Rahall Floor Statement on the 2010 Interior Appropriations Conference Report

Category: Government Committees
Type: News
Source: U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources
Party: Democrat
Date: Thursday, October 29th, 2009

CONTACT: Allyson Groff or Blake Androff, 202-226-9019

Floor Statement of
U.S. Rep Nick J. Rahall, II
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources
2010 Interior Appropriations Conference Report
October 29, 2009

I rise today in strong support of this Interior Appropriations Conference Report and to congratulate the House and Senate Appropriations Committees for their work on this important backing measure.

In particular, I want to congratulate Interior Subcommittee Chairman Norm Dicks, and Appropriations Chairman Dave Obey on completion of this Conference Report.

I am privileged to serve as Chairman of the Natural Resources Committee and many of the priorities funded in this legislation have long been priorities for the authorizing committee as well.

We often hear Members of Congress express concern for the future of our National Parks, Forests, refuges and public lands; we often hear Members express support for a strong trust relationship with Native People; we often hear Members express deep concern regarding wildfire, climate change and water quality and quantity.

I would say to my colleagues that today is one of those days where Members who say they care about these things can come to the House floor and prove it by voting for this conference report.

Last spring, the House approved legislation I sponsored: The Federal Land Assistance and Management Enhancement, or FLAME Act, to authorize a separate backing stream for emergency wildfire suppression.

Over the last decade, wildfires have become increasingly dangerous and destructive; burning more acreage and more property, more often.

Yet, financially, the Federal government has continued to be ill-prepared to respond to these fires; time after time, we have seen wildfires rip through communities, while at the same time they burn through the agencies' budgets.

I moved the FLAME Act through the House, because it will give the agencies the money they need to knock down catastrophic fires, while protecting the important funds needed to stop fires from starting in the 1st place.

Thanks to the cooperation and assistance of the Appropriations Committee, the FLAME Fund is included in this conference report. For the 1st time, we are creating a savings account to cover the costs of fighting fires we know are going to happen.

Instead of a "rainy day" fund, it's a fund for fire seasons when we have not had nearly enough rainy days and I know the communities threatened by these dangerous fires are grateful it is included in this bill.

This conference report also includes backing increases for our National Parks, Wildlife Refuges, Forests and Public Lands - investments in what Ken Burns has reminded us is one of America's best ideas.

The conference report also contains significant backing for the Land and Water Conservation Fund - a contract we have made with our grandchildren that, as we deplete our off-shore energy reserves, we will invest some of the profits in conservation.

And finally, this conference report recognizes our enduring commitment to Native People with significant backing increases for Indian Health Services and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The rates of poverty and illness among Native People continue at unacceptably high rates and sufficient backing for the agencies and programs that seek to address these problems is our moral obligation.

Of course, as with all compromises, this conference report is not perfect - it includes several individual provisions I do not support.

Overall, however, this legislation represents a continued commitment to protecting and preserving that which makes this nation unique.

I invite those of my colleagues who truly treasure the natural, cultural and historic resources with which this nation has been so richly blessed, to come to the House floor today and support this conference report.

I yield back.

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