[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 32 (Thursday, February 27, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E325]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              H.J. RES. 4

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                          HON. TIMOTHY J. RYAN

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 27, 2003

  Mr. RYAN of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my concerns 
with certain provisions in H.J. Res. 4, specifically the provisions 
that expand logging in federal forests and prevent any administrative 
or judicial review of the Tongass Land Management Plan. These changes 
are detrimental to our environment and our country.
  When faced with a decision that may potentially damage our 
environment, I try to follow the lead of President Theodore Roosevelt, 
who founded the National Wildlife Refuge System in 1903. 1 share his 
philosophy that our environment is essential to our lives and is of the 
greatest importance. As President Roosevelt said, ``. . . the 
conservation of natural resources is the fundamental problem. Unless we 
solve that problem it will avail us little to solve all others.'' And 
here we are now, 100 years later; I would like to think that we will 
continue to be a part of the vision that began a century ago.
  I am also concerned with the provision that allows FY 2003 Bureau of 
Land Management funding for exploratory oil drilling in the Arctic 
National Wildlife Refuge. The Arctic Refuge is one of our country's 
largest refuges and is among the most pristine and undisturbed 
ecosystems on Earth. The Refuge belongs to the people of the United 
States, not to a select few. President Roosevelt's National Wildlife 
Refuge System created ANWR, ``For the purpose of preserving unique 
wildlife, wilderness and recreational values . . .'' Let us render to 
our future generations a world more enriched than we have found it.

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