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Healthy Forests Restoration Act The first major legislative component of the President's Healthy Forests Initiative, the Healthy Forests Restoration Act (HR 1904), passed muster at the House Resources Committee, the House Agriculture Committee, and even passed through a late-scheduled stop at the House Judiciary Committee -- and arrived on the House Floor on May 20, where it passed, without amendment, by a strong 256-170 majority, with 42 Democrats joining 214 Republicans in support. In essence, the bill enables federal land managers to undertake fuel reduction and forest health projects on overstocked federal forests, while specifying time limits and judicial guidelines on project-level appeals. It also establishes new conservation programs focused on improving water quality and regenerating declining forest ecosystems on non-federal lands, including incentives to develop biomass fuel markets. The President gave House passage a special boost -- and exhorted the Senate to take equally strong action -- in a very much-to-the-point speech he delivered at the White House the morning of May 20. For the complete text, please click here. Forest-dependent communities provided strong and effective support for the passage of HR 1904. The bill was the main focus of the Pulp & Paperworkers Resource Council's, the American Loggers Council's, and the Federated Women in Timber's lobbying missions in Washington this year, and several organizations provided e-lobbying support by mobilizing members to contact their Representatives through www.landsense.us. Passage in the Senate will be more difficult than passage in the House was and will require a very strong push from constituents. Although a majority favoring the measure probably exists, the Senate minority leadership may decide to obstruct the bill by mounting a filibuster which, under that chamber's rules, would require a 60-vote majority to end. On the other hand, the political costs of doing so during the 2003 fire season would be high -- and especially high for Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota), who represents a state at high risk from wildfire and who is up for re-election in 2004. Return to Public Policy Archive Forest Resources Association
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