[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11076-11079]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2016

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 333 and rule 
XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of the Whole House 
on the state of the Union for the further consideration of the bill, 
H.R. 2822.
  Will the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hultgren) kindly resume the 
chair.

                              {time}  2009


                     In the Committee of the Whole

  Accordingly, the House resolved itself into the Committee of the 
Whole House on the state of the Union for the further consideration of 
the bill (H.R. 2822) making appropriations for the Department of the 
Interior, environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending 
September 30, 2016, and for other purposes, with Mr. Hultgren (Acting 
Chair) in the chair.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The Acting CHAIR. When the Committee of the Whole rose earlier today, 
a request for a recorded vote on an amendment offered by the gentleman 
from Alabama (Mr. Palmer) had been postponed, and the bill had been 
read through page 132, line 24.
  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.
  The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from California is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank Chairman Rogers for his 
leadership and support. Under his guidance, the Appropriations 
Committee is again setting the standard for getting things done in the 
House. This is the seventh of the appropriation bills that have come to 
the floor that we, hopefully, will be able to pass tomorrow.
  I also want to thank my good friend and Ranking Member McCollum for 
her partnership and work on this bill. Finally, I want to thank each of 
our committee members for their efforts and their collegiality. It 
continues to be the hallmark of our subcommittee's deliberations.
  Even though we may have differences of opinion within this bill, I 
greatly appreciate the members' constructive contributions, and I mean 
that sincerely. The committee has made some very difficult choices in 
preparing this bill.
  As reported by the Appropriations Committee, the fiscal year 2016 
Interior Appropriations bill is funded at $30.17 billion, which is $246 
million below the fiscal year 2015 enacted level and $3 billion below 
the budget request. We have

[[Page 11077]]

made a sincere effort to prioritize the needs within our 302(b) 
allocation.
  I would like to point out some of the highlights of the bill. Again, 
this year, the committee has provided robust wildland fire funding, 
fire suppression accounts. The Department of the Interior and Forest 
Service are fully funded at the 10-year average level. The hazardous 
fuel program was increased by $75 million to $526 million in fiscal 
year 2015 enacted, and that increase has been maintained in this bill.
  The bill also continues critical investments in Indian Country, a 
nonpartisan priority of this committee. Building upon the bipartisan 
work, former subcommittee chairman Mike Simpson, Jim Moran, Norm Dicks, 
and, certainly, my friend Ms. McCollum, the bill continues to make 
investments in education, public safety, and health programs in Indian 
Country.
  Overall funding for the Indian Health Service has increased by $145 
million or 3 percent, while funding for the Bureau of Indian Affairs 
and Bureau of Indian Education is increased by $165 million or 6 
percent from fiscal year 2015 levels, the largest percentage increase 
in this bill.
  The bill provides full funding for fiscal year 2016 for payments in 
lieu of taxes, or the PILT program. PILT payments are made to 49 of the 
50 States, as well as the District of Columbia, Guam, the U.S. Virgin 
Islands, and the commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
  The bill provides $2.7 billion for the National Park Service, 
included more than $60 million in new funding relating to the 
centennial of the National Park Service.
  We have also addressed a number of priorities within the Fish and 
Wildlife Service accounts. The bill funds popular cost-shared grant 
programs above fiscal year 2015 enacted levels. It also provides for 
additional funds to combat international wildlife trafficking, protects 
fish hatcheries from cuts and closures, continues funding to fight 
invasive species, and reduces the backlog of species that are recovered 
but not yet delisted.
  The bill provides $248 million for the land and water conservation 
fund, programs that enjoy broad bipartisan support. Some Members would 
prefer more funding; others would prefer less funding for LWCF. We have 
attempted to forge a middle ground that begins to return an emphasis of 
the LWCF to its original intent of recreation in the States and local 
acquisitions.
  Overall, funding for EPA was reduced by $718 million or 9 percent 
from fiscal year 2015 enacted levels.
  Members of the Great Lakes region will be pleased to know that the 
Great Lakes restoration initiative is maintained at fiscal year 2015 
enacted level of $300 million. Rural water technical assistance grants 
and many categorical grants, including radon grants, are level funded 
at the fiscal year 2015 enacted level.
  Again, this year, there is a great deal of concern over a number of 
regulatory actions being pursued by EPA, which we have discussed over 
the last day and the absence of legislation without clear congressional 
direction.
  For this reason, the bill includes a number of provisions to stop 
unnecessary and damaging regulatory overreach by the agency.

                              {time}  2015

  I would like to address the Endangered Species Act. We have had a 
number of amendments over the last day about this subject. Certainly, 
this committee has no interest in interfering with science or in 
letting any species go extinct, but we are concerned about Federal 
regulatory actions lacking in basic fairness and common sense. The 
provisions in this bill address problems created by the ESA--not by 
science but by court orders--that drain limited agency resources and 
force departments to cut corners to meet arbitrary deadlines.
  Nowhere is this more evident than with the sage-grouse. States are 
rightfully concerned that a listing or unnecessary restricted Federal 
land use plans will jeopardize existing conservation partnerships with 
States and private landowners. These partnerships are necessary to save 
both sagebrush ecosystems and local economies. So long as sage-grouse 
are not under imminent threat of extinction, cooperative conservation 
must be given a chance to work.
  The Acting CHAIR. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.
  The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from California is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, as I mentioned, so long as sage-grouse are 
not under imminent threat of extinction, cooperative conservation must 
be given a chance to work. That is why this bill maintains a 1-year 
delay in any decision to list the sage-grouse along with full funding 
to implement conservation efforts.
  House consideration of this bill is the next step in a long 
legislative process. I hope, over the coming months, we will come 
together, as we do each year, to find common ground. In that spirit, I 
look forward to continuing to work with Ms. McCollum and Members of the 
House on both sides of the aisle. As this bill moves forward, 
hopefully, the Senate will act on a bill soon, and we will be able to 
get back to regular order, which is, I think, the hope for both sides.
  In closing, I want to thank the staffs on both sides for their hard 
work on this bill. On the minority side, I would like to thank Rick 
Healy, Rita Culp, Joe Carlile, as well as Rebecca Taylor. They played 
an integral role in the process, and their efforts are very much 
appreciated. On the majority side, I would like to thank subcommittee 
staff Kristin Richmond, Jackie Kilroy, Betsy Bina, Jason Gray, Darren 
Benjamin, and Dave LesStrang. On my personal staff, I would also like 
to thank Ian Foley, Rebecca Keightley, Alexandra Berenter, and Tricia 
Evans for their great work.
  Mr. Chairman, this is a good bill, and I have enjoyed the debate over 
the last couple of days.
  One thing I also want to talk about under my 5 minutes is on the 
wildfire and hazardous fuel management program. It was mentioned 
earlier in the debate that we are attempting to work out an agreement 
on both sides so that we can move Mr. Simpson's language forward in his 
hazardous wildfire bill, H.R. 167. We are looking for cosponsors of the 
bill, and we hope to get more support for that bill as we move this 
process forward.
  As I mentioned earlier, we did fund the bill to the 10-year average, 
but this is still not going to be sufficient if we have the significant 
wildfire year that we expect. A catastrophic fire can literally burn 
through any amounts of money that we may have set aside, and it causes 
disruptions within the Department of the Interior and the Department of 
Forestry in how they manage those accounts, which we also discussed, 
which is not good management on our part. So I would hope we can move 
ahead with Mr. Simpson's bill as quickly as possible.
  We also discussed the Endangered Species Act, and we continue to talk 
about the States and the difficulties that they are having in working 
with the Fish and Wildlife Service and with other agencies in trying to 
work out their State plans that deal with these significant issues. As 
we look at our sage-grouse strategy, we have 11 States involved in this 
program. We are doing everything we can to have a cooperative program 
with private landowners, the State land, and the Federal land to make 
sure that we continue to have sage-grouse. We want to make sure that 
the sage-grouse persists, and that is why we funded both the BLM and 
the Fish and Wildlife Service to the requested amounts in order to make 
sure that we have the resources available to do that.
  Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rodney 
Davis).
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I want to congratulate 
the chairman of the subcommittee, who has done a yeoman's job of 
shepherding this appropriations bill through this House.
  I would like to thank the ranking member, Ms. McCollum, for her 
efforts.

[[Page 11078]]

  I sat in that chair last night where you are, Mr. Chairman, and 
presided over many different amendments. There was much discussion on a 
wide variety of issues, but it is what we came here to do in this 
institution--to debate the issues and to work in a process that I call 
our constitutional appropriations process. If we are to regain the 
power of the purse here in the House, we ought to be able to work 
through the appropriations process that so many hard-working colleagues 
of mine, like Chairman Calvert, have put so much effort into.
  The Acting CHAIR. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.
  The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from California is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. CALVERT. I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rodney 
Davis).
  Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, this is an opportunity 
for us to begin the process, once again, of prioritizing how Washington 
spends money, which I remember not too long ago was the way Washington 
spent money, Mr. Chairman, when Washington was not nearly as broken. We 
have an opportunity to come here to the floor to debate the issues and 
to get an up-or-down vote. When our amendments may not pass, that 
doesn't mean that we shouldn't regain the power that Congress has been 
given in our Constitution, and that is by supporting great bills like 
this.
  I congratulate the chairman. I look forward to supporting his bill. I 
had a great time in presiding over the debate yesterday, and I look 
forward to continuing to work with the chairman in the future.
  Mr. CALVERT. I thank the gentleman.
  Mr. Chairman, next week, we will be having other bills in front of 
us. We are looking forward to having the Financial Services bill on the 
floor next week, and I believe we will have other appropriations bills 
for the balance of the month. As we get back to regular order, we want 
to have all 12 bills brought to the floor and debated. The chairman has 
done a great job of moving this committee back to its historic 
importance in this institution, and we appreciate your continued 
support in that process.
  As I mentioned on the Forest Service funding allocations, we are 
continuing to work to make sure that moneys are available to fund 
Forest Service research and development and to make sure that the 
analysis and inventory program continues to be funded. The forests, we 
recognize, are a renewable resource. Domestically produced timber 
supports local communities and the U.S. industry, especially in the 
West. It also helps reduce fuel loads in our national forests. This is 
greatly needed, especially now, because these fires are burning hotter, 
fire seasons are growing longer, and more communities are at risk.
  Our forests need to be managed, Mr. Chairman. The Forest Service 
estimates that up to 2 million acres of land need to be actively 
managed. In the Rocky Mountains alone, 45 million acres have been 
affected by the bark beetle. We have seen results of the bark beetle 
back in my area of southern California where thousands of acres have 
been devastated by this beetle that attacks weakened trees, which 
certainly exposes a problem to wildfire conditions. Once those 
wildfires start, then those fires quickly become catastrophic as we 
have seen just recently in a fire in the San Bernardino National 
Forest.
  We were fortunate that the 2014 fire season was well below the normal 
with just 87 percent of the 10-year average. We are praying that that 
is going to occur in the 2015 fire season, but we can't be sure. Most 
people believe that that is not going to occur and that, because of the 
drought, especially in the West, we could have catastrophic conditions 
and that we could have wildfires that can certainly grow out of 
control.
  Mr. Chairman, 2 percent of the wildfires cost more money than the 
other 98 percent, so that is why we need to continue to invest 
resources wisely and to make sure that we get rid of hazardous 
materials, that we manage our forests properly in order for us not to 
have these catastrophic fires. These figures are combined with the fact 
that California, my home State, suffers through this exceptional 
drought. Other parts of the country, including Minnesota, have the 
potential for above normal wildfire activity in the next few months, 
and that is extremely, extremely worrisome.
  I would like to talk a little bit about the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund. I know we would have liked to have appropriated more 
money for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, but we are acting under 
these allocations, and we were just restricted on what we could do. Yet 
what we wanted to do was to focus back to the original intent of the 
Land and Water Conservation Fund, which was recreation and State and 
local acquisitions. In this bill, the administration is directed to 
prioritize limited Federal acquisitions in which opportunities for 
recreation and local and State congressional support are the strongest.
  The Acting CHAIR. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.
  The Acting CHAIR (Mr. Rodney Davis of Illinois). The gentleman from 
California is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, we extend the authority of recreation fee 
programs; we prohibit the Interior from administratively creating new 
wilderness areas; we provide the full funding of $452 million for 
payments in lieu of taxes, which is extremely important to almost every 
State in the Union; and we increase the forest products account by $16 
million so that the Forest Service can increase timber harvests.
  We lost a lot of the timber operations in the West after the issue 
with the spotted owl. After that 20-year experiment that most people 
realize was a failure, we now have forests that have become overgrown, 
especially in the West, and we have poorly managed some of those 
forests. We need to go back and thin those forests out. There are two 
ways to thin a forest, Mr. Chairman. Either God does it, or we allow 
for good timbering operations that are done in a new scientific manner 
that help clear out that forest in a healthy way, that bring back 
animals that sometimes have abandoned the region because of 
overgrowth--operations that make for a healthier forest in the long 
run.
  These are good goals. We want to work with the Department of Forestry 
to make sure that they continue to make progress on this, and we will 
continue to do that.
  Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.


                    Amendment Offered by Mr. Calvert

  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.
  The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will report the amendment.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the 
     following:
       Sec.__. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, 
     none of the funds made available by this Act may be used to 
     prohibit the display of the flag of the United States or the 
     POW/MIA flag, or the decoration of graves with flags in the 
     National Park Service national cemeteries as provided in 
     National Park Service Director's Order No. 61 or to 
     contravene the National Park Service memorandum dated June 
     24, 2015, with the subject line containing the words 
     ``Immediate Action Required, No Reply Needed'' with respect 
     to sales items.

  The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 333, the gentleman 
from California and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.

                              {time}  2030

  Mr. CALVERT. This amendment will codify existing National Park 
Service policy and directives with regard to the declaration of 
cemeteries and concession sales. I urge adoption of my amendment.
  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the gentleman's 
amendment.
  The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Minnesota is recognized for 5 
minutes.

[[Page 11079]]


  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to this 
amendment. I am actually quite surprised that we find ourselves here 
tonight attempting to overturn the National Park Service recent policy 
changes to stop allowing the Confederate flag to be displayed or sold 
in national parks.
  Mr. Chair, just yesterday, this House passed amendment after 
amendment supporting the removal of the symbol of racism from our 
national parks, which are visited every day by Americans and foreign 
visitors of every race.
  We have read about the divisive tactics happening in the South 
Carolina statehouse as they debate the removal of the Confederate flag 
after the murder of nine Black parishioners.
  I never thought that the U.S. House of Representatives would join 
those who would want to see this flag flown by passing an amendment to 
ensure the continuing flying of the Confederate flag. I strongly urge 
every Member to stand with the citizens of all races and to remove this 
symbol of hatred from our National Park Service.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, I urge adoption of the amendment.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Chair, I want to restate: On June 25 when National 
Park Service Director Jon Jarvis requested that Confederate flag sales 
be removed from national park bookstores and gift shops, he also 
followed a decision by several large national retailers--Walmart, 
Amazon, and Sears--to stop selling items with Confederate flags on 
them, and I agreed with these decisions. I commend those for their 
prompt action.
  While in certain and very limited circumstances, it might be 
appropriate in a national park to display the image of the Confederate 
flag in a historical context--and I say that as a social studies 
teacher--the general display or sale of Confederate flag items is 
inappropriate and divisive. I support limiting their use.
  I strongly oppose this amendment, which is an attempt to negate 
amendments which were approved yesterday without any opposition to 
limit the displaying of the Confederate flag, and so we should make 
sure that we uphold what this House stood for yesterday, which is to 
say no to racism, which is to say no to hate speech.
  Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert).
  The question was taken; and the Acting Chair announced that the ayes 
appeared to have it.
  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.
  The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further 
proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from California 
will be postponed.
  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Chair, I move to strike the last word.
  The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Minnesota is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Chair, as we prepare to finish consideration of 
H.R. 2822, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate my 
subcommittee chairman, Ken Calvert, for getting this bill to this 
point.
  It has not been an easy process, as we just realized a few moments 
ago. We have had to consider nearly twice as many amendments as any 
other appropriations bill taken up in the House this year.
  While I have not agreed with a considerable number of the amendments 
that have been made to the bill, I do appreciate that the chairman and 
I have been able to disagree when necessary without ever being 
disagreeable. My working relationship with Chairman Calvert has been 
first rate. I appreciate the hard work and effort he has put into the 
bill.
  Let me also express my sincere thanks to the committee staff on both 
sides of the aisle, as well as the personal staff in both of our 
respective offices for their work on the bill. They put in long hours 
to smooth a way for consideration of this bill, and I appreciate their 
efforts.
  Once again, I want to say that we have had a good working 
relationship, Mr. Chair, but I cannot hide my surprise and my outrage 
that we find ourselves here tonight attempting to overturn the National 
Park Service recent policy change to stop allowing the Confederate flag 
to be displayed or sold at our national parks.
  Mr. CALVERT. Will the gentlewoman yield?
  Ms. McCOLLUM. I yield to the gentleman from California.
  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, I just want to say that I enjoyed and 
continue to enjoy working with the gentlewoman as we move this process 
forward and appreciate her courtesy and kindness.
  As I say, we will continue to work at this process as we move ahead.
  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Chair, today I rise in strong opposition 
to senseless Republican attempts to allow Confederate flags to be 
displayed and sold in national parks and cemeteries. The Confederate 
flag throughout history has been a symbol of extreme hatred, deliberate 
malice, and continued segregation. Any attempt by Congress to uphold 
and profit from such an image is completely reprehensible.
  Recently, states across the country have done the right thing and 
removed the Confederate flag from their State Capitol grounds, 
including my home state of Alabama. In fact, on July 9th South Carolina 
lawmakers voted to ensure that this contentious symbol is removed from 
its state capitol grounds. It is unconscionable to think that while 
South Carolina's legislature was working until the early hours of the 
morning fighting for the removal of the Confederate flag, my Republican 
colleagues were attempting to undo efforts by the House to prohibit the 
Confederate flag from being sold and displayed at our national parks 
and federal cemeteries.
  The Confederate flag is a part of America's past and that is where it 
should stay. Removing the Confederate flag does not detract from 
America's rich history in any way, but instead is recognition of the 
fact that this flag represents hatred not heritage, treason not pride. 
In order for us to come together as a nation, it is necessary to remove 
the vestiges of the past that connect racism and segregation.
  The preamble to the Constitution reads ``We the people'', making it 
evident that America is supposed to be one cohesive nation. As Members 
of Congress we have the responsibility to ensure that our actions 
reflect the will of the people. The Confederate flag does nothing but 
continue to divide this great country. Let's stand behind our nation's 
purpose, that all men are created equal, by prohibiting the selling and 
displaying of the Confederate flag at national parks and federal 
cemeteries.
  I urge my colleagues to stand with me and reject this amendment.
  The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will read.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       This Act may be cited as the ``Department of the Interior, 
     Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016''.

  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chair, I move that the Committee do now rise.
  The motion was agreed to.
  Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr. 
Poliquin) having assumed the chair, Mr. Rodney Davis of Illinois, 
Acting Chair of the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the 
Union, reported that that Committee, having had under consideration the 
bill (H.R. 2822) making appropriations for the Department of the 
Interior, environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending 
September 30, 2016, and for other purposes, had come to no resolution 
thereon.

                          ____________________