[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12028-12029]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




EXPRESSING THE IMPORTANCE OF IMMEDIATELY REOPENING THE FAMOUS BEARTOOTH 
                          ALL-AMERICAN HIGHWAY

  Mr. POMBO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure be discharged from further 
consideration of the resolution (H. Res. 309) expressing the importance 
of immediately reopening the famous Beartooth All-American Highway from 
Red Lodge, Montana, to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, and ask 
for its immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  Mr. REHBERG. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, although I 
am not going to, I would like to sincerely thank the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Pombo) of the Committee on Resources and the gentleman 
from Alaska (Mr. Young) of the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure. I am sincerely grateful that they were willing to move 
this through on a unanimous consent as quickly as possible.
  A crisis has occurred in Montana one more time. It seems like it is 
feast or famine for us. We were just going into our eighth year of 
drought, no rain, well beyond the opportunity to recover. And the 
prediction was it was going to take as much as 16 feet of snow in the 
mountain to get us caught up in the moisture. We began getting the 
rains and, unfortunately, the next thing that happened were mudslides 
closing off the Beartooth Pass.
  Some Members might remember the Beartooth Pass was considered to be 
the crown jewel on the part of Charles Kuralt. As he traveled around 
the 50 States, he made the determination that of the 50 States that was 
the most beautiful part of the entire Nation. I am sure there are a lot 
of Members in this audience that might object to that definition. But 
if you look at the recorded list that he put together, the Beartooth 
Pass was something special.
  Feast or famine in that area is nothing new. Cooke City, 
unfortunately, was the site of the 1988 fires in Yellowstone Park. 
Unfortunately, a forest fire came down within hundreds of feet of the 
community. They were able to withstand that economic devastation. This 
is going to create another economic devastation.
  The detour that is going to be required to get to the community of 
Cooke City until this road is reopened probably is about the size of 
Illinois by the time you get around that detour. It is not just like 
taking a different route. It is like taking several different States. I 
know my colleague, the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Mrs. Cubin), and my 
colleagues, the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Simpson) and the gentleman 
from Idaho (Mr. Otter), know the importance of Yellowstone Park to the 
economy of our region. So we really need it.
  The sense of urgency shown on the part of the gentleman from 
California (Chairman Pombo) just cannot be underestimated, and I thank 
the gentleman for that.
  This severely impacts the economy of Carbon County, of Red Lodge, of 
Cooke City, of Billings, the surrounding area. It is going to be a very 
complicated fix because it is a switch back. If you have not been 
there, it ends at the top at about 10,000 feet, a chain of lakes, it is 
flat, and it is the north entrance to Yellowstone Park. As the 
mudslides occurred, it took several layers of that switchback out. I 
think the estimate I heard was about 500 tons of material are sitting 
on that road.
  I will be flying that on Saturday by helicopter, taking a look at the 
devastation, but it has been an incredible effort, a community effort 
on the part of the Federal, State, and local jurisdictions as well as 
the communities coming together.
  Again, I thank the gentleman from California (Chairman Pombo) for 
giving

[[Page 12029]]

us the opportunity to move this very quickly.
  Mrs. CUBIN. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. REHBERG. I yield to the gentlewoman from Wyoming.
  Mrs. CUBIN. Mr. Speaker, I too would like to thank the chairman and 
encourage passage of this resolution.
  The Beartooth Highway connects two cities in Montana, but it passes 
through Wyoming; and many people need to travel on the Beartooth 
Highway in order to get into Yellowstone National Park. For many, many 
years this highway has been sorely neglected. It is not safe in its 
current condition, but it has not been safe for a long time.
  Yellowstone National Park is the crown gem of the park system, and it 
is important to the whole country. So this is something that the 
country needs to do at this time. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. POMBO. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. REHBERG. I yield to the gentleman from California.
  Mr. POMBO. Mr. Speaker, during the days of May 16 and May 17 of this 
year, devastating mudslides bisected six sections of the scenic 
Beartooth All-American Highway between Red Lodge, Montana and 
Yellowstone National Park. Consequently, visitors to Yellowstone 
National Park coming from the States of Montana and Wyoming are now and 
for the foreseeable future required to take a detour to get to the 
northeast entrance of our Nation's oldest park. This detour could be in 
place for the entire summer season. Annually, an average of 190,000 
visitors come to the park through the northeast entrance.
  Mr. Speaker, my resolution acknowledges the importance of the highway 
in accessing the park and requests that the President take all 
necessary action to assist the State of Montana in reopening the road.
  I thank the gentleman from Alaska (Chairman Young) for allowing this 
bill to be scheduled. The following is an exchange of letters with him:

                                         House of Representatives,


                                       Committee on Resources,

                                     Washington, DC, June 9, 2005.
     Hon. Don Young,
     Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
         2165 Rayburn HOB, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for your letter dated 9 June 
     2005 regarding House Resolution 309. I appreciate your 
     willingness to allow the Committee on Transportation and 
     Infrastructure to be discharged to allow it to be considered 
     on the Floor today. I will include a copy of your letter and 
     my response to the Congressional Record during deliberations 
     on the bill.
       Thank you again for your cooperation.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Richard W. Pombo,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

         House of Representatives, Committee on Transportation and 
           Infrastructure,
                                     Washington, DC, June 9, 2005.
     Hon. Richard W. Pombo,
     Chairman, Committee on Resources,
     1324 Longworth Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing to you concerning the 
     jurisdiction interest of the Transportation and 
     Infrastructure Committee in matters being considered in H. 
     Res. 309, expressing the importance of immediately reopening 
     the Beartooth All-American Highway from Red Lodge, Montana, 
     to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. As you know, the 
     legislation was also referred to the Transportation 
     Committee.
       Our Committee recognizes the importance of H. Res. 309 and 
     the need for the legislation to move expeditiously to the 
     House Floor. Therefore, I am willing to have the 
     Transportation Committee discharged from consideration of the 
     resolution. I would appreciate if it you would include a copy 
     of this letter and your response to the Congressional Record.
       Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
           Sincerely,
                                                        Don Young,
                                                         Chairman.

  I would like to thank the gentleman from Montana (Mr. Rehberg) and 
the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Mrs. Cubin) for working with me to move 
this resolution so quickly through the House.
  Mr. REHBERG. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman not only for his sense 
of urgency but his kind consideration in letting me go out of turn in 
my statement. I thank the chairman. I thank the House of 
Representatives for its positive consideration of this piece of 
legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Montana?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 309

       Whereas on March 1, 1872, Yellowstone was established as 
     the world's first national park;
       Whereas Yellowstone National Park encompasses over 2 
     million acres and is one of America's Crown Jewels of the 
     National Park System;
       Whereas over 2.8 million people visit Yellowstone National 
     Park annually to admire its world famous geysers, hot 
     springs, and remarkable wildlife, and to hike its more than 
     950 miles of backcountry trails;
       Whereas on May 16-17, 2005, a major mudslide bisected the 
     scenic Beartooth Highway in 6 sections requiring visitors 
     from Montana to undertake a detour to the Northeast Entrance 
     to Yellowstone National Park;
       Whereas the scenic Beartooth Highway provides on average 
     190,000 visitors annually easy access to the Northeast 
     Entrance to Yellowstone National Park;
       Whereas the scenic Beartooth Highway has been recognized as 
     one of the most scenic drives in the United States; and
       Whereas the scenic Beartooth Highway is the economic artery 
     for the citizens of the gateway communities of Red Lodge, 
     Cooke City, and Silver Gate, Montana: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) recognizes the critical importance of ensuring 
     unfettered access to visitors of Yellowstone National Park 
     and preserving the economy of Red Lodge, Montana; and
       (2) urges the President to take, without hesitation, all 
     necessary actions to assist the Governor of Montana in 
     reopening, as quickly as possible, the scenic Beartooth 
     Highway that provides access to Yellowstone National Park.

  The resolution is agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________