Chris Sununu: “the issue here isn't the cost to manage a national forest because we recognize national forests are special places. We…”

“the issue here isn't the cost to manage a national forest because we recognize national forests are special places. We want to manage them. We want to operate them. We want to run them for the enjoyment of people, and different forests are going to have different requirements and different costs associated with that management. Whether it is $1 an acre or $1,000 an acre, we want them to be run in an efficient way. It is not about the cost of management. It is not about the profitability of a timber program. As was pointed out, most of the timber programs technically lose money on a profit-and-loss basis. What it is really about is, in looking at those timber programs, should the taxpayers pay for the costs of building the roads, or is that a cost that should be borne by the private enterprise? That is what this debate is about and the answer is no. Certainly, in the case of the Tongass, that is an area where more money is being spent to build more roads to benefit private companies with the least return imaginable. I yield 4 minutes to the Senator from New Mexico. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.”