North Rim Restoration Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. ELFRETH. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 5729, the North Rim Restoration Act, offered by my colleague Representative Crane of Arizona.

Last summer's devastating Dragon Bravo fire burned nearly 150,000 acres of the Grand Canyon's North Rim, causing irreparable damage to crucial water infrastructure, well-loved trails, and 106 buildings, including the historic Grand Canyon Lodge.

After the fire, safety concerns forced the Park Service and the nearby Kaibab National Forest to restrict visitor access, effectively closing the North Rim overnight. The loss of tourism has been devastating for communities and businesses. The loss for this Nation cannot be overstated.

Arizona's $29.3 billion tourism economy is fueled by visitors to the Grand Canyon National Park, with nearly 5 million people visiting this crown jewel each and every year. Restoring and rebuilding at the North Rim is a serious priority.

It will take an all-hands-on-deck approach to rebuild the iconic North Rim lodge to get visitors back to this wonderful landscape.

H.R. 5729 will allow the National Park Service to use expedited contracting authority to efficiently move projects along as quickly as possible. However, the single best action we can take is to ensure our Federal land management agencies have the sustained resources and staff required to fulfill their mission of wildfire mitigation and ecosystem restoration, along with the tools necessary.

To recover from tragedies like the Dragon Bravo fire, the seventh largest fire in Arizona's history, we must fully fund our national parks, forests, and public land management agencies.

I would be remiss if I didn't point out that most of the emergency authorities in this bill could have been granted with the stroke of the President's pen if he had approved an emergency or disaster declaration. That likely hasn't happened because disaster recovery at FEMA has been deeply politicized and delayed by this administration.

We can never and should never play politics with rebuilding and recovery efforts. While I appreciate what this bill will do for the North Rim rebuild, I urge my colleagues to work with us and collaborate on the larger issues of staffing, funding, cutting of red tape, and disaster recovery we are seeing in communities across this country.

Madam Speaker, I urge support for H.R. 5729, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. ELFRETH. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this critical and timely piece of legislation.

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

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