Crapo Attends Healthy Forest Bill Signing At Invitation Of The President

Washington D.C.--At the invitation of President George W. Bush, Idaho Senator Mike Crapo participated in this morningâ??s ceremony marking the Presidentâ??s signing into law the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003. Crapo was one of the final conferees writing the changes that brought the bill to the floor of the Senate and successfully passed the measure. During this morningâ??s signing ceremony at the U.S. Department of Agricultureâ??s headquarters building in Washington, DC, President Bush singled out Crapo and a handful of other Senate and House members for their efforts on the bill and said 190 million acres of forested lands are at risk. â??This has been a determined effort to work together in a bipartisan fashion that has created the potential for some of the most effective environmental legislation in decades,â?? Crapo said. â??Now we must implement this law with the same pragmatic thinking to realize its potential to protect our communities, heal our environment and ecosystems, and create jobs in rural and forested areas.â?? The bill embodies the legislative component of the Presidentâ??s Healthy Forests Initiative. The House passed its version of the bill on May 20, 2003, while the Senate adopted its version on October 20th by a vote of 80 to 14. The conference committee approved the conference report on November 20, 2003, with full House and Senate approval occurring the following day, November 21, 2003. The Senate Agriculture Committee, where Crapo chairs the Forestry Subcommittee, approved the bill by voice vote in July. The bill enacted today includes a number of provisions authored by Senator Crapo. # # # A satellite feed with Crapoâ??s reaction to the Healthy Forests signing is available this afternoon:1:45 â?? 2:00 p.m. MST/ 12:45 â?? 1:00 p.m. PSTGalaxy 3Transponder 2 vertical CbandDownlink 3740Standard audio