I decided to get this out because the corn growers and agri business are mentioned. And of course you are not busy this morning then you can do your environmental activism for today. Debbie Neustadt -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [CRNetwork] Floor Vote Today - Still Time to Call Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2005 12:12:01 -0400 From: [log in to unmask] Reply-To: [log in to unmask] To: <[log in to unmask]> CRN Members: There is still time to make calls to House Members to urge them to support the Flake-Blumenauer Amendment. The vote will not occur until at later this afternoon. The corn growers and agri-business are pulling out the stops to defeat this amendment, but we still have a decent chance, with your help! Their major claim is to dispute the traffic estimates. If this is their main argument, then we say, fine. If the traffic is really there, as you claim, then you have nothing to worry about and the project can proceed. Below is a fact sheet we prepared to help de-bunk some of the mis-information being spread. Feel free to use it in your calls. If you don't know how to find your Member of Congress, simply go to http://www.house.gov and enter your zip code at the top of the page. Support the Flake-Blumenauer Amendment to the Water Resources Development Act of 2005 The Real Facts Level of Traffic: Traffic has fluctuated but has been flat between 1980 and 2000. Since 2000, it has declined dramatically as much more grain is now used for ethanol, livestock, and railed to Canada and Mexico (NAFTA) and west coast ports for Asian markets. Regardless, if traffic increases as projected by the Corps, they can immediately proceed to construction. Accountability: The Flake-Blumenauer amendment is not a "wait and see" approach but a safety valve to ensure the Corps meets its minimum traffic projections. Design of the locks will be concurrent with traffic monitoring, so there is no delay if the Corps traffic projections are met. Funding: The Inland Waterways Trust Fund is derived from a tax on diesel fuel. As with all inland water construction and major rehab projects, half the funding for this project will come from the IWTF. However, IWTF funds are included in the Corps annual construction budget. So, $1.8 billion comes from the same limited pot of construction money. Length of Locks: Building longer locks will reduce the cost of shipping commodities by only a fraction of a penny. Extending lock length will reduce the 20 day trip from Iowa to New Orleans by less than 12 hours, a modest increase in efficiency. Why support this amendment: Two panels of the National Academy of Sciences have concluded the Corps' traffic projections and economic models are biased to support new lock construction, and the data is unreliable. Even the Administration has cited these concerns in recent budgets. In addition, the Army's Inspector General concluded the Corps manipulated the results of the study. Given these facts, Congress should ensure that level of traffic warrants a $1.8 billion taxpayer investment. Tim Eder, Director of Water Resources National Wildlife Federation 213 W. Liberty St Ann Arbor, MI 48104 734-769-3351 (ext 25) 734-604-7281 (cell) NWF's mission is to inspire Americans to protect wildlife for our children's future. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/