Citizens Group Praises Bush Delay of Clinton Midnight Regulation

Citizens for a Sound Economy today applauded President George W. Bush’s decision to delay implementation of former President Clinton’s “roadless areas rule” for two months. The new rule would have banned road building, logging, and a host of other activities on nearly 60 million acres of Forest Service land.

Said Patrick Burns, CSE’s director of Environmental Policy, “This midnight regulation would have prohibited almost any human presence in an area larger than the entire state of Idaho. It would have led to increased timber imports and environmentally destructive logging overseas while denying Americans access to valuable resources.”

During the two-month delay, the Department of Agriculture will review the rule and determine what action to take. Congress could also void the rule by using the Congressional Review Act, a procedure enacted specifically to address regulatory abuses.

Concluded Burns, “The roadless areas rule was a purely political effort by former President Clinton to appease extreme environmental special interests. President Bush is being extremely prudent in delaying its implementation.”