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Van Hollen Statement on H.R. 5059 and H.R. 5062
Washington,
Sep 25, 2006 -
Mr. Speaker, I rise to explain my votes in opposition to H.R. 5059 and H.R. 5062. While I agree with the substance of these bills, I strongly opposed the decision of the House Republican leadership to use these important bills as part of an effort to play politics with the environment. The Republicans had an opportunity to vote on the New England Wilderness Act (S.2463), bipartisan legislation passed by the Senate last week that would designate wilderness areas in both New Hampshire and Vermont.
Instead they chose to separate the New Hampshire wilderness areas into two pieces of legislation and refused to include the Vermont wilderness in either bill. They apparently did this to hand a victory to the Republican representative from New Hampshire but deny Rep. Sanders a legislative win on the eve of his upcoming Senate election in Vermont. Shame on them. By putting these bills on the Suspension Calendar, the Republican leadership ensured that wilderness bills in New England will not be signed into law this year as it is virtually impossible to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate bills given the amount of time left in this legislative session.
The New England Wilderness Act enjoys the full backing of the two states’ bicameral, tripartisan delegation. It is disappointing that in the final days of this Congress, Republicans are abusing their power and the American people are paying the price.
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Congressman Chris Van Hollen
