47 



Remarks of B. Glen Lee 



Deputy Administrator, Plant Protection and Quarantine 



Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 



United States Department of Agriculture 



before 



House Committee on Agriculture 



Subcommittee on Specialty Crops and Natural Resources 



June 29, 1994 



Chainnan Rose and members of the Subcommittee, it is a pleasure to appear before 

 you today to discuss the proposal of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal 

 and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to establish guidelines for the importation of 

 logs and lumber. This is an issue of emerging importance to APHIS and the American 

 public, and one that sparks fairly intense debate among a number of interested parties, 

 including scientists, environmental groups and timber-related industries. 



I would like to use my time before you today to explain the history and rationale 

 behind these regulations and the effects they could have on agricultural and forest health if 

 approved. To begin, I will provide a brief synopsis of the events that led to the development 

 of these regulations. 



HISTORY 



The United States is rich in forest resources and because of this, we historically have 

 imported only small quantities of foreign logs and lumber. Most of these imports have come 



