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I want to express
a grateful thanks to all who acted on the previous Rider Alerts! due to
controversy raised the Biscuit and ESA threats are not included. More
information below:
(thank you, thank you,
thank you...)
Lois
Norrgard
American Lands Alliance -
Upper Midwest
To:
All Activists
From: Randi Spivak
Date:
November 22, 2004
Omnibus
Spending Bill Passed
The House and Senate voted on the omnibus
spending bill on Saturday. The Interior Appropriations bill that funds the
Forest Service was one of nine other appropriations bills that were packaged
together in the 3,016-page omnibus appropriations bill.
Following
the House vote, the Senate voted 65-30 on the spending package. But that
did not bring the 108th Congress to a close. Democrats were outraged to discover
a provision that would allow the chairmen of the House and Senate Appropriations
Committees, or their staff, to view taxpayers' individual tax returns.
Republicans agreed to remove that provision, but Democrats kept up
the fight until Republican leaders agreed to pass a resolution to strip the
provision. The House must clear that provision before the omnibus can proceed to
the president's desk. The House is expected to make the correction on Nov 24th
by unanimous consent. In the interim, the House and Senate passed a new
continuing resolution that was signed by the President on November 21st, to keep
the government operating through December 3rd.
A big thanks to
everyone for calling and faxing your Senator and Representative to oppose
attempts to attach damaging provisions ? that are often never debated or voted
on beforehand ? to these ?must pass? spending bills that fund the federal
government.
Rider threats not in the final
bill
Your calls and faxes have successfully
stopped:
- Senator Smith (R-OR) from
attaching a rider to the omnibus bill that would exempt the massive Biscuit
post-fire timber sale, the largest logging project in modern history, from
judicial review. The rider would have prevented citizens from
challenging the Biscuit post-fire sale in court and holding
the Forest Service accountable for their actions. The rider would also have
lifted an injunction on timber sales that are now blocked in court and
declared the entire logging plan, including logging roadless areas and old
growth, legally sufficient. This mega-sale is located squarely over the
Siskiyou Wild Rivers, a landscape graced by pristine rivers, steep, rugged
mountains, huge roadless forests, old growth and world-class biodiversity.
- California developers
from attaching two riders that would have seriously weakened the Endangered
Species Act (ESA) and protections for threatened and endangered species on
both public and private lands.
- A rider that would have
eliminated the required approval by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
to consider the effects of pesticides on endangered species.
Unfortunately, some bad riders are still in the
final bill that will:
- Interfere with judicial
review of certain logging projects in the Tongass National Forest by telling
judges they only have 180 days from the filing date to decide lawsuits
challenging logging projects in the Tongass. The rider also attempts to
completely cut off the public's ability to challenge projects if they cannot
file lawsuits on Tongass logging projects within 30 days of the Forest
Service's decision to go ahead with them.
- Eliminate environmental
and public review of livestock grazing on millions of acres of Forest Service
land. Livestock grazing is extremely damaging to public lands, polluting
rivers and streams and putting at risk numerous plant and animal species. This
rider gives the Forest Service a ?free pass? on being accountable to citizens
for their actions. This rider would categorically exclude review of grazing
permits under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
- Strip from the bill a
House-passed Interior Appropriations amendment that would stop the
construction of new logging roads in the Tongass National Forest. This special
interest give-away to the timber industry has cost American taxpayers over
$750 million over the past 20 years. The GOP leadership rejected the
bipartisan amendment from the final bill despite the fact that the House had
adopted the amendment by a vote of 222 to 205 on June 16th. Representatives
Steve Chabot (R-OH) and Robert Andrews (D-NJ) sponsored the measure that was a
major step toward saving our last great rainforest and saving taxpayer money
as well.
Thank you everyone for your hard work helping to
block these damaging proposals. Your calls, letters, emails and faxes do
work. Please keep up the pressure this year on other proposals that would
eliminate citizen input, environmental review, access to the courts and destroy
national forests, wildlife and waters.
**********************
Randi Spivak
American Lands
Alliance
Executive Director
726th 7th Street SE
Washington, DC
20003
Phone: 202.547.9029
Fax: 202.547.9213
randispivak@americanlands.org
**Please visit our new retooled website!
Newly updated
and retooled, www.americanlands.org
Is an in-depth, extensive resource for
forest activists.
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