Angie Craig: “I thank Chairman McConnell for the hard work he has put into the Fiscal Year 2004 Foreign Operations and Related…”

“I thank Chairman McConnell for the hard work he has put into the Fiscal Year 2004 Foreign Operations and Related Agencies Appropriations bill. It is a challenging process, and he has done an excellent job balancing competing interests within the confines of a limited budget allocation. I wish to engage in a colloquy with the distinguished chairman of the Subcommittee regarding the development of a reforestation program in Afghanistan. In this appropriations bill, with the adoption of an amendment the chairman and ranking member and I have worked on, $5 million is to further a reforestation program in Afghanistan. I recently traveled to the Middle East with the chairman and witnessed first hand the devastating conditions of the natural landscape in Afghanistan. As the chairman of Public Lands and Forestry Subcommittee, it saddens me to see the degradation that has occurred to the natural landscape of this country. Years of war and poverty have put a great strain on the ecosystems of this country. It is time to put an end to the denuding of the hillsides and turn them back to their brilliant shades of green. I would like to see this funding be used to develop a reforestation program for the country. I think it is important to cultivate the native species to replenish and rejuvenate the area to provide additional opportunities for recreation, wildlife, and business development.”