[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 18 (Monday, January 30, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E219]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


   STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION TO AMEND THE FEDERAL ADVISORY 
                             COMMITTEE ACT

                                 ______


                          HON. NORMAN D. DICKS

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, January 30, 1995
  Mr. DICKS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce legislation today 
which will make small changes in the current Federal Advisory Committee 
Act [FACA] statute, but will have significant and important 
consequences for those the bill is intended to provide relief.
  Specifically, my bill will limit the application of FACA with regard 
to meetings held Federal officials and representatives of State, 
county, local governments, and Indian tribes. This will enable Federal 
representatives to proceed with legitimate contact with local 
governmental officials and tribes for purposes of implementing 
cooperative programs such as the President's forest plan.
  In the Pacific Northwest, we have been moving forward diligently in 
an effort to implement the President's forest plan, particularly with 
regard to economic assistance to dislocated workers, businesses, and 
timber-dependent communities. The Northwest was hit very hard by the 
listing of the northern spotted owl as a threatened species. The owl's 
listing and subsequent injunctive relief ordered by the courts reduced 
harvest levels in the region on Federal lands by over 80 percent.
  The $1.2 billion promised through
   the forest plan is a key means to mitigate for job losses, mill 
closures, and associated impacts from reductions in timber harvest. 
However, in order to ensure that the forest plan's economic assistance 
reaches those individuals and communities it is intended to reach, 
there must be involvement by local and county officials in the planning 
process for these funds.

  Currently, an unintended consequence of FACA is that it makes it 
difficult for Federal officials to meet with local governmental 
officials and tribes to plan for the dissemination of economic 
assistance. However, the FACA problem isn't simply limited to the use 
of the economic assistance, it also creates problems for elements of 
the plan such as adaptive management areas, which hinge on local and 
community input in order to be effective.
  Numerous States and counties in the West have expressed concern with 
the current FACA law, and its unintended prohibition of official 
contact between Federal officials and legitimate representatives of 
tribes and local governments. Concern never intended FACA to prohibit 
legitimate and appropriate contact in order to carry out Federal 
objectives that require interaction at the State and local levels.
  These changes will make FACA more reasonable, tolerant, and 
palatable. The bill will help ensure the smooth implementation of the 
President's forest plan, but will also aide other States who have 
similarly expressed concerns with the current FACA statute.
  I urge my colleagues support for this important legislation.
  

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