THE DAILY WHIP: THURSDAY, JULY 20, 2017

Complete Consideration of H.R. 218 – King Cove Road Land Exchange Act (Rep. Young (AK) – Natural Resources) (One hour of debate).  The bill would allow for the creation of road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge and congressionally-designated Izembek Wilderness by mandating a land exchange between the Department of the Interior and the State of Alaska in order to reach the town of King Cove (a town of approximately 900 people).  Building a road through the middle of congressionally-designated wilderness is without precedent.

In 2009, Congress authorized the land exchange, but required an extensive study to determine if the road was in the public interest.  The Obama Administration conducted an extensive four-year review which included over 130 meetings and analyzed thousands of comments.  Out of 71,960 comments received, 70,111 were opposed to the construction of the road through Izembek.  After this extensive four-year study, Secretary Sally Jewell it was determined that the road was not in the national interest. 

In order to address concerns about the health and safety of the residents of King Cove, Congress appropriated $37.5 million in 1999 to support transportation and medical infrastructure.  The money appropriated in 1999 provided for a hover craft that could make the journey in twenty minutes.

On the proposed road, it will take approximately two hours in favorable weather conditions to reach emergency care.  The road would traverse rolling tundra prone to deep snow drifts, icing, high winds, and avalanches.  Building a road through a designated wildlife refuge not only sets a dangerous precedent regarding wildlife refuges and wilderness areas, but it does not solve the problem of providing adequate and potentially life-saving transportation necessary for King Cove.  Instead of wasting time on legislation that would threaten our natural resources and endangered wildlife, we should be focusing on adequate transportation solutions such as an ice-capable marine vessel, construction of a new airport and the addition of a heliport.

This legislation is nothing more than a way for House Republicans to fill the legislative calendar and undermine protections for our public lands.  Although Republicans control the Senate, the House, and the White House, they have not made progress on any significant legislation.  With less than two weeks before the August district work period, it is clear that Republicans have no agenda, which is why they are resorting to legislation like this that will likely never see the light of day.

The Rule, which was adopted yesterday, makes in order 3 amendments, debatable for 10 minutes, equally divided between the offeror and an opponent.  The amendments are:

Tsongas Amendment. Requires mitigation measures for the construction of the road in order minimize any impacts to migratory birds, wildlife, and wetlands.
Young (AK) Amendment. Broadens the bill’s NEPA waiver to include “any permit” by a federal agency necessary to build the road.
Grijalva Amendment. Prohibits the Act from taking effect until $20 Million in federal funds given to Alaska for transportation purposes in King Cove is repaid to the Federal Government.

Bill Text for H.R. 218:
PDF Version

Background for H.R. 218:
House Report (HTML Version)
House Report (PDF Version)

Suspension (1 bill)

1. H.R. 2825 – DHS Authorization Act of 2017, as amended (Rep. McCaul – Homeland Security)