Wild Blog

Interior Appropriations Update
Thursday, June 28, 2007

Tuesday's action on the Interior Appropriations Bill continued a strong run of recent victories. Thanks to a lot of hard work, good lobbying, and a lobby day organized for this week, the House passed positive amendments and once again beat back another amendment that would have opened our coasts to drilling. It was a bonus not to sweat out close votes, because our victories were by large margins.
For the third time in four years an amendment that would end tax payer subsides to build roads in the Tongass National Forest, this time sponsored by Rep. Chabot, R (OH-1) and Andrews, D (NJ-1), passed by a wide margin, 283-145. In fact, this was largest margin of victory out the last three. Not only is this a big victory for the environment but taxpayers as well. Since 1982 it's estimated that American taxpayers spent nearly $1 billion subsidizing the timber industry's clear-cutting of the Tongass.
We also protected our coasts when the House voted decisively (233 to 196) to strike down an amendment proposed by Rep. John Peterson, R (PA-5) that would have allowed drilling for natural gas as close as 25 miles off our sensitive coasts. If passed, the amendment would have ended a twenty-six year old bipartisan moratorium on new offshore drilling. In the last three weeks, attempts to end the offshore drilling moratorium have been defeated twice in the House and once in the Senate by decisive margins.
However, on Wednesday, we were disappointed when Rep. Mark Udall, D (CO-2nd) withdrew two amendments that we were in support of. The first protecting Colorado's Roan Plateau from oil and gas drilling and the other closing a loop hole in RS 2477. We are hopefully that these will pass at a later date. All in all it was a good week and we are happy with the final Appropriations Bill that passed.

Labels: wild legacy

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