[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 125 (Friday, September 20, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1353]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         RESTORING HEALTHY FORESTS FOR HEALTHY COMMUNITIES ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 19, 2013

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1526) to 
     restore employment and educational opportunities in, and 
     improve the economic stability of, counties containing 
     National Forest System land, while also reducing Forest 
     Service management costs, by ensuring that such counties have 
     a dependable source of revenue from National Forest System 
     land, to provide a temporary extension of the Secure Rural 
     Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000, and for 
     other purposes:

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 1526. While 
I support efforts to find consistent funding for rural schools, this 
bill goes too far, increasing logging to unsustainable levels and 
undermining the existing environmental laws that protect our public 
lands.
  H.R. 1526 creates ``timber production zones'' in every national 
forest that must meet timber volume targets set at half of what the 
forest grows each year. Ultimately, this would require logging and road 
building in currently protected, roadless areas and would limit public 
input and scientific and judicial review. The bill also creates an 
expedited environmental review process for governor-designated ``high 
risk areas,'' that could open roadless areas to grazing and timber 
harvests. Finally, the bill authorizes ``community forest designation 
areas'' that devolve forest management from the federal government to 
state boards. This would reverse 100 years of forest management 
precedent and limit or eliminate access for recreation, hunting, and 
fishing.
  Our national forests are a public resource and must be sustainably 
managed for generations to come. Today's bill would undermine that 
mission, and I urge a no vote.

                          ____________________