Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 6013 - Sierra Nevada Forests Ecosystem Study Act of 1992

(House)
(Panetta (D) CA and 2 others)

The Administration strongly opposes enactment of H.R. 6013 for the reasons discussed below.

The bill creates a Scientific Committee to prepare a report on how certain Sierra Nevada National Forests and Parks should be managed and specifies what the Committee must consider. This leaves no flexibility for the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to make recommendations on what issues the report should address.

H.R. 6013 circumscribes the selection of Committee members by the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior, effectively vesting authority to appoint Committee members in a private organization. Because the Committee would execute executive power under section 6(e), these provisions raise serious constitutional concerns under the Appointments Clause of the Constitution.

The bill requires the Committee to transmit its report to relevant congressional committees at the same time it transmits its report to the Secretaries. Such a concurrent reporting requirement breaches the constitutional separation of powers and disrupts the Executive branch's chain of command.

The 1993 Interior Appropriations bill directs the Forest Service to conduct a similar study by an independent panel of scientists and provides $150,000 toward this effort. The directions in the Appropriations bill are much less restrictive than in H.R. 6013.

Finally, H.R. 6013 imposes inflexible directions on forest management over the next four years prior to completion of the Scientific Committee's report. This would prevent the Forest Service from responding to changes in the forest ecosystem due to natural disasters, such as drought, fire, disease, and insect infestation. Such interim direction is also unnecessary because draft Forest Plans already establish standards and guidelines for management in compliance with major environmental laws.