[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 160 (Wednesday, December 14, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2536]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       TRAIL RESPONSIBILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE LANDS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 13, 2005

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, 
and congratulate my Colorado colleague, Mr. Tancredo, for his 
leadership in introducing it.
  I joined as a cosponsor of this bill because I also want to improve 
the ability of the land-managing agencies to adequately enforce the 
rules that apply to uses of the federal lands.
  That is why in the 108th Congress I introduced a related bill--the 
Responsible Off-road Vehicle Enforcement and Response Act, or 
``ROVER.'' That bill was narrow, dealing only with enforcement of the 
regulations for use of vehicles on National Forest lands and public 
lands managed by BLM. This bill goes much further. In addition to the 
forests and BLM lands, it also applies to lands managed by the National 
Park Service and the refuges managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service. 
And it addresses the enforcement of all regulations, not just those 
related to use of vehicles.
  Last year, Mr. Tancredo and I worked with Chairman Pombo, Ranking 
Member Rahall, and other Members of the Resources Committee, to develop 
the broader measure.
  That bill passed the House, but the Senate did not complete action on 
it. So, Representative Tancredo and I joined in reintroducing it as 
H.R. 975, the bill now before the House.
  I urge its approval, because legislation for better and more 
consistent enforcement of regulations is needed. However, we need to 
recognize that it is only one part of a bigger picture.
  Even more than new legislation, it seems to me, the land-managing 
agencies need more resources--more money and more people--if we want 
them to do a better job.
  That was why I introduced a related bill--H.R. 599--which the 
Resources Committee has also reported. It would allow the agencies to 
use money from fines to help pay for some of the restoration work 
caused by violations of regulations, as well as for offsetting the 
administrative costs involved in enforcement of those regulations.
  This is something that I think should be addressed in the future, and 
I will seek to work with other Members to do that. Today, however, we 
can take an important step forward by passing this bill, and I urge the 
House to approve it.

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