[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 153 (Tuesday, October 28, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H9846-H9847]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      EXTENDING THE TERM OF THE FOREST COUNTIES PAYMENTS COMMITTEE

  Mr. SAXTON. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3249) to extend the term of the Forest Counties Payments 
Committee.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3249

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

     SECTION 1. EXTENSION OF TERM OF FOREST COUNTIES PAYMENTS 
                   COMMITTEE.

       Effective as of October 11, 2003, section 320(e) of the 
     Department of the Interior and Related Agencies 
     Appropriations Act, 2001 (Public Law 106-291; 114 Stat. 994; 
     16 U.S.C. 500 note), is amended by striking ``three years 
     after the date of the enactment of this Act'' and inserting 
     ``on September 30, 2007''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Saxton) and the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs. 
Christensen) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Saxton).


                             General Leave

  Mr. SAXTON. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SAXTON. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, this bill, H.R. 3249, simply changes the termination 
date of the Forest Counties Payments Committee that was created by 
Congress in the Interior Appropriations Act of 2001 to coincide with 
the expiration date in 2006 of the Secure Rural Schools and Communities 
Self-Determination Act of 2000.
  The purpose of this committee is to develop recommendations for 
Congress concerning the Federal program of payments to States and 
counties and to evaluate the effectiveness of the Secure Rural Schools 
and Community Self-Determination Act that regulates those payments. 
While some of the work of the committee has been completed, the 
important job of evaluating the effectiveness of Public Law 106-393 is 
ongoing and will need to be continued in order to assist Congress as it 
reviews options for either reauthorization or the development of new 
legislation. These efforts are crucial if we hope to further our 
understanding and support for healthy communities and healthy forests.
  Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. 
Walden) for his thoughtful leadership on this issue and on this bill. I 
urge adoption of the bill.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mrs. CHRISTENSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
her remarks.)
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Madam Speaker, H.R. 3249 extends the term of the 
Forest Counties Payments Committee until September 30, 2007. This date 
coincides with the expiration date of the Secure Rural Schools and 
Community Self-Determination Act of 2000. The committee, whose term 
expired on October 11, 2003, is to provide recommendations concerning 
Federal payments to States and counties in which public lands are 
situated. The bill is noncontroversial, and we do not object to it.
  I want to take this opportunity to thank the two gentlemen from 
Oregon, the sponsor of the bill, (Mr. Walden), and our Democratic 
colleague (Mr. DeFazio) for bringing this legislation to the floor.
  Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3249--
a bill I introduced with my colleague from Oregon, Mr. DeFazio, which 
would extend the term of the Forest Counties Payments Committee. I want 
to commend the chairman of the Resources Committee, Mr. Pombo, and the 
Chairman of the Agriculture Committee, Mr. Goodlatte, for expediting 
the consideration of this legislation in their respective committees.
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 3249 would extend the term of the Forest Counties 
Payments Committee to coincide with the sunset of the Secure Rural 
Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000, which expires on 
September 30, 2007. The committee was created in the FY 2001 Interior 
Appropriations bill and is comprised of local government county and 
school officials. Its purpose was to develop long-term solutions to 
ensure the proper management of our national forests, emphasizing 
forest health and economic activity, and evaluate the effectiveness of 
the County Schools legislation.
  Congress charged the committee with evaluating several key areas in 
making its recommendations. They include the methods by which payments 
are made to eligible states and counties; the impact of revenues from 
historical multiple use of federal lands on states and counties; the 
economic environmental, and social benefits of federal lands to 
counties and reviewing the costs to counties resulting from the 
presence of federal lands. The committee held at least six listening 
sessions throughout the country to understand better the impact that 
the presence of these federal lands has on counties where they are 
located. The input gathered from these listening sessions was 
ultimately used to write the committee's report, which was published in 
February 2003.
  What did the committee's report find? It found what many communities 
in my district have known for at least the last decade: that the 
decline in timber receipts from federal lands has had a devastating 
economic impact on these rural communities. While communities 
acknowledge the benefits associated with the presence of public lands 
within their counties, including improved quality of life, recreational 
opportunities, and the revenue coming into their communities through 
travel and tourism, the committee validated the claims that these 
benefits are outweighed by the degradation of county roads and schools 
that has resulted from the decline in timber receipts. This not only 
creates access issues for individuals wishing to recreate on public 
lands, but also creates safety concerns for transporting children to 
schools, responding to emergencies and day-to-day travel.
  This unfortunate reality especially holds true in the counties I 
represent in eastern Oregon. Between 1990-1999 the counties in this 
region saw Forest Service payments from timber receipts and other 
generated revenues drop by 87 percent.
  In light of the rapid decline of timber receipts reaching these 
communities, Congress passed the Secure Rural Schools and Community 
Self-Determination Act of 2000. This act stabilized timber revenue 
dependent counties by providing a temporary ``safety-net'' payment to 
forest counties and schools at 85 percent of the average of their three 
highest receipt years from 1986-1999. The legislation also provided an 
additional 15 percent to support community-based projects, like 
hazardous fuels treatments taking place on federal lands.
  Madam Speaker, the authorization for the Forest Counties Payments 
Committee expired several weeks ago, on October 11, before it was able 
to examine fully the impact of the

[[Page H9847]]

County Schools legislation. More importantly, if the committee's term 
is not extended, it will not have the opportunity to examine the 
potential effect that the implementation of the National Fire Plan or 
the Healthy Forests Initiative will have on America's forested 
counties. The Chairman of this committee, Mark Evans, stated in a 
letter to Chairman Pombo, ``. . . the Committee did not have adequate 
time to consider ways to integrate the Healthy Forests Initiative and 
National Fire Plan with future payment options. The timing of 
development of these two programs along with a 18-month timeframe 
imposed on the Committee to produce a final report precluded full 
consideration of possible options.''
  Madam Speaker, I agree wholeheartedly with the remarks of Chairman 
Evans. We need to pass this legislation to allow the Payments Committee 
to continue its good work. It goes without saying that its future 
findings will lay the foundation as we move towards the reauthorization 
of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act.
  I'd like to once again thank the efforts of Chairman Pombo and 
Chairman Goodlatte in getting this legislation to the floor in an 
expeditious fashion. I urge the House to adopt this extension and yield 
back the balance of my time.
  Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SAXTON. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Saxton) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 3249.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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