Rod Grams: “Every year at this time it seems we are here on the Senate floor debating another attack on the Forest Service's Timber…”

“Every year at this time it seems we are here on the Senate floor debating another attack on the Forest Service's Timber Management Program. Every year those who wish to eliminate logging in our national forests come up with another angle which they claim helps protect the environment by eliminating "wasteful" spending on logging practices. Every year people throughout northern Minnesota and forested regions across the country see their jobs and their livelihoods threatened in the name of preservation or conservation. And every year, those of us who represent the good people of the timber and paper industry in our states have to fight, scratch, and claw our way to a narrow victory that saves those jobs and those families from economic ruin. I come from a state in which the forest and paper industry is vital to our economy. The reduction in the timber program on national forests has had a dramatic impact over the past ten years on the number of jobs and the economic vitality of northern Minnesota.”