[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 65 (Friday, April 7, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E855]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  INTRODUCTION OF LEGISLATION TO SIMPLIFY THE FORMULA UNDER WHICH SKI 
  AREAS PAY RENTAL FEES TO THE UNITED STATES FOR THE USE OF NATIONAL 
                              FOREST LANDS

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                             HON. DON YOUNG

                               of alaska

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, April 7, 1995
  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing legislation 
to simplify the formula under which ski areas pay rental fees to the 
United States for the use of national forest lands.
  Nationwide, there are 132 ski areas on national forest land occupying 
90,000 acres, or a mere one-twentieth of 1 percent of the National 
Forest System. For this use, the ski industry paid an estimated $20 
million in rental fees in 1994.
  This new fee system passed the Senate during the 102d Congress but 
time ran out before the House could consider the legislation. At that 
time, a Congressional Budget Office review determined that the new fee 
system was revenue neutral to the United States. The new fee proposal 
is intended to return at least the same rental dollars to the U.S. 
Treasury as the current system created by the Forest Service. It will 
also guarantee increasing revenues in the future by utilizing ski area 
gross receipts as the measure for determining rental fees. Therefore, 
as ski area revenues grow, so will the return to the public for the use 
of those Federal lands.
  Furthermore, this legislation will assist in meeting our goals of 
reducing the size of the Forest Service by eliminating significant 
management problems with their existing fee system. The existing system 
is encompassed in approximately 40 pages of the Forest Service manual 
and handbook. The new system would change that by
 reducing the fee calculation to a simple formula based on gross 
revenue from clearly defined sources. This new system will greatly 
reduce bookkeeping and administrative tasks for both the Forest Service 
and the ski areas.

  This bill enjoys bipartisan support and I hope others will join us in 
supporting this sensible and efficient proposal which provides fairness 
to ski areas and the United States regarding rental fees and, at the 
same time, helps to downsize the Federal Government. This bill is 
intended to serve as a starting point to begin debate on this issue. I 
hope to hold hearings on this proposal soon after the recess and 
anticipate reporting this legislation out of our committee quickly.
  Mr. Speaker, I would also like to advise the House that I intend to 
consider a proposal for ski area permittees to purchase the Forest 
Service land on which they operate. Such a move toward privatization 
would further our goal of downsizing government and thus reduce the 
size of the Forest Service budget. If we are going to achieve these 
goals, we need to consider every aspect of Federal land management. 
Therefore, the committee is in the process of reviewing a proposal to 
sell certain ski areas on the National Forest System to the private 
entities that operate them. While we are developing this proposal, we 
will be hearing from those ski areas that want to purchase the Federal 
land they operate on as well as State governments, local governments, 
and others affected by this proposal.
  Presently ski areas have permits from the Forest Service that allow 
them to operate for up to 40 years. The Forest Service reviewed these 
areas and designated them as recreation sites utilizing the NEPA 
process. There is no question that the intention of the Forest Service 
is to maintain these sites as ski areas and that no other use is 
intended. This further supports the need for us to review privatization 
of these lands now dedicated to this recreational use. Many of these 
sites have been permitted ski areas for 30 years or more. If we have 
private individuals prepared to purchase the Federal lands that they 
operate a ski area on, it is logical that we appraise that land and 
sell it to the operator and remove the Federal management 
responsibility.
  The new fee system legislation that I have introduced today is a 
first step toward reducing Federal management responsibility and costs 
associated with ski areas on Federal land. However, I also intend to 
consider the next logical step of removing all Federal management and 
costs.


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