James M. Talent: “I rise for a few moments to second the remarks of the Senator from Arkansas and say this amendment, although certainly…”

“I rise for a few moments to second the remarks of the Senator from Arkansas and say this amendment, although certainly well intended, is a threat to forests, including old-growth forests in Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. We have 300,000 acres of forests in those States that right now, as we speak, are infested with pests such as the red oak borer. The Senate needs to understand what happens when these pests descend upon the forests. The red oak borer will bore into a tree, create a huge gash, a deep hole in the tree. If you have ever seen it, it makes you feel for this tree. It lays its eggs in the tree so it interrupts the tree's ability to pass nutrients up and down the trunk, eventually killing the tree and laying other eggs that burrow deep into the tree or fly out and infest other trees. The pest is getting stronger because we have not been able to manage it. They used to spawn every 2 years and now they spawn every year. We are in danger of losing whole forests, including old-growth forests.”