Chair McCollum Statement at Hearing on FY 2020 Forest Service Budget Request

Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN), Chair of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, delivered the following remarks at the Subcommittee's hearing on the fiscal year 2020 budget request for the U.S. Forest Service:

Good morning, I’d like to welcome to the subcommittee the 19th Chief of the USDA Forest Service, Vicki Christiansen. This is your first time testifying before this subcommittee as the Chief, and we are very happy to have you here. Joining the Chief today is John Rapp, Director of Strategic Planning, Budget, and Accountability.

Before getting into the details of this budget request, I must say that I am extremely disappointed that Secretary Perdue was not able to attend this hearing. Our staff coordinated with Forest Service staff, provided multiple date and time options, yet the Secretary was unable to make it work.

I understand it is not the responsibility of the Forest Service to manage the Secretary’s calendar, but his failure to appear before this subcommittee is not acceptable and, unfortunately, reflects very poorly on both the Service and the Department.

Two years ago, Secretary Perdue testified before this subcommittee, and misled me—he misled the entire subcommittee. When I asked whether the mineral withdrawal study in the watershed of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness would continue, Secretary Perdue stated:

Secretary Zinke and I have already met about this. And I think your statement regarding the two-year study over the sound science, none of us know what to do without the facts based and the sound science, and we are absolutely allowing that to proceed.

You also know that your State has a shot at that after that recommendation as well. So we are determined to proceed in that effort and let it run its course. No decision will be made prior to the conclusion of that.

This Administration and Secretary Perdue walked away from his commitment. The Forest Service was not allowed to complete the withdrawal study.  Instead, favoring politics over science, the Bureau of Land Management proposed to renew mining leases in the Boundary Waters, and Secretary Perdue cancelled the withdrawal application. 

Our hearing today will address the President’s 2020 budget request for the USDA Forest Service. This is the administration’s third budget, and just like the previous two, it falls significantly short of what a reasonable budget request would look like for the USDA Forest Service. And - like this Administration’s handling of the Boundary Waters, it favors politics over science.

I am pleased to see the fire funding fix included in this budget request. That is a major priority for this subcommittee that we look forward to funding in this year’s appropriation.

Unfortunately, the budget request does not make equally important investments in the necessary activities that ensure forest health and prevent wildfires.

The President’s fiscal year 2020 budget request provides $5.1 billion in discretionary funding for the Forest Service. This is a 16% reduction from FY 2019 enacted levels that ignores Congressional priorities and eliminates 15 programs.

These reductions and eliminations include:

• Forest and Rangeland Research is cut by 15%–reducing the science available to inform the health and use of our forests and grasslands and address the impacts of climate change;
• State and Private Forestry programs are cut by 46%– which will not only negatively impact the health of state and private forests but also national forests as pests, invasive species, and disease spread across boundaries; and
• The International Forestry program is eliminated–despite the fact that Congress has repeatedly rejected the Administration’s past efforts to defund this vital work! Congress will not eliminate a program that enhances our ability to combat illegal logging, prevent the spread of invasive species, and protect the habitat of migratory species.

This budget repeatedly states that the agency will focus on activities that reduce wildland fire risk, contribute to the improvement of forest and grassland conditions across shared landscape, and contribute to rural economic prosperity. However, many of the programs that do these exact things are being proposed for large cuts or elimination.

Fortunately, this subcommittee will not be accepting these proposed eliminations. Instead, we will be crafting a 2020 appropriations bill that reflects America’s priorities for managing National Forest System lands and supports our state and local partners.

The American people rely on the U.S. Forest Service to responsibly manage the National Forest System in a way that sustains the health, diversity, and productivity of our Nation’s forests and grasslands.

I would now like to yield to our Ranking Member, Mr. Joyce, for his opening remarks.