House Resources Committee:
Forests and Forest Health Subcommittee

The Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health oversees public forest lands in general, including; matters related to entry, easements, withdrawals and grazing, forest reservations created from the public domain, and federal reserved water rights on forest reserves. Also falling under the Subcommittee's jurisdiction are the Wild and Scenic Rivers System, National Trails System, national heritage areas, and Federal and non-Federal outdoor recreation plans, programs and administration in national forests.  

Rep. Scott McInnis (R-CO 03) is the Chair of the Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health. Prior to becoming the Representative for Colorado's 3rd District in 1992, McInnis was a member of the Colorado House for 11 years. Unfortunately, McInnis is another example of a leader of a House Resources committee with low scores on LCV's National Environmental Scorecard. He scored 15% in 2003 and 18% for the 107th Congress. In 2002 and 2003 he sponsored legislation based on the President's so-called "Healthy Forests" initiative that would weaken environmental protections for national forests using fire prevention as a pretext.  

Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA 01) is the Ranking Democrat on the Forests and Forest Health Subcommittee. He is currently in his third term representing Washington's First District; he also represented Washington's Fourth District for one term. Representative Inslee consistently receives high scores on LCV's National Environmental Scorecard; he earned 100% in 2003 and 95% for the 107th Congress. He has been a dedicated leader on clean air, safe drinking water, and open space issues. A 2000 LCV Environmental Champion, Rep. Inslee has been an outspoken advocate in Congress on the need to address global climate change and in 2001 he sponsored a successful amendment to prevent the mining industry from polluting rivers and streams in Washington and the rest of the country.