Weekly Columns and Op-Eds

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                                                        July 4, 2012

CONTACT:                                                                                          Apryl Marie Fogel
                                                                                   AprylMarie.Fogel@mail.house.gov

Weekly Column: An Independence Day Message

The Future is Bright for America

In 1912, Arizona celebrated its first Independence Day as a state. It was America’s 136^th birthday and Arizonans commemorated the day with parades, picnics, barbeques and fireworks.

Now, as we commemorate Arizona’s 100^th year of statehood we will celebrate the 236^th anniversary of our country’s Declaration of Independence. Once again, there will be parades, picnics, barbeques and fireworks—all in honor of our country’s birth and enduring success.

On Wednesday, not only will we be celebrating our exceptional past, but we will also be celebrating our future—for the future is bright for America.

We have all seen and felt the fact that our country is facing steep obstacles. But my experience representing the people of Arizona’s First Congressional District has shown me there is no obstacle great enough to dampen Arizona or America’s future.

When I visit Superior and see the hopeful optimism of the people that they will soon have North America’s largest copper mine in their backyard, satisfying 25 percent of America’s demand for copper and adding over 3,000 new Arizona jobs—I know our future is bright.

Their hopeful optimism is what inspired me to work so hard to pass H.R. 1904, The Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act, through the House of Representatives. The bill authorized a land exchange that will protect Arizona’s natural treasures and will open up the third largest undeveloped copper resource in the world near Superior.

When I see the result of Americans truly working together through my bi-partisan bill, H.R. 489, the C.C. Cragin Dam bill, to end the bureaucratic wrangling between the Department of Interior and Agriculture that compromised critical water infrastructure in Arizona—I know our future is bright.

After plunging my shovel into the earth at the groundbreaking of the Inner Basin pipeline reconstruction project in Flagstaff and watching the residents of a city ravaged by wildfire stand up together and call for a better tomorrow—I know our future is bright.

Even as wildfires continue to burn across Arizona I feel hopeful that we can prevent such disastrous fires from occurring in the future. My bill, The Catastrophic Wildfire Prevention Act of 2012, will remove the bureaucratic red tape that slows or restricts forest health projects.

Everywhere I go and everyone I meet in my district and throughout the country gives me hope for America’s future. America is defined by her people and our character, and we do not balk in the face of adversity. Instead, we push forward with unmatched optimism and strength.

As we come together this Fourth of July to celebrate our nation’s conception, let us remember what America really is, and let us remember the future is bright for America.