Patricia Schroeder: “I rise as one who was born in Portland, OR, loves the forests of the Northwest and am very saddened by the fact that we…”

“I rise as one who was born in Portland, OR, loves the forests of the Northwest and am very saddened by the fact that we are not going to be able to do anything to reverse the clear-cutting provisions, that are taking them down so much faster than they grew up. There are many other problems with this bill that saddens me. We gut the National Park Service, 18 percent below the President's budget. We gut Fish and Wildlife, 20 percent below the administration's request. We reduce forest plan funding for $19 million less than the President's request. And we do not fund the Everglades as the administration had requested. I find these all national treasures, national treasures that we cannot restore again. Once these are gone, they are gone. I now live in Colorado, where we think of ourselves as the lungs of the Nation, and we treasure our national parks. So, there is going to be some voting today that is going to be very, very key. I hope Members vote on the issue. I was saddened today to read in the paper that the Speaker was saying that he could get Members on that side of the aisle to vote any way he wanted just by showing my face. Apparently they have my face on a stick over there. I just wanted to show Members that, if they see this, please vote the environmental vote. Let us not use this kind of thing to stampede Members.”