Fiscal Year 2008 Interior And Enviornment Appropriations Bill

Floor Speech

FISCAL YEAR 2008 INTERIOR AND ENVIRONMENT APPROPRIATIONS BILL -- (Extensions of Remarks - July 23, 2007)

* Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for H.R. 2643, the Fiscal Year 2008 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill. For the first time in years, the House is investing the resources needed to improve air and water quality, protect our pristine natural landscapes and historic structures, manage wildfires appropriately, and increase services for visitors to national parks, refuges and forests.

* H.R. 2643 provides $2,5 billion for our National Parks--$223 million above 2007 levels and $148 million above the President's request. This impressive commitment reverses years of chronic underfunding that has significantly weakened the system and represents a major step toward upgrading our parks in time for the centennial anniversary of the National Park Service in 2016. The bill also renews America's support for the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities by including $160 million for each program in Fiscal Year 2008. Significant increases over current funding levels will help arts and humanities programming across the country recover from a decade of deep cuts.

* In addition, I am very pleased the bill includes funding for critically important U.S. Forest Service International Programs. The U.S. Forest Service International Programs promote sustainable forest management in countries around the world and return important technologies and innovations to the United States. H.R. 2643 includes $8 million to support Forest Service efforts abroad--a much-needed $1.1 million increase over the current level of funding.

* The hard work of Forest Service professionals abroad is not a luxury: it is essential to the mission of the Forest Service. These International Programs support vital national priorities that matter to our constituents, including federal efforts to combat global climate change; strengthen the U.S. timber industry and fight illegal logging; protect North American migratory bird habitat; stop invasive species before they enter the U.S.; and improve America's global image by working in close partnership with Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Indonesia, Mexico, Liberia and many other key U.S. partners.

* America's forests are part of a global forest ecosystem. Protecting and sustaining a healthy forest system in the U.S. requires the Forest Service to work with scientists and land managers in countries around the world. Consider the fight against invasive species. One invasive species alone--the Asian Longhorn Beetle--threatens to inflict losses up to $138 billion on the U.S. economy. By investing in efforts to identify and suppress invasive species abroad, we can save the hundreds of billions of dollars needed to deal with a widespread infestation in America. In addition to saving taxpayers money, Forest Service International programs leverage private funds from groups including Ducks Unlimited and the Nature Conservancy.

* Madam Speaker, this bill represents the values and priorities of the American people, from honoring our obligations to Native American communities to making critical investments in drinking water infrastructure. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the Fiscal Year 2008 Interior and Environment Appropriations bill.

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