President senator from new Mexico. Thank you, Mr President, and thank you for the recognition and I rise to speak in support of the interior Department appropriations bill, which the Senate is currently debating and ugh. I wanna start before he leaves the Florida just thank you so much it's been such a pleasure working with her on this and doing it in a bipartisan way and I'm gonna talk a little bit about the historic nature of this that we've we've accomplished something here that hasn't been done in 10 years and so this is this is something that I think will Very proud of and I think the appropriations Committee members are very proud of I've begin by thanking her for the important work she has undertaken to ensure that this bill arrives on the Senate floor with strong bipartisan support. We all know that the interior bill is not an easy bill and we face contentious issues putting it together there's. No down so it's extraordinary that working together under her leadership, we have produced a bill that was Anonymously reported by the appropriations Committee is also want to recognize, chairman shelby and vice chairman, lahey for clearing the path for us to bring this bill to the floor. They shared their shared commitment to re establishing regular order for the appropriations Committee is why the interior bill is on the floor of the United States Senate today, for the first time in nearly a decade I salute them as well. On this the bill funds the Indian health service and Bureau of Indian Affairs and provides resources for new healthcare facilities and school Abs schools, for tribes across the country that are working to improve health and education outcomes. This funding helps fulfill our trust and treaty responsibilities to American Indians and Alaska natives. This bill includes strong levels of funding for conservation programs that preserve and protect our nation's. Most special places, including our public lands and it fully funds wildfire suppression needs providing more than two billion dollars to protect communities and natural Resources in new Mexico and across the West the interior bill supports our Nations arts and culture programs from National institutions. Here in Washington, like this, smithsonian institution, the Kennedy Center and the National gallery of art to local arts and humanities programs in small towns across the United States. This funding creates jobs and supports economic vitality in our communities over the last week we have seen the Administration claimed that the legislation sent over by the fat House has too much funding for these and other priorities. Iced strongly disagree. It is Congress has responsibility is responsibility to safeguard the environment, protect our air and water fulfill our trust in treating responsibilities and conserve public lands the federal government holds on behalf of the American people. These responsibilities require a reliable stream of resource To carry that out this Senate bill accomplish those goals and in doing so, remains faithful to the bipartisan budget agreement. This Congress passed and the President signed early this year. We reject the shameful and inexcusable cuts proposed by the trump administration to the environmental protection agency the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Indian education and to most federal land management agencies cuts that would put our environment at risk and prevent us from providing Core services to tribal communities in addition to rejecting these cuts, senator and I work together to satisfy request from our colleagues to increase funding levels where we could given our allocation. We also follow the chairman and vice chairman of direction to keep out extraneous authorizing matters and any item considered a poison pill. We and we all know that one senators poison pill is another senators and adult. We couldn't please everyone because As the tough issues that have been repeated, this bill from the floor consideration in the last decade have not gone away but we did the best. We could now this bill is not perfect include several troubling provisions, rolling over from prior years, including provisions relating to the listing status of the sage grouse the lead content of ammunition, biomass, energy policy and certain clean air act. Exemptions while I cannot endorse these Individually, they are once we have carried previously to move this bill across the finish line, but what the appropriations Committee has brought to the full Senate is an interior Department. Appropriations bill that is almost exclusively appropriations. I'm proud that we propose for fiscal year 20 proud that we propose for fiscal year 20 19 and in addition to the programs I've already highlighted, let me tell you about a few more accomplishments in this bill. This bill rejects the administration's The elimination of the land and water conservation fund and instead provides 400 and 25 million dollars equal to the enacted level. These funds will improve recreational access to our federal lands, protect iconic landscapes, deliver grants to States and local governments to create an protect urban parks and open spaces, preserve the battlefields of the revolutionary and civil wars and give farmers and ranchers easement so they can steward their private lands in the face Development pressures rather than following the administration's misguided proposal to eliminate funding for the National endowment of the arts and humanities. This bill actually provides an increase of two million dollars for each and download, bringing the total to a hundred and 55 million dollars for each I'm particularly proud that these funds will expand arts and humanities programs create jobs and support cultural institutions and every state. This bill includes, of four percent Increase for the Indian health service and includes 10 million dollars in new Grant funds to help tribes address opioid addiction and substance, abuse challenges and Indian country as chairman, he talked about a little bit and her speech here today. This bill fully funds the payment in lieu of taxes program to assist local governments to improve their schools and roads and pay for public safety and law enforcement. This bill maintains funding For the at the fiscal year 20 eighteen and enacted level to protect our environment and public health. We have taken a strong position rejecting the devastating cuts the President has proposed for the third year in a row. Our bipartisan track record on funding makes it loud and clear that such extreme proposals will continue to be viewed in Congress is dead on arrival now I feel strongly to keep The funding flat year after years insufficient to meet the true needs of clean water programs, clean air program state and tribal assistance grants, environmental enforcement and the score of other critical public health and environmental programs. While I recognize that the bill before us is a compromise, I will continue to pursue funding increases for these critical programs in future years are recognize there's, always Room for improvement and I welcome all of our colleagues to speak with me and was senator with turmeric. If you have an idea on how to improve funding in this bill but as I conclude, I want to emphasize how tremendous it has been to work with chairman on this bipartisan bill, even when we disagree, we have open discussions and listen to each other that's the way Congress is supposed to work and I'm proud to be senator My partner on this bill I'll look forward to working with our colleagues on this bill over this week, so that we can pass and interior appropriations bill that the American people can be proud of as a uh chairman chairman where he talked about. We have had the assistance of a very, very stable staff on both sides uh on on the naughty side, headed up by rachel Taylor. I mean the whole staff utter. I think it's on both sides It's very capable and very able uh my side headed up by rachel Taylor Ryan, melissa and terry and over on the majority side leaf me uh going on a Chris, less honda and you know they work night and day and when we run into problems as we know, they, they can. They they can be at value invaluable helping us find the solutions to the problems that we all face when we get into some of the contentious issues so with that uh I would be uh La and less of turmeric has other things to say. I just not the absence of a quorum. I think yeah what is request and let her do the additional things that need to be done here Mr President, sitter from Alaska this President, I wanna thank uh my friend, my colleague, that ranking member on the interior appropriations Committee again. Uh. You don't get to the place that we are at today with the level of consensus without a lot of good, hard work. So I just appreciate his commitment to work through it and and and the relationship that we have build so thank you. Thank you very much. This President is consent of the Senate being a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each without direction it's President, I asking animals Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the calendar number four zero 58 oh, 589 clerk report calendar number four, oh 58 zero 589, an act to establish Department of energy policy for science and energy research and development programs and so forth and further purposes. Sir objection procedures measure without objection because when I ask unanimous consent of the amendment at the desk to be agreed to the bill as amended, be considered, read the third time Without objection I know I've no further debate on the bill. These are further debate, not the questions on passage of the bill. All those in favor say hi, those opposed say no. Yeah it's a great to have it. The eyes do you have it. The bills passed this person is cameras anytime is consent that the motion to reconsider be considered made light up on the table without direction. This President asking items consent the Senate proceed to the consideration of the calendar number four zero, four which is 25 zero three click report counter number four oh 42 five, oh, three ability to established Department of energy policy for science and energy research and development programs and so forth and for other purposes is there any objection of receiving the measure without objection. It's President, I asking Adams consent to the man at the desk agreed to in the bill is amended, be considered a third time. These are objection without direction it's