[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 110 (Wednesday, September 15, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H7217]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           RIO GRAND FOREST PRODUCTS IN ESPANOLA, NEW MEXICO

  (Mr. PEARCE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I addressed this House last evening about 
the policies in our Forest Service which are causing jobs to go 
overseas, which are killing industries, which are causing 
infrastructure to be abandoned. After I made that presentation, we 
received a call today.
  Rio Grande Forest Products, operating in New Mexico and the northern 
district of New Mexico from a town called Espanola in New Mexico, had 
100 employees. Rio Grande Forest Products shut down last year due to 
the Forest Service restricting the harvesting of large-diameter trees. 
Basically, the Forest Service is blocking them from pursuing harvest. 
The Forest Service would not facilitate the harvesting despite numerous 
submittals and requests for assistance.
  The employees who lost their jobs have been unemployed, and it is 
because of restrictive policies that are pushed by extremists in our 
country who would block any effort to harvest the resources from this 
country. The sawmill was located on 60 acres, 180,000 feet of idle 
space.
  Mr. Speaker, it is ourselves who are causing the loss of American 
jobs in this country, not the President.

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