Joe Neguse Fires Back At Garret Graves Over 'Offensive' Questioning Of Deb Haaland

7 months ago

At a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on Wednesday, Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO) spoke about the questioning from Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) to Sec. Deb Haaland.

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Transcript

00:00 I'm from Colorado, Mr. Nagoose.

00:02 I hope the chairman is as indulgent with Democratic members as he was with our colleague from Louisiana.

00:08 I think Ms. Stansberry went over about him.

00:10 All right, I appreciate that. I will just say this.

00:13 I don't know that maybe my friend is confused about the particular witness that we're hearing from today.

00:18 Ms. Halland is not the Secretary of State.

00:21 She's not the Secretary of Homeland Security.

00:23 She's the Secretary of Interior.

00:25 And in my view, she's doing an effective job.

00:29 And I would also say, I think the questions in particular that were posed by the gentleman from Louisiana,

00:35 and perhaps he didn't mean to convey them this way, but context matters.

00:40 I know that the Secretary has a bone-deep commitment to the United States.

00:45 Perhaps he's unaware that her father is a veteran, was a veteran,

00:50 was a distinguished officer in the United States Marine Corps,

00:53 who earned a Silver Star for his service during the Vietnam War.

00:58 I find it offensive.

00:59 Is the gentleman suggesting something I said was inaccurate?

01:02 Mr. Graves, it is not your time, it is my time.

01:04 I wanted to make sure I understood.

01:05 To the extent the chairman wishes to intervene, perhaps he can't.

01:08 Because I haven't yielded time to anyone.

01:10 I'm addressing the Secretary, and I say to you, Madam Secretary,

01:13 that we are proud of your service and your family's service to our country,

01:17 and grateful for the work that you were doing at the Department of Interior.

01:22 Notwithstanding the histrionics from, unfortunately, some of my colleagues today,

01:26 I'm surprised by it, to be candid.

01:29 As you know, Madam Secretary, and it's good to see you,

01:31 and welcome back to the Natural Resources Committee,

01:34 I'm proud to represent the 2nd Congressional District of Colorado,

01:38 which includes the headwaters of the Colorado River,

01:40 and to serve as co-chair of the bipartisan Colorado River Caucus.

01:44 We have been grateful for the communication and the leadership of your agency

01:49 as we continue to face drought conditions throughout the Colorado River Basin.

01:53 I understand, of course, that the Department is currently developing

01:56 a post-2026 operating guidelines for the Colorado River

01:59 through a multi-year and collaborative stakeholder process.

02:03 I think it's important that we acknowledge the need to be proactive

02:07 in our efforts to conserve this critical resource,

02:10 rather than solely reactionary and crisis-driven.

02:13 To that end, I'm proud that we've introduced two bills,

02:18 one of which has passed the Natural Resources Committee,

02:20 and passed the House on a bipartisan basis,

02:22 the Drought Preparedness Act, which would support a critical program

02:27 in your department, Madam Secretary, that the Bureau of Reclamation uses,

02:30 the Drought Response Program, to provide assistance

02:33 through drought contingency planning, drought resiliency projects,

02:36 and emergency response actions.

02:38 I'm hoping the Senate will take that bill up.

02:42 As you know, your budget request includes $25 million

02:46 for the Drought Response Program.

02:48 I wonder if you could briefly talk about how that investment

02:51 will help increase drought mitigation work in the Colorado River Basin.

02:55 >> Thank you very much, Congressman.

02:58 And I thank you for recognizing how important the Drought Response Programs are

03:04 as part of the $66 million request for WaterSMART programs

03:08 to work cooperatively with communities to address water shortages.

03:11 And I mean, I will just tell you that if those authorities

03:17 are not reauthorized, the Drought Response Program,

03:20 it provides assistance to water managers to build long-term resiliency to drought.

03:25 As you know, people have said that it's a 1,200-year drought in the West,

03:30 and you recognize that every single day, as I do, being a New Mexican.

03:34 And so we feel these programs are incredibly important,

03:37 so we can continue to do the work and make sure that

03:40 communities have the water that they need.

03:44 >> Well, I thank you, Madam Secretary.

03:47 And I certainly hope that the Senate will heed your call and our call

03:52 to pass that bipartisan bill, as well as the House with respect to the second bill

03:56 in reference to the authorities that you mentioned.

03:59 I just want to briefly touch on SRS, the Secure Rural Schools

04:02 and the Payments in Lieu of Taxes Program.

04:04 Of course, understanding that NRS is primarily a Forest Service program --

04:10 excuse me, SRS is primarily a Forest Service program,

04:12 but there is a portion operated by the Bureau of Land Management.

04:15 We've introduced legislation. It's bipartisan legislation.

04:18 Representative McMorris Rogers of Washington is the co-sponsor

04:22 to reauthorize the SRS program for an additional three years.

04:26 The program is critical for rural communities across the country,

04:30 including communities in my district.

04:32 This program has broad bipartisan support.

04:35 There are 70 co-sponsors on this particular bill,

04:39 and I'm certainly grateful for that.

04:40 But unfortunately, I'll just say, Madam Secretary, that we've been frustrated

04:44 that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle

04:46 have not put this bill on the floor for a vote.

04:50 The authorization lapsed, as you know, back in September of 2023.

04:54 There are a lot of communities and congressional districts

04:58 that will be harmed if we don't get this bill done.

05:02 Just to give you, by way of example, Chairman Bens' district

05:05 received more than $51 million.

05:08 Representative Fulcher, whom him and I have worked closely together for many years,

05:14 his district received $16.6 million.

05:17 I know, Representative LaMalfa, you care about this program.

05:21 $11.4 million in your district.

05:23 We've got to get this done.

05:25 I know the department is supportive of this effort.

05:27 I'm just hoping that we can implore the Speaker and perhaps Mr. Chairman,

05:30 we can enlist your support in getting this done

05:33 so that all of our communities in rural America aren't harmed disproportionately.

05:38 I thank the chairman for his indulgence.

05:39 I yield back.

05:40 The time has expired.

05:40 The chair recognizes the gentleman from California, Mr. LaMalfa.

05:45 >> Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for appearing with us today, Madam Secretary.

05:50 Welcome back.

05:51 I'm going to go ahead and close the meeting.

Joe Neguse Fires Back At Garret Graves Over 'Offensive' Questioning Of Deb Haaland

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