William Bryan: “I am always pleased, when I have the opportunity, as I do this afternoon, to support, and in this instance actually…”

“I am always pleased, when I have the opportunity, as I do this afternoon, to support, and in this instance actually propose, legislation that benefits both the American taxpayer and the environment. The amendment I am offering today eliminates a subsidy used primarily by large timber companies that not only has negative consequences for the taxpayers but also a detrimental effect on the environment. Each year, American taxpayers spend millions of dollars to subsidize the construction of roads needed for logging on national forest lands. The appropriations bill before us today contains a $47.4 million appropriation for the Forest Service to assist in the construction and reconstruction of timber roads in our national forests. In addition, the bill, and accompanying report, provide affirmative direction to the Forest Service instructing them to continue the purchaser credit program without limitation. The purchaser credit program allows the Forest Service to subsidize the road construction costs of timber companies by granting credits to them equal to the estimated cost of the roads that they need in order to access their timber. The timber purchasers can then use the credits to pay for the timber being harvested. Last year these purchaser credits were valued at nearly $50 million.”