California

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.

WRDA Conference Report: Water for California; Fire Protection for Tahoe. The conference report on the Water Resources Development Act is the product of many, many hours of good-faith negotiations between the House and Senate and between Republicans and Democrats.

This year marked the centennial anniversary of the National Park Service and of the uniquely American notion that our most beautiful and historic lands should be set aside for the use, resort and recreation of the American people as set forth in the original Yosemite Grant Act. Or, in the words of the Organic Act of 1916 that established the National Parks, “to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same.”

President-elect Trump has many difficult fiscal tasks ahead – one of which is to promote long-overdue infrastructure construction at a time when the national debt exceeds our entire economy and interest costs alone are eating us alive. Some have said that a rebounding economy resulting from tax reform will pay for it. That may be, but it’s not guaranteed; it cannot be accurately forecast; and we’ll need any new revenues to beef up our defenses and reduce our deficit – two other critical objectives of the new administration.