Just the Arctic Refuge, but the wildlife and the indigenous who depend on this sacred, natural landscape. 1146 earlier. R. This year with my republican colleague, brian fitzpatrick, believe, as do 182 other cosponsors of this bill, that are are some places that simply too important, too sacred to be spoiled by oil and Gas Development. His is the same basic proposition that we were presented with yesterday when bipartisan ssed legislation to protect our coasts from offshore drilling, of use the north coast california is too special to have its fisheries and coastal conomy put at risk for the profit of big oil because places like the low country of south too special to be spoiled by oil spills. And today, were here to show the Arctic National wildlife refuge, the largest wildlife refuge in the united too special. So than fuge is home to more 200 different wildlife species pine,at includes the pork caribou herd. He refuge is a special place where veterans, recovering from begin. Find themselves we heard themselves again. We heard these stories during deliberations on this bill, a hearing earlier this year, and i thank all of those spoken ified and have out to help us bring this bill today. Floor the question before us is, will the federal government protect this special place and the depend on it, t or will our federal government e responsible for its destruction by auctioning it off to big oil . During this debate, my side of s on the other the aisle are going to ask us and ask the American People to this administration to do the right thing. Theyre going to say that can be done responsibly. Theyll ask us to trust a interior, who the. A. O. Has determined violated during the trump shutdown, a secretary that met with his former clients gas e u. S. Oil and association, as they were pushing for more drilling in American Public lands, and a continues to shill for his former lobbying clients at every turn. Theyll ask us to trust this administration where the leading interior Department Official for drilling in the Arctic Refuge just left public start a new ago to job at an oil and gas company ith interests, believe it or not, in arctic Isle Development oil and Gas Development in alaska. Stuff up. Make this a president , armed with a sharpie, overrules scientists the jobs of scientists when they speak out. We need to reject this agenda of protect americas arctic from oil and gas drilling. 1146 and to pass h. R. Repeal the Trump Administration mandate. Drilling mr. Speaker, i urge adoption, and with that i reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman from reserves. The gentleman from alaska is recognized. Mr. Young mr. Chairman, i ield myself such time as i may consume. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Young i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. The chair without objection. Mr. Young i listen to the resentation of the author of this bill. I have been in this house 48 years. Arguing about this years. Or 40 of those we passed it out of the house 14 it was nd by the way, established by a democrat president , a democrat house to the 1002 areas to be explored if Congress Said so. Done. Ats what weve now, we have a sponsor from california that doesnt know eans about this business, talking about big oil and about trump. This has been a policy of this there to allow drilling if the congress spoke. And we did so. Yes. The tax bill, but 13 times before that this house passed the legislation to a 1002 explored. Just keep in mind, were talking 19 millionacre left, the 1002 f anybody can see the little tiny red dot, 2,000 acres. Less than the size of dulles than the size of the capitol grounds. And, yet, were trying to say, development. Were trying to say thats not right. This is the last pristine area. Again, its not the last pristine area. We had 17 years of approximately, 30 years in of rain,ay, same types same types of species, same of caribou even after we started drilling. This bill is a sham. Listened in great interest. Its also a sham to this congress. Spoke. Ngress its a sham to this nation. Time away from what nation. E done in this we spent two years in this house nothing. Unfortunately, we also heard bill, and the re gentleman doesnt listen to the people. Important. The people that live there want the drilling. The people, at least 150 miles dont want the drilling, but thats who theyre listening to. Again, my colleagues, this bill step forward for this nation. Its not about big oil. It is about the state of alaska. Constituents. Not california. They got enough problems of their own. Just read the papers. So im suggesting, respectfully, this bill should not go anywhere. It pay pass today because there are a lot of people on that side that dont believe in oil. That. Rstand its wrong to undo what congress has done, and now i will respectfully, its dead. Youre wasting our time. It will not go anywhere. Wont get real excited and go over there never mind. I suggest, respectfully, i will this bill long, long time before this gentleman is ever in this house again. Balance of my time. The chair the gentleman from alaska reserves. The gentleman from california is recognized. Mr. Huffman well, i thank the restraint. Or his one of the arguments my friend invariably makes when we talk about this issue is that the proposed drilling area tiny little piece of a great big refuge in a great big its typically characterized as just a little 2,000acre postage stamp. E need to dispel this very inaccurate and disingenuous character. Acres of hard footprint, but its not 2,000 acres of development all in one place. Is spread out across the coastal plain, which is the americas art of largest wildlife refuge. If you want to see what this ootprint really looks like, its not so tiny, folks, when you look at the hundreds of and the gravel mining and the gravel pads and other rigs and infrastructure that have to go a lot differently than what has been characterized. This picture depicts what the this little t of postage Stamp Development in the Arctic Refuge looks like, and i by any fair measure, it ould absolutely disspoil the beating heart of americas largest wildlife refuge. Like to yield two minutes to my friend from oregon, a great champion of our of the arctic d refuge, mr. Blumenauer. Mr. Blumenauer i appreciate courtesy, ans allowing me to vote to speak on this. Was on the ways and Means Committee that passed the cuts. Que republican tax this provision was never debated n a bill that never had a hearing, wedged in. Out. Ath doesnt work it portends we are going to have hundreds of millions or a not on or more its going to happen. We are talking about a elatively small amount of money, which i am convinced, despite my good friend from this is assertion, going to move forward. The American Public opposes it. Do. The wrong thing to we need to moving in the other irection in terms of keeping the oil up there in the ground for climate. The environment there. I had a chance to visit that ith governor inslee and other colleagues. Really impressed with the nature heard. , saw that caribou this is a treasure. Its much more fragile than one think, and we are bound nd determined to work to support the environmental values, the desire of the people, our challenges or climate, and to unwind this egregious provision in the epublican tax bill, which i marked my word, will in fact be adjusted, if not in this congress, in subsequent. Friends forth right approach here. I forthright approach here. Appreciate the fact we are focusing the American Public on the out rageous provision that fighting outrageous provision that were dismissing this egregious provision in the tax scam. Thank you, and i yield back. Mr. Huffman i reserve the balance of my time. The gentleman from california reserves. The gentleman from alaska is recognized. R. Young at this time id yield to westerman from arkansas, two minutes. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Westerman i thank the gentleman from alaska for yielding. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues on aisle er side of the claim they are concerned about the environment, but that does i am not concerned about the environment or that my side of the this aisle are not concerned about the environment. Of our earliest and most conservationist, ifford pinchot, stated when conflicting interests must be resolved that we should strive o do the greatest good for the reatest number for the long run. Pinchot also wrote that, conservation is the application common n sense to the problems for the common good. Today aker, this bill lacks common sense. Slope of to the north alaska. We can develop clean, safe, energy in the world and and rve our public lands the environment. I would argue its because of our technology and innovation clean fuels like natural gas has allowed the nited states to decrease our global Greenhouse Gas emissions, more than any other country in the world. At this bill today and we look at the history of 1980, a appened, in democraticheld Congress Passed lands ska National Conservation act, and president carter signed it into law. Act set aside more than 1. 5 million acres for responsible anwr. D Gas Development in itself, nearly 20 million acres in total. Such a large commitment, less than a decade after the arab and embargo, made logical sense time. It was 2018 when Congress Approved a limited exploration acres in anwr. 0 than. 001 itutes less and. 01. In the case of relidge rance from russia and mr. Young i yield the gentleman one more minute. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Westerman members of this house have a choice. The decision, mr. Speaker, is one that demands commonsense. It is in the common interest to protect domestic energy, realistically 2,000 acres is a small price to pay for our security. I urge my colleagues to vote or the greatest good, greatest number, and vote for the long run. I urge my colleagues to vote for common sense and vote no on h. R. 1146. Yield back. The chair does the gentleman from alaska reserve . Mr. Young i still reserve. The chair the gentleman from alaska from california is recognized. Mr. Huffman thank you, mr. Speaker. Id like to yield two minutes to the gentlelady from new mexico, the chair of the public land subcommittee of the Natural Resources committee, representative haaland. Ms. Haaland thank you. Mr. Chairman as a 35th generation american, i rise in support of h. R. 1146. The Arctic Refuge was setaside to protect its unique wildlife, willed ners, and resources. It sustains the tribe and has for centuries and its why they call it the sacred place where life begins. Oil and gas drilling puts at risk the porcupine caribou herd which has sustained tribe for centuries and centrist. It also threatens wolves, polar bears, and migratory birds that live there. And will release Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere exacerbating the effects of Global Warming which have affected alaska far more than any state in this country. Republicans slipped this drilling provision into their tax cut bill last congress, and i might add that no tribes had an opportunity to voice their opinions on any of that. And now this administration is rushing ahead without adequate Environmental Review or tribal consultation. Americans want a smart approach to Sustainable Energy development not a careless rush off to sell one of our most iconic and Sacred Places for shortsighted destructive fuel production. I urge my colleagues to stand with the q guichin and speak up for the animals that live had the refuge and support this legislation. I yield back to my colleague. The chair the gentleman from california reserves. The gentleman from alaska is recognized. Mr. Young at this time id like to yield the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. Hern, two minutes. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Heroin i thank my colleague from alaska for mr. Hern i thank my colleague from alaska for yielding. Utelingizing our domestic resource is essential to a strong economy. Energy dominance of a world stage is our end goal. Well never get there if we continue to cut off access to our own resources. The truth is oil and Gas Production in anwr benefits our country as a whole, but also a key industry for the people of alaska. The community sees the Energy Sector as a source of employment, revenue, and Reliable Energy. The people, including the local tribe of alaska natives, are incredibly supportive of the continuation of oil and Gas Production in their community. These people are never consulted by my colleagues at any point in the development of this bill. Neither was our colleague, don young, who is representing the needs of the people of alaska for more than 40 years, who has more experience than everyone who wrote this bill combined. Don young, the dean of the house, longest serving member in congress, who should have been the first person consulted about this legislation, was never sought out. Instead they consulted a tribe 350 miles away who has nothing do with oil and gas in anwr. To put this in perspective, i live in tulsa, oklahoma. Omaha, nebraska is about 380 miles away. Can anybody tell me what my opinion would matter in omaha, nebraska . I dont spend time there. I dont know what the people want there. The only assumption we can make as to why a tribe over 350 miles away was consulted instead of the local community is that my colleagues knew they wouldnt find support. This should be an easy decision. There is no reason to vote yes on this bill. I urge my colleagues to think about the future of our country and vote no today on h. R. 1146. I yield back. Mr. Young reserve. The chair the gentleman from alaska reserves. The gentleman from california is recognized. Mr. Huffman thank you, mr. Speaker. I know the gentleman does not mean to disrespect or trivialize the interests of an indigenous tribe that for hundreds and hundreds of years has depended on the porcupine caribou herd where its calving grounds and heart of the migratory road is right in the refuge we are talking about. I know the gentleman doesnt mean to disrespect them by suggesting their voices dont matter, but we believe that the gwich in voice does matter. You are going to hear them stand up for their interest consistently on this issue. With that id like to recognize the gentleman from Southern California, congressman levin, for one minute. The chair the gentleman from Southern California is recognized. Mr. Levin i rise today in support of h. R. 1146, the arctic cultural and coastal plain protection act. After almost 40 years of trow protext, the Trump Administration antifossil fuel lobbyists who have taken up residence at the department of interior opened up the Arctic National wildlife refuge to oil and Gas Development. The timing of this decision could not be more irresponsible. The last thing we should be doing is expanding fossil fuel development in the arctic where temperatures are rising twice as fast as the rest of the United States. But we know that this administration isnt concerned about protecting our environment or addressing the climate crisis. It is not surprising they are willing to sacrifice the diverse habitats in an attempt to help their big oil friends turn an even bigger profit. The American People disagree. The vast majority of americans oppose drilling in this ike onic landscape and im proud to stand with them. We should be reducing our edependence on fossil fuels, embracing Renewable Energy, and leading the world in combating Climate Change not going backwards. I strongly sport the arctic cultural and coastal plain protection act, i urge my colleagues to do the same. I yield back. The chair the gentleman from california reserves. The gentleman from alaska is recognized. Mr. Young at this time i yield to the gentleman from colorado, mr. Lamborn, one minute. The chair the gentleman from colorado is recognized. Mr. Lamborn mr. Chairman, environmentally responsible development of anwr will increase Americas Energy security and independence, create jobs, and provide affordable, Reliable Energy for consumers, while providing much needed revenue to both the state of alaska antifederal government. And while congressional authorization is required by law for any leasing in anwr, i along with my republican colleagues on the Natural Resources committee believe that alaska natives should be able to exercise their right to develop minerals on their lands if they so choose. As the gentleman from alaska has pointed out, native alaskans who actually live within anwr fully support responsible development of their local energy resources. Who do we listen to . The people who actually live there or extreme environmentalists, activists here in washington . The oil and gas sector has historically served as a significant source of employment, revenue, and Reliable Energy for alaska and alaska natives and supports over 110,000 direct and indirect jobs. I encourage my colleagues to oppose this legislation which fortunately will never become law. I yield back the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman from alaska reserves. The gentleman from california is recognized. Mr. Huffman listen to the people who actually live there. Mr. Speaker, i wish we had seen that same concern yesterday when we had a chance to vote on banning offshore drilling in places where governors and mayors and overwhelming