Contacting our legislators: Enzi
Dear Senator Enzi and Mrs. Dianne Kirkeribe,
Thank you so much for taking time to take a personal email, for recognizing that our questions are specific, and for taking our work seriously. At the University of Wyoming Lab School, we have been studying the environment, and how the EPA works in Wyoming. We have had some questions about your views, and because we have been learning about jumping to conclusions, we wished to make sure we are not jumping to conclusions about your opinions.
If you could, we would love to meet in person with you to ask a few more in depth questions and even just 10 minutes of your time would be so amazing. We are pretty open to any day or time and can meet anywhere up to an hour away from Laramie. Our school has been completing Project Citizen, and meeting with you one-on-one would be a great action step, as well as help us compete on the national level. We are so glad to have this opportunity to learn more about our own Wyoming Senator's views on what we have researched. We are very grateful you are willing to aid us in this project to help Wyoming's environment, as well as our growth as future citizens.
Sincerely,
Sydney, Sam, Anna C.
Dear Sydney, Sam, Anna, Kai, Leila, Nellie, and Malik:
I believe everyone can agree that we want what is best for our country, even if we may disagree on what policies will help achieve those goals. That’s why we should sincerely convey our ideas and engage in constructive dialogue instead of questioning the integrity or motivations of those with differing opinions.
As an avid outdoorsman I have a deep appreciation for nature. I have children and grandchildren and want our future generations to enjoy the great outdoors we have today. I have long supported policies that preserve and expand public access to public lands. I introduced the National Forest System Trails Stewardship Act (S.1110) because I recognized that our national forests faced a staggering maintenance backlog for trails, roads, and facilities that needed to be addressed to keep the forests accessible and healthy. This bipartisan bill expanded the number of trails that could be maintained by increasing the use of volunteers and partners while addressing liability concerns that restrict outside groups and individuals from working on the trails. The House version of the legislation was signed into law November 28, 2016.
I cosponsored the National Forest Ecosystem Improvement Act of 2017 (S.879) because this bill improves the management of our national forests and their resilience to wildfires. Wildfires are a threat to people, property and wildlife, in addition to consuming a large portion of the Forest Service’s budget. This bill is an important step towards better protecting our forests and using taxpayer dollars as efficiently and effectively as possible.
We all care about the stewardship of our environment and I believe we can find reasonable ways to both utilize and preserve the land and our resources for future generations. While I understand that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can play a role in those efforts, President Obama’s EPA frequently overstepped its bounds and legislated through regulation. Several of the EPA’s rules and regulations during the Obama Administration were unnecessarily burdensome and duplicative, as the agency would often try to regulate something which was already properly governed by state authorities. These decrees had devastating effects on Wyoming and our economy, while doing little to protect the environment. I look forward to seeing the EPA return to its core function of implementing the laws passed by Congress.
We need sensible energy policies in place that help us meet our nation’s energy needs, develop our domestic energy resources, and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. The best way to do this is to develop all practical domestic energy resources and I support doing just that. We need to continue to develop traditional energy sources at the same time we work to increase production of alternative and renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, hydro-electric and nuclear energy. Wyoming is an energy producing state – coal, natural gas, oil, wind, solar, we have them all. I am a supporter of both fossil fuels and renewable resources. Congress should support the development of new technologies that will make energy production and industrial facilities cleaner, improve energy efficiency in our homes and businesses, and help us find innovative new ways to produce the energy that powers our daily lives. We also need to make sure that any measures we enact will not harm our country’s economy, especially during times when we are already seeing economic downturn.
As Chairman of the Budget Committee I sponsored a reconciliation bill, S.Con.Res.3, which started the process of allowing the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. This resolution doesn’t mandate spending - it provides a framework for congressional consideration of revenue, spending, and other budget-related legislation. The budget for Fiscal Year 2018 will allow us to focus on how best to make the government live within its means and set spending limits for our nation.
I appreciate the opportunity to explain my positions on these issues. I do my best to represent the people of Wyoming. I never forget why I am in Washington and who made that possible. I value constituent input and appreciate their positions even if they are contrary to my own. No matter what position I take or vote I make, someone in Wyoming will disagree with me, but we should be able to disagree without being disagreeable. Thanks for contacting me.
Sincerely,
Michael B. Enzi
United States Senator
Contacting our senators: Barrasso
Thank you for taking the time to contact me. It is always good to hear from students who are interested in government.
I appreciate your questions about public policy and the environment. I believe our nation's air and water supplies must be kept safe for all of our citizens. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responsible for overseeing the protection of our air and water. It is important they meet that challenge in a way that protects the environment without crippling the American economy and the livelihood of tens of thousands of Americans. It is critical for the EPA to find the proper balance. As Chairman of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, which has oversight authority over the EPA, I will work with other members of the Committee to monitor the agency and ensure it is meeting its obligations under the law.
In Wyoming, we know the importance of an abundant and safe water supply. The EPA, along with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, Wyoming State Engineer's office, and other local and state government entities, play a critical part in keeping Wyoming's waterways clean and healthy. I believe these agencies do an excellent job in protecting Wyoming's water and are continually looking for ways to enhance water quality using responsible and commonsense options.
I noted your comments about H.R.861, a bill to terminate the EPA. This bill was introduced in the House of Representatives on February 3, 2017, by Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL). I'm not aware of a similar bill being introduced in the Senate and I have not held any hearings in the EPW Committee on the proposal and none are currently planned.
I also noted your question about my bill, the National Forest Ecosystem Improvement Act (S.879). I introduced the bill to address the challenges threatening our national forests and improve how the Forest Service manages our natural resources. Forests across the West are facing ever-increasing forest health threats, including catastrophic wildfires. Decades of fire suppression and poor management have resulted in excessive fuel loads and overcrowded forests. S.879 seeks to reduce the uncertainty associated with completing needed forest management projects, expedite forest management activities to restore forest ecosystems, increase wildlife habitat diversity, improve watersheds, help local communities, and enable the Forest Service to establish a sustainable timber supply.
Not only does the Forest Service spend nearly half its budget on fire suppression, it has estimated that up to 82 million acres of forest land are currently in need of treatment. I believe it is vital that we give the Forest Service the tools they need to so they can be better stewards of our federal forests. By giving the Forest Service the ability to complete much needed ecosystem restoration projects, this bill will restore forest health, reduce the severity of wildfires, create needed wildlife habitat and support rural communities.
With respect to energy sources, Wyoming is blessed with many. While I support renewable resources, like wind and solar energy, I also strongly believe that we cannot eliminate fossil fuels, such as coal, from the energy mix. Coal will continue to play a key role in meeting our nation's energy demands. America has relied upon fossil fuels for decades and likely will continue to for years to come.
Coal, along with other fossil energy resources found in Wyoming, have been key economic driver's for the state since statehood. Replacing the economic opportunities presented to Wyoming communities from coal activity would not be easy. Communities in Wyoming that saw coal mines close in the past have struggled. Communities reliant on coal production in the Appalachian region have also suffered significant economic downturns, some for decades, as a result of the loss of good-paying coal jobs. When these type of jobs leave communities, which are often found in rural areas, there often is not an industry knocking on the door to invest the same amount of financial capital that would bring back jobs able to generate the same amount of economic activity that was lost when the coal mine shut down. How communities and states react varies. You may be interested to know that Wyoming Governor Mead recently kicked off an initiative called "ENDOW." His initiative is intended to identify opportunities for Wyoming to diversify its economy and avoid some of the impacts that occur when an industry is lost. You can find more information about this initiative at https://www.endowyo.biz/news.
Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. I look forward to hearing from you in the future.
John Barrasso, M.D.
United States Senator