April 16, 2000

CARA Victory in Senate

Opponents of CARA (The Conservation and Reinvestment Act, S. 25 in the Senate and HR 701 in the House) made a significant victory in the Senate last week as an expected amendment to the Budget Resolution was never offered that would have made it easier to pass CARA.  Proponents were trying to revoke a part of the resolution that expresses the "Sense of the Senate" to keep funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund on-budget.  In order for this to be overturned and for CARA to pass the Senate, proponents will now need 60 votes instead of 51.  Congratulations to the grassroots.

CARA Opposition in the House

Some of the most vocal opponents to HR 701 are those concerned about CARA's impact on the overall budget.  One of these is Ralph Regula, Chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee on Interior who said "the bill provides funding for these programs by taking them off-budget, waving the Budget Act.  This program is fiscally irresponsible."  The Conservation Action Team (CAT), a group of conservative members of Congress, has also recently released an analysis of CARA that among other problems points out that "the bill would have the effect of reducing the on-budget surplus by $2.825 billion annually for the next fifteen years."  This could potentially force members of Congress to dip into the Social Security Trust Fund to make up the difference.  House Leadership has told Young they will not set a date to let the bill out until after the Easter recess, which begins April 17th and ends April 28th.  Your Congressman should be in your district sometime over the next two weeks.  Call your Congressman and raise questions about CARA at public meetings.  Ask your Congressman and Senator why the government needs more land.

Faxback 2125 & 2126

Another Clinton Monument Heist

This past Saturday, the President added 325,000 more acres to his monument holdings, now totaling 2.8 million acres locked up under the 1906 Antiquities Act.  The newest monument encompasses the Sequoia National Park and includes a buffer zone to protect the trees from logging and other productive uses.  George Frampton, chairman of the president's Council on Environmental Quality, was reported by the Sacramento Bee as saying Clinton's protective order could force the closing of a family -owned logging company in the small town of Terra Bella and cost up to 150 jobs.

Faxback 2127

Bush Challenges Gore on Environment

Presidential hopeful, George W Bush, recently delivered a major policy speech on the environment, saying essentially that the environmental problems were a state's rights issue and the states are better positioned to solve their own problems than the federal government. He said, "The idea of suing our way or regulating our way to clean air and clean water is not effective public policy."  A Gore spokesman countered by announcing that "On his watch (Gov Bush), Texas has been the most polluted state in the country."  No mention that Texas, like every other state, has to abide by federal regulations and every governor knows that the rules cannot be ignored.

Gore's "Earth in the Balance" Back Again

Vice President Gore plans to publish a new edition of his 1992 "Earth in the Balance" on the 30th Anniversary of Earth Day, April 22nd.  The new version turns up the heat on the global warming issue and calls for the Senate to ratify the "Kyoto" agreement, committing the U.S. to cut carbon emissions by 30%.  He still maintains that the internal combustion engine must be eliminated, but is now advocating new types of cars.

Faxback 2128

The Magnificent Seven

The League of Conservation Voters is backing environmentally friendly legislators on both sides of the aisle with $6 million to promote their campaigns.  There are seven "Earthlist" candidates; four Republican and three Democrats.  The Republicans are: Jim Ramstad, Minn., Marge Roukema, N.J., Sherwood Boehlert, N.Y., and James Jeffords, VT.

Faxback 2129