Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Mr. PADILLA. Madam President, I rise to introduce Mojave National Preserve Boundary Adjustment Act.

The Mojave National Preserve Boundary Adjustment Act is a commonsense bill that would expand the Mojave National Preserve to include the land within the Castle Mountains National Monument.

The Mojave National Preserve, located in Southern California in the Mojave Desert, was established by the 1994 California Desert Protection Act, which was one of the late Senator Feinstein's signature achievements. Today, the Mojave National Preserve is one of the largest national preserves within the continental United States and plays an important role in safeguarding a diverse group of ecological habitats, mountains, and canyons in the region.

The adjacent Castle Mountains National Monument is surrounded on three sides by the Mojave National Preserve and is also home to important historic resources along with resident populations of and migratory corridors for desert bighorn sheep, quail, chukar, rabbit, mule deer, and other big game. Expanding the Mojave National Preserve to encompass Castle Mountains will simplify management of this vast desert landscape.

I am proud to work with a broad range of stakeholders to introduce this commonsense legislation to expand the Mojave National Preserve. Doing so would allow the National Park Service to further the conservation values and permanent protections in the Mojave Desert while boosting public access and outdoor recreation to the area.

I look forward to working with our colleagues to pass the Mojave National Preserve Boundary Adjustment Act as quickly as possible. ______

By Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Fetterman, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Peters, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Warnock, Ms. Butler, Mr. Welch, Ms. Smith, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Markey, Mr. Lujan, Ms. Warren, Mr. Hickenlooper, Mr. Bennet, and Mr. Padilla):

S. 4226. A bill to decriminalize and deschedule cannabis, to provide for reinvestment in certain persons adversely impacted by the War on Drugs, to provide for expungement of certain cannabis offenses, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.

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Mr. PADILLA. Madam President, I rise to introduce legislation to expand the Joshua Tree National Park by approximately 17,842 acres of public lands.

In 2016, the National Park Service, in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management, prepared the Eagle Mountain Boundary Study for an area Mountains, located in Riverside County, CA. The purpose of the study and environmental assessment was to consider whether to expand Joshua Tree National Park to include additional lands and to develop alternatives for protecting cultural, natural, and scenic resources related to the purpose of the national park.

NPS' selected alternative recommends expanding the National Park by the more than 17,000 acres of federally managed lands covered by my legislation. Notably, these lands are adjacent to the national park. NPS found that doing so could allow for greater protection of existing habitat, restoration opportunities, and landscape connectivity for wildlife such as bighorn sheep, as well as new visitor opportunities.

I urge my colleagues to swiftly pass this straightforward boundary adjustment as soon as possible. ______

By Mr. PADILLA (for himself and Ms. Butler):

S. 4228. A bill to redesignate the Cottonwood Visitor Center at Joshua Tree National Park as the ``Senator Dianne Feinstein Visitor Center''; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

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Mr. PADILLA. Madam President, I rise to introduce legislation to rename the visitor center at Joshua Tree National Park in honor of Senator Dianne Feinstein.

This legislation would redesignate the Cottonwood Visitor Center at Joshua Tree National Park to the ``Senator Dianne Feinstein Visitor Center.''

Dianne Feinstein was a towering figure not just in modern California politics but in the history of our State and our Nation. Her contributions to our Nation, particularly in environmental conservation, are a reminder of the public power of public service. For Californians, so much of our lands have been preserved thanks to her singular drive and leadership, from the redwoods of the Headwaters and the San Francisco Bay, to Lake Tahoe and, most notably, the California desert.

Senator Feinstein was known as a great protector of the California desert, and some have lovingly referred to her as the ``Queen of the Desert''. Senator Feinstein was the driving force behind the establishment of Joshua Tree National Park, Death Valley National Park, the Mojave National Preserve, the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument, the Mojave Trails National Monument, the Sand to Snow National Monument, and the Castle Mountains National Monument. In all, it is estimated that Senator Feinstein protected over 3 million acres of the California desert.

In 2019, on the 25th anniversary of the passage of Senator Feinstein's landmark California Desert Protection Act, Senator Feinstein wrote: ``When I think of the California desert, I think of magnificent landscapes and mountain vistas. I think of beautiful species like bighorn sheep, mule deer and desert tortoises. I think of unique vegetation like the beautiful wildflower blooms and iconic Joshua trees. And I think of the long history of local Native American tribes. The California desert is a true American treasure. Our efforts over the past 25 years have resulted in the largest areas of public lands protected in the lower 48 states--that is something truly to celebrate.''

It is only fitting that we celebrate Senator Feinstein's memory by renaming the visitor center at Joshua Tree National Park in her honor. I look forward to working with my colleagues to enact this legislation as soon as possible.

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