“These principles are based on the idea that the people who live on the land are the best stewards of the land. Our main goal is to empower the residents, the workers, and the local leaders in the West, and local leaders throughout the country, to make the decisions that best serve their families and their communities.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Chairman of the Senate Western Caucus, delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor about a new report he released with the Senate and Congressional Western Caucuses that highlights key western principles that will guide the Caucuses in the years ahead.
Excerpts of his remarks:
“Over the past week, I was home in Wyoming, traveling around our state.
“I had a chance to talk with students about their hopes for the future – and talked with many small business owners about their efforts, trying to create jobs.
“Now the people of Wyoming work hard, and they take seriously the western values of family and community.
“They are committed, committed to preserving the West’s role in providing natural resources that improve the lives of millions of people all across America.
“This commitment is shared by the Senate Western Caucus – it’s a Caucus which I chair in the Senate – as well as its shared, this same commitment, by the Congressional Western Caucus – under the leadership of Wyoming Congressman Cynthia Lummis.
“Recently, we released a joint report, titled ‘Principled Stewardship of the American West.’
“This new report has details about specific things that we should be doing right here in Congress – specific things that Washington should let the people in the West do for themselves.
“The whole report is available at my website – Barrasso.Senate.Gov.
“Now, I want to talk about four specific principles that guide the work of the Western Caucus – principles that we talk about in this very report.
“These principles are based on the idea that the people who live on the land are the best stewards of the land.
“Our main goal is to empower the residents, the workers, and the local leaders in the West, and local leaders throughout the country, to make the decisions that best serve their families and their communities.
“These principles stand in stark contrast to the failed approach that Washington has taken far too long.
“The first principle in our report has to do with energy. The members of the Western Caucus are united.
“We will promote ‘access to our nation’s abundant, affordable, secure, diverse, and reliable energy and mineral resources.’ That means increasing energy security for the United States.
“Now, we can do that by producing more energy responsibly right here at home.
“It also means opening up access to international markets, so we can help the energy security of our allies as well.
“The second principle that we talk about in ‘Principled Stewardship of the American West,’ that second principle in the report, focuses on environmental stewardship.
“In the West, we try very seriously, and we take very seriously our commitment to ensuring the health of the land, of the wildlife, and the environment.
“Thousands of people are working across the West to protect our communities. These are people who live in the West, not bureaucrats in Washington DC.
“Nobody is better qualified than the people who actually walk the land and breathe the air that they’re trying to protect.
“Our report encourages locally led conservation partnerships. Partnerships to build on the work being done by people who rely on the health and the safety of the land.
“This means making sure that regulators base their decisions on science, not on personal ideology – and that their work is done out in the open.
“On this front, I will be introducing legislation to stop the Environmental Protection Agency’s takeover of the waters of the United States.
“The third principle in this very report focuses on agriculture and forestry.
“As with environmental stewardship, the Western Caucus believes that the states are better equipped than is Washington to develop good farm policies.
“The crops, the breeds of livestock, the soil types, and the growing seasons vary greatly across this country.
“These factors come together in the West very differently from what you might see in the northeast or in the South.
“A bureaucrat in Washington simply cannot write regulations that cover every part of the country with any hope of success.
“Western states must be allowed to make these decisions for themselves – to help the farming and ranching way of life continue and to thrive in America.
“Now, one thing we can do at the national level is to promote active management of our forests – to make sure that our forests remain healthy.
“As many as 82 million acres of our National Forest System need treatment – treatment to deal with the threats of fire, insects, and invasive species.
“When forests deteriorate, they’re more vulnerable to wildfire. Fires cause erosion, they threaten water quality.
“When forests get overgrown and unhealthy, they stifle the habitats critical for deer, elk, wild turkeys, and other animals.
“The members of the Western Caucus know, they just know how important it is to responsibly manage our national forests – and we will push for legislation to make sure that continues to happen.
“Finally, the report focuses on a western approach to judicial and regulatory reform.
“This includes stopping the lawsuit abuse that special interest groups have used to set public policy without the public actually being involved.
“It includes protecting private property owners from excessive Washington regulations.
“Agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Forest Service have a history of interfering with the use of private property.
“These agencies have fined and bullied landowners throughout the West.
“Too often, the goal of the bureaucrats is to protect their own turf, not to protect the land, or to serve the people.
“Honest, hard-working taxpayers get crushed beneath the unlimited resources of a federal legal system that operates without oversight.
“The Western Caucus favors conservation through local cooperation and partnership – not through intimidation, and an attitude that Washington knows best.
“This report, its four principles, and the ideas it discusses, are based on what members of the Western Caucus hear back home.
“These are the things I hear from people as I travel around Wyoming.
“These principles promote responsible energy, food, and timber production, while preserving what makes the West a unique place in America.
“Last year, more than 10 million people from around the world visited Wyoming. They’re drawn by its beauty, its natural splendor.
“The people of Wyoming, and all western states, know that they have a responsibility – to manage and protect the land and waters in a way that allows all of us to enjoy them.”
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