[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 121 (Wednesday, July 18, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1028-E1029]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. MICHAEL K. SIMPSON

                                of idaho

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 17, 2018

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 6147) making 
     appropriations for the Department of the Interior, 
     environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending 
     September 30, 2019, and for other purposes:

  Mr. SIMPSON. Madam Chair, I rise today in support of the Interior and 
Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations bill. I applaud 
Chairman Calvert and his staff, along with Ranking Member McCollum and 
her team for crafting a responsible bill.
  As a former chairman of this subcommittee, I know firsthand the 
challenges assembling this bill presents. There are diverse views 
across the United States on how our public lands and environment should 
be managed. For those of us that represent states with high percentages 
of federal lands--more than 60 percent in Idaho--you would be hard 
pressed to find a more important bill in Congress.
  The bill before us today addresses the most important issues in 
Idaho. Perhaps most pressing is the need to adequately fund wildfire 
suppression and prevention. If you look at the National Interagency 
Fire Center (NIFC) outlook map, it indicates that almost my entire 
district is at an increased fire threat during July and August. Sadly, 
this has been the new normal.
  The bill under consideration today addresses this by fully funding 
the 10 year average for wildfire suppression and provides an additional 
$500 million to combat this growing threat. It also provides increased 
funding for prevention efforts. Next year, relief is on the way in the 
form of my Wildfire Disaster Funding Act, which will treat catastrophic 
fires like natural disasters. This will set us on a path to reduce the 
threat of wildfires and allow land managers to do the prevention work 
without their resources being stolen to fight fires.
  The bill also contains many other important provisions:

[[Page E1029]]

  Provides Funding for PILT that is vitally important in Idaho for 
rural counties that depend on it.
  Establishes certainty for biomass which is critical to the landscape 
of our forests.
  Rolls back regulations like the previous Administration's ``Waters of 
the United States'' rule.
  Provides increased funding to address the $12 billion backlog in to 
our National Parks.
  Provides $2.6 billion for the Clean Water and Drinking Water State 
Revolving Loan fund, which states and localities use for water 
infrastructure projects.
  The list goes on, but the underlying point is the Interior and 
Environment bill is a critical piece of legislation, especially for 
those of us in western states. I want to reiterate my appreciation to 
Chairman Calvert and his staff of Dave LesStrang, Darren Benjamin, 
Betsy Bina, Jaclyn Kilroy, Kristin Richmond, Ian Foley, and Mac Cloyes. 
Their late nights and early mornings have produced a product that 
members of Congress, particularly in the west, should be proud of.
  I urge my colleagues to support this measure.

                          ____________________