Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 108 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION
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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 108 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 149 WASHINGTON, TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2003 No. 89 House of Representatives The House met at 10:30 a.m. tion for mosquito control programs to pre- laws, this is another example of a set- vent mosquito-borne diseases, and for other f tlement to further erode, rather than purposes. strengthen and uphold. There are about MESSAGE FROM THE SENATE f 50 pending timber sales in roadless A message from the Senate by Mr. MORNING HOUR DEBATES areas in Alaska currently protected Monahan, one of its clerks, announced under the roadless rule that are ready that the Senate has passed without The SPEAKER. Pursuant to the to go forward when the Tongass exemp- amendment bills of the House of the order of the House of January 7, 2003, tion is finalized. following titles: the Chair will now recognize Members Despite the assurances that 95 per- H.R. 519. An act to authorize the Secretary from lists submitted by the majority cent of the Alaska’s forests will be pro- of the Interior to conduct a study of the San and minority leaders for morning hour tected, the remaining 5 percent allows Gabriel River Watershed, and for other pur- debates. The Chair will alternate rec- hundreds of thousands of acres which poses. ognition between the parties, with each are among the most valuable for both H.R. 788. An act to revise the boundary of party limited to not to exceed 30 min- the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area the timber companies and the environ- in the States of Utah and Arizona. utes, and each Member except the ma- ment. This roadless conservation rule The message also announced that the jority leader, the minority leader or was developed during the last 3 years of Senate has passed with amendments in the minority whip limited to not to ex- the Clinton administration. It was fi- which the concurrence of the House is ceed 5 minutes. nalized after the most extensive public requested, a bill of the House of the fol- The Chair recognizes the gentleman outreach process in history. Six hun- lowing title: from Oregon (Mr. BLUMENAUER) for 5 dred public hearings and more than 1.6 minutes. H.R. 733. An act to authorize the Secretary million official comments overwhelm- of the Interior to acquire the McLoughlin f ingly in support of this initiative. House National Historic Site in Oregon City, The rule protects 581⁄2 million acres ROADLESS RULE ROLLBACK Oregon, and to administer the site as a unit of pristine national forests in 39 States. of the National Park System, and for other Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, In my State alone, in Oregon, 2 million purposes. people who care about the environment acres would have been protected. The message also announced that the were heartened 2 weeks ago when the The independent editorial boards Senate has passed bills of the following administration declared that it would around the country have zeroed in. In titles in which the concurrence of the uphold the Roadless Area Conservation The New York Times, it pointed out House is requested: Rule. But alas, the other shoe dropped. that this is part of a continued assault S. 246. An act to provide that certain Bu- Last week, the administration pro- on environmental protections. From reau of Land Management land shall be held posed exempting Alaska’s national for- day one, the Bush administration has in trust for the Pueblo of Santa Clara and ests from the roadless rule, reopening sought to unravel the intricate tap- the Pueblo of San Ildefonso in the State of them to logging and roadbuilding. Even estry of rules and regulations that New Mexico. S. 500. An act to direct the Secretary of the more troubling, the administration have shielded the national forests from Interior to study certain sites in the historic will also turn over significant author- excessive logging and other commer- district of Beaufort, South Carolina, relating ity over our Federal forests to the cial activities. to the Reconstruction Era. States, allowing governors to provide In the last 6 months alone, the ad- S. 520. An act to authorize the Secretary of for exemptions. ministration has finalized or proposed the Interior to convey certain facilities to Allowing States to exempt them- new rules that would short-circuit en- the Fremont-Madison Irrigation District in selves from our national environmental vironmental reviews, restrict public the State of Idaho. S. 625. An act to authorize the Bureau of laws is not a healthy precedent. States participation in land-use decisions, and Reclamation to conduct certain feasibility have a mixed record when it comes to weaken safeguards for endangered spe- studies in the Tualatin River Basin in Or- environmental stewardship. They are cies. egon, and for other purposes. too often overwhelmed by understand- The administration’s latest target is S. 635. An act to amend the National Trails able local interest from snowmobiles to the roadless rule. The San Franciso System Act to require the Secretary of the timber to water. We need a strong pres- Chronicle pointed out the administra- Interior to update the feasibility and suit- ence. These are, after all, our national tion’s pattern of disingenuousness. The ability studies of four national historic trails, and for other purposes. forests. Bush administration’s doublespeak S. 1015. An act to authorize grants through Rather than the administration’s about the environment reached a new the Centers for Disease Control and Preven- vigorous enforcement of environmental level of shamelessness this week when b This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., b 1407 is 2:07 p.m. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. H5411 . VerDate Jan 31 2003 00:54 Jun 18, 2003 Jkt 019060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A17JN7.000 H17PT1 H5412 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE June 17, 2003 it announced it was retaining the And in the face of this positive re- they were tended to as well as the eco- roadless rule and then an announce- sponse from the American people, we nomic well-being of those individuals. ment that it would prohibit logging on are going to keep moving our agenda of Those common sense regulations did 95 percent of Alaska’s national forest. job creation, growth and economic op- not shut down Alaska. They protected Let none be fooled. What the Bush ad- portunity to help our citizens fulfill the lands and the people from mining ministration did was carve out huge America’s promise. and timber interests that looked to pil- exceptions and loopholes through a Last week we extended the life of the lage and use the lands for their and not thoroughly vetted and well-balanced, $1,000 child tax credit, extending its America’s own needs. However, until popularly-supported plan to protect the benefits to millions of working and now, large scale timber projects, the ever shrinking swath of untrampled na- middle class families. We took millions cutting sale and removal of timber tional forests. off the Federal tax rolls all together, from the Tongass Forest has been pro- In the Boston Globe last week, Na- and got rid of the child tax credit’s hibited. tional forests are called that because marriage penalty. This Roadless Area Conservation they belong to the Nation as a whole, Our commitment to a family-friendly Rule was created with the tremendous not the governors, and certainly not to Tax Code will not stop there, because outpouring of public support, dem- the administration in Washington, who this week the House will consider legis- onstrated in over 600 public hearings has put a former timber lobbyist in lation to make the 2001 repeal of the that were held around the Nation and charge of them. death tax permanent. After all, if we with more than 1.6 million comments The Minneapolis Star Tribune, the have the right to pass on a family busi- on this rule alone, more than any other administration’s version of the ness or farm to our spouse and chil- rule in the history of our Nation. roadless rule for the National forests to dren, why should our children and Today, in 2003, without public sup- be published later this month, is por- grandchildren not have that same port or comment, the President has re- trayed by its authors as a fine tuning right? Of course they have should, be- vised the roadless rule with an unbal- of what was arguably the Clinton ad- cause economic security does not come anced approach that favors the logging ministration’s most important wilder- with an expiration date. and timber interests over America’s in- ness initiative. Right. It strains credi- Mr. Speaker, the Republican agenda terests and swings the door wide open bility for Clinton’s successors having for economic growth and opportunity for commercial logging, roadbuilding, relentlessly assailed the rule, to claim will create new jobs and improve cur- and development on 58.5 million acres that they are now prepared to accept it rent jobs. That is what the American of unroaded national forests nation- with minor modifications. Indeed, people expect and it is exactly what we wide, one quarter of which are located there is nothing minor about the modi- are delivering. in the Tongass and Chugach National fications the Interior Department out- f Forests.