[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 36 (Tuesday, March 28, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H1170-H1171]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         OCALA NATIONAL FOREST

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Keller) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to strongly oppose the Bush 
administration's proposed sale of 300,000 acres of national forest 
lands, which include 1,000 acres of the Ocala National Forest in my 
congressional district.
  The Bush administration's rationale for selling our national forest 
lands is to raise money for rural roads and schools. While our budget 
shortfall is temporary, ruining pristine national forest lands is 
permanent. That is why all four of the living former chiefs of the U.S. 
Forest Service sent a letter to Congress on March 13, 2006, strongly 
opposing the auctioning off of 300,000 acres of national forest lands.
  Mr. Speaker, our national forest lands are worth protecting. Millions 
of Americans each year use our national forests to go hiking, fishing, 
hunting, camping, swimming, canoeing, and enjoying the outdoors. The 
Ocala National Forest also provides a habitat for thousands of animal 
species, including rare birds and black bears.
  Now, what does the administration say about these forest lands to be 
sold? Well, Under Secretary of Agriculture Mark Rey, who directs 
national forest policy, said ``These are not the crown jewels we are 
talking about.'' Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so 
let me show you a photograph of some of the actual land in the Ocala 
National Forest which is marked for sale by the administration.
  Look at the green plush forest. Does this look ugly to you? Does 
anybody really believe that this would look better as a strip mall or a 
condo project? I think it is a crown jewel.
  And let me show you who else thinks this land is pretty important. 
This is a photograph published in my local newspaper, the Orlando 
Sentinel, of a black bear that lives in the Ocala National Forest. Now, 
this black bear is being relocated from one location to another 
location. Look at this cute little black bear. Does anybody really 
believe that we should sacrifice this little black bear's habitat on 
the altar of budget deficits?
  This fire sale of forest lands is literally unbearable. It is also 
financially shortsighted. We cannot sell national forest land every 
time there is a budget shortfall. This is a dangerous precedent for 
Congress to set. Our financial problems need to be addressed over the 
long term, not through the shortsighted sale of national treasures to 
the highest bidder.
  The proposed sale of the forest land is not even an adequate 
budgetary solution. The money raised from this nationwide sell-off 
would not even be enough to cover the short-term school and road needs 
of the communities near Ocala National Forest, let alone other areas of 
the country.
  Well, what can we do about it? There are three things: First, I 
circulated a letter to the Florida delegation asking them to oppose the 
sale of our Nation's forest lands, especially the nearly 1,000 acres in 
the Ocala National Forest. I am proud to report today that this letter 
was signed by both of our U.S. Senators, Republican and Democrat, and 
by a bipartisan majority of our House Members. On March 1, 2006, this 
letter was submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of 
the official comment period to voice our strong opposition to the sale.
  Second, Congressman Ben Chandler of Kentucky and I are currently 
circulating a bipartisan letter asking Members to oppose the sale of 
300,000 acres of forest lands all across the country in 41 separate 
States. Thus far, 52 Congressmen have signed on to our letter, and we 
encourage others to sign on tomorrow. After tomorrow, we will send this 
letter to the leaders of the House Budget Committee to urge them to 
oppose the administration's budget request and to encourage them to 
find alternative funding for rural schools and roads.
  Finally, if we are unable to block this sale on the front end by 
having the administration withdraw this proposal, the plan would still 
have to be approved by this Congress, and I would encourage all of my 
colleagues to vote not just ``no,'' but ``heck no.''

[[Page H1171]]

  Mr. Speaker, in closing, I am very optimistic we will be successful 
in blocking this reckless fire sale of our national forests and that 
our children and grandchildren will be able to enjoy the serenity of 
the great outdoors for many years to come.

                          ____________________