Environment & Energy
The environment — our air, our water, our land — is a sacred trust that we must protect and preserve for ourselves and future generations. Today, our planet is in peril because of climate change, which is already affecting Minnesotans and Americans.
As the Chair of the Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, I am a strong supporter of action on climate change and strongly oppose efforts to undermine our international commitments and turn the United States into an environmental rogue nation. In addition, I support full funding for environmental protections and oppose harmful efforts to weaken our bedrock clean air, clean water, and conservation laws. These are laws that protect the health of our families and our planet.
When it comes to energy, we must make smart decisions today to create green jobs and safeguard our environment. Instead of doubling down on fossil fuels, I support strategic investments in clean energy infrastructure, research, and education.
More on Environment & Energy
Congresswoman Betty McCollum (DFL-Minn.), Lead Democrat of the House Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, which funds the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service, released the following statement after U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced that the U.S. Forest Service will cancel the environmental review of the mining withdrawal of land adjacent to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA):
Representative Betty McCollum (DFL-Minn.), Ranking Member of the Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, is participating in a two day Congressional factfinding mission led by Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands focusing on post-hurricane Maria federal recovery efforts.
Congresswoman Betty McCollum (DFL-Minn.), the Ranking Member of the Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, released the following statement after the House approved the FY2019 Interior-Environment appropriations bill:
Today, House Republicans passed an Interior-Environment appropriations bill that fails the American people. This bill cuts environmental protections; removes safeguards for our air, water, and endangered species; and allows rampant corruption at the Executive Branch to go unchecked.
Congresswoman Betty McCollum (DFL-Minn.), Ranking Member of the House Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, released the following statement after the announcement of Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt’s resignation:
This resignation is long overdue. Instead of fulfilling the EPA’s mission to protect human health and the environment, Mr. Pruitt used his office for personal enrichment and to promote an anti-science, pro-polluter agenda.
Congresswoman Betty McCollum (DFL-Minn.), Ranking Member of the House Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, today led House Democrats opposing the fiscal year 2019 Interior-Environment Appropriations bill during the Appropriations Committee’s mark-up of the legislation. House Republicans advanced their bill on a 25-20 vote with all Democrats voting in opposition.
I would like to thank the Chairman and his staff for their work on another successful omnibus.
The Fiscal Year 2018 Omnibus sent a clear message that Congress rejects President Trump’s reckless budget proposals.
I am pleased that we were able to pass a bipartisan omnibus appropriations bill that included vital funding for the important agencies under this subcommittee’s jurisdiction. It also removed many riders that made the bill too toxic for Democrats to support.
MCCOLLUM OPENING STATEMENT AT SUBCOMMITTEE MARKUP OF FY2019 INTERIOR-ENVIRONMENT APPROPRIATIONS BILL
Before I turn to the bill before us, I would like to thank the Chairman and his staff for their collaboration on another successful omnibus.
The Fiscal Year 2018 Omnibus sent a clear message that Congress rejects Trump’s reckless whims, which would exploit our natural resources, desecrate our environment, and jeopardize the health of millions of Americans.
We were able to come together and pass a bipartisan appropriations bill that stripped out dozens of ridersand provided vital funding for the important agencies under this subcommittee’s purview.
In his testimony before the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee last month, I asked Secretary Zinke about the threat of sulfide-ore copper mining in the watershed of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Secretary Zinke affirmed that some places are too precious to mine, but it seems as though the watershed of the BWCA does not qualify. Yesterday, the Bureau of Land Management officially reinstated two foreign-owned mining leases on the doorstep of the BWCA, along a river that flows directly into the wilderness.