Floor Statements

I thank Chairman Young, and thank you for your help on this, and Chairman Hastings as well. Mr. Grijalva, thank you for your comments, and I want to thank Representative DeFazio for his work on this, among many others.

Mr. Speaker, as was pointed out, in 2012 this bill passed the House unanimously, and I am glad to see this legislation is once again before this Chamber. The legislation is a collaborative effort between the City of Prineville, Crook County, local farmers, the Deschutes River Conservancy, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, among others. I am grateful for their efforts in creating and moving this legislation forward. This bill we have before us will create jobs in central Oregon and will remove government red tape.

This is actually a photo of Bowman Dam. This is what we are talking about. When the ``wild and scenic'' designation was passed by Congress, they sort of arbitrarily and temporarily, at the time--this was decades ago--placed the wild and scenic designation line right here in the yellow stripe of the road. Now, I have told people that the only thing wild and scenic about a dam is if you are falling over the face of it and tumbling down, then it might be wild and scenic.

What we seek to do is move this boundary off the center of this dam and go down about a quarter of a mile where the river really becomes natural. As a result of that, then we are pretty well convinced that a company will come in and add clean, renewable hydropower through a generation facility on the dam. The result of that, then, is the water will come out with less gasification so it will be better for fish.

So we will get about 50 construction jobs for 2 years, good-paying construction jobs for 2 years as they install this hydropower facility. We will get enough hydroelectricity to light, I think it is, 500 homes. So you get clean hydropower and you get construction jobs. The water will come out from a different place and actually be better for the fish going forward, and all we do is move the scenic boundary down to where, frankly, probably everyone would agree, it should have been, not on the center line at the top of the dam where cars drive over it, but rather down about a quarter of a mile.

In addition to that, this facility, about 20 miles upriver from Prineville, is a reclamation project that holds about 80,000 acre-feet of uncontracted water. That is part of the discussion: What do you do with that uncontracted water? This is rare in the Federal Government to have a facility where all of the water hasn't been determined. That is an issue that can be dealt with down the road. We don't deal with that here other than to make sure that Prineville has access to that 6 percent, about 5,100 acre-feet, of water.

And why is that important? Because the City of Prineville, right now, is constricted. They don't have enough water. And this is a small, rural community with high unemployment in the county. We would make sure that they get about 5,100 acre-feet of water. They would pay fair market price for the value of the water, and that extra water would allow the city to not only meet its residential needs, which it cannot do today, but also allow it to engage in more economic development, which it desperately needs to do.

This water issue came to our attention initially because Facebook was planning, and has since constructed, a data center which they have now doubled in size. Apple is also constructing a data center there. Both of them need water for cooling. They have been able

to be more efficient about how they do that, but they still need water. And others will.

Because the city would access the water through the ground and not from directly behind the dam, the water actually flows downstream in excess of about 20 miles, which is better for the fish to have that much more water going and released down the dam, and then the city would, through their underground pumps, pump the water out. In dry years, particularly in the winter, this higher release requirement would benefit fish and wildlife, including the Blue Ribbon trout fishery below Bowman Dam. And as I said, it fixes this problem with the wild and scenic designation and creates 50 jobs.

Additionally, the bill expedites the McKay Creek restoration project. This is something we worked closely with the Warm Springs tribal leaders on because it would increase water flows for redband trout and summer steelhead. This project has long been supported by the Warm Springs tribes and the Deschutes River Conservancy, and so I want to thank both Warm Springs and Deschutes Conservancy for their work on this issue and on, especially, McKay Creek. It is a very good, commonsense conservation project.

So this is a good, commonsense, job-creating bill. It is the culmination of years of work in a collaborative effort.

I want to thank the mayor of Prineville. Mayor Roppe has testified before the committee on a couple of occasions. Judge McCabe has been terrific in helping us, as have been many others as we have moved this forward.

So this is a jobs bill that doesn't cost the government anything. It is a good, clean water bill that helps the community provide jobs and take care of its citizens, and it resolves a longstanding issue that has been a problem for this area. Actually, this debate has gone on since Mark Hatfield was in the Senate back in the 1970s. So I appreciate the committee's diligent efforts on this and the bipartisan way we are moving forward on this piece of legislation.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I ask for your unanimous support of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the 50 World War II veterans from Oregon who will be visiting their memorial this Saturday in Washington, DC through Honor Flight of Oregon. On behalf of a grateful State and country, we welcome these heroes to the Nation's Capital.

The veterans on this flight from Oregon are as follows: Kenneth W. Jacobsen, U.S. Army Air Force; Raymond Smith, U.S. Army Air Force; Virgil E. Trick, U.S. Army Air Force; Charles Williamson, U.S. Army Air Force; Victor H. Banke, U.S. Army; David G. Blattner, U.S. Army; Merle L. Brandsrud, U.S. Army; Gerald J. Broadhurst, U.S. Army; Homer P. Farley, U.S. Army; Donald P. Hancock, U.S. Army; Donald E. Hill, U.S. Army; Arnold J. Jensen, U.S. Army; Ralph E. Johnson, U.S. Army; Jack P. Mills, U.S. Army; William E. Thompson, U.S. Army; William C. Upham, U.S. Army; William A. Vorisek, U.S. Army; Loyd A. Wiltermood, U.S. Army; Vincent R. Gersch, U.S. Marines; Richard R. Harlow, U.S. Marines; Edward L. Killeen, U.S. Marines; Robert J. Klink, U.S. Marines; Robert J. Pattock, U.S. Marines; Benjamin Asquith, Jr., U.S. Navy; Bruce Bennett, U.S. Navy; Louis W. Boesel, U.S. Navy; Eugene S. Clift, U.S. Navy; Rodney L. Downey, U.S. Navy; John B. Dowty, U.S. Navy; Warren J. Dunn, U.S. Navy; Joyce L. Evans, U.S. Navy; Ross H. Flintjer, U.S. Navy; Victor B. Fryer, U.S. Navy; Leonard S. Gisler, U.S. Navy; B. Bruce Huffman, U.S. Navy; Robert L. Jensen, U.S. Navy; Howard D. Kyle, U.S. Navy; Arthur E. Mosher, U.S. Navy; Theodore M. Phillips, U.S. Navy; Richard B. Royse, U.S. Navy; Willard G. Scott, U.S. Navy; Glenndon L. Stam, U.S. Navy; Raymond L. Tompkins, U.S. Navy; Richard H. Wemhoener, U.S. Navy; Charles R. Westerberg, U.S. Navy; Robert C. White, U.S. Navy; Frank L. Woodrum, U.S. Navy; Henry C. Zweigart, U.S. Navy; Richard W. Miller, U.S. Navy Reserves; Cherri P. Gregory, U.S. Navy--WAVES.

These 50 heroes join more than 98,000 veterans from across the country who, since 2005, have journeyed from their home States to Washington, DC to reflect at the memorials built in honor of our Nation's veterans.

Mr. Speaker, each of us is humbled by the courage of these soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who put themselves in harm's way for our country and way of life. As a nation, we can never fully repay the debt of gratitude owed to them for their honor, commitment, and sacrifice in defense of the freedoms we have today.

My colleagues, please join me in thanking these veterans and the volunteers of Honor Flight of Oregon for their exemplary dedication and service to this great country. I especially want to recognize and thank Gail Yakopatz for her tireless work as president of Honor Flight of Oregon.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman of the House Resources Committee for his leadership on this and many other issues. It is so important to America's economy and our country.

I rise today also in support of this legislation to reform the Federal helium program and also to reduce the deficit by $90 million over the next decade. As chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, I realize this is not about balloons. This is about America's great innovation and technology sector, about computers, and, as we heard from my colleague from New Jersey, MRIs and our great innovation and technology. It is essential that this become law.

At the same time, this measure also provides short-term help to rural communities from some of the funding sources here. Those communities are teetering on the edge of bankruptcy.

Let's be clear: that help is a lifeline, not a lifeboat. The status quo of asking Uncle Sam for a check year after year is simply not sustainable. However, managing our Federal forests, generating jobs and revenue, that's sustainable.

Last week, the House passed a long-term solution for our rural forested communities, H.R. 1526, the chairman's bill, the Healthy Forest for the Healthy Communities Act. Now, it's time--now, it's time--for the United States Senate to take positive action. We need to create jobs in the woods, we need to reduce the threat of wildfire, catastrophic wildfire, we need to improve the health of our watersheds and our forests, we need to help our forested communities get back to self-sufficiency, self-reliance, get people back to work in the woods. The clock is ticking. It's time to get this done. Rural communities cannot wait any longer.

I thank the gentleman, my friend, a great defender of the United States Constitution, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Kelly).

This is a very troubling day--very troubling day--for those of us who believe in our freedom in America and our rights under the Constitution and every day defend America's sovereignty.

Oregon's Second Congressional District is nearly 70,000 square miles. That's a lot of ground. It's home to some of the best hunting in the West, including mule deer, elk, cougar, bighorn sheep and antelope, in addition to various waterfowl and upland birds.

Oregonians' proud heritage of hunting and owning firearms for sport, protection and their livelihood dates back to the days of the Oregon Trail--a trail my ancestors crossed in 1845 when they helped settle the West.

As one hunter in Baker City, Oregon, told me earlier this year, he said: Congressman, you know why they call this the Second District? It's because we believe in our Second Amendment rights. And he's right. Yet today, about 10 hours ago, Secretary of State John Kerry signed a very vague U.N. treaty that leaves open the door to international influences trampling on our Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms. And it encourages signatory nations to collect identities of owners of imported firearms, setting the stage for a potential national gun registry. And that is wrong.

The United States is a sovereign Nation. I strongly believe that our Constitution--including our Second Amendment rights--must never be subjugated by a treaty. Now, what's worse, we understand the administration that signed this treaty may now never send it to the Senate for consideration. I view that as another blatant attempt by the Obama administration to act unilaterally--they seem to do a lot of that these days--without the consent or the approval of Congress.

So I will strongly oppose not only this treaty, but also any funding to implement any policy related to this treaty. And I will continue to uphold the oath of office that each one of us in this Chamber took to defend our rights and freedoms as enshrined in that great document, the Constitution, and to make sure that our Constitution and our sovereign rights are always above any foreign treaty, including one that never even gets sent to the Senate.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his good work on this legislation, and I want to thank my colleagues for what I hope will be their support of passage of this legislation, specifically the parts related to the Federal forest land. Federal forest land across the Nation is rotting, it's dying, and it's burning because the Federal Government has failed to manage our forests.

When we actively managed our forests and selectively logged our lands, we had vibrant ecosystems and we had vibrant and healthy economies. Now the forests are overstocked, they're diseased and infested, and they go up in smoke. Communities are literally dying. Counties are literally on the edge of bankruptcy. In my State, some of those counties have 50 percent to 70 percent of the landmass in Federal forest lands or grasslands.

Most forests are overstocked and disease infested, communities are dying, mills are closing. You're talking about children living in poverty? Misguided Federal policy on forest land management puts children in my district into poverty and their parents out of work. Local communities struggle to provide even basic services like law enforcement and schools.

H.R. 1526, the Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act, returns more active management to our Federal forest lands. This proposal has been crafted with input from Federal foresters, industry representatives, and, most importantly, the residents of these local communities who are living in poverty, subject to choking, catastrophic, and sometimes deadly wildfires, and the choking smoke that fills our valleys now every summer.

H.R. 1526 also includes a balanced and bipartisan plan for unique Oregon forests. Oregonians have been managing forests since the times of the Oregon Trail most likely, and we're proud of our Oregon Forest Practices Act and its commitment not only to the economy but to the ecology and to the environment, with protections for water, for streams, and for regeneration of our forests for future generations.

Unfortunately, yesterday, we got word that the White House has issued a veto threat on this urgently needed and balanced bill. The President and his team clearly have no idea--none--on what's happening in our rural communities with Federal forest lands surrounding them in the West. Counties are literally going broke. Folks are facing double-digit unemployment and double-digit poverty. Citizens call 911 for emergency help and are told literally, ``Sorry, we can't help you. There's no one to send.''

Fires are raging throughout our forests. Enough is enough. The system is broken. This law will change that and fix that, and the White House needs to understand that and be a partner for progress, not an enemy of it.

Today, the House will act to provide relief for citizens in these rural communities, and I urge my colleagues to choose jobs, safety, the health of our rural communities and health of our forests for future generations, to reject poverty and unhealthy forests, because that's what we face today.

So I urge a ``yes'' vote on the rule, a ``yes'' vote on the underlying bill because our rural communities have waited too long for this relief

Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Texas because I wanted to respond to my friend from Massachusetts, who didn't have any more time to yield or talk about it after he talked about people in my district on food stamps. Indeed they are, and they don't want to be. If you'd support our legislation that's bipartisan on healthy forests, they'd have dignity and a job, and they'd be able to take care of their families, and they would have schools.

I know they have dignity when they're on food stamps. I understand that. I also know they'd feel much better about their role in life if they could go and be productive again as they were. We've seen 300 mills closed, 30,000 people lose their jobs, and there's a solution here that doesn't raid the Federal Treasury and borrow money to pay for it. It's called a job. And we wouldn't spend over half the Forest Service budget fighting fire. Instead, we would replenish our forests, we'd get them healthy again, we wouldn't choke our valleys with smoke in the summer, which is occurring all over the country, because we'd be managing these great Federal forest reserves.

I thank the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, Doc Hastings, who has been an extraordinary leader, not only on our forestry issues, but on allowing us to access America's great energy resources in a responsible way that will create jobs, generate revenue for our country, and be good stewards of our land and water all at the same time.

Mr. Chairman, I thank you for your work and that of your committee on the Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act.

Just 2 days ago, Doug Decker, who is the State forester for the State of Oregon, declared that this has been the worst fire season for Oregon since 1951. The State of Oregon alone has already spent $120 million on fire suppression on over 1,000 different fires--and fire season is not over. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, this situation is the same across our forested States and communities. Last year, more than 9 million acres burned, and the Federal Government spent $2 billion in fighting fires. That's ``billion'' with a ``b.''

While these Federal forests surrounding our rural communities are burning, rural families are sentenced to live in poverty as the mills close and the jobs disappear, all because we can't access our great natural resources on Federal land.

Of the 20 counties that I represent in eastern and southern Oregon, nine face double-digit unemployment today; 16 have over 14 percent of their populations living in poverty; and 14 have over half of their schoolchildren eligible for free and reduced lunch programs.

Things are so bad in southern Oregon that Josephine County, which is bigger than Rhode Island, lost their last mill a few years ago, and with the closure of that mill, they lost 86 good-paying, family-waged jobs. A lack of timber revenue has left the county with only one patrol deputy. Burglary has gone up 49.7 percent; thefts have gone up 25 percent; and disorderly conduct has gone up 17 percent in 1 year. At a recent roundtable I held in Grants Pass, the sheriff, Gil Gilbertson, told me: ``I've seen better law enforcement in Third World countries than we have in Josephine County.'' Remember, the sheriff spent time in law enforcement in Bosnia. He knows that of which he speaks.

It's so bad that, just a year ago, a woman called 911 because her ex- boyfriend was breaking into her home, and he had assaulted her the week before. She was told several times by dispatch that there were no deputies available, and then was told: ``If he comes inside the residence and assaults you, can you ask him to go away?'' The woman was then assaulted and raped.

These are real issues for our rural communities today. It's clear the status quo is not working for families in our rural communities. This broken system has to change.

Among many positive provisions in this legislation that will lead to healthier forests, this bill would require foresters to look at the sustainable yield a forest could provide and then harvest just half of that and only on land that is suitable for timber harvest. It also limits costly and complex paperwork, and it requires that it be completed in a timely manner. This bill also contains long overdue provisions for expedited cleanup and salvage. Just like we clean up after floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes, isn't it time that we cleaned up and replanted and restored after forest fires?

This bill also includes legislation that I wrote with my colleagues from Oregon, Representatives Peter DeFazio and Kurt Schrader, on Oregon's unique O&C lands. We have worked through our differences and have forged a balanced, commonsense plan that would create or save thousands of forest jobs in Oregon. We would ensure the health of these lands for future generations and provide long-term funding certainty for Oregon's rural schools, roads, and law enforcement agencies that lie within these counties, and it would end the status quo of endless litigation.

This plan has broad support in Oregon--from local officials

to sheriffs and DAs to business groups and labor unions to newspaper editorial boards. I have here the letters of support and resolutions from 24 counties across Oregon that, with your permission, Mr. Chairman, I would like to have entered into the Record.

The Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act will create prosperous communities and healthy forests. It will provide certainty for teachers and law enforcement officers. It will provide tools to our professional forest stewards to better manage our forests, and it is our opportunity to make Federal forest policy work for Oregonians and all Americans. I urge its passage.

Klamath County Commissioners,

September 16, 2013.

Hon. Peter DeFazio,

Hon. Greg Walden,

Hon. Earl Blumenauer,

Hon. Kurt Schrader,

Hon. Suzanne Bonamici.

Dear Members of Oregon's House of Representatives: We are

writing to request your support for HR 1526, the Restoring

Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act, and ask that you

vote in favor of this bill when the opportunity arises. HR

1526 would renew the commitment to manage federal forests for

the benefit of counties impacted by federal forestland,

improve forest health and help prevent catastrophic

wildfires.

Oregon continues to lose infrastructure and jobs due to

federal policies that have strangled sustainable management

of a renewable resource. We are harvesting less than five

percent of the annual growth in federal forests, resulting in

overstocked stands and conditions ripe for wildfire. HR 1526

would permit responsible, limited timber production on Forest

Service lands, would allow significant state and local

involvement, and would separately address management of the

unique O&C Lands by incorporating the bipartisan solution

crafted by Representatives DeFazio, Schrader and Walden. The

bill also would allow cooperative state and federal fire

mitigation projects in areas that cross ownership boundaries.

The expiration of the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program in

2012 has resulted in drastic budget shortfalls in our

Counties. HR 1526 provides one year of bridge funding at the

SRS 2010 level, allowing transition to more active forest

management and a return to shared revenues from forest

management. These revenues would provide schools with

substantial funding and support public safety, road

maintenance, and social service programs. Improved management

and restoration of the nation's forests will generate

tremendous environmental and social benefits and create

desperately needed jobs and revenue for rural economies.

Thank you for your support of Oregon counties and schools

and for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

Dennis Linthicum,

Klamath County Commissioner.

Frank Skrah,

Sheriff by M. Rowley, Chief Deputy.

Greg Thede,

Klamath County Superintendent.

Deschutes County,

Board of of County Commissioners,

September 18, 2013.

Re H.R. 1526.

Hon. Greg Walden,

House Natural Resources Committee, Washington, DC.

Dear Representative Walden: The Deschutes County Board of

Commissioners wishes to express support for H.R. 1526, the

Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act. This

proposal renews the federal government's commitment to manage

federal forests, improve forest health and prevent

catastrophic wildfires.

Deschutes County applauds the commitment to addressing job

creation and enhancement of rural forest economies. The

management provisions in H.R. 1526 will provide a long term

solution to ensuring sustainable revenue sharing with

forested counties.

Deschutes County, Oregon supports the preservation of

healthy forests. We support HR 1526 and its aim to put people

back to work in the woods, reduce litigation, and provide

certainty for counties so that we can provide services to our

citizens. We also support the management of the forests to

prevent catastrophic wildfires and believe that there are

forested lands that are suitable for timber harvest and

management to be resilient against fire.

For these reasons, we support the passage of H.R. 1526.

Sincerely,

Anthony DeBone,

Commissioner.

For the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Technician Fifth Grade Robert Dale Maxwell of the United States Army.

Technician 5th Grade Maxwell was in 3rd Infantry Division and was awarded the Medal of Honor for supreme bravery in action on September 7, 1944 near Besancon, France.

Technician 5th Grade Maxwell and 3 others, armed only with .45 caliber side arms, defended the battalion headquarters against an overwhelming onslaught by an enemy platoon. Despite withering enemy fire Maxwell aggressively fought off the advancing enemy and inspired his fellow soldiers to continue. When an enemy hand grenade landed among the squad, Technician 5th Grade Maxwell unhesitatingly hurled himself upon it, using his blanket and body to absorb the full force of the explosion. The act of incredible heroism permanently maimed Technician 5th Grade Maxwell, but saved the lives of his comrades and enabled vital communications to continue during the withdrawal from the headquarters.

It is for his valiant efforts and relentless spirit that I am proud to honor and remember the actions of Technician Fifth Grade Robert Dale Maxwell.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the 50 World War II veterans from Oregon who will be visiting their memorial this Friday in Washington, DC through Honor Flight of Eastern Oregon. On behalf of a grateful state and country, we welcome these heroes to the nation's capital.

The veterans on this flight from Oregon are as follows: James Bray, U.S. Army; Howard Brink, U.S. Army; Donner Fearing, U.S. Army; Murray Hale, U.S. Army; Dan Jackson, U.S. Army; Franklin Jenkins, U.S. Army; Robert Michael, U.S. Army; Warren Norton, U.S. Army; Frank Passmore, U.S. Army; Wilbur Rasmussen, U.S. Army; Deryl Richter, U.S. Army; Joseph Sequito, U.S. Army; Charles Wilkins, U.S. Army; Thomas Wright, U.S. Army; Howard Bunker, U.S. Army Air Force; Phillip Chaperon, U.S. Army Air Force; Walter Davis, U.S. Army Air Force; Everett Endicott, U.S. Army Air Force; Hiram Hern, U.S. Army Air Force; Thomas Herrod, U.S. Army Air Force; William Keating, U.S. Army Air Force; Carl King, U.S. Army Air Force; James Minturn, U.S. Army Air Force; Richard Strom, U.S. Army Air Force; Robert Bullock, U.S. Coast Guard; Fred Coulter, U.S. Coast Guard; Mel Baldivia, U.S. Marine Corps; Robert Tinsley, U.S. Marine Corps; Calvin Weissenfluh, U.S. Marine Corps; Richard Drexelius, U.S. Merchant Marine; William Anderson, U.S. Navy; John Brainerd, U.S. Navy; Jack Burtch, U.S. Navy; John Clarke, U.S. Navy; John Emerson, U.S. Navy; Albert Emmons, U.S. Navy; Alta Halliday, U.S. Navy; Orlin Hansen, U.S. Navy; Darell Hillard, U.S. Navy; Frederick LaMear, U.S. Navy; Robert Ledford, U.S. Navy; Harry Maxwell, U.S. Navy; Donald Morris, U.S. Navy; Harold Schumock, U.S. Navy; Russell Sichley, U.S. Navy; Ellis Skidmore, U.S. Navy; Gordon Smith, U.S. Navy; Donald Tippett, U.S. Navy; Arthur Vinall, U.S. Navy; and Jeffrey Walker, U.S. Navy.

These 50 heroes join more than 98,000 veterans from across the country who, since 2005, have journeyed from their home states to Washington, DC to reflect at the memorials built in honor of our nation's veterans.

Mr. Speaker, each of us is humbled by the courage of these soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who put themselves in harm's way for our country and way of life. As a nation, we can never fully repay the debt of gratitude owed to them for their honor, commitment, and sacrifice in defense of the freedoms we have today.

My colleagues, please join me in thanking these veterans and the volunteers of Honor Flight of Eastern Oregon for their exemplary dedication and service to this great country. I especially want to recognize and thank Dick and Erik Tobiason for their tireless work with Honor Flight of Eastern Oregon.

Well, I thank the gentleman from Utah, the chairman of the Forestry Subcommittee, a subcommittee that a number of years ago I had the great privilege and honor to chair when we passed legislation, as we're going to do in this House once again, to not only make America's great forests healthy, but also then to stop the devastation that we heard from the gentleman from California. We have so much work to do to continue the legacy of real environmentalism, which is healthy forests and healthy communities.

When President Theodore Roosevelt created the great forest reserves back in 1905, thereabouts, he said they have to be in partnership with the communities and the communities have to be supportive of this. The great purpose of this creation of forest reserves, in a speech he gave in your home State, as a matter of fact, in Utah, I believe, was wood for woodmaking, for homebuilding, water for agriculture, which means the preservation of healthy forests, in the real term preservation-- which is what I want--not what we're seeing in Yosemite National Park and the surrounding areas, the focus of 400 square miles of devastation, not what we saw in Oregon this summer where the smoke was so thick in the Rogue Valley that they had to cancel performances at the Shakespeare Theater. The restaurants literally shut down. The people had to wear masks. I called into the call center of one of the phone companies and the attendant there said to me, he said, It's smoky in here inside the building.

This is not what we want out of our forests. It's not what our taxpayers want. It's not what the schoolchildren want. Because, you see, we've lost the jobs; we've lost the revenue from the jobs. We've got sheriffs in counties in my district that now have maybe one deputy. We had situations of violence, 911 calls. A woman was being attacked and basically told by the 911 folks, We don't have anybody to send. Can you tell him to go away?

You can't make this stuff up.

I thank Chairman Hastings, Chairman Bishop, and others for bringing this bill forward. Let me tell you what it means in a State like mine.

In 2012, the Oregon Department of Forestry, in collaboration with other State and Federal agencies, issued a report to Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber stating that, over the 20-year period from 1980 to 2000, wildfires in eastern Oregon burned approximately 553,000 acres, with an average fire size of 26,000 acres. Over the last 10 years, in that same area, it has burned 1 million acres, averaging 93,000 acres in size. That means wildfires have tripled in size in the last 30 years. Not all of those are in forests. Some of them are grasslands. But the point is it's out of control and it's very, very deadly and expensive. And it's unacceptable.

The Oregon Forest Resources Institute reported that, since 1990, the timber harvest from Federal forestlands in the great State of Oregon has dropped by more than 90 percent--90 percent reduction since 1990 in harvested timber off Federal lands. In fact, 60 percent of Oregon's forestland is owned/controlled--but not really managed--by the Federal Government. It now contributes less than 12 percent of the State's total timber harvest. Sixty percent owned by and controlled by the Federal Government, 12 percent of timber harvest.

What does that mean for timber dependent communities? Counties that have like 50, 60, 70 percent Federal ownership, my friend who taught school knows you don't have a tax base, and now you don't have jobs because now you're not doing harvest. You can't turn and entice some big company to come in. This is a forested, rural area, a long way from freeways in most cases but not all.

So what does that mean? Nine out of 20 counties I represent face double-digit unemployment today. Sixteen of the 20 counties I represent have more than 14 percent of their populations living in poverty in America.

Here's a chart that shows what's happening. It shows mill closures in Oregon over the last 30 years. We've lost three-fourths of our mills and 30,000 mill jobs. Just recently, we lost another in. One Josephine County, the Rough & Ready mill closed after nearly 100 years. The owners were ready to invest $2 million in upgrades, and they said, We can't count on a timber supply off the Federal ground that surrounds them. There went 87 jobs.

I want to show you another picture. I have used it before over the years. It is indicative of what happens in a fire. This is Kaleb and Ashley after the Egley fire, which burned 140,000 acres in Harney County, 2007. It just shows the devastation, these young children out there.

And what does it mean for our kids? The chairman asked about that. The Oregon Department of Education says 60 percent of the schoolchildren in the county where this fire occurred are eligible for free and reduced lunch. There's poverty all over the West, and there's a way to end that and produce jobs and revenue and have healthy forests rather than what we see today.

The chairman's bill would require foresters to look at the sustainable yield a forest could produce and then only seek to harvest half of that, of the sustainable yield, and only on land that is suitable for timber harvest. It says, if you're going to appeal a plan, you had to at least be involved in the process. We put that in the Healthy Forests Restoration Act that passed this body overwhelmingly and I think passed the Senate--huge support--signed by then-President Bush into law. It had great effect, but limited in terms of what we need to do. But it had that provision in there. It strikes a balance. You need to participate in the process in order to have a right to appeal.

It includes a 1-year bridge payment. This gets your schools issue for the counties who currently have lost or will lose their funding for emergency services, for roads, and for schools in the Secure Rural Schools side. This is a bridge to put people back to work in the woods when coupled with active management. This is balance--this is balance.

The bill also has an Oregon-specific provision. Not everything I would necessarily do if I could write it on my own, but do you know what? You don't get that process here. We've put together a good plan with Representatives DeFazio and Schrader. We've worked through our differences. We forged a balanced plan that would create thousands of new jobs. Creators saved up to 3,000 jobs in Oregon in these very unique lands called the O&C Lands. It ensures the health of these

lands for future generations. It provides long-term management and certainty of funding for our local services and schools and roads and law enforcement that lie within these counties.

According to Governor Kitzhaber's O&C Lands Report, it would generate $120 million per year in county revenue. We don't come back here to the Federal taxpayer and say, Give us another check, give us another handout. We say, Let us manage our own lands and do it under the Oregon State Forest Practices Act, which is one of the leading environmental laws in the country for balance, for sustainable forest health and management. Do it under that and we'll create the jobs and save them, we'll create the revenue for our schools.

Let me tell you about the protections that you will get. It provides:

Activities near streams, lakes, and wetlands must include water quality protection. Something we all agree on.

Wildlife trees and down logs have to be left in most large clear-cut areas. Clear-cut sizes are limited to 120 acres. Now, some will say, Oh, my gosh, 120 acres. Let me tell you that the Douglas Complex fire that burned this summer burned 48,000 acres. If there isn't a more destructive clear-cut than that, I don't know what it is. And do you know what? After it burns, there's no requirement they go in and replant. If you harvest 128 acres, you're required to go in and replant, and those trees have to survive, and you go in right away.

Let me show you what happens after a fire to the environment. There's no stream setback here. Fire knows no bounds. Our legislation says you can't harvest near that, near a stream, you have to have setbacks. We believe in the environment. This is what you get when you don't manage.

You see, lack of action has an impact in a dynamic forest environment. Doing nothing doesn't mean the forest gets better. It means it gets overcrowded, overstocked, and when you get fire--and we'll always have it--it just won't burn naturally anymore. It will blow up, like my friend and colleague from California has experienced in the Yosemite fire and like we've experienced all over the West this summer and will every summer thereafter.

The Forest Service now spends more fighting fire than anything else. They ought to change their name to the U.S. Fire Service.

We've got to get back to managing these lands, and this legislation does that. I thank the committee for its incredible work. I thank you for bringing this to the floor. I look forward to voting for it when it comes to the floor. Together we'll get back to proper, thoughtful, constructive management of our Federal forests. We'll take care of that trust the people put in us to take care of their lands, and we'll take care of the people as well.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Louisiana and the gentlelady from California for their great work on this, I think, really good bill.

I was in small business for more than 22 years with my wife, and these are the sorts of odds and ends that can eat a small business alive. It can eat an agency alive as well. These are silly mandates that get put on, often for a good reason initially; but then nobody ever goes back and says, Why are we still asking for a report on the status of the telegraph industry, or whatever else. We went back and did that.

This is the kind of nuts-and-bolts work that I think helps clean up government, helps make it more efficient, makes it more productive, makes it more affordable, and gets out of the way and helps stop doing things it doesn't need to do. Too often, we don't do that.

I think one of the hallmarks of our subcommittee has been a real bipartisan effort to make sure that when we create programs, we then follow and make sure they're working, like we're doing with FirstNet and the Incentive Auctions, to try and track and make sure it's working and then to dig deeper and look for those things that aren't working or they're outdated, yet put a burden on an agency and cost either those who pay for that agency through their taxes or through fees, or whatever. It's all coming out of the private economy into the government economy. We need to stop that.

So this bill consolidates eight separate congressionally mandated reports on the communications industry into a single comprehensive report. As my colleague from Louisiana said, it changes the timeline so that Congress can get the information in a better and timely manner. And it cuts cost. I hope this bill will receive strong bipartisan support in the House. I assume it will. And I hope that our friends across the building will in this Congress take it up and pass it as well.

With that, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the bipartisan work of my friends from California and from Louisiana. I urge the House to approve this measure and send it expeditiously over to the Senate.

Mr. Speaker, I recently met with my good friend, Linda Sindt, a former colonel in the United States Air Force from Medford, Oregon. For many years, Linda has served on my service academy nominations board, helping me find honorable young men and women to serve their country in our academies.

This time, though, we discussed a much different issue. Last year, Linda lost her husband, U.S. Air Force Major Duane Sindt, to pancreatic cancer. It's a terrible disease with an extremely low survival rate. We owe it to Linda and other families affected by this disease to help improve treatment and to find a cure.

So last year, with the help of Linda and her fellow advocates, Congress passed and the President signed the Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act, which helps incentivize research and treatment for this horrible disease and others like it. There is still much more work to be done, but we are hopeful we can continue to build upon this effort and find treatments and cures to help patients and families nationwide.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Nathan Rea, a long- time, dedicated member of my staff and very good friend who recently left Washington, D.C. to return to his family's farm in Umatilla County, Oregon. Nathan came to the nation's capital in 2005 intending to stay for a brief three month internship in my office before returning to his family's multi-generation farm. Three months turned into eight years, and along the detour Nathan fell in love with Emily Skoblar. Nathan and Emily married, and in February of last year they welcome their beautiful daughter Gwenyth ``Gwenny'' Isabelle into the world. During their time in Washington, Nathan and Emily both dedicated themselves to the needs of others, but they decided to heed the call to family farm life and turn the federal public service opportunity over to others.

Nathan was born in Walla Walla, Washington, and was raised on the Rea family farm in Milton-Freewater, Oregon by his parents Dennis and Laura Rea. From a very young age, Nathan worked in the field with his grandfather H.T. Rea and father planting and harvesting wheat and green peas.

Nathan graduated from DeSales Catholic High School in Walla Walla and earned his degree in agriculture businesses from Washington State University in 2004. His love of his alma mater was not only evident in the numerous WSU Cougar logos found around his desk, but also by his well-stated affection for the famous ``Cougar Gold'' cheddar cheese, a product produced and sold around the world by students at the WSU Creamery in Pullman. And even though the Cougs only beat my Oregon Ducks football team once during Nathan's eight years in my office, I will admit that Cougar Gold cheese is worthy of the praises Nathan and his fellow alumni so readily tout.

While growing up on the farm, Nathan gained an appreciation for politics and public service and saw the impact that agriculture and trade policy had on his family and community. When he opened the Milton Freewater Valley Herald one morning and saw an opening for an internship in my Washington, D.C. office, he applied and was soon off to our nation's capital.

The work ethic that Nathan learned on the farm was seen from day one when he started in my office. His first full day in D.C. was on a Saturday, but rather than tour the sights as he had planned, Nathan opted to pitch in with the team. He spent the better part of that day in ``The Cage'' helping fold thousands of outgoing constituent letters and get my mail out the door. It definitely wasn't the glamorous start that he may have expected!

Nathan rose quickly through the ranks in our office. He was hired on full time as a staff assistant after a few short months as an intern and was later promoted to Legislative Correspondent, Legislative Assistant, and Legislative Director.

He served the people of Oregon's Second District--and the country-- with his firm grasp of policy issues that mattered to people back home--from promoting Oregon's wonderful agriculture around the world to putting people back to work in the woods to expanding American energy.

If something needed to be done in our office, Nathan would do it. No job was too big or too small--from negotiating landmark legislation to hiring and mentoring young staffers to greeting visiting Oregonians.

One of Nathan's side hobbies is photography. Nathan was always looking for the perfect shot--for committee hearings, for World War II veterans on an Honor Flight, or for his family. In early 2009 during an Energy and Commerce hearing on the salmonella outbreak, I held up a canister of contaminated products and asked the manufacturer if he was willing to eat his own product. Nathan captured this exchange with an excellent photo that was ultimately used by national media outlets and was seen all over the country.

Nathan leaves my office with a long list of accomplishments as well as friends who highly admire him. But most importantly, he leaves with his wonderful family. Nathan met Emily shortly after he was hired in my office, and they married in 2010. A native of Akron, Ohio, Emily is a child and adolescent psychologist. She has served the children and families of combat injured service members as part of Operation BRAVE Families at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Like Nathan, Emily is a true and highly dedicated public servant.

Nathan is no longer a formal member of my staff, but he'll always be a highly valued member of Team Walden. We miss Nathan's intellect, humor and care. I am certain that he will continue to exhibit in his local community the values he showed on my team--Eastern Oregon values like hard work, service, and loyalty.

In a special address to Congress on January 9, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower said ``The proper role of government, however, is that of a partner with the farmer--never his master. By every possible means we must develop and promote that partnership--to the end that agriculture may continue to be a sound, enduring foundation for our economy and that farm living may be a profitable and satisfying experience.'' As Nathan departed Washington, D.C. after many years of utilizing his expertise in agriculture to improve our nation's policies--efforts often met by others' misunderstanding of agriculture--he was very well suited to fully appreciate President Eisenhower's noble thoughts. Whether working in Congress or from the family farm, Nathan Rea will make his community a better place and represent his industry with honor.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to invite our colleagues to join me in thanking Nathan and his family for their service to the people of Oregon and the country, and wish them the very best of luck as they make their new life back home in Oregon.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the rich history and successes of the Oregon Cattlemen's Association as they celebrate their 100th anniversary this week in their birthplace: Baker City, Oregon. I commend the Oregon Cattlemen's Association for their century of commitment to producing high quality livestock, managing our natural resources, and being a highly respected voice for Oregon's livestock industry.

On May 14th, 1913, over 100 ranchers met in Baker City with concerns about the high rate of livestock theft. They sought to create an organization that would represent the livestock industry, guard against theft, and implement a brand inspection program for livestock markets. During that inaugural meeting, 51 attendees joined as charter members of the ``Oregon Cattle and Horse Raiser Association,'' which eventually became the Oregon Cattlemen's Association.

In 1913, the new association provided a much-needed voice to an industry facing chronic outbreaks of livestock theft across the range. It was reported that a rancher could turn out 500 horses for the summer, and only gather up 150 before winter. The organization brought its concern to local and state leaders, who worked with them to implement a system of brand laws and a brand inspection program. This effort cemented the Oregon Cattlemen's Association as an indispensable part of the state's livestock industry.

Ranching runs deep in Oregon's history. Way back in 1834, nearly a decade before the first of the famous covered wagons came via the Oregon Trail, Ewing Young drove a herd of cattle from California to Oregon, establishing one of the first large commercial cattle grazing operations in Oregon. Ranchers today continue in many centuries-old traditions like moving cattle horseback, grazing cattle on large tracts of land, and raising prized horses. Much of the work is physically demanding, occurring from ``dawn to done''.

These communities, and the ranchers that support them, understand that raising livestock takes more than just hard hands and a stubborn will. Today, ranchers must look towards the needs of their customers, the protection of the environment, building collaborative relationships with the government and non-governmental partners, and care for their livestock.

Like many other areas of the West, ranchers in Oregon face many of the same challenges as their counterparts did in 1913--from Mother Nature's inconsistent attitude, loss of livestock to theft and predatory animals, ever changing markets, to burdensome costs and an overabundance of government involvement in the cattle business. Like in the past, ranchers have a horseback view, up close and personal, regarding the effect that management practices have on the land, cattle, and ultimately the consumer. Advances in science including range and meadow management, veterinary medicine, and nutrition offer new avenues for building on tradition.

Additionally, ranchers have something in common with many city dwellers: they have a passion for healthy soils, plants, water, and wildlife, maintaining large open spaces, and ensuring a future place to share with family and friends. The Oregon Cattlemen's Association and its members continue to work towards solutions so they can to keep producing the high quality livestock that feeds the world. As the younger generation take over their families' operations, they will continue that legacy well into the next century.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in congratulating the Oregon Cattlemen's Association on their century of commitment to livestock producers in Oregon and recognize them for all they have done for livestock producers, the state of Oregon, and those across the West that make their living off the land. I am very proud to represent them in the United States Congress, and I wish them the very best for their next 100 years and beyond.

I thank my colleagues from Oregon and Washington for their work on this amendment, bringing it forward. Look, this is extraordinarily important to men and women who work in the woods in the Northwest and across the United States.

As you've heard, for nearly four decades the Environmental Protection Agency said that driving down a forest road was not the same as pumping raw sewage into a river. They're much different activities. This amendment would prevent the Federal Government from subjecting forested communities and businesses to further costly permits for everyday activities like driving down a road.

Rural forested communities in the Northwest have been hurting for a very long time. Those who live there, we know about all the high unemployment rate, we know about the high poverty rate, we know about the percentage of kids on free and reduced lunch because of burdensome Federal regulations that have shut down activity on our Federal forests. Now lawsuits threaten to do this on our private forests as well. The last thing we need is more costly and lawsuit-prone regulations that will further impact rural communities and the good people who live there that simply want the opportunity to work in the woods, raise their families, and grow in the communities.

Passing this bipartisan amendment will provide some certainty moving forward for rural forested communities, forest managers, and the people who work in the woods. So I urge my colleagues to stand for jobs, stand for rural America, and vote for this bipartisan amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the 27 World War II veterans from Oregon who will be visiting their memorial this Saturday in Washington, DC through Honor Flight of Oregon. On behalf of a grateful State and country, we welcome these heroes to the nation's capital.

The veterans on this flight from Oregon are as follows: Albert G. Archer, U.S. Army; Edmund D. Fowler, U.S. Army; Wilbur ``Wib'' Hart, U.S. Army; Walter E. Koerschner, U.S. Army; Ernest J. Lathrop, U.S. Army; Elmer Lively, U.S. Army; Richard H. Young, U.S. Army; Milton F. Cook, U.S. Army Air Force; Ovie ``Bob'' Holman, U.S. Army Air Force; Brook ``Hap'' Lovell, U.S. Army Air Force; Clifford J. Larson, U.S. Air Force; James A. Curran, U.S. Navy; Marvin E. Haynie, U.S. Navy; Raymond Jones, U.S. Navy; Eugene L. Kern, U.S. Navy; Gordon L. Lentz, U.S. Navy; Robert W. Moore, U.S. Navy; Marshall P. Ramsey, U.S. Navy; William G. Rugh, U.S. Navy; Clarence L. Schick, U.S. Navy; Robert K. Schroth, U.S. Navy; Leslie O. Stinnett, U.S. Navy; Ralph L. Sweet, U.S. Navy; Olaf Tomlinson, U.S. Navy; Roy F. Wiese, U.S. Navy; Anthony J. Kanclier, U.S. Marine; Leo Manus, U.S. Merchant Marine.

These 27 heroes join more than 98,000 veterans from across the country who, since 2005, have journeyed from their home states to Washington, DC to reflect at the memorials built in honor of our nation's veterans.

Mr. Speaker, each of us is humbled by the courage of these soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who put themselves in harm's way for our country and way of life. As a nation, we can never fully repay the debt of gratitude owed to them for their honor, commitment, and sacrifice in defense of the freedoms we have today.

My colleagues, please join me in thanking these veterans and the volunteers of Honor Flight of Oregon for their exemplary dedication and service to this great country. I especially want to recognize and thank Gail Yakopatz for her tireless work as president of Honor Flight of Oregon.