[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 37 (Tuesday, March 3, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H2892]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       SIERRA PACIFIC INDUSTRIES

  (Mr. McCLINTOCK asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, Sierra Pacific Industries just announced 
the closure of its sawmill in the little town of Quincy, California, in 
my district, throwing another 150 families out of work. They made it 
very clear that the recession was not the cause; it was merely the 
catalyst. The real cause is that the regulatory costs and litigation, 
because of regulation, now exceed their profit margin. In fact, two-
thirds of their timber harvest this year is tied up as a result of 
government actions.
  Sierra Pacific constructed this small log mill when Congress passed 
legislation promoting tree thinning in the surrounding forests to 
prevent forest fires, but that law has not been implemented because of 
endless litigation by environmental groups who are using an 
impenetrable web of environmental laws.
  In their press release, Sierra Pacific notes, ``Nearly two-thirds of 
the current year's timber sale program is enjoined or withheld from 
sale pending the outcome of litigation.''
  So, Mr. Speaker, today, another 150 families in the little town of 
Quincy are out of work, direct casualties of this retrograde, Luddite 
ideology.

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