From: alra@governance.net
Subject: Liberal Lamar’s Billion Dollar Land Grab
Land Rights Network
American Land Rights Association
PO Box 400, Battle Ground, WA 98604
(360) 687-3087 – Fax: (360) 687-2973
Web Address: http://www.landrights.org
Legislative Office: 507 Seward Square SE
Washington, DC 20003
mike@hardimanconsulting.com -- 202-489-4893
Liberal Lamar’s Billion Dollar Land Grab
*****Action Items below*****
United States Senator Lamar Alexander (Liberal of Tennessee) believes that land grabs should be the highest priority in the federal budget, ahead of health care, the war on terrorism, education, national defense, ANYTHING, you name it.
"LIBERAL Lamar" Alexander doesn’t care about gas prices either, unless there is automatic funding included to lavishly finance environmental organizations and grab land.
In 2003 – three years ago – Congress was days away from approving, and President Bush signing, legislation to open up the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to limited oil exploration. This would have gone a long way towards increasing our national oil supply and keeping gas prices under control.
Drilling for oil can be done safely and responsibly. For example, the Audubon Society has drilled for oil in its own refuges for over fifty years in Michigan, Louisiana and Texas.
But Liberal Lamar blew it. He insisted on adding to the ANWR legislation a guaranteed annual fund to finance leftwing environmental groups and seize private property. This confused the issue – Senators were no longer voting just on ANWR, but on ANWR plus this additional land grab amendment. The bill lost support and was defeated by just two votes.
Fast forward to 2006. NOW – HERE HE GOES AGAIN!!!!
There is currently a huge budget deficit, but Liberal Lamar doesn’t care. He proposes to place land grabs at a higher priority than ALL OTHER PRIORITIES OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT with a guaranteed annual trust fund.
PERMANENTLY financing the environmental movement is more important than EVERYTHING ELSE, according to "Liberal Lamar."
ONCE AGAIN earlier this year, behind closed doors, he gained approval for MORE THAN ONE BILLION DOLLARS for land grabs if ANWR exploration is approved. Liberal Lamar has rigged the books to mandate that a portion of federal tax revenue from ANWR oil be used for land grabs. So, there is no way to support ANWR without also supporting a billion dollar land grab!!!
Working closely with extremist groups like the Wilderness Society, Liberal Lamar’s proposal would divide ONE BILLION DOLLARS – $$$1.05 billion to be exact – between three land grabbing funds. One fund would target landowners in cities and towns, one would target landowners in rural forested areas, and one would target landowners in coastal areas. So, just about anywhere you live, Liberal Lamar and his extremist buddies have a way to reach out and touch you, based on the whim of a leftwing environmental bureaucracy.
Liberal Lamar is grabbing a BILLION DOLLARS NOW, and he will go for MORE LATER. Stop this land-grabbing raid on the public treasury BEFORE IT STARTS!!
(((He is trying for a billion now. Liberal Lamar might even try to increase the amount in the coming months - his allies, extremists like the Wilderness Society, have an unlimited desire for taxpayer money to finance their operations and grab land for themselves at everyone else's expense. Or, he could try to gain approval for a permanent funding source like the Condemnation and Relocation Act - CARA))).
But there is good news also.
The LWCF Trust Fund land grab language is not in the House ANWR or the House Budget Resolution bill.
PLEASE ask your Congressman to keep it out, and support ANWR without extraneous amendments. ANWR is a good idea and is a common sense way to expand domestic oil production. But NOT with Liberal Lamar’s billion dollar land acquisition price tag!!!
We have two CHAMPIONS in the House of Representatives who are fighting Liberal Lamar’s Land Grab. Congressman Charlie Taylor from North Carolina is on the Appropriations Committee, and has been a fighter for private property rights and against land grabbing. Also, Congressman Jim Nussle of Iowa is Chairman of the Budget Committee, and does not support financing land grabs while there is a huge deficit.
So there you have it. The Senate Old Boys Club has allowed Liberal Lamar to damage the chances of ANWR being approved by adding a controversial land grab to the legislation. But the House is being fiscally responsible and supporting private property rights and saying NO LAND GRAB.
The American Land Rights Association has long supported drilling in ANWR as a common sense multiple use of our nation's public lands. HOWEVER, it cannot support ANWR if it comes at a cost of handing over a billion dollars to finance seizure of private land. Senator "Liberal Lamar" Alexander, you really blew it!!!
You must take action! Please call both your Senators, and your member of Congress.
****Action Items
-----Call both your Senators. Any Senator can be reached at (202) 224-3121.
Urge them to oppose any land grab funding in ANWR. Tell them that Liberal Lamar is jeopardizing ANWR.
-----Call your Congressman at (202) 225-3121. Urge him to stand firm and oppose any amendment that would add land grab funding to ANWR. Tell him to make it clear that ANWR will not be used for land grabs.
-----Send a very short letter to the editor opposing sneaking Liberal Lamar Alexander’s land grab provision into ANWR.
Please forward this message as widely as possible.
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