[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 52 (Thursday, March 26, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E799]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        FEDERAL LAND ASSISTANCE, MANAGEMENT AND ENHANCEMENT ACT

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                               speech of

                         HON. RAUL M. GRIJALVA

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 25, 2009

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration of the bill (H.R. 1404) to 
     authorize a supplemental funding source for catastrophic 
     emergency wildland fire suppression activities on Department 
     of the Interior and National Forest System lands, to require 
     the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 
     Agriculture to develop a cohesive wildland fire management 
     strategy, and for other purposes:

  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the Goodlatte 
Amendment and I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing this harmful 
amendment.
  While I strongly support the FLAME Act, I am opposed to this 
amendment because it would undermine current protections for forest 
workers as well as preventing proper environmental review of projects. 
It would do this by dramatically expanding existing good neighbor 
authority that only applies to certain projects on National Forests in 
Colorado and Utah right now.
  Specifically, this amendment would waive provisions of the National 
Forest Management Act protecting taxpayer interests. It would give 
discretion over projects on National Forests to state foresters, 
eliminating federal oversight and accountability, and it would limit 
the public's knowledge of when timber is sold.
  I am also concerned that the amendment, if successful, would put into 
question federal labor standards and current wage protections for 
forest workers.
  My subcommittee held a hearing last year which shined a light on how 
pineros, literally men of the pines, were not being adequately 
compensated or paid for their work under existing law. Delegating this 
to the state or some subcontractor or the state without assurances for 
workers is foolish.
  Directly to this issue, the GAO released a report yesterday 
recommending caution on allowing broader authority until the federal 
government could ensure greater ``transparency, competition, and 
oversight.''
  I agree with the GAO and believe that this amendment is just too 
broad and would waive too many existing laws that protect workers and 
the environment.
  In sum, I want to voice my strong support for the FLAME Act, which 
will enable our public lands agencies to finally get ahead of the 
vicious cycle of budget-consuming catastrophic fires, and begin the 
process of working to protect communities and restore the nation's 
lands. I urge opposition to this amendment and support for the 
underlying bill.

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