121 



Senator Hollixgs. And the committee is very grateful for your 

 appearance this morning and your colleagues, too. Thank you very 

 much. 



Statement of the Department of the Interior Before the Senate 

 Committee on Commerce, May 5, 1971. 



statement of HARRISON LOESCH, ASSISTANT SECRETARY, 

 PUBLIC LAND MANAGE3IENT, DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR 



Mr. LoEscii. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am very grateful to have 

 the opportunity to appear before your committee. 



In view of the time pressures which I am sure you have, you miglit 

 find it appropriate if I asked to have my formal statement placed 

 in the record. 



Senator IIolltngs. It will be included in its entirety in the record. 



JSIr. LoESCH. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 



I might just very briefly summarize it by saying that it basically 

 repeats the thrust of the statements of Chairman Train and Secre- 

 tary Jackson to the effect that while w^e consider coastal zone man- 

 agement of extreme importance in the overall environmental picture, 

 we believe that at this time and under the circumstances, it is too nar- 

 row an approach, and, consequently, support the overall land use 

 planning bill. 



In that comiection, having listened to the testimony this morning, 

 I would like to sa}^ that while, again, certainly I would not want to 

 be stepping on anyone's toes or attempting to read the minds of 

 Members of Congress, I deal every day witli the House Interior Com- 

 mittee, and with all the caveats that I have mentioned, I may say 

 that my reading is not anywhere near as pessimistic about the pos- 

 sible actions of the House Interior Committee as Senator Hatfield's 

 were this morning. 



I believe that S. 992, and its companion, fit in very well with tlie 

 concepts which Chairman Aspinall has in mind. He has, as you may 

 be awai'e, made public announcement that he does not intend to ad- 

 dress himself to the particularities of the Public Land Law Eeview 

 Commission Report before getting overall framework legislation be- 

 fore the Congress. 



It is my view that S. 992 is exactly the sort of overall frame^^'ork 

 legislation in which lie is greatly interested. 



AVitii that, ]Mr. Chairman, I am open to any questions you might 

 have. 



Senator Hollings. We appreciate it Mr. Loesch. "VVe have your 

 statement. You can understand the concern of the committee, and 

 we have gone right along with the land use bill. But barring being 

 able to do that, we just wondered what the disposition was of the 

 administration relative to its coastal zone bill which it backed so 

 strongly last year. 



We do have some questions from Senator Stevens and others that 

 we would like to submit in writing if you do not mind. 



Mr. LoEscii. I Avould be very pleased to respond to them. 



Senator Hollings. We appreciate very much your appearance here 

 this mominG". 



