[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 12741]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                HEALTHY FORESTS RESTORATION ACT OF 2003

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 20, 2003

  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the House 
Republicans' so-called Healthy Forests Restoration Act.
  This bill is more about restoring healthy profits for the timber 
industry, than protecting healthy forests for the American people. 
Given the devastating impact this bill will have on pristine public 
lands, a better title would be Leave No Tree Behind. That is exactly 
what will happen as logging companies are given a backdoor into our 
national forests and wilderness areas.
  Of course, Republicans argue that this bill is about protecting rural 
communities from dangerous wildfires. Yet, there is nothing in their 
bill providing any help to small towns or homeowners for fire 
prevention. The Republicans only increase subsidies to timber companies 
to log forests well outside the so-called wildland-urban interface--
even in wilderness and roadless areas--and not where fires pose the 
greatest threat.
  You won't find many forestry experts who would tell you that timber 
companies are able to turn a profit harvesting diseased and insect 
prone trees. So Republicans have devised it so that the Forest Service 
will pay timber companies for their service by allowing them to cut 
down stands of healthy trees. There is nothing in this bill that 
prevents the harvested trees from being ancient old growth or redwoods 
for that matter.
  The Republicans claim their bill is proenvironment. Yet, their bill 
cuts out the heart of the landmark National Environmental Protection 
Act. It exempts the Forest Service from doing a thorough analysis of 
alternatives to proposed logging projects. It even creates a new 
Federal program to assist private landowners in getting around the 
Endangered Species Act that protects fish and wildlife.
  Now if after all of this, you thought you had recourse in the matter, 
think again. This Republican bill severely restricts the right of any 
citizen to appeal Forest Service decisions and even undermines the 
power of judges to overrule the agency's determinations. In fact, this 
bill prohibits the Federal courts from halting any logging project 
until 45 days after it's begun.
  In light of this dangerous assault on our environment and our 
democratic process, I urge my colleagues to vote down this bill and 
support the Democratic alternative. It protects our forests and 
wilderness areas from harmful logging. It upholds landmark 
environmental protections and the right of the American people, not 
just the timber industry, to have a say in the future of our public 
lands. And it puts money toward real and effective fire prevention 
around rural communities where it's needed most.
  I urge my colleagues to stand up for our forests and vote ``no'' on 
the Republicans' sham Leave No Tree Behind bill.

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