Washington outlook.The 107th Congress closed with a flurry Flurry A drastic volume increase in a specific security. of activity on forest policy issues driven by concerns about wildfire management. But in the end, bigger policy questions and the political dynamics of an election year squelched squelch v. squelched, squelch·ing, squelch·es v.tr. 1. To crush by or as if by trampling; squash. 2. attempts at bipartisan action. Forestry issues were put off for the next Congress. Congress returned from its summer recess in early September with a sense of determination to do something about wildfire. Huge fires had burned in many western states, threatening forests, communities, watersheds, and fish and wildlife habitot. The Forest Service had already long exhausted its funding appropriated for wildfire suppression in fiscal year 2002 (about $300 million) and was projecting that it would spend more than $1 billion in excess of its appropriation by the end of the fire season. To pay for these emergency suppression casts, the agency was "borrowing" funds from other programs, deferring--ar perhaps foregoing--a wide range of program activities. Whether Congress and the Administration would provide supplemental funds to cover the costs of emergency wildfire suppressian and allow the agency to restore funds to the other programs was a question tied up in a larger set of budget questions related to emergency funding for the war on terrorism Terrorist acts and the threat of Terrorism have occupied the various law enforcement agencies in the U.S. government for many years. The Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, as amended by the usa patriot act and new homeland security Noun 1. Homeland Security - the federal department that administers all matters relating to homeland security Department of Homeland Security executive department - a federal department in the executive branch of the government of the United States concerns. President Bush's "Healthy Forests Initiative The Healthy Forests Initiative (or HFI), officially the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003, is a law originally proposed by President George W. Bush in response to the widespread forest fires during the summer of 2002. " provided significant impetus for the legislative debates in the Senate and the House, A key objective of the President's proposals was to expedite ex·pe·dite tr.v. ex·pe·dit·ed, ex·pe·dit·ing, ex·pe·dites 1. To speed up the progress of; accelerate. 2. hazardous fuels reduction projects, such as thinning small-diameter trees and removing brush and woody Woody Slang to describe when the market has a strong and quick upward movement. Notes: For example, you'll hear "the market has a woody," when the market is performing well... seriously, we don't make this stuff up. debris, in order to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires. Senator Larry Craig (ID) introduced an amendment to the Senate Interior Appropriations bill (5. 2078) that included provisions from the President's proposals to expedite hazardous fuels reduction projects, including exemptions from environmental review requirements and limitations on administrative appeals and judicial review. Senators Jeff Bingaman Jesse Francis "Jeff" Bingaman Jr. (born October 3, 1943) is the junior U.S. Senator from New Mexico. He has been in the Senate since 1983 and is a member of the Democratic Party. Bingaman was Attorney General of New Mexico from 1978 until his election to the U.S. (NM) and Tom Daschle (SD) offered an alternative amendment to Senator Craig's, which provided opportunities to increase the number of thinning projects in more defined areas, with other project limitations, and with greater monitoring requirements. These competing amendments led to a stalemate stale·mate n. 1. A situation in which further action is blocked; a deadlock. 2. A drawing position in chess in which the king, although not in check, can move only into check and no other piece can move. tr.v. in the Senate. These and other senators engaged in a bipartisan negotiation process to resolve their differences. The effort ultimately broke down due to the political dynamics of the approaching election. Similarly in the House, Rep. Scott Mclnnis (CO) brought together a bipartisan group of cangressmen, including George Miller George Miller may refer to:
The members made progress on a framework, agreeing to a five-year program of "thinning" projects in limited areas, faster environmental analyses but with full public comment periods, and tighter deadlines for administrative and judicial review processes. However, as the election neared, pressures mounted and they could not agree on final details. Congress was not able to take action on this, despite repeated efforts by AMERICAN FORESTS American Forests is a nonprofit conservation organization that promotes healthy forests and urban tree planting. The organization was established in 1875 as the American Forestry Association, by physician/horticulturist John Aston Warder and a group of like-minded citizens , our community-based forestry partners, and many others in the forestry and conservation community urging Congress and the Administration to provide emergency appropriations so that the Forest Service could restore funds to the many programs and projects affected by its "borrowing" far wildfire suppression. The complexity of the overall federal budget situation--which led Congress to postpone action on Fiscal Year 2003 spending until next year-did not allow action on this relatively small matter, despite strong congressional support for emergency wildfire funding. There is still hope that Congress will provide emergency wildfire funds for last summer when it takes action on the FY 2003 Interior Appropriations bill, supposedly, in January. With the Republicans regaining control of the Senate, the context of policy debate on forestry issues will be different in the next Congress. The Administration and Congress will want to demonstrate leadership on wildfire and funding issues, and they are likely to propose actions soon after the year begins. Those who want to engage in these policy discussions will need to prepare soon, and reviewing the proposals debated by the 107th Congress is the best place to begin. |
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