Business for Breakfast, Cory Gardner, July 16, 2019
Station: KDMT, 1690 am
Show: Business for Breakfast
Guests: Gardner, Cory
Link: https://omny.fm/shows/business-for-breakfast/cory-gardner-7-16-19
Date: July 16, 2019
Topics: Secrtary of Interior, David Bernhardt, Rifle, Colorado, BLM Headquarters, Bureau of Land Management, Grand Junction, Public Lands, National Forest Service, Homestead, Department of Agriculture, Kansas City, Fareed CNN, Humanitarian Crisis, Immigration, Border Security, Department of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, Western Conservative Summit speech, Supreme Court Justices, Circuit Court Justices, District Court Justices, Alison Eid, Bernie Sanders, Socialized Medicine, Mainstream Normalization of Socialism, Free Market, Freedom, Green New Deal, Medicare for All vs. Medicare for None, Packing the Courts, Electoral College,
HOST JIMMY SENGENBERGER [00:00:00] Yesterday, some very exciting news came out from the office of Colorado’s Republican U.S. Senator Cory Gardner and that is that the Bureau of Land Management — which is under the auspices of the Department of Interior and Interior Secretary David Bernhardt of Colorado by the way Rifle — is moving out west. Well, we’ve known that this was going to happen. The question was: Where was it going to go? Could it come to Colorado, particularly Grand Junction? And folks, the news that Senator Gardner broke yesterday for us is that this is exactly what will happen. The BLM will be moving to Colorado, specifically to Grand Junction. Let’s talk about what happened to bring us to this point and what that means for our great state, with none other than Senator Cory Gardner who joins us once again here on Business for Breakfast. Senator, good morning! Welcome back, and congratulations on this accomplishment!
U.S. SENATOR FROM COLORADO, CORY GARDNER [00:00:59] Well, good morning. Thank you. Look, the congratulations really go to Grand Junction and the great people there who made a very compelling showing of support for the BLM, and understanding from the administration that decisions are best made when those decisions are made locally.
SENGENBERGER [00:01:12] So, what does the Bureau of Land Management do, exactly?
GARDNER [00:01:15] Well, the Bureau of Land Management oversees 245 million acres of public land. This is land that years ago didn’t become Forest Service land or didn’t become National Park Service land, wasn’t homesteaded, but basically ended up in an agency, that agency being the Bureau of Land Management. And now it’s some of the most popular, beautiful, scenic landscapes of our country. But of the 245 million acres the BLM manages, 99% of those acres are west of the Mississippi River and that’s why this move is so significant.
SENGENBERGER [00:01:47] So, let’s go back [to] June of 2016, as I understand it, is when you first broached this idea in a committee hearing. What made you come up with it?
GARDNER [00:01:58] I was frustrated. It was Neil Kornze, who was the director of Bureau of Land Management for President Barack Obama, and it was a committee hearing on a rule that most county commissioners — if not all the county commissioners in Colorado — were opposed to. And I remember saying that — to him out of frustration that if, gosh, if the BLM were just headquartered out west you’d understand why this is a bad idea, or something like that. I said, “You know, if the BLM were out west, you’d understand why this is a bad idea.” And his comment wasn’t to reject it. His comment was, “Well, we can talk about that.” Now, perhaps he was joking at the time, but we took that moment and said, “Hey, we ought to move this. You know, this land, to the tune of 245 million acres, almost entirely in the West — why aren’t the people who have the leadership decisions being made in the West?” And that’s where it came from.
SENGENBERGER [00:02:45] You know, one of the things that’s so exciting — I mean, the Department of Agriculture moving their headquarters into Kansas City, is where you actually have in these instances the federal government leaving Washington D.C. for particular agencies or departments in their headquarters and what have you, and saying, “Let’s actually go to where the people who are most directly affected by what we’re doing, live.”
GARDNER [00:03:08] Well, that’s right. You know, and we didn’t try to move the Forest Service to Grand Junction because, you know, there are forests in the eastern states just like there are in the western states. But this is a predominantly, overwhelmingly — 99% western agency-based lands, and so why not have this here? I believe that when the director of the BLM is in a county that is 70 percent public lands, better decisions are going to be made. They’re going to be made because farmers, ranchers, environmentalists, oil and gas advocates, communities are going to be able to go to Grand Junction instead of flying thousands of miles away to have a conversation with those decision makers that impact their community the most.
SENGENBERGER [00:03:49] I’m kind of excited about Grand Junction in part because Mesa County is really one of the three big counties that is big going to be hit most by Colorado’s Little Green Deal on the Platte, where we have this Senate Bill 181 that is now law, that is going to be hurting oil and gas. So this is an opportunity for a central location for an important industry to Colorado’s economy to be able to have a more direct opportunity for community members to say, “Look at the federal level, you shouldn’t be making all sorts of restrictions that are unnecessary on oil and gas production and what have you. Be safe for the environment, but make sure that we’re able to grow our businesses and and provide for our communities.”
GARDNER [00:04:33] Well, you know it’s interesting Jimmy, is over the years, working with the county commissioners and advocates on the western slope, I always hear good things about their Bureau of Land Management field representative or the regional offices of the BLM. And so they always talk about how they’ve had a great relationship — for the most part — with the people who work locally. But then they say whatever happens in Washington D.C. at the Bureau of Land Management, things can go sideways or things go wrong. And so, I think this just takes of that. This gets it out of the Beltway, out of the Potomac, into our backyards. And these public lands, I think, will be better served as a result, just like you said.
SENGENBERGER [00:05:08] Senator Cory Gardner, you mentioned a moment ago that Grand Junction — the people there — really helped to make this happen. They were instrumental here by making the case for the town to be the new location for the Bureau of Land Management headquarters. What can you tell us about what was presented to the Department of Interior, to the BLM, to Secretary Bernhardt, to really make that compelling case?
GARDNER [00:05:31] Oh, gosh, yeah! The heck, it didn’t just start with David Burkhart, but this started under Secretary Zinke, as well.
SENGENBERGER [00:05:36] Right. Good point!
GARDNER [00:05:36] Everything from sending videos and economic analyses and university studies and Chamber of Commerce packets — information packets — to Grand Junction. I know they hosted a number of officials from the Bureau of Land Management and the Department of Interior in Grand Junction to show them around, to talk about what the city had to offer, to give them office space ideas. And so, this really was a sales pitch by a community that came together — rallied together — in honor of bringing this headquarters to Grand Junction. Look, I think this is a signature accomplishment for Grand Junction. They’re going to be able to talk about how Grand Junction is the gateway to public lands in the United States, not just Colorado.
SENGENBERGER [00:06:15] I think also, you know, some folks are saying, “Well, it should be here in Denver because, you know, I mean, Denver is the big city, relatively speaking for Colorado. And so why not bring it here?” Well why –why bring it to Grand Junction? What is special about Grand Junction, Cory Gardner, especially given what the role is of the Bureau of Land Management?
GARDNER [00:06:35] Well, I think by the end of today, people will see that there are jobs coming to Denver as a result of this announcement. So, Denver will benefit from the BLM reorganization.
SENGENBERGER [00:06:44] The whole state will! We all will!
GARDNER [00:06:44] The whole state will. But this has never been really about jobs. You know, that’s one of the side benefits, of course. This has been about better decision making. This has been about a headquarter and a directorate that will be located in the lands that they serve. And so, that’s what makes us so special. And Grand Junction — in a town of 60,000 people, in a county that has 70% public lands, this is the community — this is the community — the community — public lands make up their community. And that’s why I think it’s appropriate to have it in Grand Junction. But you know, [there is] no doubt about it, Denver will benefit, Colorado will benefit, this country will benefit.
SENGENBERGER [00:07:19] And final point on this before we shift gears, Senator Cory Gardner, I just want to note, because I am looking here from the press release — excuse me — that your office put out at the time line going back to — as we mentioned — June of 2016, you really worked hard to communicate with the officials in D.C., the folks at the Department of Interior, the BLM — of course, the people in the community of Grand Junction to make this happen, to make the case, to strengthen it over time more and more, so that we could get an opportunity like this for the folks in Colorado and particularly out there on the western slope and in Grand Junction. So, I just want to give you some kudos on that. Well done!
GARDNER [00:07:56] Well, thank you. And I give great credit to the administration, David Bernhardt, and the administration for making this a priority and making it happen.
SENGENBERGER [00:08:03] Absolutely. It takes all sorts of folks to make big change and big things happen like this. So good — good cooperation from all folks involved. So, well done, again, to you, Secretary Bernhardt, the people of Grand Junction, everybody. Again, Senator Cory Gardner joining us here on Business for Breakfast. Okay, I want to talk immigration for a moment here, Senator Gardner, because this — I mean, this has been going on for months and months, the issue of immigration. But now, in January, I think it was a poll — there was a poll from CNN that showed 23% of Democrats then thought that what was going on at the border was a crisis. And now about 70% of Democrats acknowledge that we have a crisis at the southern border. I remember — was it last week or the week before? — that I played a clip of Fareed Zakaria on CNN saying, “I hate to admit it, but President Trump is right: we have an asylum crisis in America.” Where do you see things being at right now in the immigration discussion?
GARDNER [00:09:01] Well, I think that this is something that has been well-documented. Over the last six months — six months ago when we tried to get dollars for border security, the humanitarian crisis, what was happening, a lot of people refused to do it because they said, “Oh, there is no crisis! It’s made up!” They denied it. And now, of course, they’ve seen the pictures. They’ve seen the conditions. And it’s unacceptable. And that’s why I was grateful to have joined bipartisan colleagues to provide additional dollars to address the crisis at the border and the humanitarian crisis. So, you know, when Secretary Jay Johnson, Barack Obama’s homeland security adviser says it’s a crisis and the money needs to be there, I would hope that they would have listened. Now they have. And so the dollars are going there to provide relief. And — But we have to do more. We have to make sure that we have the security and the enforcement of laws so that we don’t create a condition like this occurring over and over and over again because even if you solve the immediate crisis which needed to be solved, you know, it’s no good. It comes up six months again from now. We have to make sure this is a long term certainty for the people of this country, long term security, and our laws that are stable, that are certain, and to make sure that we have an immigration system that works and that we can be proud of. So, that’s what we’re going to continue to focus on.
SENGENBERGER [00:10:14] I have to say that the conditions at these detention centers are certainly heartbreaking. I mean, you have so many people and so you need more resources — like you’ve been talking about — to be able to handle them. But these facilities were not meant for so many. But you have such a big influx because of this situation down at the southern border and the porous level of security is because we haven’t been able to get \the level put forward the way that we could have if the Democrats were we’re playing ball more on the security issues and what have you. But when it comes to the situation with regards to these detention centers, I mean, some Democrats calling them concentration camps and what have you. I certainly do not believe that. But — go ahead.
GARDNER [00:10:55] Look, I think this is — to compare our men and women in law enforcement, who are simply trying to secure our borders, to compare them to Nazis running concentration camps is really — is really sick.
SENGENBERGER [00:11:06] Well, not only that, you know a lot about what is going on with China: 3 million Muslims being rounded up in these genuine concentration camps in their own countries supposedly to be reeducated. We do a disservice to those people who are suffering concentration camps, now, if we allow that kind of rhetoric.
GARDNER [00:11:24] Well, and so I hope that this is something that Republicans and Democrats can get out of their partisan corners — I’ve said that many times before — come together and find a solution. We were close a year ago on at least parts of a solution. We could find that common ground again, continued to provide the aid and resources we need, and really address a broken system that I think almost every American recognizes needs to be addressed.
SENGENBERGER [00:11:46] I want to go to this past Friday when there was a so-called protest outside of the ICE facility in Aurora which is my home city, where you had a number of folks–. We’ve got some audio, here. Let’s play Cut #6. This is the sound of the crowd tearing down an American flag, replacing it with a Mexican flag, an upside down American flag, and an “‘F’ the cops” flag.
AUDIO RECORDED AT AURORA DETENTION FACILITY DURING PROTEST ON FRIDAY, JULY 12, 2019 [00:12:18] [plays audio from Aurora protest — crowd is heard with low, monotone hum in the background].
SENGENBERGER [00:12:18] You can hear the chaos going on there, Senator Gardner, and our police chief didn’t intervene. [I’m] not going to get into that discussion. But there were a number of Democrats present and of course you saw this happen, where an American flag outside of an American facility was torn down and replaced with a foreign flag. What do you make of that?
GARDNER [00:13:00] Well, first of all, I’m not going to blame the police because if they’re putting up a flag that says “‘F’ the police,” you can see what this crowd felt about law enforcement. And, uh–.
SENGENBERGER [00:13:09] Fair enough.
GARDNER [00:13:09] You know, I’m glad that they were safe, and I’m glad that they’re okay, and they were there to you know to make sure that, you know, people were safe and that’s exactly what they did. It doesn’t make it right to desecrate the American flag, to do what they did, and that’s why it’s so outrageous. Look, these are people who broke our laws and we have to figure out a way to make our laws work. And I hope that this doesn’t become a situation where people use this to berate the police, use this to divide our country, use this as a chance desecrate our flag. That’s just simply wrong.
SENGENBERGER [00:13:42] Yeah. And what do you make of how many Democrats were there, at this kind of so-called protest?
GARDNER [00:13:47] You know, I was giving a speech, I think around the same time, at the Western Conservative Summit and so learned of it afterwards. But it does sound like there were a number of elected officials there. And you know, again, I think –. I know I’d be answering questions about the desecration of an American flag if it was an event that I was at.
SENGENBERGER [00:14:03] Sure. Oh absolutely. Again, Senator Cory Gardner [is] our guest. In fact, from the Western Conservative Summit — real quick, let’s play Cut #12. Here’s a snippet of Senator Gardner speaking at the WCS this weekend.
AUDIO RECORDING OF GARDNER’S SPEECH AT THE WESTERN CONSERVATIVE SUMMIT [00:14:15] [playing audio] “The United States Senate has been able to deliver a record number of judges who vow to uphold our Constitution: 2 Supreme Court justices, 42 Circuit Court justices, and 83 district court judges. Now, I know that the next president will most likely choose two more Supreme Court justices. I know who President Trump would select, somebody like Colorado’s own Alison Eid. And I know who Bernie Sanders would select: Castro, anyone? [crowd laughs] Just look at the policies their party now stands for. Socialized medicine, the Green New Deal, eliminating the Electoral College, dictating what job you can and can’t have, packing the courts, massive tax increases, open borders, and the list goes on and on and on.”
SENGENBERGER [00:15:00] Senator, I have to tell you — and I told you this on Friday — and I want to see more of it as you’re running for re-election, and just in general I know the passion is always there. But you knocked it out of the park Friday night. You got a standing ovation from the crowd. Vast majority of people were very pleased with the speech, including some folks I know who are more critical of you in some respects. I understand from you that you were the author of this particular speech yourself, not the speechwriter or a press person, or somebody. So, tell us about Friday night’s speech — real briefly — before we’ve got to let you go.
GARDNER [00:15:35] Well, you know, I think it was really kind of a timeline of what’s happening in this country. You know, the concern with 2016’s emergence of socialism, not as sort of a fringe idea, but of this mainstream normalization of it, thanks to the fringe left Democratic candidates that we see for president and across the country. It’s the time line of people getting elected to the House that are able to really pursue ideas that just aren’t in the benefit or interest of this country, because of their ideas on socialism and anti-free market and anti-freedom ideas. And so, [the speech was] really talking about the concerns I have with this and how we need to stand up. Because I honestly don’t believe a majority of Democrats support what they’re doing. I don’t believe a majority of Democrats believe in socialism or Medicare for All, which is really Medicare for none, or packing the courts, or taking away the Electoral College vote. I made a comment in there that if you’re from California, congratulations! You now get to vote for Colorado for president.
SENGENBERGER [00:16:31] [laughs] Well, and i want to say that, — no disrespect, of course, to your incredible staff at your senatorial office and also on the campaign side of things — but I don’t know how often you write your own speeches, but can you do more of it?
GARDNER [00:16:46] [hearty laughter] Well, thanks, Jimmy! You know, it’s a — we don’t get that kind of a setting very often to be able to talk about that with a group of people I know that are so passionate. So, hopefully we’ll keep doing that even more.
SENGENBERGER [00:16:58] All right. Well, Senator Cory Gardner, thank you for joining us this morning. And let’s make sure that that passion I know is always there continues to show for the people of Colorado.
GARDNER [00:17:07] Hey, thanks, Jimmy! Thank you!
