I am outraged that my tax dollars are being used to subsidize the destruction of our national forests. Taxpayer funds are used to build U.S. Forest Service roads. These are built so the timber industry can gain access to national forests. Taxpayers lose an average of $300 million a year (according to the General Accounting Office) because the forest service sells timber for less than the cost of the roads and other program costs.
There are currently more than 377,000 miles of roads criss-crossing our national forests, which is more than eight times the size of the entire federal interstate highway system. New road-building causes soil erosion and stream sedimentation, degrades water quality and fragments wildlife habitat.
Recently Sen. Richard Bryan (D-Nev.) offered an amendment to reduce funding for the road-building subsidy by at least $60 million. Unfortunately, it lost by one vote.
I applaud Illinois Sen. Richard Durbin and Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun for voting to cut this outrageous program. I urge them to stand up to the timber industry interests next year and eliminate this wasteful program.
It appears that big campaign cash has paid off for the timber interests, who have gained unprecedented access by spending more than $8.6 million in campaign contributions over the past six years. This vote highlights the need to get big money out of politics.
