**The Honorable Todd Tiahrt**

**Opening Statement**

**Interior & Environment Appropriations**

**FY 2008 Subcommittee Markup**

**June 11, 2008**

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I'd like to begin by congratulating Norm Dicks for the role he has
played in bringing comity, collaboration, and bipartisanship to the
Interior Subcommittee. While this process is not perfect, we have
endeavored to work together each step of the way.

I believe the Appropriations Committee has a responsibility to lead by
example. The work of our committee isn't about Republicans or Democrats;
it's about doing what's in the best interest of the people who send us
to Washington. Our constituents expect us to roll up our sleeves,
address the issues to meet their needs, and produce results. Too often,
the important work of Congress is being pushed aside to pursue narrow,
political interests at the expense of the greater national good. I'd
like to offer two examples in our current political climate where this
is true.

First, our markup today is proceeding without the House having made any
progress toward approving badly needed funds for our troops in Iraq and
Afghanistan. It's been [492 days]{.underline} since the President's FY08
supplemental request first arrived on the Hill. Had the House majority
leadership allowed the Appropriations Committee to work its will under
regular order we would have funded our troops months ago.

While this Interior bill before us is important, I believe ***our troops
should---and must---come first.*** Even as we meet today, the Department
of Defense is issuing guidance on furloughs that are now only weeks
away. It is my hope that the House will address the critical funding
needs of our troops before this bill comes before the full committee
next week.

Working together with the Interior Appropriations staff, Chairman Dicks
and I have spent hundreds of hours producing this bill. We participated
in 28 hearings involving over 200 witnesses. And, we listened to what
they said. This bill reflects the give-and-take that is part of a
healthy legislative process.

As recently as a few days ago, I had every intention of supporting this
legislation because it is, *on balance*, a very good bill. Mr. Dicks has
done his best to produce a bill free of controversial policy riders.
However, the inclusion of bill language that actually undermines the
goal of securing our energy independence underscores my earlier point
about the pursuit of narrow, political interests at the expense of our
greater national interests.

This legislation ***[does nothing]{.underline}*** to reduce the price of
gas. It ***[does nothing]{.underline}*** to reduce our reliance upon oil
from Venezuela and the Middle East. And it ***[does
nothing]{.underline}*** to promote domestic production. At a time when
every family in America is paying over \$4 per gallon of gas, ***this
bill does nothing to ease the pain at the pump***. It is my intent at
full Committee to provide an opportunity for us to ***work together***
in a meaningful, bipartisan way to increase our supply of energy and
reduce the price of gas.

Our common goal should be to dramatically reduce our dependence on
foreign oil by developing our own abundant, reliable, domestic sources
of oil and gas in an environmentally sensitive way. If we don't take
action, five- and six-dollar gas is right around the corner. My
constituents---and your constituents---want solutions. We owe them no
less.

I'd like to very briefly touch upon several other aspects of the bill
worth noting:

First, I believe this bill is more ***balanced*** than the legislation
we produced last year. Our goal should always be to develop a bill that
is balanced between meeting our environmental and conservation needs and
being responsible to the taxpayer. ***I am a conservative but I am
[also]{.underline} a conservationist.***

Secondly, I am grateful to Chairman Dicks for the needed attention paid
in this bill to the critical needs of Indian Country, particularly
within the realm of health care. The needs of our Native American
brothers and sisters, with whom I share great affection, are enormous. I
am pleased with funding specifically targeting domestic violence, law
enforcement, and especially the scourge of methamphetamines and drug
addiction. This effort is long overdue.

Third, we know that nearly 50 percent of the Forest Service budget is
now consumed by fire fighting costs. Left unchecked, these costs will
continue to create a budget nightmare. While I might have taken a
different approach, I'm grateful to the Chairman for the inclusion of
bill language that prevents agencies from transferring funds from
non-fire related accounts to pay for fire emergencies unless and until
the President submits a formal budget request for the amount of funds to
be borrowed.

Again, my initial intent was to support this legislation. For the most
part, it is a balanced bill worthy of support. However, the decision to
include policy riders that curtail domestic energy production and
further raise the price of oil and gas causes me to reserve judgment on
this bill for now. We have an obligation to begin securing our own
energy future. ***I believe nothing in this bill will ease the pain at
the pump.***

I'm hopeful that we can improve this legislation through the amendment
process today and at full Committee next week. Working with Mr. Dicks,
I'm committed to rolling up my sleeves to make this a better bill going
forward.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.