WASHINGTON,
D.C. — U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today made the
following statement during the Department of Interior fiscal year 2012 budget
hearing in the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee:
“Chairman
Bingaman, thank you for scheduling this hearing.
“Before
we begin, I would like to note with sadness the recent passing of former
Chairman Jim McClure. Chairman McClure’s strong work ethic and sense of
fairness is a vital part of this Committee’s legacy. He was one of a long line
of chairmen who have sustained the tradition of the Energy Committee as forum
for the fair consideration and resolution of serious policy debates that
continues to this day. I would like to extend my sympathy to his family and
many friends. He will not be forgotten, but he will be greatly
missed.
“Secretary
Salazar, thank you for being here to discuss the President’s proposed budget
for Fiscal Year 2012. Much has changed in our nation’s political
landscape and in the international arena since the last time you testified
here. And I must say – I’m deeply concerned that the budget proposal
before us today seems to be from that time.
“Many
of the Department of the Interior’s recommendations ignore our current reality
– among other things, a $1.6 trillion dollar federal deficit, and rising unrest
that has spiked oil prices to the point where our economic recovery could be
threatened. Instead of addressing those challenges, the Department is
seeking to expand the role and “footprint” of the federal government, increase
taxpayers’ liability for maintenance, and place more land off limits to
recreation and resource exploration.
“There
are a few things I would like to specifically address here today. First
on my list is the Department’s new “Wild Lands” policy. Your Order has
vast potential to lock up and limit access to lands throughout the country, but
particularly in Alaska, where two-thirds of our land is owned by the Federal
Government.
“On
its face, the “Wild Lands” policy appears to be a workaround of limitations in
the Wilderness Act. Interior has also specifically stated that BLM land
which was previously dedicated for a specific purpose, like the National
Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, will be reevaluated and could be designated as “Wild
Lands”. So it appears that Interior not only wants to take control over
land designations away from Congress, but also intends to review and perhaps
overrule past congressional decisions.
“There
are serious questions about the wisdom of the proposed increases in so many
taxes and fees, across the board, on the energy companies we’re responsible for
regulating, and whether that’s really more likely to result in the law being
carried out in the expeditious manner Congress has demanded. Given the deeply
troubling situations in Libya, Bahrain, and Iraq, there is little, if any,
patience for continued delay in bringing back our American energy production
and the associated jobs.
“Another
proposal that seriously troubles me is the full funding of the Land and Water
Conservation Fund under the category of the America’s Great Outdoors
initiative. Given the pressing need to balance our budget, I have to
question this spending. Each land management agency within the Department
of the Interior already has a sizeable maintenance backlog. The National
Park Service alone is at $9 billion. If we cannot afford to manage the
land that we already have entrusted to the federal government, then it is
irresponsible to acquire more.
“Finally,
on a more parochial note, I am very concerned that the Department has
recommended a 54 percent reduction in the Alaska Conveyance Program. This
program, which is required by the Alaska Land Conveyance Acceleration Act of
2004, works to fulfill the promise made to Alaska’s Native people when Alaska
entered the union. It has been 40 years since the original law was
signed. With the funding that was provided to the BLM last year, you
suggested it would take another 20 years to complete the conveyances.
“Given
that most of those people waiting for their conveyances will now have to wait
40 to 50 more years at this proposed funding level, I’m not only going to ask
you to explain this choice here, today – I’m also going to ask you to come to
Alaska and explain to the people who have waited patiently for so many years
why they should now wait forty or fifty more.
“Secretary
Salazar, you have certainly lived in interesting times since you became
Secretary of the Interior. You have been presented with many difficult
dilemmas. I know many of the members of this Committee share my concerns,
so I look forward to hearing your side of the story and discussing these issues
with you in greater detail.”
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