Bruce Westerman

Mr. WESTERMAN

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 46, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. WESTERMAN

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, on roll call no. 23, I was present on the floor, but the vote closed before I was able to cast a vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``No''.

Mr. WESTERMAN

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, last week the State of Arkansas lost a giant in the political world. Dale Bumpers, a former Governor and Senator, had served the State of Arkansas for many decades. As an intern for Arkansas' junior Senator at the time, David Pryor, I first met Senator Bumpers in 1986. His service to his fellow Arkansans began in the Fourth Congressional District, where he returned home to Charleston to serve as city attorney after the Marines and law school. He went on to serve on the local school board before mounting multiple successful bids for statewide office. Charleston Public School District is not only known for producing stellar graduates and for the Tigers' powerhouse football program, but for heeding Dale Bumpers' advice in 1954 and becoming the first public school in the former Confederate States to desegregate. His decades of public service were about serving others, not prestige or power. In his autobiography, Dale said it was his father who encouraged him to enter public service, calling it a noble profession. As we remember Senator Bumpers, I can think of no nobler act than serving others. I appreciate Dale Bumpers' example and his servant's heart.

Mr. WESTERMAN

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I would also like to thank the gentleman from Indiana for leading this Special Order tonight. Mr. Speaker, the Second Amendment is crystal clear. It ensures that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. The founders rebelled against the largest empire in the world. They knew it was crucial to guarantee individuals the right to protect their life, liberty and property. That is the entire point of the Second Amendment. Unfortunately, we have a President more obsessed with the politics of gun control than living by the oath he twice took to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. The President should work with Congress to solve the problems facing this country, not try to take on the legislative duties of Congress. Americans have a history of confronting those who wish to take away their rights, and they have said: ``No. You can't do that. The best way to fight against the gross overreach by the Federal Government is for citizens to exercise their Second Amendment rights. The good news is the people of this country, the responsible people who will exercise their constitutional rights and follow the law, are already doing this. They are flocking to purchase guns and ammunition despite President Obama's best efforts. Since President Obama was sworn into office, 106 million background checks for gun purchases have been conducted by Federal or State authorities. Only 96 million were conducted in the previous 11 years. Gun makers have doubled their manufacturing output since 2009 as well. Meanwhile, according to the ATF, the number of privately owned firearms in the U.S. has increased from about 250 million twenty years ago to roughly 350 million today. President Obama's obsession with killing the Second Amendment has unintentionally become the catalyst for gun ownership in America. The firearms industry's $43 billion nationwide economic impact has more than doubled since 2009 and is also one of the few bright spots in the Obama economic record. But there is more good news in all of this. Despite the White House's misleading rhetoric, violent crime rates are consistently down over the last 20 years. According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, the number of violent crimes has decreased 35.5 percent over the last 20 years. There are more guns than people in the United States; yet, the violent crime rate continues to tumble because a criminal knows a well- armed gun owner is a direct threat to a criminal's safety. And despite President Obama's obsession with undermining the Second Amendment, Federal weapons convictions have dropped 35 percent compared to 2005. The Obama Department of Justice should focus on enforcing current Federal weapons laws instead of issuing ideological edicts from the executive branch. Once again, I would like to thank my colleague from Indiana, Mr. Stutzman, for his leadership on this issue.

Mr. WESTERMAN

Mr. WESTERMAN. I thank the chairman for his leadership. Mr. Speaker, today is a good day for America because we will finally send this bill to the President's desk. The ``Unaffordable Care Act'' is bad for the American people because it is contributing to the bankruptcy of our country while doing little to provide Americans with better health care. Mr. Speaker, I have constituents who used to have health insurance but who no longer do because their premiums are too high. Now they have no insurance, and the only thing to show for it is a fine from the IRS. Medicaid expansion is a blueprint for single-payer, government-run health care. As an engineer, I can assure you that, if you start with a bad blueprint, you will get bad results. Instead of expanding Medicaid for able-bodied, working-age adults, the administration should work with us to fix the broken traditional Medicaid program, which is intended for those who most need it: the elderly, the disabled, and children. In 2014, there were 38.2 million nondisabled Americans between the ages of 18 and 64 who were not working at all. More than they need Medicaid expansion, they need progrowth economic policies that will foster good jobs so they can simply work and provide for themselves and their families.

Mr. WESTERMAN

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor an American patriot and hero. On December 10, 2015, Brigadier General Herbert Jack Lloyd was called home to be with his Savior, away from the war and strife he knew most all of his adult life. General Lloyd served 35 years in the United States Army, moving from private to brigadier general, commanding at entry level from squad leader to assistant division commander. On July 16, 2014, General Lloyd was inducted into the Army Ranger Hall of Fame. Brigadier General Lloyd has received numerous decorations throughout his service, including three combat jumps with the 6th Vietnamese Parachute Battalion, two Silver Stars, seven Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts. Mr. Speaker, though I could expound on the godly, courageous, and patriotic life lived by General Lloyd, I will simply read a sentence from the General's obituary that he wrote himself: ``If there is nothing worth dying for--in this sense--there is nothing worth living for.'' I believe this speaks directly to who General Lloyd was as a man. He lived his life in complete service to God, country, and family. I offer my most heartfelt condolences to his son, Mark; daughter-in- law, Beth; and his grandchildren, Hannah and Matthew. May the general's example and memories continue to live on in Hope, Arkansas, and around the world.

Mr. WESTERMAN

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania, and also thank him for his leadership on this issue, a very important issue, and one that he has a good grasp of that I wish the rest of our Federal Government could get a good grasp of. I also would like to thank the ranking member for her remarks, and the gentleman from Oregon, for his remarks. We do have a national treasure in our forests. The U.S. Forest Service manages over 193 million acres of forests and grasslands from Maine to Alaska. The Forest Service was formed by President Teddy Roosevelt and his friend, Gifford Pinchot, who was the first Chief of the Forest Service. These men were true conservationists and naturalists. They understood the science of the forest. They understood the value of the forest, and they understood its contribution to society, so they worked to conserve that for future generations. Roosevelt and Pinchot hold a special place in my heart. I grew up by the forests that were established by Roosevelt, and I studied at the Yale School of Forestry that was founded by Pinchot. Teddy Roosevelt once said about our natural resources, he said that our Nation behaves well if it treats its natural resources as assets, which it must turn over to the next generation, increased and not impaired in value. Mr. Speaker, we are not behaving well as a Nation. We are decreasing and impairing the value of our forests. Our forests are not just an asset; they are a treasure, a treasure that provides beauty, makes clean air, purifies our water, provides wildlife habitat, and a variety of recreational activities and opportunities. Our forests store carbon and provide many of the products that we live in, that we learn from, and that we use to survive every day. Mr. Speaker, this is not a Republican failure, and it is not a Democratic failure. It is a congressional and an agency failure that we have the power to correct. Wildfires continue to sweep across the country. They are burning hotter and faster than in years past. More than 9 million acres of Federal land burned this year alone. Costs to fight fires and the number of fires burning grows every year. As has been mentioned so many times before, the Forest Service's biggest expense is firefighting. The costs of it have ballooned over the years. It is not just the cost of fighting fires, as the gentleman from Oregon said, that is the cost. We are destroying a valuable asset: 9 million acres of Federal land and timber that goes up in smoke. These products could be used. They have value to them. We are not only spending the money to fight the fires; we are losing valuable assets every year. This year, Mr. Speaker, Congress had to appropriate an extra $700 million to land management agencies to cover the cost of fire borrowing. The Forest Service is becoming a firefighting agency, unable to meet its mission of ``caring for the land and serving people.'' Fire borrowing is not the only problem, and I submit that it is actually not even the problem. It is the symptom of a problem. It is the result of our current management choice that each year is becoming less and less management. Unfortunately, we do not have the luxury of choosing not to manage. Forests are dynamic, living organisms. They don't pay attention to what we say here in Washington, DC, or what we write in laws. The only thing forests know is to grow and fill their growing space and to absorb the sunlight. They fill the growing space, and they quit growing. Then they become weakened. They are subject to insect and disease attack. They die. We get debris on the forest floor. Lightning strikes, and the forest burns. If we choose not to manage the forests, then nature continues to manage. We don't have that luxury of saying that we are just not going to manage the forest. Our land management policies have changed for the worse simply and mainly because we have not been able to manage. Red tape and lawsuits are harming our landscapes. Forests are overgrown, and they are unhealthy. Healthy forests will lead to smaller fires that can be contained. A healthy forest puts less carbon in the atmosphere, and, in fact, it sequesters more carbon through new tree growth and reforestation. Simply by the biological growth curve, younger organisms grow faster so they are pulling more carbon out of the atmosphere. They are storing it in their trunks, in their leaves, and in their roots. The good news is the House has been behaving well. The House produced and passed a good piece of legislation in H.R. 2647, the Resilient Federal Forests Act. Now, this isn't the end-all to fix the problems with our forests, but it is a great first step. H.R. 2647 simultaneously ends fire borrowing in a fiscally responsible manner, but it also gives the Forest Service the tools it needs to create healthy forests. Healthy forests are a winning situation. Everybody wins with a healthy forest. Wildlife wins, and sports and outdoor recreation enthusiasts win. We all win with cleaner air, and we all win with cleaner water. Our rural communities win with an economic benefit. There is not a downside to having a healthy forest. It is good for America to have healthy forests. Mr. Speaker, it is time for us to put the policy in place so that we can have healthy forests. It is time for the Senate to behave. It is time for the Senate to act on H.R. 2647 so we can end fire borrowing and manage our forests.

Mr. WESTERMAN

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and celebrate the extraordinary accomplishments of various student members of Arkansas' Future Farmers of America. As their Congressman and as a past State FFA president, I am very proud of their achievements. During the 88th National FFA Convention, Hermitage High School students were announced as the winning team of the National FFA Livestock Evaluation Event. Ms. Taylor McNeel, an agricultural business major at Southern Arkansas University, was also named the 2015-2016 National FFA president. As president, Ms. McNeel will travel more than 100,000 miles to further the FFA mission of advancing agricultural literacy and preparing future generations for the challenges of feeding a growing population. I congratulate these Fourth District students and applaud their inspiring efforts to serve others and hold true to the best traditions of our national life.

Mr. WESTERMAN

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Park Magnet School of Hot Springs, Arkansas, for being named by the U.S. Department of Education as a 2015 National Blue Ribbon School. This highest of educational honors is awarded yearly to both private and public elementary, middle, and high schools demonstrating overall academic excellence or progress in closing students achievement gaps. Park Magnet School is 1 of only 5 schools in Arkansas and only 335 in the Nation to be selected this year. Receipt of this award marks the second time that Park Magnet has been named a National Blue Ribbon School, the first time being in 2009. These achievements acknowledge and validate the hard work of students like Grace Shelor, faculty like Mrs. Carmen Binns, as well as families and communities in creating a culture of excellence wherein students may reach their full, God-given potential. It is with great pride that I congratulate Park Magnet School on their success today.

Mr. WESTERMAN

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a very innovative program in my home State of Arkansas. Governor Asa Hutchinson proclaimed October to be Farm to School Month. The Farm to School program provides healthy, locally grown food to our State's schools while creating new revenue streams for our Arkansas farmers. According to the USDA, 169 schools, serving over 86,000 young Arkansans, participate in the program. This directed over $600,000 into local economies by purchasing products from local farmers. The Farm to School program helps to combat childhood obesity by encouraging healthy eating habits among our youngest, most impressionable citizens. Also, at a time when families are moving away from the rural, agricultural parts of our Nation, I believe it is vital that our children know how and where their food is produced. The Farm to School program helps to educate them. Mr. Speaker, I believe the Farm to School program is important to the economy, health, and education of Arkansas' Fourth District. I look forward to working with the many stakeholders in Arkansas to see the continued success of the Farm to School program.

Mr. WESTERMAN

Mr. WESTERMAN. I thank the chairman for his leadership on this issue. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight in support of the READ Act. I rise as the husband of a special education teacher and not just any special education teacher, one that has a real passion for helping children with reading disabilities and one that has seen firsthand the successes that happen when research-based interventions are used with children with dyslexia. Dyslexia is the most common learning disability. It affects more than 90 percent of all individuals identified as learning disabled. It is estimated to affect one out of six U.S. schoolchildren. This learning disability causes difficulty with reading comprehension, math, and a variety of other subject areas. Students with dyslexia should receive research-based instruction so they have the best opportunity to learn and succeed in the 21st century. That is why I cosponsored the READ Act of 2015, a bill that requires the National Science Foundation to fund dyslexia research. NSF-supported research will strengthen practical interventions, including early identification of dyslexia, development of curricula, and other tools to help dyslexics. It will help identify scalable models for implementing dyslexia programs in schools. The READ Act does not increase Federal spending. It authorizes multidirectorate, merit-reviewed, and competitively awarded dyslexia projects using funds appropriated for the NSF Research and Related Activities Account and the education and human resources directorate. This bill is good for students, it is good for educators, and it is good for America.

Mr. WESTERMAN

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because October is Dyslexia Awareness Month. According to the National Center for Learning Disabilities, nearly 5.8 million students in the U.S. have been diagnosed with a learning disorder. Up to one in five of these students suffers from dyslexia. This learning disability causes difficulty with reading comprehension, math, and a variety of other subject areas. More research is needed to understand dyslexia so students receive research- based instruction and have the best opportunities to learn and succeed in the 21st century. That is why I have cosponsored the READ Act of 2015, a bill that requires the National Science Foundation to fund dyslexia research. This bill is good for students, good for educators, and good for America.

Mr. WESTERMAN

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I also rise today in recognition of National Forest Products Week and the men and women across our country that work in this crucial industry. Forest products have been an integral part of the North American economy even before our States were united. From our beginnings, forest products built ships and were the main source of fuel. Through our industrialization, forest products became the foundation of our vast rail system and the media that fills our great libraries. Today so much of everything we get is shipped and contained in forest products. Forest products have always been the backbone of housing, a critical sector of our economy. Forest products are green, renewable, and sequester carbon. We have been prolific in perfecting our conversion technologies, developing new products, and growing more timber. In fact, we have more trees today in America than in 1900. To keep our forests healthy and our economy strong, we need to develop more markets at home and abroad for our forest products, and we need to commit more research to find cost-effective ways to utilize our woody biomass, a vast, renewable, carbon-neutral fuel source.

Mr. WESTERMAN

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week. More than 70 percent of students enrolled in HBCUs are low income, and more than half are first-generation college students. Arkansas' Fourth Congressional District is home to one of the Nation's premier HBCUs, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. While many students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities like UAPB are standout students, a select few have risen to the top. Among them is Sidney Smith, a student from UAPB who was recently named an HBCU All-Star by the White House. I congratulate Sidney and tip my hat to all HBCUs for the work they are doing in communities across America. You are giving generations of young people a brighter future and are helping them to make America what they dream it to be.

Mr. WESTERMAN

Mr. WESTERMAN. I thank the gentleman from California and would also like to thank the gentleman for his tireless efforts on the Natural Resources Committee, the chairman of the Federal Lands Subcommittee. This is something that--I am a freshman, and I have been working on for a small amount of time--but he has spent years working on this issue. I thank him for his tireless efforts and his desire to see healthy forests not only in his home State but across the country. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Palmer).

Mr. WESTERMAN. I thank the gentlewoman from Wyoming for her comments, and I also thank her for pointing out that forest management is different in different parts of the country. We have trained forestry professionals all over this country. We have good people working for the Forest Service that know how to do the right job, but their hands are tied. They can't use the things that they have learned in forestry school. They can't use the things that they have learned through practice. They can't practice the art of forestry and the science of forestry because of policy here in Washington, D.C. We need to untie their hands so that they can implement these management procedures on the land to make it healthier. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock).

Mr. WESTERMAN. I thank the gentleman from Montana. Mr. Speaker, I would like to add that when we passed this bill in the House, we put amendments on it that were offered by Democrats. We were open. We listened. We wanted to do what is best for the forest. I encourage the Senate to take up this bill. If there is something you don't like, let's talk about it. But let's do what is best for the forest. Let's make this bill the law of the land. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Mrs. Lummis).

Mr. WESTERMAN. I thank the gentleman from California. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Montana (Mr. Zinke).

Mr. WESTERMAN. I thank the gentleman from New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa).

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to draw attention to wildfires and forest management. Recent headlines show that our forests are in terrible shape: 8.8 million acres have burned this year; $250 million was recently transferred from forest management accounts to fight fires, announced last week. Emergency fire spending has already topped $700 million this year and is still growing. We have a problem that is greatly decreasing and impairing the value of our forest for the next generation. I worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass H.R. 2647, the Resilient Federal Forests Act, back in July. This bill was supported from Maine to Alaska by Democrats and Republicans. The bill ends the destructive practice of fire borrowing in a fiscally responsible manner. It creates a subaccount under the Stafford Act for wildfire. This ensures that resources to put out major fires are available when necessary. This week, the Obama administration publicly called on the Congress to fix fire borrowing. While I appreciate the President's interest, I agree with him that we need to fix fire borrowing. I applaud the 19 Democrats who voted for H.R. 2647 that fixes fire borrowing. Fixing fire borrowing alone won't solve the problem. Fixing fire borrowing alone simply is treating a symptom instead of a disease. It is like putting on a bandaid without cleaning out the wound. Again, the House passed this bipartisan legislation back in July. We could be fixing these problems now, but the Senate hasn't acted. It is time for the Senate to act. It is time to stop playing politics with our Nation's forests, one of our most treasured resources. The House offered a solution. Let's embrace constructive governance and make H.R. 2647 the law of the land. I want to take a moment and look at what the Resilient Federal Forests Act does. We already talked about fire borrowing, but it also prevents future fires. H.R. 2647 gives the Forest Service the tools it needs to better manage our national forests immediately after its passage. Our forests are overgrown, and therefore, they are fire prone. Fighting fires doesn't prevent future fires. That is why we need better management. Scientific thinning helps prevents future fires. I would like to show some photographs from a forest in my home State of Arkansas. To some, this may look like a healthy, thriving forest because you see trees and you see a lot of greenery, but I am a forester, and when I look at that, I see an overstock stand of trees. I see too much undergrowth. I see too much dead and dying material on the forest floor. This is not a healthy forest, but this happens to be a control site in the middle of a healthy forest. Next, I want to show how we get to a healthy forest on this particular side. This area has been thinned, and there is controlled burns taking place. These burns take place on intervals of 3 to 5 years. They not only make the forest better to withstand potential forest fires; they also create better wildlife habitat. The biodiversity in this forest goes through the roof when these kind of management practices are put in place. We get healthy trees. We get an early successional habitat that is good for wildlife. It also is good for the soil; it is good for water quality, and it is good for air quality. This last picture shows what a healthy forest in my district looks like. These trees are thriving. This is an early growth not too long after a fire. This is a great wildlife habitat. The biodiversity of wildlife and plant life is much higher in this photograph than what we saw in the previous photograph. This creates a win-win situation. Now, this isn't the solution for everywhere across the country; this is what works in the forests in my district, but there are forest managers across this country that know how to manage their forests in their particular climate and in their particular setting to create healthy forests and forests that can withstand a fire. It would be almost impossible for a forest fire to destroy these trees. The next thing that the Resilient Federal Forests Act does is it stops frivolous lawsuits. You may ask: Why do we need to stop frivolous lawsuits? Well, frivolous lawsuits hinder forest plans that are developed locally, using science, best management practices, and collaborative efforts that represent stakeholder values. The end result is a forest that is decreased and impaired in value for our next generation. This bill discourages frivolous lawsuits by requiring those suing to stop collaborative projects to post a bond. If the plaintiff loses, they pay the taxpayer's legal bills. If they win, they get their money back. This bill also aids in better land management planning. In the words of former U.S. Forest Service chief Dale Bosworth: ``We do not have a fire problem on our Nation's forests; we have a land management problem. And it needs to be addressed quickly.'' Delayed decisionmaking or, even worse, no decisionmaking at all, is hurting our forests. Forests are dynamic. They are a living, growing organism. When we say no action, we are actually taking action. Since forests are not static, scientific analysis should not be static. This bill requires the Forest Service to critically analyze the impacts of no action, which often are overgrowth, increased wildfire, and diseases. Increases in future wildfire problems are often caused because of poor land management. It makes it difficult for reforestation, ultimately decreasing and impairing the value of forests. This bill sets up requirements for salvage plans in response to catastrophic events. It requires environmental assessments for salvage projects to be completed within 90 days so that timber can be removed while it is still commercially valuable. The USDA completed post-Hurricane Katrina NEPA on the De Soto National Forest within 90 days. They expedited it. They were successful at that. As a result, 80 percent of the timber was salvaged that was in moderate to heavily damaged areas. The management actions laid out in this bill must comply with forest plans. It is not taking a shortcut. Despite what some folks say, this doesn't mean thousands of acres clearcut. It doesn't mean destruction of snag habitats that often become available after a large fire. In my home State, clearcuts are restricted to 180 acres, at most. We are talking about thousands of acres of land that still have to follow forest management practices. This bill rewards collaboration. It incentivizes collaboration and speeds up the implementation of collaborative projects. It safeguards a strong, timely environmental review process through categorical exclusions for forest management projects. You may ask: What are collaborative projects? This is simply where local land managers, environmentalists, citizens, and industry representatives come up with a plan. These groups spend hundreds if not thousands of hours working on a plan that is best for their local area. Why wouldn't we encourage this sort of compromise? This bill encourages more collaborative projects. Passing this bill shows that we endorse commonsense plans that tend to local and ecological needs. This bill creates greater reforestation after natural disasters. As a forester, this statistic is really disturbing to me. On average, less than 3 percent of an area is reforested after a catastrophic event on our national forests. This bill requires that 75 percent reforestation takes place within 5 years. This will revitalize our forests that are destroyed by fire or other natural events. When we reforest an area, we have young trees that grow fast and sequester carbon faster than older, fully grown trees. If we want to sequester more carbon, then we should be planting more trees. We should demand that we reforest our land after the timber is destroyed in one of these catastrophic events. We have to stop playing politics, and we need to pass this bill. This bill creates greater roles for the tribes. Oftentimes, the Federal Government does not collaborate and work together with those who have expertise in forest health. This bill brings in State and tribal governments as strong partners in forest management. It gives the Forest Service the authority to accept assistance from States willing to put money toward forest management. It also reinforces existing tribal authority to assist in the management of national forest land adjacent to reservations. The Resilient Federal Forests Act modernizes secure rural schools. This is an issue that is very important in my district. We have many rural areas near our national forests, and the schools are hurting because of the decreased funding because we are not keeping our forests healthy. Rural communities not only depend on our forests for their sustenance, but they also provide emergency services, education, and support for the forests and residents who live near the forests. As forests lose value, communities suffer, and they will only suffer more in the future. This bill gives counties flexibility to spend secure rural schools funding. It allows them to spend money on emergency services on Federal lands, and it puts 25 percent of stewardship contracts into the county treasury where the projects occurred. This bill means more money for our schools and other public services, along with the benefits of a healthy and resilient forest. One more time, I want to look at the fire borrowing issue. This is one of the worst fire seasons we have seen. We know what good management practices are. We know how to implement those practices on the land. The House has acted by passing H.R. 2647, the Resilient Federal Forests Act. It solves fire borrowing. It completely reforms current bad management practices. And this is isn't just me saying this. We have letters from hundreds of groups that have endorsed this bill. Here is a list of just a few of them: the Forest Products Industry National Labor Management Committee, the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, the National Association of Counties, the National Association of Forest Service Retirees, the National Water Resources Association, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. There are hundreds more that have supported this legislation because it is good, commonsense legislation that is good for our country; it is good for our forests. The House has acted. It is time for the Senate to act. It is time for the administration to stop playing politics with wildfire. It is time to make H.R. 2647 the law of the land. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce).

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the topic of my Special Order.

Mr. WESTERMAN. I thank the gentleman from Alabama. We are from Southern States, but good forestry management is very important to us as well. I have about 2.5 million acres of Federal forest in my district in Arkansas, and we want to see that land managed properly. We don't want to see it go up in smoke. Mr. Speaker, we face a lot of contentious issues in this body and in Congress, but this shouldn't be one of them. President Roosevelt, who was the father of our national forests, along with Gifford Pinchot, said that this is one of our most treasured natural resources. We need to leave it in better shape for the next generation than what we received it in. Right now, we are not doing that. This is not a partisan issue. This is something that we need to look at the science, we need to work together, and we need to do what is right for America. We need to do what is right for forests because healthy forests create a winning situation on many levels. We get better air quality. We get better water quality. We get a better economy. We get better wildlife habitat. We sequester more carbon. There is not a downside to a healthy forest, but we have to get our act right here in Washington, D.C. It is with that that I, again, plead with and encourage the Senate to take up this issue. Let's have a debate on it. Let's fix this and get ourselves back on the right path to healthy forests. We didn't get here overnight, and we are not going to fix everything overnight, but we have to start sometime. The sooner we start, the sooner we can have our forests back in a healthy condition and the sooner we can enjoy this national treasure that belongs to all of us in America. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WESTERMAN

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I encourage a strong ``no'' vote on this deal. I encourage this Chamber, the Senate, and the administration to do the right thing by rejecting this deal in its entirety; and I pray that God would intervene and help us.

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight in strong disagreement with the President's deal. Tonight is the eve of the 14th anniversary of attacks on America by radical Islamic terrorists. These were direct, premeditated attacks on our soil that targeted and murdered thousands of Americans, just because they were Americans. It was a dirty, cowardly act that reflects the lack of civility and values of all terrorists, those who finance terror, those who plan terror attacks, and those who carry them out. Who would have thought we would be here at this time debating whether to approve an agreement with the number one state sponsor of terrorism in the world, a deal with a country that chants ``death to America'' while holding four American hostages, a deal that removes sanctions and allows billions of dollars to flow into a regime that wants to annihilate us and our allies, a deal that allows thousands of centrifuges to continue spinning and enriching nuclear fuel that can and most likely will be used in nuclear weapons. There is a better way to deal with this regime, by not making any concessions until Iran ends their support of terrorism and demonstrates they can be civilized and trusted. They must earn our trust. Mr. Speaker, America's $18 trillion to $19 trillion economy dwarfs Iran's $400 billion economy, and some sell America short to say that the world would stand with Iran over us if we kept our sanctions and showed resolve. Mr. Speaker, I never thought I would see the day when America negotiated with terrorists, and I certainly never thought I would see the day when those who swore to protect her would agree to a deal shrouded in secrecy--not Congress' deal, not the American people's deal, the President's and the minority that supports its deal that jeopardizes so much of our safety and security and gains so little.

Mr. WESTERMAN

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have remaining?