U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
HEARING ON CONSERVATION AND REINVESTMENT ACT BILLS
Wednesday, May 24, 2000 (Washington)
RE: HR 701 - S25
Outer Continental Shelf Revenue Sharing Land Acquisition Trust Proposals Views of Keep Private Lands in Private Hands Coalition (Chuck Cushman, Coordinator) June 6, 2000

The leading organization educating the public about the harm expected from enactment of HR701/S25 is the Keep Private Lands in Private Hands Coalition. The individual with the greatest knowledge in the country about the problems with this bill is undoubtedly their coordinator, Chuck Cushman. Mr. Cushman has over thirty years experience representing landowners in federally managed areas. He founded the National Inholders Association and is now also Executive Director of the American Land Rights Association.

He prepared a superb history and analysis for the June 1999 House Resources Committee hearing on HR701 in Salt Lake City. Not only was Mr. Cushman not allowed to testify, his testimony wasn't even printed in the hearing record! The proceedings were heavily slanted in favor of hearing instead the pleas of agencies and organizations that were to receive the largesse of funds to be distributed under the bill certainly self serving testimony of highly predicable and minimally informative content.

This suppression of an outstanding scholarly treatise on the subject of federal government land acquisition and accompanying destruction of communities and citizen abuse has deprived the Congress and the public of critical information needed to evaluate and improve the subject bills. Grave doubt is cast on the credibility of the process in the House when a hearing is slanted in this way.

I have faith that the Senate will do a much better job of thoughtful deliberation on such a fundamental matter as buying massive amounts of private land with off budget trust funds.

I ask that the attached testimony of Mr. Cushman be included in the printed record of your committee hearing.

Sincerely yours,

Lee Ann Gerhart
3818 Clay Products Road Anchorage Alaska 99517

 

CUSHMAN TESTIMONY

Be informed! Don't allow yourself to be snowed by CARA.

For More Information Contact:
American Land Rights Association
Tel: 360-687-3087
FAX: 360-687-2973

                            

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