Political Quotes

“I take the floor today to introduce the Local Forest User Fairness Act with my colleague Senator Gregg. This legislation would allow residents of counties where U.S. Forest Service land is situated to recreate in the forest without paying a user fee. The introduction of this bill was prompted by the recent institution of recreational user fees in certain national forests across the country, one of those being the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire. While I am not opposed to user fees per se, I do have some concerns in this instance because of the potential for double taxation and inequitable treatment for local residents. Those areas where the Federal Government owns much of the land suffer from a diminished property tax base to fund schools and other necessary social needs. To address this inequity, Congress passed the Payments in Lieu of Taxes, or PILT, program in 1976 which partially reimburses local units of government for their loss of property tax revenue due to the U.S. Forest Service's ownership of local land. Unfortunately, this program has not been fully funded for a number of years. This bill provides that until the PILT program is fully funded to its authorized level, local residents recreating in the forest would be exempt from paying user fees. In New Hampshire, this would apply to all residents of Coos, Grafton, and Carroll Counties.”