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appropriations bill is already awaiting Senate floor 

 consideration . 



In response to the Committee's questions about the strengths and 

 weaknesses of the bill, H.R. 4481 would provide an excellent 

 foundation for restoring our Nation's aquatic ecosystems. The 

 strengths of the bill are its recognition of the importance of 

 our aquatic ecosystems and the peril they face, development of a 

 national strategy for guiding restoration activities, the 

 emphasis on grass-roots support, and funding of restoration 

 projects that will benefit the ecosystems and provide direct 

 employment benefits to the local economy. 



The bill could be improved in various sections. It requires a 

 lengthy planning process (development of the Strategy, review of 

 projects by the Council, funding provided by the National Fish 

 and Wildlife Foundation) that could delay implementation of 

 restoration projects until 1996 or beyond. The Service would 

 like to work with the Committee to streamline this planning 

 process. 



The bill also requires thit the Task Force produce 

 recommendations for supporting the restoration activities by way 

 of a "user-pays" approach. The use of a "user-pays" system, 

 where users or degraders of water resources provide support for 

 restoration, has inherent appeal. However, such a system is 



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