As many of you know, the revitalization of this important fund has made some progress recently. The House Resource Committee passed a compromise bill which, though far from perfect, is a big step forward. Most interesting (and critical for success) is the support of major congressional anti-environmentalists like Chairman Young of Alaska and Rep. Pombo of Calif. One "read" is that with a razor thin majority, House Republicans don't want the environment to become a major issue in the next election.

Fine, we need to ride on their fear.

The full text Chairman Young's press release can be found at:

http://www.house.gov/resources/press/1999/991110post-markupcara.htm

This is the part I found most interesting -- here Young hits the right wing harder than the left.

I quote:

"I must note, however, that I'm somewhat disturbed by some of the distortions and outright lies that are being spread about this bill from both sides of the political spectrum.

On the left, some environmental organizations claim our bill includes 'harmful' incentives for increased offshore oil activity. This is false - totally false.

On the right, some land rights groups claim that 'No land owner is safe' under our legislation. This is utterly ridiculous, as are a number of other outrageous claims they are making.

These groups have done themselves - and the public - a serious disservice throughout this entire process.

I ask you, who do you trust more - the special interest groups making these wild accusations - or our nation's governors, our mayors, our county officials, our local park and recreation directors, our business leaders, and our local fish and game employees?

This is a good bill - a very, very good bill. " end quote of Don Young (R-AK)"

Fingers crossed...

- H. Neil Zimmerman, Chair of Conservation & Advocacy Committee

The House Resources committee late Wednesday voted 37-12 to approve H.R. 701, the proposed Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA). The bill would create permanent appropriations authority for some $2.8 billion annually for an array of resource conservation and recreation programs. Congressional offices reported learning of widespread support for CARA from large numbers of local park and recreation interests.

The bill would provide the following amounts each year: Outer Continental Shelf revenue-sharing with Coastal States - $1 billion; Land and Water Conservation Fund - $900 million (split equally between state and local governments and federal land systems); wildlife conservation and restoration - $350 million; Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Program - $125 million; Historic Preservation Fund - $100 million; federal and Indian lands restoration - $200 million; conservation easements and species recovery - $150 million; and payments in-lieu of taxes (PILT) and refuge revenue-sharing - $200 million. Further details on the legislation can be found on the House Resources committee website at www.house.gov/resources.

"The favorable reporting of the bill is a great credit to citizen advocates for high-quality recreation resources, professionals and numerous local, state and national groups," observed R. Dean Tice, NRPA executive director. "The committee’s action and strong positive vote is the first major action in what will be a very challenging process," observed Barry Tindall, NRPA policy director.

During consideration of the bill, the committee defeated a number of amendments that would have undermined the bipartisan consensus achieved by merging major portions of H.R. 701, introduced by Chairman Don Young (R-AK) and H.R. 798 introduced by ranking democrat George Miller (D-CA).

The bill must now be considered by the House when Congress reconvenes for the second session of the 106^th Congress early next year. Negotiations on a Senate version of the legislation are continuing.

The vote on final passage was as follows:

Last updated: 01/18/01