Liberty Matters News Service

September 7, 1997

Volume I Issue 16

This Friday, September 12th, Liberty Matters launches the first of 52 programs on NET TV. The series will air during the popular Morning View show at 8:47 Eastern Time and again at 12:47 Eastern Time. This national television series will focus on property rights issues and how environmentalism is eroding our precious constitutional rights. Tune in this Friday for an in-depth look at these critical issues affecting American freedoms. NET, the Political NewsTalk Network can be seen by Large Satellite dish, GE-1 at 103 degrees transponder T19H, and also on the (18") Dish Network, channel 216 (dish system available for $200) for cable listings and ordering information order Faxback Docs. 149, 151 You don’t want to miss this.

Ignoring members of Congress and the people, president Clinton and his staff closed the comment period for the American Heritage Rivers Initiative on August 20th, opening the door for nominations of American rivers. Designated rivers will be announced in January, 1998. CEQ downplayed the public’s reaction to the plan claiming that only 1,600 comments were received which they would be "considering" when re-writing the regulations due out by mid September. However, in a recent interview, a CEQ representative made it clear that the administration will move as quickly as possible to enact their Initiative. The House Resource Committee will hold a hearing September 24th on the Initiative and H.R. 1842, the bill filed by Helen Chenoweth to stop the president’s plan.

2) Request your Congressman to write CEQ and the president to oppose his initiative and demand that NO RIVER in their congressional district be included in the Initiative.

Congressman Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) will be introducing two amendments to H.R. 2267, the Commerce, Justice, State and Judiciary Appropriations Act for 1998, as early as this week to strike $100 million in payments to the United Nations. Bartlett said "[T]his $100 million is supposedly a down payment on $819 million in so-called arrears to the United Nations," which he called a "phony debt." According to the General Accounting Office, the U.N. owes the U.S. $4.8 billion, although the U.N. claims the U.S. owes $1.3 billion. Last March, President Clinton announced that the U.S. would reimburse the U.N. for past debts (LMNS, 4/97). Call your Congressman today and urge him to support Congressman Bartlett’s two amendments to H.R. 2267 to eliminate any payments to the U.N. Faxback Docs. 173, 174,175

The amendment that would deny funding to any U.N. Biosphere Reserve or World Heritage Site was stripped from the Senate Interior Appropriations bill before Congress recessed for Labor Day. Hopes for defunding the U.N. programs rest in Congressman Tom Coburn’s (R-OK) ability to add his amendment to other appropriations bills that are still being considered. Passage of this amendment will make it impossible to fund these projects with taxpayer money. The Administration considers the defeat of this amendment one of highest priority. You need to voice your opinion with your Congressman on this issue NOW! Faxback Doc. 137

According to the Sierra Club’s Action Bulletin (9/2/97), the "New Jersey Republican State Committee sent memos to leaders urging them to join the Sierra Club as a way to publicly demonstrate their commitment to the environment." This is taking political correctness to new lows. It appears that Republicans are determined to make "GOP" stand for "Green Old Party" instead of "Grand Old Party."