Congresswoman McCollum Opposes Unnecessary, Unfair, and Unclear Land Exchange Legislation
[as prepared]
The House should not be spending its limited floor time on this bill. The House should be debating the American Jobs Act – the President’s plan to put nearly 2 million Americans back to work without adding a dime to the deficit.
Instead, the Republican Majority has a land exchange bill on the floor that is completely unnecessary. The State of Minnesota and US Forest Service have the authority they need to finalize this land exchange. There is a stakeholder process underway in Minnesota to determine a proposal for land sale and exchange.
So why are we debating this bill at all? It’s simple: election year politics.
H.R. 5544 is not only unnecessary – it is a reckless bill that sets a terrible precedent. This legislation does not specify what lands are being exchanged. You heard that right – Members of Congress are being asked to endorse a land exchange without knowing what lands will be exchanged.
This legislation refers to a bill in the Minnesota legislature –the MN legislation does not include a map of the federal lands to be exchange. This is the first time in this Congress the Natural Resources Committee is bringing a land exchange bill to the floor without maps specifying the lands to be exchanged.
Every Member of this House should be asking one simple question: Where are the maps?
I have done many land exchange bills during my service in the Minnesota State Legislature. The first rule of land exchange bills is don’t forget the land. We always had maps, cost value, and public input. Maps are important because without them it is impossible to determine how many Minnesotans will see their property rights threatened by this bill.
Can anyone tell me how many Minnesota cabin owners could open their front doors to find a lack of public access to water they used to recreate for years? No one can answer that question because there are no maps.
Can anyone explain how many millions of dollars Minnesotans will lose in property value because of H.R. 5544? No – because there are no maps.
This bill also could greatly reduce public access to hunting, fishing and snowmobiling in areas where the public currently has access. Minnesota Backcountry Hunters and Anglers is a sportsmen’s conservation group representing our state’s 2 million hunters and anglers.
The group sent a letter to Members of the U.S. House this month opposing this bill because – and I quote:
“It provides no protective measures for how the land may be used, and no assurances that existing activities like hunting and angling would continue.”
There are also 700 miles of snowmobile trails in the Superior National Forest that could be at risk because of this bill – trails where public and private entities have put resources.
No one – not me, not Mr. Craavack, not Mr. Hastings – know how many trails, lakes and hunting areas will be closed to the public by this bill. We don’t know because there are no maps.
In addition, this bill eliminates the public’s ability to participate in decision-making because it waives the National Environmental Policy Act process. That is not the way we do things in Minnesota.
We bring people together. We make sure everyone is at the table – the state, federal, local governments, property owner, hunters, anglers, tribal nations, conservationist, and the taxpayers. We make sure decisions are transparent and include maps. We make sure to get a fair market value for land that is sold or exchanged is in the best interest for the taxpayers.
As a Member of Congress representing Minnesota and a Member of the House Interior Subcommittee, I am committed to supporting a land exchange that is a good deal for Minnesotans and a good deal for American taxpayers. There is a stakeholder group in Minnesota that is working to determine a land proposal that is fair and transparent. They do not require any congressional action to finalize and implement their proposal.
The House should defeat H.R. 5544 and allow Minnesota to move forward without interference.