[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16487]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     NATIONAL FOREST PRODUCTS WEEK

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in 
recognition of National Forest Products Week and in support of our 
Nation's foresters, our timber producers, our researchers, and the 
forest products industry as a whole.
  Pennsylvania, of course, derives its name from ``Penn's Woods,'' and 
as history shows us, our forests have played a central role in the 
building of this country. Today, the Commonwealth has 16.7 million 
acres of forest land, 70 percent of which is privately owned and 
managed. The forest products industry in Pennsylvania employs 10 
percent of our State's workforce; and according to the Pennsylvania 
Forest Products Association, it generates approximately $5.5 billion 
annually.
  While Pennsylvania is well known for its high-quality hardwoods, the 
forest products industry also plays a fundamental role in actively 
managing our forests. Active management is essential in order to foster 
healthy lands as well as economically healthy communities.
  As chairman of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation and 
Forestry, I am proud to join several of my colleagues in the House to 
recognize National Forest Products Week; and as the Representative of 
Pennsylvania's Fifth District, I will continue to advocate for policies 
which maintain our forests so that they can power our economy and 
create family-sustaining jobs for decades to come.

                          ____________________