George Miller: “No, I never have been. Ten years ago we made a deal, Senator Stevens and I, and we said for 10 years, that that would be…”

“No, I never have been. Ten years ago we made a deal, Senator Stevens and I, and we said for 10 years, that that would be it on the Tongass. It was not a matter of months before riders started appearing on Senate appropriations bills directing cuts in the Tongass. We all have great admiration for Senator Stevens, but he is the one that continued, continued to alter that original agreement that we had. I do not like the results but I have got to admire the talent. He has never stopped, as those Members on the Committee on Appropriations, I see them all smiling here, they know exactly what I am talking about. They have never had an appropriations bill move where there is not something tricking up. He tried to change the forest plans. He tried to go back to the old plans. He tried to increase the cuts. He tried to increase the roads. He tried to bail the industries out of problems. Bang-di-di-bang-di-di-bang. This guy has never slept. I guess I misunderstood. I thought we shook hands, and he said we were going to go away for 10 years. I think he said he was never going to sleep for 10 years. That is what happened. So this is not some unilateral course. As the Chairman knows, this is a very, very active subject matter in these appropriations bills, and it usually runs afoul of forest policy and the administration and all of the rest of it.”