John Garamendi Quotes
Maybe you weren't born with a silver spoon in your mouth, but like every American, you carry a deed to 635 million acres of public lands. That's right. Even if you don't own a house or the latest computer on the market, you own Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and many other natural treasures.
Garamendi, John. "Celebrating America's Public Lands." U.S. Congressman John Garamendi, United States House of Representatives, 20 Apr. 2012.
In the 1930s, the only practical way to get to and around a National Park was to have an automobile or horses nearby. It was very difficult for the poor and the middle class to enjoy the parks. In poor economic times, it was hard to justify tax money being spent on national parks which would only benefit the upper classes. FDR however, had a more futuristic, egalitarian vision that became a reality with the development of the National Highway System under Dwight Eisenhower. At one time, camping in a National Park was a luxury that only the rich can afford. Today it is a very inexpensive vacation that even all but the poor can afford.
Withdrawal meant not allowing certain public land to be sold or allotted to homesteading, commercial development, mining, industrial, ranching, or agricultural use. It was reserved as wilderness areas and/or national parks or forests.
John Raymond Garamendi is an American businessman, politician, and member of the Democratic Party who has represented areas of Northern California between San Francisco and Sacramento, including the cities of Fairfield and Suisun City, in the United States House of Representatives since November 2009. Garamendi was previously the California Insurance Commissioner from 1991 to 1995 and 2003 to 2007, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Interior from 1995 to 1998, and the 46th Lieutenant Governor of California from 2007 until his election to Congress.
