[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 62 (Tuesday, April 4, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H4117]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  PROPOSED LEGISLATION WOULD PROVIDE EXTENSION OF GRAZING PERMITS FOR 
                                RANCHERS

  (Mr. COOLEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. COOLEY. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I introduced H.R. 1375, 
legislation that would stop the U.S. Forest Service from hurting hard-
working, law-abiding ranchers that graze their herds on forest system 
lands.
  My bill would extend Forest Service grazing permits until the Agency 
completes its obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act.
  Half of the Forest Service's 9,000 grazing permits issued on 90 
million acres of Federal land will expire by the end of 1996. Some of 
these permits have already expired, and ranchers--by no wrongdoing of 
their own--have been denied their right to graze their livestock due to 
bureaucratic red tape. This is a punitive action and is patently 
unfair.
  The ranchers I know hold up their end of the bargain; they are good 
standards of the land, they fulfill their obligations, and they have 
every right to expect the Government to get its job done. They ought 
not be punished because our Nation's environmental laws are 
unreasonable and inflexible. My bill would extend their grazing permits 
until the Forest Service completes its NEPA documentation, so that no 
rancher is denied a permit because of bureaucratic delays.

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