Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 845, the National Forest System Trails Stewardship Act. In 2013, the Government Accountability Office released a report that recognized the importance of volunteers for trail maintenance and recommended taking steps to improve management of volunteers. The Forest Service is facing a whopping $500 million backlog in trail maintenance costs--$500 million. H.R. 845 would require the Forest Service to produce a national strategy to maximum use of volunteers and partners for trail maintenance. Using eager volunteers across the Nation in the remediation of our deteriorating national Forest Service trails is a cost-effective solution. More than 50 diverse recreation and conservation groups requested Congress act to enable volunteers to do more, from the Wilderness Society to the American Motorcyclist Association. I would like to thank my colleague, Representative Lummis, for sponsoring this bill, and my fellow committee members, Mr. Walz, Mr. Peterson, Mr. Thompson, and Ms. Michelle Lujan Grisham, for their support of H.R. 845. I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this bipartisan legislation so we can utilize on-the-ground volunteer efforts to improve Forest Service trails and decrease the costly trail maintenance backlog. Refocusing on volunteers and partners to help the Forest Service is a commonsense way of making progress on the backlog and opening up these trails to public access. Mr.…”