Interior.
The Deputy Secretary plays an important role in forming and carrying
out the administration's policy on a broad range of issues. These
issues include our Nation's public lands, our national parks, our
national wildlife refuges, our water resources, mineral and energy
development on public lands and Federal waters, carrying out our trust
responsibilities to our Tribal nations, and working with our
territories and Freely Associated States.
The Deputy Secretary also performs very important functions as it
relates
[[Page S4096]]
to the Secretary or in the Secretary's absence. In virtually all
matters, the Deputy Secretary has the authority of the Secretary. That
is why I look at this position with such an important critique, because
we know in past positions there have been conflicts, and we know we
have important policies to discuss, and we need to make sure we have no
conflicts of interest.
I have made no secret that I have concerns about this nomination. Mr.
Bernhardt is no stranger to this body and he is no stranger to the
Department of the Interior. He held a number of senior political
positions in the Department during the Bush administration beginning in
2006.
After leaving the Department in 2009, he returned to a successful
private practice. For 8 years, he has represented a wide range of
clients, including oil and gas companies, mining companies, and water
supply interests in California, just to name a few. If he is confirmed,
he will oversee the same companies at the Department of the Interior;
that is, he will be making decisions on the same things that he lobbied
for at the agency, and now he will be on the other side of the table
and be able, after a short period of time, to make decisions in those
areas.
So, as I said at his confirmation hearing--I'm not suggesting that
just working for the private sector disqualifies someone, but when you
have a wide range of issues that you have worked on in the private
sector and now you are going to be on the other side of the table, it
brings up concerns.
The President of the United States traveled the country when he was
campaigning and said he wanted to drain the swamp from special
interests, and he has repeated that many times over the last few years.
But with Mr. Bernhardt's nomination, I am afraid he is not draining the
swamp, he is actually helping to fill it.
The nominee's private sector experience as a registered lobbyist for
companies whose main public policy focuses are in the Department of
Interior creates an appearance of a conflict of interest. Also, the
nominee wants to lead the Department that he sued four times.
It is true that Mr. Bernhardt has considerable experience. We saw
another nominee come to this same post in a past administration on the
same basis. People thought he had a lot of experience in a lot of these
cases, but he obviously didn't follow the law and ended up going to
jail because of his overreaching within the agency and organization.
So these are very important public policy issues, public lands
issues--interests that the American people need to make sure are
aboveboard and no conflicts of interest.
Mr. Bernhardt served in the highest levels of the Department of the
Interior at a time when the inspector general called it ``a culture of
ethical failure.'' I know that at the hearing he told us he tried to
help change that failure of culture within the agency. The Inspector
General also testified that ``ethics failures on the part of senior
department officials--taking the form of appearances of impropriety,
favoritism and bias--have been routinely dismissed with a promise `not
to do it again.' ''
While Mr. Bernhardt has given testimony about the fact that he tried
to help change and get away from that culture, I still have concerns
that his private sector client base poses a significant problem. The
nominee's extensive client base in the area, which falls under the
jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior, creates at least an
inherent appearance of conflict. He and his clients have lobbied
extensively on such matters as the Cadiz pipeline in California,
opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration, and
weakening the Endangered Species Act. He has advocated in favor of
expanding offshore drilling and lifting the moratorium in the Gulf
after the Deepwater Horizon disaster. He also represented Westlands
Water District, the Nation's largest irrigation district, as a
registered lobbyist. His law firm represented Westlands in four
different lawsuits against the Department of the Interior.
In November 2016, he joined the Trump transition team, and Mr.
Bernhardt deregistered as a lobbyist for Westlands yet continued to
work for them in some capacity.
As the ranking member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee,
I raised concerns about these issues with the nominee during his
confirmation hearing. He has submitted required financial disclosure
and ethics forms, but there are specific questions we want to make sure
are addressed.
He has declined to comment on recusing himself beyond just the 1-year
minimum that is required by the ethics rules. I know Mr. Bernhardt says
he will comply with whatever the organization and agency requires, but
we don't have the time, given the long list of conflicts of interest
and given that past case representation, to constantly know every issue
and every meeting and every oversight to make sure that undue influence
is not being pressured at the Department of Interior.
The President of the United States, who nominated Mr. Bernhardt, told
the Times just yesterday in a conversation about the Attorney General:
``If he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me before he
took the job and I would have picked someone else.'' Well, I hope that
is not the issue here. I hope the agency isn't running fast toward
somebody who just won't recuse themselves in hopes that they will get
someone who will do the bidding of these interests and not take into
consideration the complexity, the legal structure, and the challenges
that dealing with these issues takes.
In fact, as late as March of this year, Mr. Bernhardt's firm was
submitting invoices to Westlands for lobbying charges with itemized
expenses. Documents show he was engaged in regular contact with
congressional offices and working on legislation and efforts to inform
administration policy at the same time he was serving on the Trump
transition team.
Even the appearance that Mr. Bernhardt was still lobbying on behalf
of clients that do business with the Department of the Interior at the
same time he wants to help lead it validates some of the concerns we
have been expressing.
I remain concerned about his record on behalf of these corporations
at the expense of the environment and his tenure at the Department of
the Interior and many other challenges. The Department's
responsibilities and jurisdictions are just too vast. They are too
important to the American people to just green-light someone who I
believe will be very challenged in doing this job. So I urge my
colleagues to oppose this nomination.
Just today, a complaint was filed with a U.S. Attorney about this
nominee's alleged lobbying activities based on new records available
pursuant to California public records law. I want answers from the
nominee. We are going to continue to ask questions.
In the meantime, I ask my colleagues to oppose this nomination. Make
sure we get the answers we need before the nomination of David
Bernhardt can continue.
I thank the Presiding Officer.
I yield the floor.
Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. GARDNER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. GARDNER. Madam President, it is my honor to come to the Senate
floor today to talk in support of a fellow Coloradan's nomination to be
the Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Interior--David
Bernhardt. I am very excited about his nomination, strongly support his
nomination, and believe that my fellow Coloradan will do an absolutely
incredible job for Colorado and for the rest of this country at the
Department of the Interior.
I had the great honor just a month or more ago of welcoming David to
the committee and welcoming his beautiful family there with him that
day. I reminded his oldest son Will about the connection that my family
and our oldest child will always have with Will, because when my wife
Jaime was working at the Department of the Interior, our oldest
daughter Alyson spent some time at daycare with David Bernhardt's son
Will, as well. It was the same daycare and the same work Jaime and
David did at the Department of the Interior, working together
[[Page S4097]]
all those years. But there is more than that. There are more
connections I will share, between David Bernhardt and me, and one of
the many reasons why I support him.
I have known him personally and professionally for nearly two
decades. We both grew up in rural Colorado. I am from the Eastern
Plains of Colorado, and Mr. Bernhardt is from the Western Slope. I am
from the flatlands, and he is from the mountains. We share a lot of
common interests in rural development and saving small towns.
We both began our public service 1 year apart, interning in the
Colorado State Legislature for a member of the Colorado State
Legislature named Russell George, who would go on, eventually, to
become the Colorado speaker of the house.
I will never forget when I began. It was in the second term of then-
State Representative Russell George. I worked for him on Tuesdays and
Thursdays in an internship through Colorado State University. He said:
You should reach out and meet last year's intern because I think he
could help you figure out the ropes around here and what you should
know about the internship. He gave me the phone number for David
Bernhardt. So I followed in the footsteps of David Bernhardt at the
capitol, and I am excited to see the work that he continues to do.
As I mentioned, Mr. Bernhardt worked with my wife Jaime at the
Department of the Interior, and, at one point, their offices were just
around the corner from one another. His personal background and public
and private sector professional experiences prove that he is a strong
voice for the West and extremely well-qualified for the nomination to
be Deputy Secretary. He has extensive insight on western water policy,
natural resource policy, and Indian affairs, just to name a few. Those
who have worked with Mr. Bernhardt commend him for his integrity and
wealth of knowledge on the issues under the jurisdiction of the
Department of the Interior.
In 2008, after the Department reached the largest Indian water rights
settlement in the Nation's history, Secretary Kempthorne personally
acknowledged Mr. Bernhardt's work as then-Solicitor and stated: ``His
effective coordination--both within Interior as well as with the local,
tribal, state and congressional leaders--was essential to the success
we celebrate today.''
The country will indeed benefit from having Mr. Bernhardt serve as
Deputy Secretary, a position that is the second ranking official within
the Department and has statutory responsibilities as the chief
operating officer.
Along with Mr. Bernhardt's professional career, I believe it is
important to fully understand his background and the foundation of his
interest in public lands, which further qualifies him for this very
important role.
Mr. Bernhardt is originally from the outskirts of the small town of
Rifle, CO, located on Colorado's Western Slope. If you have driven
through the Eisenhower Tunnel, the Veterans Memorial Tunnels, or if you
go to Grand Junction, CO, you will have been right by and through
Rifle, CO.
Few places more fully embody the spirit and mission of the agency he
has been nominated to lead as Deputy Secretary. Growing up in rural
Colorado instilled in David strong western values and interests, and,
to this day, Mr. Bernhardt enjoys hunting, recreation, the outdoors,
and fishing.
Rifle is located in Garfield County, an area where about 60 percent
of the lands are Federal public lands. Think about the work he is about
to take on upon confirmation: 60 percent of his home county is public
lands.
Rifle was founded as a ranching community along the Colorado River,
and it retains that heritage today, along with tremendous opportunities
for world-class outdoor recreation, including fishing, hiking, skiing,
rafting, and rock climbing. It also sits at the very edge of the
Piceance Basin, an area in Colorado which has vast amounts of natural
gas.
David grew up in the oil shale boom and bust and has said that the
boom-and-bust cycle in Western Colorado has made him more sensitive to
the potential benefits and the potential impacts--both environmental
and social--of resources development.
In the 1980s, his hometown of Rifle was hit hard by the State's oil
shale crash, and he personally experienced some of the hard times the
Nation's rural communities often face. Much like the Department of the
Interior itself, Rifle is a community that is a product of its public
lands and the western heritage around it. It is centrally located, just
a few miles away from the iconic Grand Mesa, the world's largest flat
top mountain. The flat top's wilderness and the Roan Plateau represent
a home base among these public lands, with virtually unmatched access
to world-class outdoor experiences, which is why Mr. Bernhardt has such
a passion for these issues.
His background and outlook on public lands and water issues assisted
him in his prior service at the Department of the Interior, including
in the Solicitor's role. Mr. Bernhardt's confirmation as Solicitor was
confirmed by voice vote by the U.S. Senate in 2006. By voice vote, he
was approved the last time he served at the Department of the Interior.
There have been other nominees--I think this has been a subject of
debate on his nomination--considered by the Energy Committee and by
this body who practiced private law from the time between their public
service appointments at the Department of the Interior and the time
they would come back to the administration. Mr. Bernhardt has taken the
same steps these nominees did in order for his nomination to move
forward today.
I think it is important to point out the Hayes-Schneider standard
that was established for the Department of the Interior.
David Hayes, nominated for Deputy Secretary in the Obama
administration, was confirmed by the Senate. He had previously served
in the Clinton administration, and then he served in the Obama
administration. In between that time, he had a private law practice.
Janice Schneider, nominated for Assistant Secretary under President
Obama, served in the Clinton administration but in between served in a
private law practice. What we see is another nominee who is a dedicated
public servant, has gained experience in the private sector, and is
willing to come back to public service to give back to our great
country.
Mr. Bernhardt's integrity and ability are two of his strongest
qualities for his nomination. Public service requires certain
sacrifices. I certainly appreciate Mr. Bernhardt's and his family's
acceptance of the nomination that will be considered by this body
today.
I hope the Senate process has not become a broken process, which
disincentivizes qualified people--like Mr. Bernhardt, who is held in
high professional regard--from serving and from returning to public
service. That is why I hope his nomination today receives strong
bipartisan support.
As the Senate takes up the vote on this nomination, I urge my
colleagues to hold this nominee to the same practice, the same process
to which we hold all nominees who are under consideration before the
U.S. Senate.
There are a number of individuals and organizations that support
David Bernhardt. The Southern Ute Indian Tribe in Colorado has written
a letter of support for his nomination; the Colorado Water Congress, a
very important organization made up of environmentalists and water
users and municipalities, supports David Bernhardt's nomination; the
Colorado River District supports David Bernhardt's nomination.
Why are these important? Because these are people who have worked
with him throughout his career, from the time he was an intern for
Russell George in the State legislature to the time that he worked with
Scott McInnis, to the time he worked at a law firm, to the time he
worked at the Department of the Interior, all the way up until today.
The National Congress of American Indians supports David Bernhardt as
Deputy Secretary of the Interior; Ducks Unlimited applauds the
nomination of David Bernhardt as Deputy Secretary of the Interior; the
Boone and Crockett Club supports David Bernhardt's nomination to be
Deputy Secretary of the Interior. The list goes on and on.
Here is a letter from a wide variety of organizations: the
International
[[Page S4098]]
Snowmobile Manufacturers Association, the Recreational Vehicle
Industry, environmental organizations that have done great work in
conservation, the National Shooting Sports Foundation. These are
groups, organizations--not partisan efforts, but organizations that
rely on Democrats and Republicans.
The Indian Nation supports David Bernhardt's nomination. These are
Republicans, Democrats, and Independents across the country who believe
David Bernhardt would do an incredible job at the Department of the
Interior.
Here is a letter of support for David Bernhardt from the chief of the
Penobscot Nation. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association supports
the nomination of David Bernhardt. The list goes on and on.
To my colleagues today, from those who know him best, I ask support
for David Bernhardt, Deputy Secretary of the Department of the
Interior, and stress the importance of a strong bipartisan vote today
to show support for our western States that have so much need at the
Department of the Interior. The work needs to be done so that we can
start once again getting to the work of the people.
I yield the floor.