[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 33 (Tuesday, February 27, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H1933]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CONGRESSIONAL INACTION JEOPARDIZES JEFFERSON COUNTY'S AWARD WINNING 
                            JUVENILE PROGRAM

  (Mr. WALDEN of Oregon asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, the failure of Congress to 
reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination 
Act amounts to a breach of faith to more than 600 forested counties and 
4,400 school districts across America, including Jefferson County in 
Oregon, where more than 50 percent of the land is in Federal ownership, 
which means the county's Community Work Service program for primarily 
juvenile offenders will be eliminated.
  Under the program, juvenile community service work crews remove trash 
from public lands, rehabilitate hiking trails, revegetate denuded 
areas, and repair resource damage due to vandalism. In 2004 alone, 
these young people removed more than 150 tons of garbage and more than 
2 miles of old barbed wire fence from BLM lands.
  In fact, the Bureau of Land Management awarded this program the 
National Volunteer Award for making a difference on the public lands in 
2005. It has been very successful in addressing recidivism and 
introducing a new generation to America's forests.
  Former Madras Mayor Rick Allen said: ``Loss of these funds will 
cripple community services.''
  My colleagues, Congress must keep the Federal Government's promise to 
timbered communities. Pass H.R. 17. Time is running out.

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