California

I opposed the House version of the tax reform bill because the loss of broad-based deductions like state and local taxes would have caused significant tax increases on many of my middle-class constituents in the high-tax, high-cost state of California. It increased the marginal tax rate on high income earners and abolished life-line deductions such as casualty loss, medical expenses and student interest. I urged that we should leave no taxpayer behind. I want to thank Chairman Brady, the Republican Leadership and the conference committee for heeding these concerns. Their final product exceeds my expectations, and on behalf of California taxpayers I can now offer my enthusiastic support. The new version leaves the casualty loss, medical expense and student interest deductions intact.

Forty-five years ago, Congress enacted laws such as the National Environmental Policy Act, that promised to improve the health of our forests. They imposed what have become endlessly time-consuming and ultimately cost-prohibitive restrictions on our ability to properly manage our national forests so that we can match the tree density with the ability of the land to support it. After 45 years of experience with these laws, I think we’re entitled to ask, “How are the forests doing?” The answer is damning.

There have been so many milestones passed with this project, it is a wonderful feeling to realize that we’ve finally arrived at the destination. The Folsom Dam auxiliary gates will help the Sacramento region achieve 200-year flood protection, taking the chance of flooding to one half of one percent per year. Those are better odds than we’ve ever had against the kind of flooding that once plagued our Capitol region. This year, we’ve seen the damage flooding can do on a massive scale, and this project will help defend against such a fate here.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 289, the Guides and Outfitters -- or GO Act -- offered by my Natural Resources Committee colleague and California neighbor, Congressman Doug LaMalfa. For many years, we have seen increasingly severe restrictions on the public’s use of the public land. One of the most galling aspects of this exclusionary policy is the use of exorbitant fees to prevent many group events and small business services that are often the economic mainstay of small mountain communities like those in my district in the Sierra Nevada.

First, I want to thank Senator Feinstein for restoring the bi-partisan nature of this annual Tahoe Summit. Lincoln once reminded us “that we can succeed only by concert.” We demonstrated that maxim with the enactment of the Tahoe provisions in the Water Infrastructure Improvements Act last December. That wouldn’t have been possible without Republicans and Democrats coming together in Washington.