HOUSE BACKS BILL TO BOOST LOGGING IN NAT'L FORESTS...

[Indi Guy]

Source: AP



WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-controlled House Friday approved a bill to sharply increase logging in national forests — a measure the GOP said would create jobs in rural communities and help reduce wildfires that have devastated the West.

The bill also would add hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue from new timber sales while reviving an industry that has shed tens of thousands of jobs in the past three decades.

Opponents called the bill a giveaway to the timber industry and said it would harm water quality and habitat for fish and wildlife and jeopardize recreation areas that have become a major source of jobs in national forests.

The White House has threatened to veto the bill, which was approved on a 244-173 vote. Seventeen Democrats joined 227 Republicans to back the bill. Just one Republican, Rep. Chris Gibson of New York, opposed the bill...

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/house-backs-bill-boost-logging-natl-forests

[maxsolomon]

1. "land of many uses"

so what if one use destroys all the other uses?

[kimbutgar]

2. Thank God that bill will die in the Senate.

The no science party doesn't get that forests are good for our environment and air.

[Xithras]

3. Will it?

In the western forests, you basically have two choices: Remove trees by logging, or remove trees by fire. There is a LOT of political pressure right now to "do something" after a summer of devastating, record setting forest fires. They may see this as an easy way out.

[DeschutesRiver]

20. Background on this- it originally came from Sen. Wyden to give a year reprieve for 2 bankrupt OR

counties, Josephine and Curry. Due to less timber receipts, some counties in OR are struggling, and two are broke. OR legislature passed and Gov signed HB 3453 granting gov extraordinary fiscal emergency powers to raise taxes in these counties to prevent them from going feral. Though i have not yet reviewed how this squares with our constitution ( for ex, one proposal was to raise just these 2 counties income taxes to 11+%). Only 2 counties can have these emerg fiscal powers applied before 2014, and people here in curry cty where i am visiting to fish/hike are up in arms over this new law.

Wyden then proposed basically reinstating timber receipts for a year to buy congress, oregon legislature and affected county commissioners time to figure out how to raise revenue, as voters are rejecting all tax increase proposals raised so far. It is a mess and of course the latest Wyden timber bill version is now far expanded and changed from what was originally proposed. That is quick nutshell version, here are some links, u can google for more/better ones; my connection is poor here! But it is quite complicated and even I, a native oregonian from elsewhere in the state, was unaware of all of this.

http://www.opb.org/news/article/qa-whats-next-after-us-house-vote-to-increase-logging/

http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/09/senate_approves_timber_payment.html

http://www.oregonlive.com/mapes/index.ssf/2013/07/curry_county_once_again_looks.html

[enough]

4. At least this particular bill has a difficult life ahead.

snip from the article>

The White House has threatened to veto the bill, which was approved on a 244-173 vote. Seventeen Democrats joined 227 Republicans to back the bill. Just one Republican, Rep. Chris Gibson of New York, opposed the bill.

The Obama administration says the measure would jeopardize habitat for endangered species, increase lawsuits and limit the president's ability to create national monuments.

The bill as passed has little chance of approval in the Democratic-controlled Senate, although senators have not ruled out adoption of a forest management bill.

snip>

[Turbineguy]

5. Well, collapsing the economy isn't enough.

The GOP needs to lay waste to everything.

[1ProudAtheist]

6. Has Anyone Else

Given serious thought to exactly what trees do where the consumption of CO2 and O2 are concerned? The more vegetation that is lost, the faster the buildup of CO2 will progress.

We can always count on congress to do the wrong thing when they bother to do anything at all.

[Hubert Flottz]

7. Welcome to...

the USG, United States of Greed. America has a greed based government. What one good thing has the GOP done for the USA, lately? I can't think of a single good thing.

Mountain top removal is not enough, the money crazed GOP wants to clear cut America now. "To Hell with Bamby, Daffy Duck and all the other endangered, abused and innocent wildlife." Let's chop every tree on the continent, so that the Koch brothers and the other massive corporate abusers of OUR forests can make even more billions. The Koch boys own the republicans to such an extent that the GOPers in the House would gladly push any bill the 2 brothers dream up, that could make them a few more billion. The GOPers figure the 98% don't need a place for recreation, if Mom and Dad are working two minimum wage jobs to support the kids, who are too young to work. Newt would put the little kids to work, as soon as they are old enough to crawl to work.

Slash and Burn...that's what pirates do too.

[happyslug]

8. i Notice the article did not say how much this will COST

You have to remember only ONE NATIONAL FOREST MAKES MONEY OFF TIMBER SALES (and that is Allegheny National Forest in Pennsylvania, those Germans are willing to pay top dollar for the mature Cherry trees in that forest).

The Rest of the National Forests are money sinks, even when it comes to REMOVING TIMBER. So if the GOP really wants to cut the deficit it would cut out these sales (or make a law that the Forest Service has to break even, i..e NOT cost the Government any money). The problem is the GOP does NOT want the Government to break even, they want their pals in the timber industry to get this timber at subsidized prices (one form of subsidy is the Forest Services makes the road that the Timber Company needs to get to the trees, the Timber companies "Pay" for these roads, but no where near the actually costs of those roads).

http://perc.org/articles/turning-profit-public-forests-full

[sulphurdunn]

12. Yep, it's one of the greater but lesser know scams

run by Congress on the taxpayers.

[L0oniX]

17. something razzlefrazicalboodiewawa cut their own pay smazicsstfuffinwombadupeydo to help frazmaticto

[PatrynXX]

9. 1. Forest Fires are earth healing itself 2. less forests mean more fires

do'h. and certainly alot more flooding

[red dog 1]

10. Thanks for posting this.

Hats off to Rep. Chris Gibson of new York.

I guess there are a few moderate Repugs left.

[Rhiannon12866]

19. Based on this, you have no way of knowing, but Gibson's a teabagger.

This was my district, NY-20, and he defeated the incumbent Democrat who I was working for, Scott Murphy, who took Kirsten Gillibrand's place when she was appointed senator. Gibson attacked my candidate over his vote for health care reform and his support for repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." John Boehner also made a trip to the district to support him. Unfortunately, this is a traditionally Republican district, finally elected a Democrat when Kirsten Gillibrand ran in 2006, but that didn't last long.

[Rhiannon12866]

11. Chris Gibson?! I guess he had to be right at least once...

[Cooley Hurd]

13. His constituency is in the Adirondacks...

A vote any other way would've helped his challengers next year. He's not smart, but he's not stupid, either!

[Rhiannon12866]

18. I can certainly attest to that, since I was one of his constituents, worked for the Dem he beat

Inexplicably. Somehow, he got senior citizens to oppose health care reform, which the incumbent Democrat voted for, and opposed the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," while inheriting a seat on the Armed Services Committee. During both of his campaigns, John Boehner came to the district to support him, can't help wondering how welcome his support will be the next time around.

[blkmusclmachine]

14. GOPee: Leave no tree uncut. Pave it all over! FREEDUMB! FREEDUMB! FREEDUMB!

[ancianita]

15. How this goes: 1. legalize guns in national parks 2. stealth logging goes forward; 3. shoot greenies

when protested or sabotaged, then make up a 'terrorist attack' story later.

[L0oniX]

16. So nice of the repukes to represent we the (little) people. n/t