DeFazio sees hope for his forest plan.Byline: David Steves The Register-Guard U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio is keeping a close watch on the choices President Bush will make to fill the newly vacated Cabinet posts that oversee forest and energy policies. The Springfield Democrat from Oregon's 4th Congressional District Oregon's 4th congressional district is a United States Congressional District that represents the southern half of Oregon's coastal counties, including Coos, Curry, Douglas, Lane, and Linn counties and most of Benton and Josephine counties. said he was disappointed in the jobs done by the two departing officials, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. DeFazio said Veneman's biggest shortcoming short·com·ing n. A deficiency; a flaw. shortcoming Noun a fault or weakness Noun 1. when it came to Northwest issues was that "she didn't evidence much interest in forest policy" despite her role in overseeing the U.S. Forest Service, which owns and manages vast stretches of forest and range lands in Oregon. DeFazio said he would encourage the Republican president's new appointee APPOINTEE. A person who is appointed or selected for a particular purpose; as the appointee under a power, is the person who is to receive the benefit of the trust or power. to take a look at his own forest-thinning proposal or something like it. The legislation, which DeFazio introduced in July, would put public old growth forests off-limits to logging. It also would appropriate $25 million a year for thinning projects in younger forests, resulting in yearly sales of 500 million board feet from westside public lands. "I have yet to find a taker tak·er n. One that takes or takes up something, such as a wager or purchase: There were no takers on the bets. taker Noun , but I think they'd be well served to produce more timber with less controversy and improve the health of the forest," said DeFazio, who called his proposal "something that would work in a second term, when they're not just using forest policy to manipulate people in rural areas with false promises." DeFazio said he worried that Bush may appoint a replacement for Abraham who would be more strident in pursuit of deregulation Deregulation The reduction or elimination of government power in a particular industry, usually enacted to create more competition within the industry. Notes: Traditional areas that have been deregulated are the telephone and airline industries. policies that could make electricity more expensive in the Northwest. He said the outgoing energy secretary had been fairly ineffectual, which was actually good for the Pacific Northwest because it maintained the status quo [Latin, The existing state of things at any given date.] Status quo ante bellum means the state of things before the war. The status quo to be preserved by a preliminary injunction is the last actual, peaceable, uncontested status which preceded the pending controversy. and prevented the administration from delivering key elements of the Bush energy agenda. DeFazio said his greatest fear was that a new energy secretary might champion changes to allow speculators to control transmission lines "so they can gouge gouge (gouj) a hollow chisel for cutting and removing bone. gouge n. A strong curved chisel used in bone surgery. gouge a hollow chisel for cutting and removing bone. utilities and consumers." DeFazio said he was unaware of names being circulated as possible nominees to replace either Veneman or Abraham. |
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