[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 24183]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 24183]]

            KEEP AMERICA STRONG; SUPPORT THE MINING INDUSTRY

  (Mr. GIBBONS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, just last week the National Research 
Council released its much-anticipated report about hardrock mining on 
Federal lands.
  Well, I say to my colleagues take a deep breath and grab their 
bifocals because this report actually shows a glimmer of common sense. 
It reaffirms what the mining industry in the State of Nevada has known 
all along; that is, that we do not need more regulation and 
restrictions. In fact, this report clearly states that existing Federal 
and State laws regulating mining are effective in protecting our 
environment.
  Unfortunately, there are those in Congress who would like to destroy 
the mining industry in America by stopping its vital productivity with 
undue and burdensome Federal regulations.
  Mr. Speaker, let me tell my colleagues, they probably do not think 
about it, but mining touches them, their constituents, and their 
families every day. Without mining, there would be no computers, no 
telephones, no automobiles, no modern medicine or technologies that 
provide all of us a longer and better quality of life.
  Unnecessary Federal regulations could put an end to the mining 
industry and put an end to improving our quality of life. Keep America 
strong. Keep it moving. Support the mining industry.

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