Press Releases

This amendment ends NSA's warrantless seizure of Americans' phone records. The Fourth Amendment requires that before the government may seize a person's private records, it must first show there is probable cause to believe that person has committed a crime and specify what the government is looking for. Yet this critical tenet of our Bill of Rights has been pushed aside in the name of national security.

I want to thank Chairman Bishop for arranging this hearing in response to the public outcry against proposals by the National Park Service that would radically alter the purpose, nature and use of Yosemite National Park. The NPS proposal would remove long-standing tourist facilities from Yosemite Valley, including bicycle and raft rentals, snack facilities, gift shops, horseback riding, the ice-skating rink at Curry Village, the art center, the grocery store, swimming pools, and even the valley's iconic and historic stone bridges.

The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation will hold an oversight hearing on July 9th entitled "Public Impact of Closing Amenities at Yosemite National Park."

Congressman McClintock and seven colleagues have asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for a 90 day extension to the public comment period on the proposal to list the Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog and the mountain yellow-legged frog as endangered species, and the Yosemite toad as a threatened species. The extension would be to ensure that public input is maximized and the effects of this proposal are fully understood.

This measure strengthens our credit by guaranteeing that our sovereign debt will be paid in full and on time.

Yesterday, the President vowed to veto the Full Faith and Credit Act, charging that it "would result in the Congress refusing to pay obligations it has already agreed to." I challenge the President to name one member of Congress who has suggested that this bill is an acceptable substitute for not paying our other bills.

Committee Markup Statement: HR 934 simply conforms the Merced River's Wild and Scenic River boundary with the pre-existing Federal Energy Regulatory Commission hydroelectric boundary for Lake McClure - which should have been done when the original designation was made. The boundary change would enable the district to study the possibility of increasing the New Exchequer Dam's spillway by ten feet, making it possible to temporarily store about 70,000 acre feet of additional water

The Bee's Sunday editorial once again misstates my position on several issues, this time pertaining to Yosemite Valley.