Katie Porter: “This amendment would permit the use of Good Neighbor Authority revenues for the construction of new roads. Currently…”

“This amendment would permit the use of Good Neighbor Authority revenues for the construction of new roads. Currently, the Forest Service manages 372,000 miles of roads across 193 million acres that they manage. Due to such a large inventory, the Forest Service often faces financial difficulties in operation and maintenance. Over half, over 58 percent, of the Forest Service's $7.66 billion of deferred maintenance is related to roads. The Forest Service has a colossal network of roads that is already far too big for them to maintain. For this reason, it is hard to support an amendment that would allow the construction of even more roads but doesn't provide any resources for the future maintenance of those new Forest Service roads. Our Forest Service is spread dangerously thin due to Republican budget cuts. This amendment would make the problem even worse. Mr. Chair, I urge a ``no'' vote, and I reserve the balance of my time.”