[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 116 (Wednesday, July 11, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H6052-H6053]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         CLEMENCY FOR HAMMONDS

  (Mr. LaMALFA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank President Trump for 
his willingness to resolve a major injustice. I am speaking, of course, 
about the news that the President has decided to pardon Oregon ranchers 
Dwight Hammond and his son, Steven Hammond.
  They have already served jail sentences for a controlled burn on 
their land, which was adjacent to Federal lands that were already out 
of control with a fire. They used the fire tool to try and keep their 
own land from being overcome by poorly managed Federal lands and the 
fires that frequently occur upon them.
  They served a sentence for that already. Yet overzealous prosecutors, 
using terrorism legislation in the law, came back after them again and 
forced them to serve even more time, unfairly. It was the type of law 
that was used in the case of the Oklahoma City bombing. Approximately 
139 acres of Federal land was burned accidentally to try and stop fire.

[[Page H6053]]

  The Hammonds aren't from my district. They are from Mr. Walden's 
district in Oregon, and I commend him for his work to help make sure 
this clemency has happened for these people. They are good citizens who 
are well-known in Oregon. They have relatives and many friends in my 
northern California district as well.
  Their case is a prime example of the previous administration's 
overbearing regulation and enforcement on the users of public land, 
while, at the same time, their poor stewardship has caused these 
dangerous conditions.
  It is too bad they will never get the time back that they served. But 
I am, indeed, glad for President Trump granting clemency to the Hammond 
family.

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