[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 18]
[House]
[Page 25311]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                      LOCKING UP AMERICA'S FORESTS

  (Mr. GIBBONS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the President decided to lock up 
the Nation's forests and hand the keys to a group of Washington 
bureaucrats. With this move the President essentially told the American 
people that they are no longer welcome or able to use and enjoy and 
recreate on their land, the very land that their forefathers fought and 
died for. With this move the President has said to the millions of 
disabled Americans that they would no longer be able to visit and enjoy 
our national forests as well.
  This land does not belong to the Federal Government. This land 
belongs to the American people. The only role that the Federal 
Government has is to manage it. The President has essentially taken our 
constituents, the public, and this Congress out of the decision 
process.
  Mr. Speaker, if the President's big government initiative goes 
through, it would effectively bar the majority of the American public 
from visiting and enjoying their beautiful forests. It seems this 
administration cannot see the forest through the trees.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time and the 
administration's lack of common sense.

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