From: alra@governance.net Subject: Americans Outdoors Act – Should be called the “Bait and Switch Act.” Land Rights Network American Land Rights Association PO Box 400 – Battle Ground, WA 98604 Phone: 360-687-3087 – Fax: 360-687-2973 E-mail: alra@landrights.org or alra@governance.net Web Address: http://www.landrights.org Legislative Office: 507 Seward Square SE – Washington, DC 20003 Senate NEW CARA Hearing Set – S 2590 Americans Outdoors Act – Should be called the “Bait and Switch Act.” Senate Hearing Set For Tuesday, July 20th. Focus on the Senate now. You must call, fax and e-mail your Senators immediately opposing this new land grab. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on the Americans Outdoors Act (S 2590) on Tuesday, July 20th. It is urgent that you contact your Senators immediately. The House and Senate versions of the NEW CARA bill are available online at http://thomas.loc.gov/bss/0108query.html The House version of the Get Outdoors Act (GO) (HR 4100). The Senate version is the Americans Outdoors Act (S 2590). For more information, go to www.landrights.org Click on the starburst. We call them both the New CARA or the Get Out Of Rural America Act. The House Version is $57 billion spread over 17 years. The Senate version is smaller to allow it to sneak through the Senate. It will only show you the big pork barrel giveaway to the states. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) is hiding his real intent with the Federal side land grab. Nobody knows how large it will be when they add Federal land acquisition back in. If the smaller bill passes the Senate, they plan to have a conference committee with the giant Get Outdoors Act (HR 4100) (we call it the get out of rural American Act) and then give way to the larger bill in final negotiations. So you must fight both bills as if they are the entire larger bill and that Federal land acquisition is part of both bills. Senator Alexander is clearly carrying out a divide and conquer, bait and switch tactic to trick opponents into not fighting as hard, then he’ll sneaks his real intentions in later. Everybody we’ve talked to agrees that there will be a huge Federal land acquisition section added in. What you must do now! -----1. Call your Senator (any Senator) at the Capitol Switchboard (202-224-3121) immediately. Ask for the staff person who handles S 2590, the Americans Outdoors Act. Tell that staff person that the Committee should oppose the bill and should be insisting on a full hearing on all the bill, not just part. Ask for a written response. Give him your address. Try to obtain a promise that your Senator will insist on a second hearing in the Senate on the Federal land acquisition side of the bill. Ask for his fax number. The Energy Committee members fax numbers are listed below. If your Senators are not listed, call them anyway. -----2. Send a one page letter by fax to your Senator. If you mail it, it will be delayed from three to six weeks because of the Anthrax screening process. So if you want immediate results, use fax. -----3. Send a fax to each of the Senators on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The list is below: -----4. Call at least three friends to urge them to call and fax their Senators. Give them the list below. Energy Committee Fax List Republicans: Pete Domenici (R-NM) – Chairman FAX: (202) 224-6163 Don Nickles (R-OK) FAX: (202) 224-6008 Larry Craig (R-ID) FAX: (202) 228-1067 Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO) FAX: (202: 228-4609 Craig Thomas (R-WY) FAX: (202) 224-1724 Lamar Alexander (R-TN) FAX: (202) 228-3398 Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) FAX: (202) 224-5301 James Talent (R-MO) FAX: (202) 228-1518 Conrad Burns (R-MT) FAX: (202) 224-8594 Gordon Smith (R-OR) FAX: (202) 228-3997 Jim Bunning (R-KY) FAX: (202) 228-1373 Jon Kyl (R-AZ) FAX: (202) 224-2207 Democrats: Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) FAX: (202) 224-2852 Daniel Akaka (D-HI) FAX: (202) 224-2126 Byron Dorgan (D-ND) FAX: (202) 224-1193 Bob Graham (D-FL) FAX: (202) 224-3808 Ron Wyden (D-OR) FAX: (202) 228-2717 Tim Johnson (D-SD) FAX: (202) 228-5765 Mary Landrieu (D-LA) FAX: (202) 224-9735 Evan Bayh (D-IN) FAX: (202) 228-1377 Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) FAX: (202) 228-3954 Charles Schumer (D-NY) FAX: (202 228-3027 Maria Cantwell (D-WA) FAX: (202) 228-0514 What makes this important is that the new bill, S 2590, has no Federal land acquisition component……. YET. But we are told by reliable sources that the Federal part of the bill will be added back by amendment at the last minute. This is typical of how Lamar Alexander works. He works in the shadows and behind the scenes. He tries to trick the public. Just like he did with the President’s Commission on Americans Outdoors. Alexander deliberately introduced the bill just before the July 4th Congressional Recess to delay having it printed and available in a timely way. Why You Should Oppose The Americans Outdoors Act (S 2590) and the Get Outdoors Act (HR 4100). We call them the New CARA or the Get Out of Rural American Act. (emember, we are telling you how it is like the House Bill (HR 4100) and what it will become. If you read it now, it will not have all these things. They are trying to trick you into relaxing and not fighting the bill. We believe all of these statements will apply to both S 2590 and HR 4100 if these bills pass Congress. Why should trust funds that do not go through the appropriations be set up for land acquisition and pork for state, local, as well as, Federal agencies. In a time of high deficits, does it make sense to spend money more than year by year? CARA almost passed in 2001. What if it had before September 11th. Congress would have locked up some of the money needed to protect the nation after the threat of terrorism became apparent. Priorities and money should be set aside year by year by the appropriations committees to reflect the yearly needs of the nation. Not set aside as giant pork barrels (park barrels in this case) for Federal and state bureaucrats and regulators to satisfy their every whim and desire. Here is an overview of what we think both bills will eventually do: Here are additional reasons why the Condemnation and Relocation Act must be defeated: -----A. Government agents and appraisers get between one and three billion dollars per year TO CONDEMN PRIVATE PROPERTY. No one is safe. Eminent Domain will spread; -----B. Environmental law firms receive grant money so they can sue YOU into bankruptcy; -----C. Extremists gain $60 million dollars per year to train an ARMY of investigators who will trespass on your land to LOCATE AND POLICE ENDANGERED SPECIES; -----D. All lands with Endangered Species will be targets of land acquisition – no limits; -----E. Animal rights activists are clamoring for money to reintroduce wolves that kill livestock and run cattle ranchers, farmers, inholders and landowners off their land; -----F. CARA (GO) will fund new UN Biosphere Reserves and UN World Heritage Sites; -----G. “Non-government organizations” (NGOs) win funding to draw up UNITED NATIONS Biosphere Reserves, override national sovereignty and eliminate private property rights; -----H. Lands cut off by Forest Service Roadless Rule will become targets as well; -----I. Green groups will seek to designate hundreds of areas of private land as new Federal areas; -----J. Much of the money will go to The Nature Conservancy and other giant green land trusts; -----K. Hunters and sportsmen will gradually lose access to acquired lands; -----L. Inholder families are specifically targeted in the new bills; -----M. Hundreds of small communities in existing Federal areas will be wiped off the map; -----N. Land acquisition has always been used as a weapon to regulate and control private landowners; -----O. Land acquisition drives away employers. The community and its future are left in doubt; -----P. CARA (HR 4100) will make it more difficult to build homes and businesses in rural areas; -----Q. No private property will be safe with these funds available; -----R. Billions of dollars of private land will be taken off the tax rolls, forcing local taxes up; -----S. Congressional Appropriations Committee estimates the Federal agencies are $12 billion behind in deferred maintenance. Any money should go for maintenance, not land acquisition; -----T. The Federal agencies should take care of what they have before buying more land; and -----U. There should be no net loss of private land in America. Please make your calls and send your faxes. This is urgent. Please forward this message as widely as possible. -- To unsubscribe from this mailing list; please visit http://governance.net and enter your email address.