Sierra Club Action Daily
Vol II, #113
July 12, 1999
"The day is not far away when the House of Representatives has
a consistent pro-environment majority."
--Sierra Club Field Director Bob Bingaman, quoted in
"Reclaiming America: Nike, Clean Air and the New National
Activism," by Randy Shaw
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------
RIDERS WEIGH DOWN INTERIOR BILL
Land Acquisition Programs Underfunded
Just back from a week recess, the House of Representatives is
set to debate the Interior Appropriations bill Tuesday and
Wednesday. As has so often been the case in the last few
years, the bill is infested with anti-environmental riders
that would never pass as stand-alone bills under full public
scrutiny.
Anti-environmental forces are also using the excuse of budget
caps to underfund many important environmental protection
efforts and programs, such as land acquisition and the
restoration of fish and wildlife habitat. Funding for
President Clinton's Land Legacy Initiative was woefully short
of the $1 billion requested.
One rider, for example, would prevent any funding of the Grand
Kankakee Marsh National Wildlife Refuge in Indiana and
Illinois in fiscal year 2000.
The final environmental assessment for the refuge is expected
to be released within weeks, which means the work to make it
real -- open an office, assemble the local advisory committee,
buy land -- can begin.
But not without funding. The local congressman, Steve Buyer
(R-Ind.), won't support the refuge funding because the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers is working on a flooding study of the
Kankakee River, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the
Corps have to commit to working together. The agencies have
signed an agreement saying they will do so, but that hasn't
budged Buyer.
****************************************************************************
TAKE ACTION TAKE ACTION TAKE ACTION TAKE ACTION
****************************************************************************
Contact your representatives early and often Tuesday and
Wednesday. The bill may come to a vote on Wednesday.
Tell your representative that you expect him or her to pass
spending bills that fully fund land acquisition and protection
efforts and DO NOT include backdoor attempts to gut
environmental laws.
Call the Capitol Hill switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask
for your representative's office. Here's a sample script you
can use for talking points.
Dial (202) 224-3121
Operator: "Hello, Capitol."
Concerned Sierra Club Activist: "Hi. May I have Rep. So-
and-So's office?"
Operator: "Right away. Thanks for calling."
Office Receptionist: "Rep. So-and-So's office. Can I
help you?"
Activist: "Hi. I'm _______ and I live in ________, in
Rep. So-and-So's district. I'm concerned about
Congress' continued attempts to damage our environmental
laws by attaching anti-environmental riders to the
spending bills, especially those on the Interior
Appropriations bill."
Please urge Rep. So-and-So that I want her (or him) to
not support any anti-environmental riders and fully fund
environmental protection efforts."
Office Receptionist: "I'll see that the representative
hears about your concerns. Thank you for calling."
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact the Sierra Club at the
numbers listed below.
________________________________________________________________________
Sierra Club Legislative Hotline - 202-675-2394
Sierra Club National Headquarters - 415-977-5500
Sierra Club World Wide Web - http://www.sierraclub.org
White House Comment Line - 202-456-1111 White House Fax Line - 202-456-2461
Clinton's e-mail - [log in to unmask]
Gore's e-mail - [log in to unmask]
White House Address - 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington, DC 20500
US Capitol Switchboard - 202-224-3121
To contact your senators - http://www.senate.gov/contacting/index.cfm
To contact your representative - http://www.house.gov/writerep/
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To get off the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to:
[log in to unmask]
|
