[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 99 (Wednesday, July 14, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H5568-H5569]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TIMBER SALES MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

  (Mr. GOODLATTE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from South 
Carolina (Mr. Sanford) for the purposes of engaging in a colloquy.
  Mr. SANFORD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Goodlatte) for yielding to me. I would just like to raise with this 
House the fact that as the gentleman knows, it had been my intention to 
offer an amendment today on the Timber Sales Management Program to 
reduce the overall spending. To basically bring it in line with what 
the administration had proposed.

[[Page H5569]]

                              {time}  0020

  I believe it would save $23 million. But after conversations with the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte) and with several on his staff, 
I came to the conclusion that actually that would have been 
counterproductive, that it may in fact have cost taxpayers money.
  But I think that the problem that I was trying to address was this 
problem of money-losing timber sales is one that has to be addressed. I 
mean, it is a miracle to me that we can have basically the equivalent 
of $220 billion in assets, which is basically the timber on national 
forests, and yet still have it as a money-losing process.
  So I look forward to engaging with the gentleman from Virginia and 
others on his subcommittee this year in looking for ways to ease the 
regulatory burden on the National Forest Service so that they can begin 
to make money, because, if not, I think that we really need to begin 
looking at the selling off of national forests.
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from South Carolina 
for his comments, for his forbearance on the amendment he was 
considering offering. I would say to the gentleman that I 
wholeheartedly agree with him that there needs to be reform of the 
management of our national forests, particularly with the way that 
timber sales are managed, because there is a tremendous amount of waste 
that does not occur on the vast amount of land we have in this country 
that is privately owned that also harvests a substantial amount of 
timber, in fact, far more than is taken from our Federal lands.
  So there are a number of reforms that need to take place to 
streamline that process, to make sure that we protect the environment, 
but also to make sure that we follow good, sound business practices in 
our national forests. I look forward to working with the gentleman from 
South Carolina in that regard.
  Mr. SANFORD. Mr. Speaker, one last point on that very front. It is 
amazing to me that we can have a land block the size of Texas.

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