Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, the failure of Congress to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools and Communities Self-Determination Act amounts to another breach of faith to more than 600 forested counties and 4,400 school districts across our great country.

For Wallowa County, Oregon, this means the road department and the sheriff search and rescue budgets will be slashed in half. There are more than 700 miles of roads in Wallowa County maintained by a current staff of 14. Soon only seven will try and keep up with this responsibility; that is one person for every 100 miles of road in Wallowa County. That is the same distance as between Washington, DC, and Richmond, Virginia. County Commissioner Mike Hayward says, ``Impact to our roads and rescue services will put our citizens and visitors at risk.''

Loss of the county payments program will also have a significant negative impact on more than 18 county governments across America whose Payment in Lieu of Taxes funds could be reduced by as much as 20 percent.

This Congress must keep the Federal Government's word to the people who live in timbered communities and pass H.R. 17. Time is running out for them.

Mr. Speaker, the failure of Congress to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act amounts to a breach of faith to the almost 600 forested counties across America and 4,400 school districts.

Hood River County, Oregon, is my home and hosts two of Oregon's icons: Mount Hood and the powerful Columbia River, both attractions for outdoor recreation and the dangers that come with it. Surely you remember the December search for the mountain climbers lost on Mount Hood? This event unfolded just miles from my home.

The county paid for this rescue and recovery effort entirely with county payment funds. This included the airplanes, snowcats and equipment for volunteers, radios and medical supplies.

County Sheriff Joe Vampler says, ``We will do search and rescue on Federal lands and waterways no matter what but the Nation must share this cost.''

County payments also fund many other vital services like the County Health Department's vaccination program for children.

County Commission Chair Ron Rivers says, ``The loss of these funds will have a significant impact on all services, including those provided to protect our most vulnerable citizens.''

Congress must keep the Federal Government's word to timbered communities and pass H.R. 17. Time is running out.

Madam Speaker, the failure of Congress to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act amounts to a breach of faith to more than 600 forested counties and 4,400 school districts across our country. For Wasco County, Oregon, this means cutting core school programs, removing the one detective from the drug enforcement task force, and losing 40 percent of the road department employees.

In their own words, Sheriff Rick Eisland says, ``Losing these funds will leave a huge void in our fight against illegal drug activity and we would also be forced to cut our contract with the Forest Service to patrol in the Federal lands.''

School Superintendent Candy Armstrong says, ``Rural schools have nowhere else to cut except core services. Lost funding represents the entire high school math program.''

And Judge Dan Ericksen says, ``Roads are the lifeblood of rural America, and losing this funding is the equivalent of applying tourniquets to our arms and legs. We will no longer be able to function.''

My colleagues, Congress must keep the Federal Government's word to timber communities and pass H.R. 17. Time is running out.

Mr. Speaker, the failure of Congress to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act is a breach of faith to more than 600 forested counties across America and 4,400 school districts.

For Crook County, OR, this means real cuts in jail beds, sheriffs' patrols, criminal prosecutions and the pursuit of methamphetamine cooks. These services were once funded by timber receipts, but, because of the virtual elimination of timber harvest, a county which once supported seven saw mills employing thousands of people does not have a single operating mill today.

Crook County Judge Scott Cooper says, ``The Federal Government has been pursuing a comprehensive strategy of disinvestment in rural communities,'' and he is right.

Congress' inaction hurts our children, too. Central Oregonian Jeff Sanders, president of the Oregon School Boards Association, is here on Capitol Hill with us today pleading for Congress to act on the behalf of the 560,000 K-12 school children in Oregon.

My colleagues, Congress must keep the Federal Government's word to timbered communities and pass H.R. 17. Time is running out.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Washington State for yielding time.

Mr. Speaker, I am here today to talk about the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act, H.R. 17, of which the chairman of the Rules Committee is a cosponsor.

I went before the Rules Committee yesterday with an amendment cosponsored by my colleague from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio) to reauthorize, or to appropriate, I should say, not reauthorize, for 1 year, just 1 year, funds for our schools and roads in our communities, $400 million.

To meet the PAYGO test, we provided a mechanism. It is not the most elegant mechanism out there, but it was an across-the-board reduction in all spending by .00086 percent, or 1 penny out of $11.59 spent in this bill.

Today, across America, in more than 4,400 school districts in 600 counties, layoff notices are going out for teachers, for sheriffs' deputies, for search-and-rescue patrols, for essential services in our counties. Libraries in Jackson County, Oregon, will close in April, all 15 of them, because the last Congress and now this Congress has failed to take action, failed.

The distinguished gentleman who chairs the Appropriations Committee says, this is mandatory spending; we can't touch it in our bill. You can't authorize in this bill, oh, unless you got a waiver from the Rules Committee, because you cannot stand here and tell me there aren't programs being funded in this bill that have fully been authorized. I don't believe it is the case. This is one such program, and you made the choice not to do it here.

Now, many of you have indicated that you will work with us to fund this somewhere else, and I am deeply appreciative of that. The chairwoman of the Rules Committee, a cosponsor of this reauthorization legislation, made that commitment yesterday, I believe, to work with us on some other vehicle.

But I just have to tell you how dramatic this is in my district and in districts across this country where school board administrators are having to tell their teachers, next year I can't guarantee you will have a contract, and I have to be able to do that by March 1. They are putting out the layoff notices. They are looking at shutting down vital services. All because this Federal Government made a decision at some point to stop harvesting timber on Federal forest land in a significant measure, an 80 to 85 percent reduction, that this Congress, through its actions in the past and lawsuits and everything else, brought to a dramatic halt, active management of our Federal force.

Last year in America, 9 million acres burned, and this Congress had to appropriate $1.5 billion to put out forest fires and grassland fires, the most in the history of our country, following another year that was the most.

We will not change the policy so we get commonsense management of our forests. Now, for the first time in nearly 100 years you break the commitment that the Federal Government has had since Teddy Roosevelt was President and created the great forest reserves, to be a good neighbor to the counties where up to 70 or 80 percent of the Federal lands in their counties are owned and managed or mismanaged, in some of our opinions, by the Federal Government.

School kids in my district out in Grant County boarding this bus are going to be traveling on roads where the road department is basically being eliminated.

I want to share with you a letter from a fifth grader in Ashland, Oregon. A fifth grader in Ashland, Oregon, gets it and understands that this Congress ought to be able to understand it and get it. She wrote to me after going to a Martin Luther King event and decided she ought to get involved in public service. Her mother is a school teacher; her father is a professor.

``I live in Ashland and go to Bellview School. I am in fifth grade. I use our library a lot. We always borrow books on tape for car trips. My New Year's resolution is to read all the `Hank the Cowdog' books, and the library has them all. I need the library to stay open so I can finish my resolution. I also use a lot of books there for school reports.

``Please help to keep our library system open!

``Sincerely, Alice.''

I appreciate your willingness to work with us in the future. I wish we could have had the amendment made in order in this resolution so that Alice could get her school books and the layoff notices wouldn't go out.

The Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (H.R. 17 a.k.a. County Payments), in both this Congress and the last, has been a strongly bipartisan issue.

The DeFazio-Walden legislation to reauthorize and fund the County Payments program for seven years enjoys the support of 98 Members of their House.

I would like to thank the members of the Rules Committee who heard me out yesterday on a DeFazio-Walden amendment which would have restored funding for this vital program. I would like to thank Congressmen McGovern, Alcee Hastings (FL) and Cardoza, who following my remarks in Committee, joined Chairwoman Slaughter and Congressman Doc Hastings (WA) as cosponsors of H.R. 17.

As I have said in eight of 18 one-minute Floor speeches, the failure of Congress to reauthorize the County Payments program is a breach of faith to more than 600 forested counties and 4,400 school districts across America.

The DeFazio-Walden amendment offered in the Rules Committee yesterday would have provided the vital $400 million to fund this program for one year as we work to fully reauthorize and fund the program. The amendment would have met the PAYGO rule by providing a .00086 percent across-the-board reduction in the [$463 billion] CR we are considering today. This fraction of a percent reduction amounts to one penny out of every $11.59 which will be appropriated in this CR.

One penny is all that rural counties and school districts across this country need.

Without this penny, what will happen to rural America's forested counties and school districts? Severe cuts in funding for jail beds, sheriff's patrols, and criminal prosecutions, and the pursuit of meth cooks. Rural school districts will forego overdue repairs, not buy textbooks, or face significant challenges bussing kids to school.

Libraries will close in places like Jackson County, Oregon. In fact, during the Rules Committee discussion yesterday, Chairwoman Slaughter commented that ``even during the Depression we didn't close libraries.'' I would like to draw your attention to a letter I received from Alice, a fifth-grader from Ashland, Oregon who utilizes one of the 15 Jackson County libraries scheduled to close in April if this vital funding is not restored.

There are further impacts. Surely you remember the searches for the Kim Family in southern Oregon and the mountain climbers on Mt. Hood? Both Jackson and Hood River Counties used equipment and personnel paid for in part by the County Payments program in those searches. The Klamath County, Oregon sheriff's force of 35 officers will be cut by one-third. They patrol an area 100 times the size of the District of Columbia.

These vital county services and rural school programs were once funded by timber receipts. The virtual elimination of timber harvest in our Federal forests prompted Congress to provide payments to develop forest health improvement projects on public lands and simultaneously stimulate job development and community economic stability.

Consider that Oregon's Second District, which I represent, is 60 percent public land; 78 percent of Harney County is public land; 79 percent of Deschutes County is public land; 72 percent of Hood River County is public land.

While these forest and range lands are America's treasures, these vast tracts of land do not provide a tax base for communities, greatly reducing the amount of revenue that can be generated for services like schools, libraries, and law enforcement.

I appreciate the kind words from the Rules Committee members and their commitment to work with Congressman DeFazio and myself to find the appropriate legislative vehicle to deal with this rural Federal funding crisis.

We must not wait any longer--pink slips are being sent to county employees, rural school programs are being cut, and Alice, the fifth- grader from Ashland, Oregon is losing her library--time is running out.

Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will yield, I think I can clarify it, although I am on the minority side.

Mr. Speaker, the bill, I think, has been referred to both the Natural Resources Committee and the Agriculture Committee. In the last Congress, my subcommittee and the full Resources Committee passed the bill out to the Agriculture Committee, where no further action was taken, nor was there any action taken by the United States Senate, which was no great surprise.

Madam Speaker, the failure of Congress to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act is another day with another broken promise.

When the Federal Government abruptly slashed timber harvest, the economy in Harney County, Oregon, population about 7,000, nearly collapsed. Hundreds of family-wage jobs were lost; 78 percent of the land mass in Harney County is controlled by the Federal Government so the government's decision had a dramatic effect on the people who live there.

In 2000, Congress did the right thing by approving the county payments program which in Harney County supports roads, community services, and Burns High School where 60 percent of the student body takes vocational classes.

Take Jim Gibbon, a Burns High graduate and 4-year vocational classes participant. Through that learning, he is now co-owner of Burns Ford and they employ 20 people.

County Judge Steve Grasty says, ``Loss of this program means losing future opportunities for young people here and in rural counties across America.''

This Congress must keep the Federal Government's word to timber communities and pass H.R. 17. Time is running out.

Mr. Speaker, the failure of Congress to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act is a breach of faith to more than 600 forested counties and 4,400 school districts across America.

Mr. Speaker, 78 percent of the land in Deschutes County, Oregon, is controlled by the Federal Government. It is a recreational and outdoor paradise. Funds from this program have supported public safety, emergency medical, search and rescue operations, and much more to protect the more than 2 million people who come to central Oregon to recreate every year.

County Sheriff Les Stiles says, ``Search and rescue is a matter of life and death in central Oregon, and supporting these programs is essential given the surge in outdoor recreation.''

Our school kids are hurt, too, because this program has not been reauthorized yet. At the Bend-LaPine School District, administrators face the task of bigger class sizes or fewer teachers as they struggle to meet State and Federal mandates. School Superintendent Doug Nelson says, ``These funds help us ensure programs which don't leave kids behind.''

Mr. Speaker, Congress must keep the Federal Government's word to timber communities. Pass H.R. 17. Time is running out.

Mr. Speaker, the failure of Congress to reauthorize and fund the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self- Determination Act amounts to a breach of faith to more than 600 forested counties across America.

For rural Lake County, Oregon, no stranger to economic challenges, this means 93 percent of the county's road budget has vanished. With 709 miles of road to maintain during rugged winters, basic maintenance and sure passage for school buses and emergency vehicles will be crippled.

County Commissioner Brad Winters says, ``Without these dollars, the destruction of our roads through lack of repair will be inevitable and we will be back to dirt.''

Failure to reauthorize delivers a blow to our schools, too. School District Superintendent Judy Graham put it this way: ``Our past challenges have made it difficult to offer even limited services. Losing county payments funding will devastate the environment our children rely upon to learn and grow.''

My colleagues, Congress must pass H.R. 17 and keep the Federal Government's promise to timbered communities. Time is running out.

Madam Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Madam Speaker, the failure of Congress to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act amounts to breach of faith to the more than 600 forested counties across America.

For Grant County, Oregon, where 61 percent of the land in the county is Federal, this means the school district will now be forced to eliminate essential school programs and nearly double class sizes, delay school repairs and begin telling teachers, administrators and staff who gets to stay and who has to go.

School Superintendent Newell Cleaver puts it this way: ``We are watching our infrastructure being destroyed as this issue is debated in Congress. This program is the difference between rural schools remaining competitive with urban schools or not.''

Grant County Commissioner Boyd Britton says, ``If the Federal Government would simply allow us to manage these natural resources, we would not need these funds. However, losing these funds will be felt by every man, woman and child in the county, especially the school children.''

My colleagues, Congress needs to pass H.R. 17 and keep the Federal Government's word to timbered communities and the citizens who live there. Time is running out for them.

Mr. Speaker, the failure of Congress to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act results in a broken promise to over 600 forested counties across this country.

Surely you remember the frantic search last month for James Kim and his family in the Federal forests of southern Oregon. Josephine County relied on critical emergency resources in this heart-breaking effort. Ninety percent of the county's search and rescue budget has been funded by this Federal program, which this Congress has not reauthorized. Likewise, the county utilizes an emergency phone notification system to alert homeowners to disasters and emergencies. They used it during the search for the Kim family.

Sixty-five percent of Josephine County's land base is Federal. When disaster strikes, quick information response is literally a matter of life and death. Failure to reauthorize this program means these county services may not be funded and may not be available.

As Josephine County Commissioner Dave Toler said, the loss of this program ``is about more than numbers. Its loss will change our lives for many more years to come.''

My colleagues, it is high time for Congress to reauthorize this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, this Congress and the last has failed to keep the Federal Government's commitment to the people who live near our national forests. This breach of faith means Greg Thede, the Klamath County school district superintendent, is faced with the choice of letting teachers go, not purchasing English and reading books for all K-12 programs for nearly a decade, or robbing from the school maintenance budget to cover budget shortfalls.

The Klamath County Sheriff's force of 35 officers, which currently patrols a 6,000 square mile area, that is nearly 100 times larger than the District of Columbia, my colleagues, will now be protected with no backup and by as few as 20 officers.

Klamath County, Oregon, is no stranger to hardship nor to hard work; however, they had to endure much of both in the past few years because the Federal Government keeps breaking its commitment to this rural community. As Al Switzer, Klamath County commissioner says: ``These are America's forests; they just happen to be in Klamath County.''

It is time for Congress to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act, keep faith with rural schools and counties, and keep the word of the Federal Government to timbered communities.

Mr. Speaker, this Congress and the last have failed to keep the Federal Government's commitment to the people who live near our national forests. This breach of faith means 100 hardworking county employees in Jackson County, Oregon, will lose their jobs in June. That is 10 percent of the county's workforce.

Within 3 months, Jackson County will close all 15 county libraries and slash their road budget.

Remember the heart wrenching search for the Kim family lost in the national forest in southern Oregon? Jackson County used their equipment to help in that search, equipment and personnel paid for by the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act. As Jackson County Commissioner C.W. Smith said: ``Loss of this program is a national domestic funding crisis.''

I call on the Democratic leadership to put H.R. 17 on your 100-hour legislative agenda. Keep faith with rural schools and counties. Keep the word of the Federal Government to timbered communities.

Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight, our final night of the 109th Congress, to express my gratitude to and appreciation for a very good friend of mine, Mr. Brian J. Hard. I've had the honor of counting on Brian's exemplary service to my office and the people of Oregon's Second Congressional District for the past 8 years, and at the end of this month Brian will conclude his service in the United States House of Representatives as he returns home to the great State of Oregon with his lovely bride, Laura. This occasion will cap 12 years of outstanding public service by Brian in the Congress, and this distinguished institution will be losing one of its finest staff members.

I first got to know Brian when I was the Majority Leader of the Oregon House of Representatives and he was fresh out of Oregon State University and had begun his service to our state in the Oregon Capitol. He succeeded in numerous professional capacities in Oregon and eventually accepted a key staff position in 1995 with one of my predecessors in the Oregon congressional delegation in Washington, DC. Brian and I renewed our ties in 1998 when I first ran for election to Congress and he was working for the honorable Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, Bob Smith, whom I succeeded. I was very fortunate when Brian accepted my offer to work in my office upon my election, thus beginning a harmonious and successful relationship.

As my Legislative Director for the vast majority of my service in the House, Brian has played a pivotal role in so many accomplishments we've worked hard to achieve for the people of Oregon. He has been a highly effective point person for numerous key issues over the years, from commerce, telecommunications and health care, to transportation, agriculture, trade matters and many other issues that have arisen and quickly needed a steady hand to manage. In addition to the legislative issues that consume much of our focus in the Congress, Brian has recruited and led a strong team of legislative staff in my office. He's also fostered extensive relationships with a great number of citizens, leaders and public officials in the Pacific Northwest and Washington, DC. And when the sheer overload of activity has heightened stress levels, we've always been able to count on Brian's fantastic sense of humor to bring a much-needed dose of comic relief.

Brian's professional attributes have been a tremendous resource for me and those I represent. For his public service and dedication, I'm grateful. As important to me as the constant hard work Brian has exerted in our effort to deliver to Oregonians is the strong friendship I share with him. Brian is simply one of the most sincere and likable persons one can have the good fortune of knowing well. This goes for Laura Hard too. They're a wonderful couple, and I'm very proud to count them as close friends.

As Brian and Laura begin their journey homeward bound, I ask my colleagues to join me in bidding them a heartfelt official farewell, with significant thanks to Brian for 12 years of outstanding service to Oregon and our Nation. You will be sorely missed.

Go Ducks!

I want to thank the gentleman from Maryland, especially the gentleman from California, for their great work on many pieces of legislation before this body.

Mr. Speaker, I represent a large part of the Klamath Basin, and indeed it has been plagued with enormous problems over many years, literally dating back far before this administration. But it has been pointed out a couple of times on this House floor that it hasn't done anything in Klamath Basin, and I would argue that is simply, factually, an error.

In fact, after the water cutoff of April 6, 2001, this administration, barely a few months into office, got involved in this basin in an unprecedented way to try to bring different partners together to try to find solutions, and there is a lot of work that has been done to improve water quality, to improve irrigation standards, to put more water in the river, to make a fish passage improve, up and down the whole river system.

There is also an enormous amount of other work that needs to be done.

There is a very cooperative, very, frankly, exciting group meeting together right now, probably as we speak, trying to come up with a comprehensive solution that involves the tribes, the farmers, environmentalists, power companies, everybody involved in this basin.

This administration, this Congress, put forth $10 million to screen the ``A'' canal so that sucker larvae could come back into Klamath Lake; 100,000 acre feet of water was put in streams away from agriculture, and a water bank to put more water into this system. We have passed the authority and funding to remove Chiloquin Dam to improve fish passage, the upper end that deals with sucker recovery.

In the farm bill, $50 million, the only earmark for EQUIP funding, was carved out by this Congress to help in terms of both irrigation efficiency and conservation programs and partnerships between farmers to put more water into the system. There is an enormous effort under way in this basin by this administration, by this administration, and in a bipartisan way by this Congress. We recognize more work needs to be done.