Omnibus Public Lands Bill is still alive and to be voted on Monday March 16!

[eagle mark]

Omnibus Public Lands Bill is still alive and to be voted on Monday March 16!

Thursday 12 March was a sad day for Americans who enjoy traveling the great outdoors and for international observers of the US law making process.
One of the biggest land use Bills, the once named Omnibus Bill, now tacked onto H.R. 146, has been engineered in Congress to allow minimal discussion despite its complexity and huge implications to 4x4 recreation, energy resources etc..
It is vital that you call or email your Senators and representatives immediately, to demand that they vote NO to the passage of H.R. 146 in its present form. The House votes on Monday afternoon.
To find your Officials, the AMA have a useful system on www.amadirectlink.com/legisltn/rapidresponse.asp
The irony is that H.R. 146 is the Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Battlefield Protection Act Bill, to recognise those sites in US history where citizens died for their beliefs.
http://rpc.senate.gov/public/_files/hotline0.html
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h146/show
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-...6&position=all

 

[throttleissues]

Well, I sent off a couple e-mails, but I have little hope in Buck Mckeon since he has crossed to the darkside. IIRC, he co-sponsored that bill with Boxer and Feinstein. Traiterous bastard doesn't even care how Republican his constituents are any more.

 

[eagle mark]

Officail BRC letter today.


BRC Urgent Action Alert
Immediate Action Requested

Omnibus Package Revived In Senate - Vote Scheduled Today

Dear BRC Action Alert Subscriber,

In our last update on the massive omnibus public lands bill, we cautioned our members that the package is far from dead. We wrote: "Worse, possible scenarios are being considered that will prohibit full review as well as opportunity to offer amendments."

True to form, Congress is pushing ahead with yet another vehicle for the omnibus package. This time it's H.R. 146 - "The Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Battlefield Acquisition Grant Program." This otherwise worthy bill will be amended to include the contents of the omnibus package. The Senate is expected to take the bill up at 2 p.m. eastern with the first cloture vote due as early as 5:30 p.m.

At this point it looks as if the Senate leadership will either strike a deal to limit amendments in order for the bill to move quickly, or they will just push it through without allowing any opportunity for amendments. Either way, the bill is likely to see its first cloture vote TODAY!

If the Senate passes the measure it is expected that House leadership will attempt to jam it through via one or more "closed rule" options. D.C. insiders expect House leadership to call the legislation up as a "preferential bill," which would prohibit committee review and limit amendments.

BRC is asking all of our members and supporters to call their Senators NOW. Finding their phone number is easy. Click here and enter your Zip code. Simply tell your Senator that you oppose the Omnibus Public Lands Act and you want them to vote NO on H.R. 146.

Be brief. Be polite. Do it NOW.

As always, if you have any questions or need assistance call or email.

Brian Hawthorne
Public Lands Policy Director
BlueRibbon Coalition
208-237-1008 ext 102

 

[yellowK20]

So any updates??

 

[eagle mark]

Latest news on omnibus lands bill:

Although the official vote in the Senate has not yet taken place, we must be honest and say that the bill is likely to pass either tomorrow or Thursday.

This sends the bill back to the House, and the leadership there is expected to suspend normal rules in order to jam it through without debate or chance of amendments. As we noted in the previous action alert, D.C. insiders expect House leadership to call the legislation up as a "preferential bill," which would prohibit committee review and limit amendments.

For more information on the Omnibus Land Bill, see our previous alerts here.
(http://www.sharetrails.org/alerts/)

Important info:
I need to mention that the number of calls on this omnibus bill have increased over the last few weeks. This is really rare for long running marathon bills like this one.

Your calls are making a difference and many of the legislators you are calling are starting to question why, in a time of financial crisis, is it so important to jam through a $10 - $12 billion land bill.

Another question that should be asked is, "Why is there no opportunity for an amendment?"

I'll take this opportunity to mention a few Congressmen asking the tough questions, including Utah's Rob Bishop and Jason Chaffetz, California's Devin Nunes, Florida's Alcee Hastings, Montana's Denny Rehberg and Oklahoma's Mary Fallin, just to name a few.

Honorable mention goes to Wyoming's Cynthia Lummis, who penned a very well reasoned letter as to why she could not vote for the omnibus bill. I encourage all BRC Action Alert Subscribers to take a minute to read what she said. http://lummis.house.gov/2009/03/lummis-votes-no-on-big-spending-lands-package.shtml

What you need to do:
BRC is asking all of our members and supporters to call their Senators AND their Representatives NOW. Finding their phone number is easy. Just enter your zip code on BRC's Rapid Response Center webpage at http://www.sharetrails.org/rapid_response/.

For Maximum Effectiveness:
Call both Senators and your Congressperson. Three quick phone calls. Simply tell them that you oppose the Omnibus Public Lands Act of 2009. Tell them you oppose putting public lands bills into these "all or nothing" omnibus packages.

Be brief. Be polite. Do it NOW.

As always, if you have any questions or need assistance, call or email.

Brian Hawthorne
Public Lands Policy Director
BlueRibbon Coalition
208-237-1008 ext 102

 

[eagle mark]

PUBLIC LANDS: Omnibus clears Senate, heads for House vote next week (03/19/2009)
Eric Bontrager and Noelle Straub, E&E reporters
The House will take up the public lands, water and natural resources omnibus bill next week, potentially sending the measure to President Obama for his signature.
Today, the Senate passed the bill for the second time this year, 77-20, as part of a complicated maneuver to prevent House Republicans from offering contentious amendments.
House National Parks Subcommittee Chairman Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said he expects the House will move quickly to approve the omnibus. "It will happen next week," he said. "I'm hearing Thursday from the leadership, so it'll probably be Tuesday."
The bill will come up under a rule, a House Democratic aide said.
Assuming the House passes the omnibus, Grijalva said he would like to begin work on a new another lands package, including new wilderness designations, for consideration later this year or early next year.
Before today's vote, senators accepted one amendment but rejected two others that Democrats allowed Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) to offer as part of a deal in exchange for allowing the bill to proceed. Yesterday they rejected three others.
Coburn, who placed "holds" on many of the bills in the omnibus for months last year, said the bill contains earmarks, limits energy development on public lands, and is an example of "hyper-parochialism" under which senators put items they wanted for their home states over the long-term good of the country.
The Coburn amendment that was accepted by voice vote would clarify the bill to allow the "casual collection" of rocks in parks that may contain a fossil, preventing criminal prosecution of visitors who unintentionally take a fossil. It would keep penalties for those who knowingly take or sell fossils from parks.
One of the amendments defeated today would have struck certain sections that Coburn deems frivolous, such as the $3.5 million to celebrate the 450th anniversary of St. Augustine, Fla., in 2015, and a salmon restoration project in California. Coburn said the California provision would amount to the government spending hundreds of millions of dollars to protect 500 fish. But Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said his amendment would have destroyed a widely supported, court-approved settlement of an 18-year legal battle. The Senate voted 70-27 to table, or kill, the amendment.
The other amendment would have required federal agencies to issue an annual report detailing the total amount of land they own and the cost to taxpayers of the ownership of the land. It was tabled, 58-39.
Last week, the House fell two votes shy of passing the bill under suspension of the rules, a maneuver that shields legislation from amendment or a motion to recommit but requires a two-thirds majority for passage. Senate leaders then devised a strategy to use a bill that had already passed the House -- H.R. 146, a proposal to protect Revolutionary War battlefields -- and strip its contents, replacing it with the omnibus lands bill. Because the House already passed H.R. 146, the chamber will only need to vote to concur with the Senate amendment.
The omnibus would designate more than 2 million acres of wilderness in nine states and would establish three new national park units, a new national monument, three new national conservation areas, more than 1,000 miles of national wild and scenic rivers and four new national trails. It would enlarge the boundaries of more than a dozen existing national park units and establish 10 new national heritage areas.
It would also authorize numerous land exchanges and conveyances to help local Western communities address water resource and supply issues, and includes provisions to improve land management.
The revised omnibus bill will also include language from Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) meant to ensure that the omnibus would not close off lands that are already open to hunting and fishing.
Conservation groups praised the Senate passage.
The Wilderness Society's Paul Spitler said the Senate move "clears the most significant hurdle to protecting some of the country's most cherished landscapes."
"These wonderful landscapes are under tremendous pressure, and their value to local communities and to all Americans who treasure our natural heritage will remain long after the country has recovered from the economic crisis," Spitler said in a statement, although he expressed concern over a provision allowing construction of a road through Alaska's Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.
"Today, Congress has helped ensure that we will have a wild legacy to pass on to our children and grandchildren," said Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope. "This bill helps guarantee that future generations will be able to hike in pristine forests from California to West Virginia. They'll be able to fish America's untouched rivers, watch antelope migrate through Wyoming, and take their families camping in the stunning Rocky Mountains."

 

[yellowK20]

Depressing, Bump to the top Any updates did it pass the house??