Representative Rob Portman and John Kasich, two Ohio republicans have joined with Democrat Lee Hamilton in crafting a way to protect the Earth's remaining forests. Protecting the planet's remaining storehouses of biological diversity is the aim of the bill introduced late in the last session by the three members. The Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998 proposes authorizing $400 million over three years to cover the costs of restructuring debt of extremely poor countries that harbor some of the world's most biologically diverse tropical rain forests.