Fun_People Archive
14 Mar
Corporate Welfare-Below-cost Timber; ALERT
Date: Tue, 14 Mar 95 11:53:21 PST
From: Peter Langston <psl>
To: Fun_People
Subject: Corporate Welfare-Below-cost Timber; ALERT
[No fun here... -psl]
Begin forwarded message:
Date: Tue, 14 Mar 1995 10:29:40 -0500
Originator: corporate-welfare@essential.org
Precedence: bulk
From: Michael Ward <mike@essential.org>
To: Multiple recipients of list <corporate-welfare@essential.org>
Subject: Corporate Welfare-Below-cost Timber; ALERT
Mime-Version: 1.0
C O R P O R A T E W E L F A R E - Policy Notes
March 14, 1995
Attached is a message from the TAP-RESOURCES distribution list
regarding a special interest provision in a House recision bill which is
scheduled to be voted on tomorrow. Read on --
Michael Ward
--------------------
Distributed to TAP-RESOURCES, a free Internet Distribution List
(subscription requests to listproc@tap.org)
TAXPAYER ASSETS PROJECT - NATURAL RESOURCES POLICY ADVISORY
(please distribute freely)
TAP-RESOURCES
March 13, 1994
* Special interest provision inserted at the behest of timber
industry will cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of
dollars, restrict judicial review of forest sales, and
degrade America's public lands
On Wednesday, March 15th, the House of Representatives is
scheduled to vote on H.R. 1159. This recision bill, which
defunds education programs and subsidized home heating programs,
mandates the Forest Service to sell over 6 billion board feet of
timber during the next two years -- regardless of cost to the
taxpayer. The "Emergency Salvage" language disguises a
government handout of below cost timber under the ruse of forest
health. Please contact your Congress person and ask them to
support an amendment to strike the "Emergency Salvage" language.
All members of congress can be reached through the Capitol
switchboard at (202)234-3121. You can also get specific phone and fax
numbers on the essential.org gopher. Gopher essential.org, then go to 4.
Gov't databases accessible via gopher, then go to 10. search phone/fax
for members of Congress.
Attached is a letter to Speaker Gingrich and Members of the
House Rules Committee asking them to remove the "Emergency
Salvage" language.
Ned Daly
Taxpayer Assets Project
(202)387-8030
ned@tap.org
________________________________________________________________
Taxpayer Assets Project
March 13, 1995
Representative Newt Gingrich
Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington D.C. 20515
Members of the Rules Committee
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington D.C. 20515
Dear Representatives,
The House Appropriations Committee has approved a recision
bill, H.R. 1159, which is intended to reduce the burden on the
American taxpayer by the government's unbridled and unnecessary
spending. Included in this bill -- which cuts funding for
education programs, subsidized home heating programs and defense
waste cleanup -- is a special interest provision that will cost
taxpayers at least $300 million. The Taxpayer Assets Project
would like the Rules Committee to allow all points of order
regarding Charles Taylor's timber salvage amendment. This
provision mocks the intentions of H.R. 1159.
The "Emergency Timber Salvage" amendment offered by
Representatives Charles Taylor (R-NC) and Norm Dicks (D-WA)
forces the taxpayers of this country to continue a corporate
welfare program for large timber corporations that will wreak
havoc on America's wildland heritage and many sustainable
communities in the West. If the Forest Service could carry out
the provisions of this bill, which it believes it cannot, the
price paid by the taxpayer would be in the hundreds of millions.
The bill would effect taxpayers in three ways: 1) increase
wasteful spending, 2) restrict judicial review, 3) further
degrade America's public lands.
To juxtapose this giveaway along side provisions which will
force many Americans to sacrifice, denies this whole effort any
credibility in the eyes of the public. The following language
from the amendment certainly does not belong in a appropriations
recision bill.
(5) COST CONSIDERATIONS.-- Forest health management
activities undertaken pursuant to this section shall
not be precluded because the costs of such activities
are likely to exceed the revenues derived from such
activities.
To make matters worse, the salvage amendment restricts
citizens ability to appeal and review judicially government
actions. In the past, salmon fishermen, ranchers, sportsmen,
environmentalists, and community groups have all appealed timber
sales because of the adverse effects on their livelihoods,
communities and publicly owned resources. There is no
justification for closing the courthouse door on citizens who are
harmed by poorly planned government actions.
(8) EFFECT ON JUDICIAL DECISIONS. -- The Secretary
concerned may conduct salvage timber sales under the
authority of this section during the emergency period
notwithstanding any decision, restraining order, or
injunction issued by a United States court issued
before the date of the enactment of this section.
(e) ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.-- Salvage timber
sales...shall not be subject to administrative review.
(f) JUDICIAL REVIEW. --(3)PROHIBITION ON RESTRAINING
ORDERS, PRELIMINARY INJUNCTIONS, AND RELIEF PENDING
REVIEW. -- No restraining order or preliminary
injunction shall be issued by an court of the United
States with respect to any decision to prepare,
advertise, offer, award, or operate a salvage timber
sale...
Operating under the guise of a forest health "emergency",
this amendment would force the Forest Service to sell six billion
board feet of timber under their Salvage Timber Sale program at a
loss to the taxpayer. Mandating such a large cut, without regard
to specific forest health problems, will ravage roadless areas,
further degrading functional ecosystems.
As Dr. Janice Shields points out in the report accompanying
this letter, "Salvage sales do not have to return the cost of
essential reforestation for the site logged or even the costs
incurred to arrange the sale, and remit no money to the federal
treasury." Even the Forest Service admits to losing millions of
dollars to the pork barrel policies of salvage logging.
This is an amendment we cannot afford. The "Emergency Timber
Salvage" amendment must be removed from H.R. 1159 to preserve the
integrity of our forests and our Treasury.
Sincerely,
Edward J. Daly
Public Policy Analyst
Taxpayer Assets Porject
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© 1995 Peter Langston
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