Mr. Chairman, I am fully aware of the support that has been amassed in support of CARA. But I strongly urge this Committee and the Senate in its deliberative nature to pull the reigns on this fast-moving wagon, and take a long and hard look at what we are doing. This bill establishes a 40 billion dollar mandatory fund over the next 15 years, billions of which will be given to the federal government, states, tribes and even non-profit organizations to purchase private property, forever taking lands out of production and off the tax rolls. Billions more will be at the control of the Secretary of Interior to fund everything under the sun, with little oversight by Congress. This bill also establishes a permanent revenue source for non-governmental organizations, to carry out their purposes.
The point is, Mr. Chairman, is that CARA will dramatically impact the lives of many of our constituents, it will dramatically expand the scope and power of the federal government, and it will dramatically reduce the Constitutional role of Congress to control the purse strings. And for that reason, we cannot, we must not let CARA be enacted into law. Whatever temporary benefits are derived, or pressure that is relieved from clamoring special interest groups, will be more than outweighed by the ultimate costs of this legislation.
Mr. Chairman, I only have a few minutes to speak on this issue -- so I will cut to what I believe are the central issues that Congress must consider on this legislation. First, while CARA is being established under the guise of "environment" and "conservation," its true premise has more to do with who will own and control property and its use in the United States of America.
When did we conclude that the government can manage the land more responsibly and efficiently than the private property owner?
When did we decide that it was the duty of the government to consume and govern the use of private property?
The truth is that a private property owner categorically does a better job of utilizing and conserving private property. Government, by its very nature, is inefficient and unhealthy when it comes to managing land and water. One only need to look at the recent debacle created by the federal government in the fires of New Mexico, the $12 billion dollars backlog in maintenance and repairs for NPS facilities, and the woeful state of our national forests to prove this point.
Second, Mr. Chairman, we must look at what kinds of precedents CARA will set in terms of additional mandatory trust funds taken from general revenue streams? Consider what it will do to our fiscal priorities such as paying down our debt and shoring up Social Security, building up our national defense, and providing tax relief. Every dollar set aside for CARA is a dollar taken away from these priorities.
In fact, Mr. Chairman, when presented with the facts, other national priorities far outweigh CARA. In a recent national poll, by a margin of 72 percent to 13 percent, Americans rejected spending for CARA when told that it will shift funds away from Social Security and debt reduction. Moreover, Americans on an eight to one margin said that we should address our maintenance needs first before acquiring more lands. Finally, on a list of priorities, only one percent picked land acquisition as our most important priority.
Mr. Chairman, I want to let the Committee know that I have studied every provision and word in this legislation, and have carefully considered how it will be interpreted. There is so much more to say, and I hope that the Members of this Committee would probe this issue through questions.
Finally, Mr Chairman, in considering CARA, I would urge the Committee to keep the words one of our founders John Adams in the forefront of their minds. Adams warned: The moment that the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the Laws of God and there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. Property must be sacred or liberty cannot exist.
Again, thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my views on this critical issue.