Date: 2000-05-10
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I want to commend the Committee on Rules for the rule that they have reported on this legislation. I thank the gentlewoman from New York for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker. I think it will provide a fair and open debate on the Conservation and Reinvestment Act. H.R. 701. that is before us today. This legislation is really about redeeming a promise that the Congress of the United States made to the American people 36 years ago. We said as a tradeoff for drilling offshore. for some of the environmental damage that occurred from time to time. we would take a portion of ttlose royalties that this Nation receives from the offshore oil that belongs to all of the people of this Nation and we would reinvest them in Americas irreplaceable resources. That would be the tradeoff. We did that and we started to do that. and then little by little. little by little Congress started dipping into the fund. They started dipping into the fund for other reasons for whatever it was. just as they were dipping into the Social Security Fund. just as they were dipping into the Highway Trust Fund. This is now about redeeming that fund and saying let us go back. not by raising taxes. but by recapturing that money that comes in year after year from offshore oil and use a portion of it to protect and conserve Americas resources. That is why we have this kind of list of sponsors and cosponsors. Thousands of organizations from all across the country who support this legislation. Some will call them special interests. but if we read the list we will see our governors. our mayors. We will see our next door neighbors. We will see the soccer moms of the Soccer Federation. We will see the Pop Warner coaches and the people who play Pop Warner Football. We will see the Campfire Girls and the Boy Scouts. people who go out and recreate. who understand the pressure of the resources are under in this Nation. This is about our communities. This legislation is about building an environmental infrastructure so people can enjoy a quality of life as our country continues to grow. the pressures of suburbia. the pressures of new housing developments. the pressure of new growth and formation of families so that they can have bike trails and hiking trails. so they can explore the water fronts in our bays and rivers and on the oceans of this country. We know the backlog. We know the lost opportunities. This is about making sure that we do not lose those opportunities in the future. But we also make very sure that local communities are involved in these decisions. because they will have to match the money that is -put up. And we also make very sure that we as elected representatives are involved in this decision. because this is designed so we do not have land acquisitions put in bills in the middle of the night that we do not know anything about and then just are sprung on the public. Because of the insistence of the gentleman from California and others. there is notifications in here. There is a recommitment recognizing what a taking meanings and the implications of that and that they have to have the approval of the Congress. They cannot do those things that are not authorized by the Congress of the United States. Mr. Speaker. this is a balanced bill. It is an important bill. I think we have to understand that this is about making the Federal Government a better partner. and a reliable partner. We were supposed to pe funding land and water conservation all of these years for our local communities. They have lost out on hundreds of millions and billions of dollars because one day we just stopped funding it. and took the money and did something else with it. That is not the promise we made to the people of this country. So I would hope as we listen to the debate. we will have many amendments that my colleagues will understand the kind of legislation that CARA represents. its bipartisan nature. It has the support of 50 governors. the support of local government that we say we want involved in these organizations. and then thousands of citizen organizations that every year put up their own money and put up their own effort to clean up the beaches. to clean up the rivers. to build trails. to build ball fields. to provide recreational opportunity. .This is to help them continue to do that. That is why the Police Athletic League supports it. That is why the Boys Clubs and Girls Clubs. the sporting goods manufacturers. many other business organizations support this effort. They recognize this is about our communities. This is about the quality of life for our families. so we will have a place to take our son or daughter fishing. so we have a place to take our son or daughter hunting. so those places will be. preserved and also the habitat will be preserved so that we can continue to do that in perpetuity. Mr. Speaker. that is why organizations like BASS. the biggest organization of bass fishermen throughout this country. supports this effort. or Ducks Unlimited. because they know what it means if we can restore habitat. if we can provide good waterways. if we can provide refuges. that is the kind of organizations that are here surrounding this bill. I would hope that all of our Members. all 316 people and more who are cosponsoring this bill. would recognize the kind of commitment. Because we know from data taken from polling of the American people. some 80 percent. over 80 percent of the people believe that America should be making these longterm investments in our physical heritage in the great environmental assets of this Nation.