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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.
Congresswoman Betty McCollum (DFL-Minn.) today announced the winners of her 2018 Congressional Art Competition. Catherine Jackson of Roseville Area High School took first place for her artwork entitled "Old Habits." Kaocheneng Yang of North High School finished in second place, while Nhu Nguyen of Roseville Area High School finished third. The winning and runner-up entries can be viewed here.