[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11280]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   BASIN AND RANGE NATIONAL MONUMENT

  (Mr. HARDY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HARDY. Madam Speaker, what were you doing last night at midnight? 
If you were like me and most Americans, you were probably asleep.
  But last night, while America was sleeping, the White House was busy. 
The White House was busy notifying the public, literally in the dark of 
the night, about the President's intentions to designate more than 
700,000 acres of Lincoln and Nye Counties as the Basin and Range 
National Monument.
  Madam Speaker, at 2 p.m. this afternoon, you won't see a debate on 
the floor of the House, the people's House, on the Basin and Range 
Monument. There will be no vote for Nevada's elected representatives, 
but there will be a photo op to capture the exchange of political favor 
for one Nevadan. It will be a scene demonstrating that having friends 
in high places is more important than popular will of the people.
  But legacy building in the twilight of one's career shouldn't be the 
driver for our Nation's public lands. According to press reports, it is 
said when asked about the heartfelt concerns of Nevadans who oppose the 
monument, the President responded: ``I don't care. I want this done.''
  Madam Speaker, I do care.

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