American Dream

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee - Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) opposes the Bush administration's plan to sell nearly 3,000 acres of the Cherokee National Forest along the North Carolina border as part of a national public lands sale to pay for roads and schools in rural communities. The sale proposal is part of Bush's 2007 budget request and must be approved by Congress. Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) wrote the leadership of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources to protest the sale saying "I do not believe it is a wise investment to sell our public lands in return for short-term funding of a program that deserves full funding on its own — especially when the lands have been selected without the input of local communities and park rangers."