OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Sierra Pacific Industries

Floor Speech

Date: March 3, 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Business and Consumers


SIERRA PACIFIC INDUSTRIES -- (House of Representatives - March 03, 2009)

Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, Sierra Pacific Industries just announced the closure of its sawmill in the little town of Quincy, California, in my district, throwing another 150 families out of work. They made it very clear that the recession was not the cause; it was merely the catalyst. The real cause is that the regulatory costs and litigation, because of regulation, now exceed their profit margin. In fact, two-thirds of their timber harvest this year is tied up as a result of government actions.

Sierra Pacific constructed this small log mill when Congress passed legislation promoting tree thinning in the surrounding forests to prevent forest fires, but that law has not been implemented because of endless litigation by environmental groups who are using an impenetrable web of environmental laws.

In their press release, Sierra Pacific notes, ``Nearly two-thirds of the current year's timber sale program is enjoined or withheld from sale pending the outcome of litigation.''

So, Mr. Speaker, today, another 150 families in the little town of Quincy are out of work, direct casualties of this retrograde, Luddite ideology.


Source
arrow_upward