Myra Nissen
Message below:
HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE
Dear FSEEE Member,
We all know that budgets drive day-to-day government decisions. What
drives the Forest Service budget is timber. The Forest Service uses
money from timber sales to fund one-third of its national forest system
budget.
Annually the Forest Service diverts between $400 and $600 million of
money from the sale of timber that should go to the U.S. Treasury and
deposits these funds into its own off-budget accounts. The Forest
Service spends these timber dollars on paying its salaries, office rent,
new computers, and the like. This cycle of cutting trees to increase its
budget creates a powerful incentive to log.
The Government Accounting Office and the Office of Inspector General
have criticized the Forest Service for its lack of financial
accountability. In fact, the Forest Service has failed two government
audits of its financial records. Yet, the agency has access to vast
amount of timber receipts in special funds that receive no Congressional
or public oversight.
Right now members of Congress are debating how to fund the Forest
Service next year. It is time to end the Forest Service's addiction to
logging. Use the attached post cards to tell your representative and
House Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Regula to cut off the Forest
Service's access to these timber trust funds.
Best regards,
Andy Stahl
Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics
PO Box 11615
Eugene, OR 97440-3815
Your Postcard Really Counts!
WHAT IN AN OFF-BUDGET FUND?
The Forest Service has four off-budget funds to which the agency diverts
money it receives from selling timber from our national forests. But for
these off-budget funds, these timber sale receipts would go to the U.S.
Treasury. Instead the Forest Service bureaucracy profits directly from
the sale of trees.
Each of the off-budget funds was established by Congress with good
intentions. However, over the decades these good intentions went awry as
the Forest Service became increasingly devious in diverting timber sale
money to its own purposes. The three major off-budget funds are:
1) Brush Disposal Fund. Created by Congress in 1916, this fund
authorizes the Forest Service to charge timber purchasers a deposit to
cover the cost of disposing of unwanted debris and brush left over after
logging. In fact, the Forest Service spends a substantial portion of
this money on agency overhead. The more timber sold, the higher the
deposit, and the more money the Forest Service can divert to finance its
expanding overhead expenses.
2) Knutson-Vandenberg Fund. Created by Congress in 1930, this fund
authorizes the Forest Service to charge timber purchasers a deposit to
cover the cost of replanting young trees after logging. In 1976,
Congress expanded the uses of this money to include "protecting and
improving the renewable resources of the forest land" within the timber
sale area. In fact, the Forest Service spends about a third of this
money on agency overhead expenses. Beginning in 1956, the Forest Service
stopped charging the pur chaser an extra deposit for this fund. Instead
the Forest Service takes the Knutson-Vandenberg money directly out of
the bid price for the timber. As a result, many timber sales return to
the U.S. Treasury only 1% of the bid price. The Forest Service keeps 99%
of the timber sale money for its own uses.
3) Salvage Sale Fund. Created by Congress in 1976, this fund authorizes
the Forest Service to keep all the money it makes from selling "salvage
sales" to spend on paying the costs of these sales. In fact, the Forest
Service diverts about a third of this money to agency overhead. In
addition, the Forest Service takes money earned from high-priced salvage
sales to spend on subsidizing below-cost salvage sales.
In 1997, the Forest Service collected from timber sale receipts the
following amounts into each of these trust funds.
Total Collections Overhead Rake-off Percent to Overhead
Brush Disposal Fund $21,792,477 $7,451,007 34%
Knutson-Vandenberg Fund $166,324,646 $51,169,263 31%
Salvage Sale Fund $180,135,263 $50,079,180 28%
Total $368,252,386 $108,699,450
Today the Forest Service keeps most of the money it makes from selling
timber for its purposes; very little is returned to the U.S. Treasury.
Timber sales are the single biggest money maker for the Forest Service.
No wonder that timber continues to dominate this agency's agenda. Some
of our members have told us they want to do even more to ensure their
elected representatives act responsibility to protect our nation's
forest heritage. The House is an excellent place to have your views
heard and we encourage you to call, write or E-mail your Representative.
The U.S. Capitol telephone number is 202-224-3121. Mail should be sent
to: Honorable (John Smith), United States House of Representatives,
Washington, DC 20515. E-mail addresses, as well as other useful
Congressional contact information, can be found at: http://congress.org.
Postcard to Chairman Ralph Regula, United States House of
Representatives, Washington, DC 20515:
Subject: End Timber Slush Funds
Dear Chairman Regula,
Please help end the U.S. Forest Service’s dependence on timber sale
receipts and make the Forest Service financially accountable. The Forest
Service diverts between $300 and $500 million of timber sale receipts
annually into its off-budget timber “trust” funds. By burying this
money in its equivalent of Swiss Bank accounts, this agency spends
massive amounts of money with no Congressional oversight. Further, the
financial treadmill encourages the Forest Service to pursue otherwise
unjustified and questionable logging to finance the agency’s
bureaucracy.
In the last year’s debate on the Interior Appropriations Bill, you said
“we should get this [trust funds] on budget and put us in charge as a
Congress, in administering these funds on a line item basis.” In
addition, Forest Service Chief Mike Domeck said that “we cannot hope to
change the agency’s incentive system without taking a close look at the
Forest Service trust funds.”
Please follow through on your pledge to eliminate the timber trust funds
directly and appropriate the Forest Service’s entire budget. Our
national forests need a management agency that is financially
accountable to the American People.
Sincerely,
Postcard to your representative, United States House of Representatives,
Washington, DC 20515:
Dear Representative,
Subject: End Timber Slush Funds
Please help end the U.S. Forest Service’s dependence on timber sale
receipts and make the Forest Service financially accountable. The Forest
Service diverts between $300 and $500 million of timber sale receipts
annually into its off-budget timber “trust” funds. By burying this
money in its equivalent of Swiss Bank accounts, this agency spends
massive amounts of money with no Congressional oversight. Further, the
financial treadmill encourages the Forest Service to pursue otherwise
unjustified and questionable logging to finance the agency’s
bureaucracy.
In the last year’s debate on the Interior Appropriations Bill, Chairman
Ralph Regula said “we should get this [trust funds] on budget and put us
in charge as a Congress, in administering these funds on a line item
basis.” In addition, Forest Service Chief Mike Domeck said that “we
cannot hope to change the agency’s incentive system without taking a
close look at the Forest Service trust funds.”
Please contact Chairman Regula and encourage him to eliminate the timber
trust funds directly and appropriate the Forest Service’s entire budget.
Our national forests need a management agency that is financially
accountable to the American People.
Sincerely,