Angie Craig: “I certainly agree with him. He and I, working together--I as chairman of the Forestry Subcommittee, he as the ranking…”

“I certainly agree with him. He and I, working together--I as chairman of the Forestry Subcommittee, he as the ranking member--saw and recognized a crisis in the rural communities of America that were once named timber dependent because they had derived a share of their revenue to fund their schools, roads, and bridge funds from the revenue of timber receipts which have faded dramatically. We began to work together on a resolution of the problem, and tonight we have brought that to the floor. I certainly agree with Senator Wyden. It was contentious at times, but we saw the need to respond to what literally had become a national crisis in rural resource-dependent communities across our country. Well over 4,000 school districts and nearly 50,000 children were victimized by actions or policies that failed to recognize that we had to adjust law and/or change policy or we were simply going to find these school districts beyond their capacities not only to fund but to educate.”