U.S. Senator Pete V. Domenici (R-Nm) Holds a Hearing On the Fiscal Year 2007 Budget for the U.S. Forest Service

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U.S. Senator Pete V. Domenici (R-Nm) Holds a Hearing On the Fiscal Year 2007 Budget for the U.S. Forest Service

(CORRECTED COPY: CORRECTS SPEAKER ID AT START)

U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES HOLDS A HEARING ON THE FISCAL YEAR 2007 BUDGET FOR THE U.S. FOREST SERVICE

FEBRUARY 28, 2006

SPEAKERS: U.S. SENATOR PETE V. DOMENICI (R-NM) CHAIRMAN U.S. SENATOR LARRY E. CRAIG (R-ID) U.S. SENATOR CRAIG THOMAS (R-WY) U.S. SENATOR LAMAR ALEXANDER (R-TN) U.S. SENATOR LISA MURKOWSKI (R-AK) U.S. SENATOR RICHARD BURR (R-NC) U.S. SENATOR MEL MARTINEZ (R-FL) U.S. SENATOR JAMES M. TALENT (R-MO) U.S. SENATOR CONRAD BURNS (R-MT) U.S. SENATOR GEORGE ALLEN (R-VA) U.S. SENATOR GORDON SMITH (R-OR) U.S. SENATOR JIM BUNNING (R-KY)

U.S. SENATOR JEFF BINGAMAN (D-NM) RANKING MEMBER U.S. SENATOR DANIEL K. AKAKA (D-HI) U.S. SENATOR BYRON L. DORGAN (D-ND) U.S. SENATOR RON WYDEN (D-OR) U.S. SENATOR TIM JOHNSON (D-SD) U.S. SENATOR MARY L. LANDRIEU (D-LA) U.S. SENATOR DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D-CA) U.S. SENATOR MARIA CANTWELL (D-WA) U.S. SENATOR ROBERT MENENDEZ (D-NJ) U.S. SENATOR KEN SALAZAR (D-CO)

WITNESSES: MARK REY, UNDERSECRETARY FOR NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE ENVIRONMENT, U.S. AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT

DALE BOSWORTH, U.S. FOREST SERVICE CHIEF

[*] THOMAS: We call the committee to order.

The chairman is on his way but said we could go ahead and get started, and I'm sure he'll be here soon.

We welcome our witnesses here today. We appreciate very much you being here.

We think, of course, this is a very important issue to all of us and we're anxious to discuss it with you. So I really don't have an opening statement other than I do want to thank you for being here. It's very important to our state and what we do there in terms of the budget and what we do in terms of the allocation of funding is key.

So let me turn to Senator Bingaman.

Senator Bingaman?

BINGAMAN: Well, thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

I did want to mention just a few items before we start the testimony if I could, concerns that I have with the Forest Service budget. I think one major concern, as I understand the budget, is the proposal to sell off $800 million in national forests in order to partially fund and then to terminate this county payments program. This is a program that Senators Wyden and Craig on our committee have taken the lead in. It's been very successful, and it's brought people together to reinvest in the restoration of our federal lands.

I'm concerned that the budget proposal is a significant distraction for the agency personnel that have a lot of important work they need to be doing, and I would hope that we could go ahead with a bipartisan effort to reauthorize that county payments program in spite of the budget proposal. But that's something that we need to ask the witnesses about.

A second issue is drought. It's a very real issue in my state and in much of the West. In the Southwest, we're struggling to prepare for what looks to be the worst catastrophic fire season we've had.

The proposed budget calls for the fire preparedness program to be cut by 20 percent, and that is on top of cuts that were made the year before. The budget proposes another $10 million being cut from the national preparedness program with pretty dramatic cuts in state fire assistance and the virtual elimination of the fire rehabilitation program. That is certainly contrary to the view that I would find anywhere in my state.

The lack of funding for hazardous fuel reduction projects is also a concern. We have tens of thousands of acres of projects in the Southwest that have completed the NEPA analysis. The notice and the comments, they're ready fo...

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