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On June 17, 2004, the House joined together in a bipartisan vote of 222-205 to pass an amendment that Representative Steve Chabot and I co-authored, to stop the construction of roads in the Tongass National Forest. While Tongass is located in Alaska, this issue is far-reaching for taxpayers here in our district and across the country. The amendment we passed will end a decades-long practice of wasting millions of dollars in taxpayer money, and it will also help preserve Tongass, a priceless natural asset and America's only rainforest.
Over the last 20 years, the federal government has used approximately $750 million in public money to help the timber industry do business in Tongass, one of the worst investments the United States taxpayers have ever been asked to make. In the year 2002, American taxpayers put up $36 million to build roads in Tongass, and our revenue, our return on that investment, was only slightly over $1 million. That means that for every $36 we put up, we got $1 back. Worse yet, there is no need to continue paying for road construction in Tongass, because there are already sufficient roads there for every type of local activity and need. Any continued government subsidy of road construction in Tongass would be a blatant and unacceptable misuse of taxpayer resources, particularly when our government is already running record deficits. I am glad that the House has joined me in working to put an end to it.
Ending government subsidies of road construction in Tongass is the right decision financially, and it is also the right decision for our environment and quality of life. Tongass, established by President Teddy Roosevelt in 1907, is the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world and is home to many species that have disappeared from other parts of the country, including Sitka Spruce trees, wolves, bears, salmon, and Bald Eagles. The needless construction of roads threatens this precious, special place by subjecting the forest to disruption, erosion, pollution, and toxic emissions. Our amendment will ensure that future generations of Americans can enjoy and appreciate Tongass as much as our generation has.
Our amendment has strong, widespread support from various groups, including sportsmen, fiscal watchdog organizations, environmental advocates, and officials on both sides of the aisle. The measure will now go to the Senate and President for final decision-making. To view the text of our legislation in the meantime, please visit http://thomas.loc.gov and search for H.R. 4568.
To view remarks I made on the House Floor regarding the Tongass amendment, please visit my website at http://www.house.gov/andrews, click on "Floor Statements," and follow the link for June 16, 2004 under the 108th Congress.
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