WASHINGTON (March 7, 2006)
Congressman Ben Chandler along with Congressman Ric Keller (R-8th-FL) are taking the lead in the United States House of Representatives to reject the
President’s proposal to sell public land.
As a first step, Chandler and Keller are
circulating a letter among their colleagues asking them to refuse any proposal to sell our National Forests to fund programs in the budget.
The President’s Fiscal Year 2007
budget proposal calls for a five year extension of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act. At a price tag of $800 million, the President is
proposing to pay for the extension by selling off over 300,000 acres of National Forest land. Included in the proposal are 4,500 acres of our own Daniel Boone National
Forest.
“While I fully support reauthorization of the program to fund rural schools, it should not be done at the expense of our federally protected land,” said Congressman Chandler.
