Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024

Floor Speech

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Mr. NEHLS. Madam Chair, my amendment would simply prohibit funds to be used for the shooting of cattle in the Gila National Forest or any other national forest.

Folks, let me tell you why this issue is so important.

I am offering this amendment to ensure that the voices of the concerned residents of New Mexico and cattle grazers across the country are heard. The Forest Service has been using your hard-earned taxpayer dollars to issue and execute aerial kill orders for feral cattle in the Gila National Forest due to environmental concerns.

The Forest Service defines feral cattle as cattle without brands, ear tags, or other signs of ownership. However, it is oftentimes difficult to tell the difference between a feral cow and a non-feral cow. My staff and I tried it. We couldn't tell the difference.

Even if the cows are feral, under New Mexico State law, feral cows are the property of the New Mexico Livestock Board, which opposed the actions taken by the Forest Service to shoot these cattle in the first place.

Cattle grazers are rightfully concerned that their own branded cattle could have ventured into the area in question due to fences being burned down by wildfires or damaged from an unusually strong monsoon season.

The area in question in the Gila National Forest comprises over 500,000 acres, and only 19 of the estimated 50 to 250 feral cattle were killed.

After the aerial shooting of cattle takes place with high-powered rifles, the Forest Service leaves the cattle carcasses to decompose without removal. They don't care.

The Forest Service is clearly appeasing radical environmentalists and is not taking in the concerns of local landowners and cattle grazers. Even New Mexico Governor Grisham, the very liberal Governor, said that the Federal Government needed to do a better job of listening to residents about this issue.

To my colleagues in Congress: Whether it is local landowners, cattle grazers, the New Mexico Livestock Board, the New Mexico Farm Bureau, or Grant County cattle growers, they have all voiced their support for my amendment.

To my colleagues on the left: Even prominent animal rights organizations, such as Animal Wellness Action, the Animal Wellness Foundation, and the Center for Humane Economy have all come out in support of my amendment.

With that, I believe I should be able to sit down.

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Mr. NEHLS. Madam Chair, I don't believe I have to say anymore.

Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. NEHLS. Madam Chair, I rise in strong support of my amendment before us today, which would prohibit funds for the EPA's Clean School Bus Program.

Let's get right to it, folks. Every Member of Congress and their staff searching for a pay-for, here it is. Cite this worthless program.

There is no need for the American taxpayer to continue to foot the bill for activities like this. This program provides $5 billion, with a b, over 5 years to replace existing schoolbuses with zero-emission and low-emission models.

While everybody knows that schools are failing our students, the Biden administration would rather facilitate the transition of schoolbus fleets to zero-emission, low-emission, and electric bus alternatives when we have perfectly capable buses now that work every day.

A majority of eighth graders in our Nation are at basic and below proficiency levels when it comes to math and reading, yet we are focused on electrifying our bus fleets. Help me make that make sense.

With limited government funds and a national debt out of control, pet projects for this radical environmental ideology are not functional and has no place in a Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

Furthermore, EPA's top watchdog also said that he is not confident in the way the Agency has been handing out billions of dollars under this new program. He said: ``We have seen this before: the equation of an unprepared agency dispensing an unprecedented amount of money times a large number of struggling recipients equals a high risk of fraud, waste and abuse.''

I urge my colleagues to support my amendment to prohibit funds for EPA's so-called Clean School Bus Program and to prioritize the most immediate needs of the American people.

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Mr. NEHLS. Madam Chair, buses are a mode of transportation to get our prized possessions to the school.

Now, my colleague mentioned about the kids talking with the bus driver saying, How far can the bus get? They are trying to do some math. I would probably figure the kid probably doesn't even know the math, because our schools are failing, so the point is it is prioritizing the need.

We have to help educate our kids. The school system is failing. They are failing in States across our country, mostly in these very, very large cities run by liberals, mayors and city councils, so let's get our priorities straight and let's help the kids and not worry about the mode of transportation we have to get them there.

Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

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