Chabot's Bipartisan Amendment to Block Tongass Logging Subsidies Passes House
Press Release
Chabot's Bipartisan Amendment to Block Tongass Logging Subsidies Passes House
Congressman Steve Chabot (R-OH) and Congressman Robert Andrews (D-NJ) successfully offered an amendment to the Interior and Environment Appropriations bill to prohibit taxpayer dollars from being used to subsidize the construction of logging roads in the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. The Andrews-Chabot Tongass Amendment passed the House of Representatives today with an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 283 to 145.
"Eliminating this wasteful corporate subsidy is a victory for American taxpayers," said Chabot. "The Tongass timber program hemorrhages tax dollars - costing almost a billion dollars since 1982. Ending this federal subsidy program is a step toward reining in excessive government spending and returning fiscal discipline to Washington."
While the Forest Service admits to having a substantial supply of timber accessible from existing roads, logging roads continue to be built despite a lack of demand. The Forest Service also concedes that 90 to 95 percent of all existing timber sale contracts in the Tongass are unprofitable and nearly half of Tongass timber contracts go unsold. Taxpayer subsidies per Tongass timber job have risen from $12,000 in 1996 to about $200,000 now, while the number of actual jobs has decreased to about 200.
The Tongass Amendment has been endorsed by a number of pro-taxpayer, environmental, and sportsmen groups, including: Council for Citizens Against Government Waste; National Taxpayers Union; Wildlife Forever; Northern Sportsmen Network; National Wildlife Federation; Sierra Club; U.S. PIRG; and the Alaska Coalition.
Established in 1907 by President Theodore Roosevelt, the Tongass is our nation's largest forest - about the size of West Virginia. Located along Alaska's southeastern coast, it's often referred to as "America's Rainforest."
Last year Chabot's Tongass Amendment passed the House with a bipartisan vote of 237-181. The amendment also passed the House in 2004, but the Senate never considered the Interior Appropriations bill and the agency was funded by an omnibus appropriations bill that did not include the amendment.
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