[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 14 (Tuesday, January 24, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1429-S1430]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                        IDAHO'S NATIONAL FORESTS

  Mr. KEMPTHORNE. Mr. President, just 2 weeks ago--on January 9--a 
Federal judge issued a decision which threatens all approved and 
ongoing activities within six of Idaho's national forests. Working men 
and women in Idaho face losing their jobs in mines, lumber mills, and 
throughout the service industry by direct order of the U.S. Forest 
Service. Within a few days, many of these families may not be able to 
feed themselves or their children, or 
[[Page S1430]] even heat their homes in the middle of winter.
  Mr. President, 18 of Idaho's 44 counties lie within the scope of this 
order. Twenty-eight million acres--more than half of the State of 
Idaho--are in danger of being shut down along with the natural resource 
jobs which provide the economic base of my State.
  Do you know what this means to Idaho, Mr. President? This single 
court action was the equivalent of telling Detroit that they could no 
longer make cars. It was like telling Hollywood that they could no 
longer make movies. It was as if Iowa were no longer allowed to grow 
corn.
  Absent a 1-week stay by the judge, issued late last Friday, the 
judge's order would have, and still may, immediately lay off hundreds 
of Idahoans from their jobs in mines and lumber mills. It will savage 
the economy of the State by removing any hope for thousands of Idahoans 
in the service industries that depend on the loggers, miners, and 
ranchers for their livelihood.
  What could possibly bring on a disaster of this nature, Mr. 
President? Was it an earthquake? Was it a famine? Was it a flood? No, 
it was the Federal Government issuing pink slips to its citizens.
  It was a disagreement between two agencies of the Federal Government 
on how to proceed in a timely manner on consultation issues under the 
Endangered Species Act. Consultation is sometimes referred to as the 
``Interagency Cooperation'' provisions of the Endangered Species Act. 
What is wrong here is that the agencies have failed to cooperate, and 
the people of Idaho are the ones who suffer because of it.
  The irony of all of this is that one agency of tax supported 
bureaucrats is locked in disagreements with another agency of tax 
supported bureaucrats while the very people who pay the taxes are being 
put out of work. The residents of these counties should not be getting 
pink slips from their Government.
  The Idaho delegation and the Governor continue to work with the 
Federal agencies involved to reach a resolution that will not threaten 
the working men and women of Idaho. All of this points to the fact that 
we need to bring some balance into the Endangered Species Act. I am 
committed to that, Mr. President, because the one species the ESA 
ignores is the human species. And the people of my State are seeing and 
feeling that in a very real way.


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