[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 29 (Thursday, March 14, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1937-S1938]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire:
  S. 2015. A bill to exempt certain users of fee demonstration areas 
from fees imposed under the recreation fee demonstration program; to 
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. SMITH of New Hampshire. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce 
legislation that would provide equity and fairness to the application 
of the Recreational Fee Demonstration Program, or the Fee Demo Program, 
as it is more commonly called. This bill, the Host Community Fairness 
Act, would exempt local residents from fees imposed as part of the Fee 
Demo Program.
  As I am sure my colleagues are all aware, the Fee Demo Program, which 
started in fiscal year 1996, was established to fund recreational and 
resource needs, and repair facilities throughout our national forests, 
parks and other public lands. Currently, each land management agency 
can establish any number of fee projects and retain and spend all the 
revenue collected. However, at least 80 percent of the fees collected 
are retained at the site where collected. The program was originally 
supposed to end at the end of FY98; however, due to extensions that 
have occurred through the appropriations process, it is now set to 
expire at the end of FY04.

[[Page S1938]]

  While I agree that the intentions of this program are good, there are 
flaws that must be addressed. What concerns me most is double-taxation 
for the local residents who live in and around these Fee Demo areas. 
These individuals should not also be required to pay to use these 
lands. Especially when they already suffer from a decreased tax-base 
due to the presence of Federal lands in their community and who help to 
provide emergency services. It is wrong to ask them to pay to use land 
that they already support and is essentially in their own backyard.
  Just to be clear, this legislation would exempt residents of any 
county or counties that host any Federal land that has a Fee Demo 
project from paying the fee, regardless of where in the forest or park 
the fee is being imposed. When I say Federal land, I mean any National 
Forest, National Park, National Wildlife Refuge or Bureau of Land 
Management land.
  I would like to take a moment to talk about how this impacts the 
State of New Hampshire. Nearly 50-percent of Berlin, New Hampshire, 
which has a population of about 10,000, falls within the boundaries of 
the White Mountain National Forest. Unfortunately, the city of Berlin 
has dealt with several economic setbacks, including the recent closure 
of a local paper mill, its largest employer. When this situation is 
combined with the fact that half their land is tied up in the National 
Forest, the result is a severe hit to this city's tax base. Asking 
these citizens to pay a fee to hike in their own backyard is not only 
unfair, it is also wrong. I think it is also reasonable to assume that 
this kind of economic situation is not unique to host communities in 
New Hampshire.
  Finally, it should be noted that a clear and convincing majority of 
the New Hampshire House of Representatives sent a message to the U.S. 
Congress regarding their serious concerns with this program. On 
February 14, 2002, the New Hampshire House overwhelmingly voted in 
favor of a resolution that clearly outlines what they see as the 
negative effect this program has had on their local communities.
  The New Hampshire House is one the largest parliamentary bodies in 
the world. Its 400 members receive only a $100 per year stipend and 
they are truly citizen legislators. The resolution's primary sponsors 
included both Republicans and Democrats as well as the Speaker of the 
House and the former Speaker of the House, who is now a State Senator.
  What concerns me most with what these citizen legislators are saying 
is that, ``. . . the Recreational Fee Demonstration Program has 
undermined the longstanding goodwill between the White Mountain 
National Forest and New Hampshire citizens and communities . . .'' and 
``. . . the traditional support of the New Hampshire citizens for 
activities such as trail maintenance and fire safety have been 
compromised . . .''. As the senior Senator from New Hampshire, I find 
these statements very disheartening. In New Hampshire, there is a 
longstanding tradition of open access to both public and private lands. 
The Fee Demo program runs counter to that tradition. Members of 
Congress have a duty to their constituents to maintain a cooperative 
relationship between the Federal land management agencies and the 
communities that are required to host them.
  Enactment of the Host Community Fairness Act is one small step we can 
take in addressing these legitimate concerns and restoring the goodwill 
previously enjoyed between the Federal lands across this country and 
their host communities.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2015

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Host Community Fairness Act 
     of 2002''.

     SEC. 2. LOCAL EXEMPTIONS FROM USER FEES.

       Section 315 of the Department of Interior and Related 
     Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1996 (16 U.S.C. 
     460l-6a note; Public Law 104-134) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f) as 
     subsections (d), (e), (f), and (g), respectively; and
       (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
       ``(c) Local Exemptions From User Fees.--
       ``(1) In general.--A person that resides in a county in 
     which a fee demonstration area is located, in whole or in 
     part, shall be exempt from any recreational user fees imposed 
     under this section for access to any portion of the fee 
     demonstration area.
       ``(2) Administration.--The Secretary of the Interior and 
     the Secretary of Agriculture in consultation with affected 
     State and local governments, shall establish a method for 
     identifying and exempting persons covered by this subsection 
     from the user fees.''.
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