During the question and answer portion of the hearing, Democratic Rep. Jay Inslee (Wash.) railed against President Bush for not taking enough action to stop global warming.

“You go up to Northern Washington, you see miles of dead trees,” he said. “I don’t know if George Bush has ever looked at that.”

He then told U.S. Forest Service Chief Abigail Kimbell, who came to testify before the committee, “It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as George Bush stands at the schoolhouse door and prevents us in Congress to do things to stop global warming, these forests are going to die.”

“It doesn’t matter what you do because the forces are too great,” Inslee lectured the Forest Service Chief. “As long as George Bush allows unchecked CO2 emissions into the air, these forests are going to die. So, I have a great sadness about the position you are in, trying to save the unsavable when the President of the United States won’t help us deal with the mortal threat to these forests.

He then asked, “Have you told George Bush personally his policies are killing forests over which you have responsibility?”

Kimbell responded “no.” Inslee followed up: “What I am trying to say is no matter what you do, or how many great people are work with you, as long as climates are changing to entirely different regimes, they are going to be dead! And I want to know, would you be willing to try and get with the President of the United States and personally tell him, show him with pictures the devastation that is happening to these forests so maybe he will start to work with us on these problems.”

Kimbell replied she would be willing to talk with the president about the health of U.S. forests.

Others called to testify to the committee were Dr. Steven Running, professor of ecology at the University of Montana, Michael Francis, director of forest program and deputy vice president of the Wilderness Society, and Dr. Michael Medler, president-elect of the Association for Fire Ecology.