4/09/2004
From: [email protected]
Subject: CARA (Get Out (GO) Act) Will Kill Rural America
Land Rights Network
American Land Rights Association
PO Box 400 – Battle Ground, WA 98604
Phone: 360-687-3087 – Fax: 360-687-2973 – E-mail: [email protected] or
[email protected] Web Address: http://www.landrights.org
Legislative Office: 507 Seward Square SE – Washington, DC 20003
CARA (Get Out (GO) Act) Will Kill Rural America
(Property Rights Conference Postponed Until September – See Release Below)
See list of reasons to oppose the new CARA bill, the Get Out (GO) Act.
The new CARA bill, called the Get Out (GO) Act (HR 4100), is virtually identical to the old CARA bill. Except as we calculate it, $3.1 billion will come automatically mostly to buy land for 18 years, not fifteen. The total amount will be $58 billion. All of this is off-budget and not subject to appropriations.
To get caught up on the evils of CARA and now the Get Out (GO) of Rural America Act, go to < www.landrights.org > Click on the Starburst. Every time you see CARA, think the Get Out (GO) of Rural America Act (HR 4100).
It will force thousands of farmers and ranchers off their range. It will wipe out the mining industry and do great damage to the oil industry. It will undermine private forestry. It will destroy local tax bases, which will force taxes up for those that remain and ultimately turn rural America into a playground for the rich.
The Get Out (GO) of Rural America Act will destroy more private property than any legislation in history. No inholder will be safe anywhere near a National Park, National Forest, Wildlife Refuge, National Trail, National Seashore, National Recreation Area, National Scenic Area, Bureau of Land Management Area and many more.
It will expand the power of the government to use the Endangered Species Act to destroy the value of your property. Then they’ll have the money to force you out at a reduced price as they destroy the economy of your community.
You need to act fast. Here’s what you must do quickly.
-----1. Call your Representative to let him or her know you oppose the Get Out (GO) Act, HR 4100. Call any Congressman at (202) 225-3121. Tell him no trust fund period. No new entitlements. Insist that all funding go through the appropriations process.
-----2. Call your Senators at (202) 224-3121 with the same message.
-----3. Send him or her e-mail AND faxes even if you have called.
-----4. Call all organizations you know to urge them to not sign on to HR 4100. The Farm Bureau, National Association of Counties and NRA should be first on your list.
-----5. Send us the Names, Addresses, Zip, Phone, Fax and E-mail of anyone you think should be kept informed about the Get Out (GO) of Rural America Act. Send us directories of allied organizations. Help us build a team that can defeat the giant international green industrial complex.
Your responsibility is to put pressure on your Congressman. You will do well if you can make certain that he or she does NOT sign on to support HR 4100. You must push until you get that commitment. Most Democrats will probably support HR 4100 although only four have signed up at this writing. Don’t stop working on them. The loss of homes and property to condemnation by Federal agencies should not be a partisan issue. It is a people issue. Keep your Republican Representative from supporting HR 4100.
WHY YOU SHOULD OPPOSE THE
“GET OUT (GO) OF RURAL AMERICA ACT (HR 4100)
-----A. CONDEMNATION --- HR 4100 allows state AND Federal CONDEMNATION (Eminent Domain) of private land. The GO Act provides billions of dollars over eighteen years for government agents to condemn private property and then turn it into Wilderness - no access, no people. It even says they’ll buy from willing sellers. Yet the former Land Acquisition Director for the Park Service said that is meaningless. If they want to drive you out, they can. You’re not safe;
-----B. The Get Out (GO) of Rural America Act FUNDS YOUR ENEMIES---Environmental law firms receive grant money so they can sue YOU into bankruptcy. Much of HR 4100 will go to The Nature Conservancy and the Trust for Public Land;
-----C. HR 4100 will encourage the designation of new United Nations Biosphere Reserves and World Heritage Sites, threatening American sovereignty over our own lands;
-----D. Lands cut off by Forest Service Roadless Areas and Roads Policies will become targets as well. HR 4100 greatly enhances the chances for a MORE ROADLESS AREA LOCKUP. There are over one million acres of private land locked up in existing Forest Service Roadless Areas;
-----E. HR 4100 funding will allow your enemies to look for Endangered Species on your lands. All will become targets of land acquisition. Just look at the KLAMATH BASIN in Oregon and California. Extremists gain $60 million per year from The Get Out Act to train an ARMY of investigators who will trespass on your land to locate and POLICE ENDANGERED SPECIES. Stop HR 4100 and you block huge grants to environmental groups to expand the ESA as a tool to destroy you;
-----F. Should the Get Out Act (HR 4100) be more important than Medical Care or the Military? ----- HR 4100 sets aside $3 billion per year GUARANTEED, $58 billion over 18 years, most of it to buy land, drive rural landowners out of their homes, off their farms and into the cities. The Get Out Act does not have to compete in Congress for funds in the appropriations process with medical care, education, defense or other social needs. Make the Get Out (GO) Act compete in the appropriations process. No trust fund;
-----G. Hunters and sportsmen will gradually lose access to acquired lands. Lands will gradually be converted into OFF-LIMITS Wilderness and other “YOU CAN’T GO THERE” AREAS. Congressmen supporting the Get Out Act is a supporting the closure of vast areas of Federal and private lands to hunters and sportsmen; and
-----H. Some Members of Congress may suggest that minor property rights provisions added to the Get Out Act as a band-aid will protect landowners and make the bill better than current law. The dangers from the $3 billion per year, 18 year trust fund, far outweigh any so called protections that are mostly decorative. HR 4100 sponsors are trying to gloss over the fact that the Get Out Act (GO) allows Condemnation of private land.
-----I. It’s the money. If these agencies get the money, they will gradually destroy your communities and force you out. They will destroy the economic ecosystem and make you want to leave. They have ways to make you into a willing seller.
The next few weeks are critical to defeating the Get Out (GO) of Rural America Act. By putting up a strong battle quickly, you’ll get other Members of Congress, other Senators and other organizations to take a closer look at the dangers from HR 4100. You can make it more controversial.
>>How You Can Help<<
1) Please consider becoming a member of the American Land Rights Association. Your $35 Membership will allow ALRA to send 300,000 letters and faxes to your allies and build a coalition to defeat this terrible bill. Join us as ALRA seeks to defeat the great Get Out (GO) of Rural America Act.
2) Mail a Special Contribution to help defeat the Get Out (GO) Act. This fight cannot be won without your quick help. ALRA and our allies stopped CARA in 2001. With your support we can do it again.
3) Call your Congressman and Senators at (202) 225-3121. Tell them: NO LAND GRABS! NO TRUST FUND! NO NEW ENTITLEMENTS! NO Get Out (GO) of Rural America Act (HR 4100)! Write your Congressman at: Honorable_____ US House of Reps, Wash., DC 20515. Write your Senators at: Honorable _____ US Senate, Washington, DC 20510. Send them E-mail or fax if you can to bypass the Anthrax mail inspection delay.
There is no question you’re in an epic battle. The greens want to shut down rural America. They want to force you into the cities. Only the Endangered Species Act comes close to imposing as much damage on you as HR 4100. HR 4100 will make the Endangered Species Act even more dangerous and more powerful.
Your effort was successful in 2001. You can do it again. Your contribution today will do more good for you than ever before. You’ve never gotten as big a bang for the buck as you will by helping alert tens of thousands of your allies NOW!! A contribution today is cheaper than years of anger, expenses, fees, frustration, and legal bills to fight the land grabbers, regulators and condemnation later.
Take action now--make history. Don’t let The Get Out (GO) of Rural America Act get up a head of steam. ALRA must have the resources to fight. I know I can count on you to do what you can. It has never been more vital.
Sincerely,
Chuck Cushman
PS. Landowners and inholders will be under siege from the Get Out (GO) of Rural America Act (HR 4100). Time is critical. If the BLM and Forest Service get billions of dollars in land acquisition money, your life will never be the same. Do your share to stop HR 4100. Please help send more mailings by sending your $35 Membership plus a special contribution to stop this mean spirited Get Out (GO) Act. Mail as much as you can afford.
Organizations presently supporting the “Get Out (GO) (HR 4100) Act include:
The Nature Conservancy, Trust for Public Land, Izaak Walton League of America, National Parks and Conservation Association, National Wildlife Federation, Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association , United States Soccer Foundation, Outdoor Industry Association, International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Americans for Our Heritage and Recreation, National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity, American Hiking Society, and many other local and regional groups.
The race is on. The greens and their allies will seek to enlist as many Congressmen and Senators as co-sponsors. They will seek to get organizations like the Farm Bureau, NRA and National Association of Counties to support the bill like they did with CARA.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Conference Rescheduled for September 2004
The 2004 National Property Rights Conference scheduled for April 16 – 18 in Sandusky, Ohio is being re-scheduled to September of 2004.
The Leadership Institute’s daylong “Grassroots Activism” seminar scheduled for Friday April 16 from 8-5 will continue as scheduled. Some openings for this outstanding training opportunity are still available. The full day’s agenda and “Grassroots Activism” registration can be found at the conference website www.prconf.com. The cost for this leadership seminar is $65 and includes lunch.
Regarding the conference’s change of date, many of the likely attendees are farmers and the April date falls in the middle of their planting season. There is also the distraction of tax season just ending, so to accommodate everyone and to provide an even better conference, the conference is being moved to September. Here are some of the advantages of this change of date:
1 More Speakers: A number of leading speakers unable to attend in April are available in September.
2 Better Time of Year: The September time frame is better for many attendees, particularly those from the agricultural community.
3 Lower Registration Fees: We believe that the pricing in September will be quite a bit more attractive.
4 Better Entertainment: Family entertainment options are available in September that are not available in April in northern Ohio (e.g., Cedar Point Amusement Park, Islands, wineries).
All of the details for the September conference will be posted beginning in late April. Keep an eye on the conference website, www.prconf.com, for all the details.
See you in September!
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For further information:
Contact Jeff Krabill, Conference Coordinator at 419-621-6600 or e-mail Jeff at: [email protected].
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