,i #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #aadf ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,february #aa1 #bjai,mr4 ,huffman 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,fitzpatrick1 ,mr4 ,aguilar1 ,ms4 ,barragn1 ,ms4 ,bass1 ,mr4 ,beyer1 ,mr4 ,blumenauer1 ,ms4 ,bonamici1 ,mr4 ,brendan ,f4 ,boyle of ,pennsylvania1 ,mr4 ,brown of ,maryland1 ,ms4 ,brownley of ,california1 ,mr4 ,carbajal1 ,mr4 ,crdenas1 ,mr4 ,cartwright1 ,mr4 ,casten of ,illinois1 ,ms4 ,castor of ,florida1 ,ms4 ,judy ,chu of ,california1 ,mr4 ,cicilline1 ,ms4 ,clarke of ,new ,york1 ,mr4 ,clay1 ,mr4 ,cohen1 ,mr4 ,welch1 ,mr4 ,crow1 ,mr4 ,de,fazio1 ,ms4 ,de,gette1 ,mrs4 ,demings1 ,mr4 ,de,saulnier1 ,mr4 ,deutch1 ,mrs4 ,dingell1 ,mr4 ,michael ,f4 ,doyle of ,pennsylvania1 ,ms4 ,eshoo1 ,mr4 ,espaillat1 ,mr4 ,gallego1 ,mr4 ,garamendi1 ,mr4 ,gomez1 ,ms4 ,haaland1 ,mr4 ,hastings1 ,ms4 ,hill of ,california1 ,mr4 ,higgins of ,louisiana1 ,mr4 ,himes1 ,ms4 ,jayapal1 ,mr4 ,kennedy1 ,mr4 ,kildee1 ,mr4 ,kilmer1 ,mr4 ,krishnamoorthi1 ,mrs4 ,lawrence1 ,ms4 ,lee of ,california1 ,mr4 ,levin of ,california1 ,mr4 ,ted ,lieu of ,california1 ,mr4 ,lipinski1 ,ms4 ,lofgren1 ,mr4 ,lowenthal1 ,mr4 ,lujn1 ,mr4 ,lynch1 ,mr4 ,sean ,patrick ,maloney of ,new ,york1 ,ms4 ,matsui1 ,ms4 ,mc,collum1 ,mr4 ,mc,eachin1 ,mr4 ,mc,govern1 ,mr4 ,mc,nerney1 ,ms4 ,meng1 ,mr4 ,morelle1 ,mr4 ,moulton1 ,ms4 ,mucarsel-,powell1 ,mr4 ,nadler1 ,mrs4 ,napolitano1 ,mr4 ,neguse1 ,ms4 ,norton1 ,ms4 ,omar1 ,mr4 ,panetta1 ,mr4 ,peters1 ,ms4 ,pingree1 ,mr4 ,pocan1 ,mr4 ,quigley1 ,mr4 ,raskin1 ,ms4 ,roybal-,allard1 ,ms4 ,schakowsky1 ,mr4 ,schiff1 ,mr4 ,serrano1 ,ms4 ,shalala1 ,mr4 ,sires1 ,mr4 ,smith of ,washington1 ,mr4 ,soto1 ,ms4 ,speier1 ,mr4 ,suozzi1 ,mr4 ,tonko1 ,mr4 ,van ,drew1 ,ms4 ,velzquez1 ,ms4 ,wasserman ,schultz1 ,mrs4 ,watson ,coleman1 ,ms4 ,waters1 ,ms4 ,wilson of ,florida1 ,mr4 ,malinowski1 ,mr4 ,rouda1 ,mr4 ,ryan1 ,mr4 ,connolly1 ,mrs4 ,trahan1 ,mrs4 ,murphy1 ,mr4 ,khanna1 ,mr4 ,perlmutter1 ,mr4 ,trone1 and ,mr4 ,cunningham7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,natural ,resources ,a ,,bill ,to amend ,public ,law #aae-ig 7commonly known as the ,tax ,cuts and ,jobs ,act7 to repeal the ,arctic ,national ,wildlife ,refuge oil and gas program1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,arctic ,cultural and ,coastal ,plain ,protection ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,the ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,americans cherish the continued existence of expansive1 unspoiled wilderness ecosystems and wildlife found on their public lands and feel a strong moral responsibility to protect this wilderness heritage as an enduring resource to bequeath undisturbed to future generations of ,americans4 7#b7 ,it is widely believed by ecologists1 wildlife scientists1 public land specialists1 and other experts that the wilderness ecosystem centered around and dependent upon the ,arctic coastal plain of the ,arctic ,national ,wildlife ,refuge1 ,alaska1 represents the very epitome of a primeval wilderness ecosystem and constitutes the greatest wilderness area and diversity of wildlife habitats of its kind in the ,united ,states4 7#c7 ,president ,dwight ,d4 ,eisenhower initiated protection of the wilderness values of the ,arctic coastal plain in #aifj when he set aside #h1ijj1jjj acres establishing the ,arctic ,national ,wildlife ,range expressly for the purpose of preserving unique wildlife1 wilderness and recreational values4 7#d7 ,when the ,arctic ,national ,wildlife ,refuge was established in #aihj by paragraph 7#b7 of section #cjc of the ,alaska ,national ,interest ,lands ,conservation ,act 7,public ,law #if-dhg2 #id ,stat4 #ij2 #bc #af ,u4,s4,c4 #ffh;dd note71 subparagraph 7,b7 recognized the following four additional purposes of the ,arctic ,national ,wildlife ,refuge3 7,a7 ,to conserve fish and wildlife populations and habitats in their natural diversity including the ,porcupine caribou herd4 7,b7 ,to fulfill the international treaty obligations for the ,united ,states with respect to fish and wildlife and their habitats4 7,c7 ,to provide ''' the opportunity for continued subsistence use by local residents4 7,d7 ,to ensure ''' water quality and quantity within the refuge4 7#e7 ,a majority of ,americans have supported and continue to support preserving and protecting the ,arctic ,national ,wildlife ,refuge1 including the ,arctic coastal plain1 from any industrial development and consider oil and gas exploration and development in particular to be incompatible with the purposes for which this incomparable wilderness ecosystem has been set aside4 7#f7 ,canada has taken action to preserve those portions of the wilderness ecosystem of the ,arctic that exist on its side of the international border and provides strong legal protection for the habitat of the ,porcupine caribou herd that migrates annually through both countries to calve on the ,arctic coastal plain4 7#g7 ,the ,gwich'in people of eastern ,alaska and ,northwestern ,canada have relied on the ,porcupine caribou herd for millennia and caribou is a vital cultural1 spiritual1 and nutritional resource for the ,gwich'in4 7#h7 ,the ,arctic is being impacted by climate change at unprecedented levels4 ,temperatures are rising at twice the rate of the rest of the country1 and wildlife and habitat that depend on the ,arctic are being detrimentally impacted4 7#i7 ,title ,,ii1 section #bjjja of ,public ,law #aae-ig 7commonly known as the ,tax ,cuts and ,jobs ,act7 would allow an oil and gas program on the ,coastal ,plain4 ,oil and gas activities are not compatible with the protection of this national treasure4 7#aj7 ,repeal of section #bjjja would best protect the unspoiled ecosystem of the ,coastal ,plain1 the human rights of the ,gwich'in1 and the integrity of the ,national ,wildlife ,refuge ,system4 #c4 ,statement of policy ,the ,congress hereby declares that it is the policy of the ,united ,states-- 7#a7 to honor the decades of bipartisan efforts that have increasingly protected the great wilderness ecosystem of the ,arctic coastal plain2 7#b7 to sustain this natural treasure for the current generation of ,americans2 7#c7 to honor and respect the human rights of the ,gwich'in2 and 7#d7 to do everything possible to protect and preserve this magnificent natural ecosystem so that it may be bequeathed in its unspoiled natural condition to future generations of ,americans4 #d4 ,repeal of ,arctic ,national ,wildlife ,refuge oil and gas program ,section #bjjja of ,public ,law #aae-ig is hereby repealed4