[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 133 (Monday, September 21, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2323-E2324]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE AND SUSTAINABILITY OF THE UNITED STATES 
                           HARDWOODS INDUSTRY

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. TRAVIS W. CHILDERS

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 15, 2009

  Mr. CHILDERS. Mr. Speaker, today I am proud to be a co-sponsor of 
House Resolution 81 and see this important measure brought to the floor 
for a vote. I represent Mississippi's First Congressional District--a 
district strong in forestry and farmland. This industry is dominated by 
small-based family owned businesses, like my longtime friend Jimmy 
Pharr's in Marietta, MS, which will benefit from the passage of this 
resolution. These small landowner/businesses often have fewer than 
fifty acres much of which may at one time have been crop or cattle 
farms. Many landowners have rededicated these lands solely to the 
production of timber. These timber stands are valuable, long-term 
investments which expand to job opportunities in a myriad of related 
businesses--sawmills, logging, trucking, insurance, and many others.
  Hardwood lumber growers and manufacturers in Mississippi's First 
District are valuable members of the communities in which they live, 
and (like many others in Mississippi) have children and grandchildren 
who hope to stay in these businesses and continue to enjoy all that 
life offers closer to home. Hardwood timber stands are a critical part 
of savings and investment for many of my first district families. 
Without strong markets for lumber, those investments plummet. H. Res. 
81 will help assure stronger markets without government intrusion. 
Instead we are offering a strong statement from the House that this 
private enterprise industry is one which should continue to reap the 
rewards of decades good business decisions and stewardship of the land.
  The benefits of Mississippi hardwoods are much the same as the 
benefits enjoyed in nearly every state of the union--from the sheer 
beauty these forests offer to the hundreds of good jobs tied to them. I 
urge my colleagues to join me in voting yes on this important measure.
    

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