Jeff Bingaman: “in response to the comments the Senator from Idaho made earlier this morning on the Healthy Forests legislation, the…”

“in response to the comments the Senator from Idaho made earlier this morning on the Healthy Forests legislation, the history of that legislation is that the bill did get referred to the Agriculture Committee. I thought that was a mistake, since the Energy and Natural Resources Committee has always had primary jurisdiction over most of the issues dealt with in that bill. But a bill was reported out of that committee. Following that, a group of Senators--the Senator from Idaho included--got together on a bipartisan basis to develop their own alternative, or their own proposal. That is what is intended to be brought to the Senate floor. My staff, the staff of the Democratic side of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, was not included in those negotiations. I complained about that. They were told they could observe but not participate in a meaningful way. They did that to some extent. I believe it is important that we have a full opportunity for amendment to this bill. I do not object to the bill coming up. I do not object to us proceeding with an agreement to limit what we do to the amendments related to that bill. I think that would be an appropriate way to proceed. It is an important issue. We ought to deal with it before Congress adjourns this fall. I will have several amendments. I think there are problems with the bill as I understand it.”