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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsSHOCKER: The Senate just passed the decade's biggest public lands package
The Senate just passed the decades biggest public lands package. Heres whats in it.
By Juliet Eilperin and Dino Grandoni
February 12 at 5:06 PM
The Senate Tuesday passed the most sweeping conservation legislation in a decade, protecting millions of acres of land and hundreds of miles of wild rivers across the country and establishing four new national monuments honoring heroes from Civil War soldiers to a civil rights icon. The 662-page measure, which passed 92 to 8, represented an old-fashioned approach to dealmaking that has largely disappeared on Capitol Hill. Senators from across the ideological spectrum celebrated home-state gains and congratulated each other for bridging the partisan divide. "It touches every state, features the input of a wide coalition of our colleagues, and has earned the support of a broad, diverse coalition of many advocates for public lands, economic development, and conservation," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, (R-Ky).
It's a paradoxical win for conservation at a time when President Trump has promoted development on public lands and scaled back safeguards established by his predecessors. The bill, which the Congressional Budget Office projects will save taxpayers $9 million, enjoys broad support in the House.
The lower chamber is poised to take it up after the mid-February recess, and White House officials have indicated privately that the president will sign it. The measure protects 1.3 million acres as wilderness, the nation's most stringent protection that prohibits even roads and motorized vehicles. It permanently withdraws more than 370,000 acres of land from mining around two national parks, including Yellowstone, and permanently authorizes a program to spend offshore drilling revenue on conservation efforts.
The package is crammed full of provisions for nearly every senator who cast a vote Tuesday. New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich (D) lauded the fact that it will create 273,000 acres of wilderness in his state, most of it within the boundaries of two national monuments that Trump threatened to shrink. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who co-authored it, inserted a provision that allows native Alaskans who served in Vietnam to apply for a land allotment in their home state.
More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2019/02/12/senate-just-passed-decades-biggest-public-lands-package-heres-whats-it/?utm_term=.68a0831b8a25
By Juliet Eilperin and Dino Grandoni
February 12 at 5:06 PM
The Senate Tuesday passed the most sweeping conservation legislation in a decade, protecting millions of acres of land and hundreds of miles of wild rivers across the country and establishing four new national monuments honoring heroes from Civil War soldiers to a civil rights icon. The 662-page measure, which passed 92 to 8, represented an old-fashioned approach to dealmaking that has largely disappeared on Capitol Hill. Senators from across the ideological spectrum celebrated home-state gains and congratulated each other for bridging the partisan divide. "It touches every state, features the input of a wide coalition of our colleagues, and has earned the support of a broad, diverse coalition of many advocates for public lands, economic development, and conservation," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, (R-Ky).
It's a paradoxical win for conservation at a time when President Trump has promoted development on public lands and scaled back safeguards established by his predecessors. The bill, which the Congressional Budget Office projects will save taxpayers $9 million, enjoys broad support in the House.
The lower chamber is poised to take it up after the mid-February recess, and White House officials have indicated privately that the president will sign it. The measure protects 1.3 million acres as wilderness, the nation's most stringent protection that prohibits even roads and motorized vehicles. It permanently withdraws more than 370,000 acres of land from mining around two national parks, including Yellowstone, and permanently authorizes a program to spend offshore drilling revenue on conservation efforts.
The package is crammed full of provisions for nearly every senator who cast a vote Tuesday. New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich (D) lauded the fact that it will create 273,000 acres of wilderness in his state, most of it within the boundaries of two national monuments that Trump threatened to shrink. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who co-authored it, inserted a provision that allows native Alaskans who served in Vietnam to apply for a land allotment in their home state.
More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2019/02/12/senate-just-passed-decades-biggest-public-lands-package-heres-whats-it/?utm_term=.68a0831b8a25
Waiting for the roll call to find out the nays (may be the usual suspects).
As a sidenote - right after that, the Senate voted to end debate (cloture) to move forward with Barr's nomination, so just adding that here in case someone suggests the "While you were distracted with this, Barr was moving forward for confirmation" post...
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SHOCKER: The Senate just passed the decade's biggest public lands package (Original Post)
BumRushDaShow
Feb 2019
OP
I'll take the win and will try hard to avoid my cynicism .... a plus is a plus.
MFGsunny
Feb 2019
#5
And this might have been the kicker regarding why all the support from the GOP
BumRushDaShow
Feb 2019
#6
Ferrets are Cool
(21,058 posts)1. My first response was "WTF", then I read your last line
and it all made sense.
BumRushDaShow
(127,270 posts)2. Yup, they invoked cloture
and are moving forward with the 30 hours of debate in the Senate. That literally came right after the vote for this package of land preservation measures.
.... And then Lindsey Graham came on to kick it off and blab a lot of nonsense and I cut it off.
BumRushDaShow
(127,270 posts)3. Map of impacted areas
MFGsunny
(2,356 posts)5. I'll take the win and will try hard to avoid my cynicism .... a plus is a plus.
BumRushDaShow
(127,270 posts)6. And this might have been the kicker regarding why all the support from the GOP
From the OP article -
The bill would also be a boon for another constituency hunters and anglers.
Bow hunters would be allowed to bring their weapons through national parks when trying to reach areas where it is legal to hunt. More important, it makes all federal lands open to hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting unless otherwise specified.
Jesse Deubel, executive director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, said in an interview that expanding wilderness in his state will be a powerful lure for hunters seeking bighorn sheep, mule deer, quail and other animals. People will travel to these places to pursue game in this wild, untamed habitat.
Bow hunters would be allowed to bring their weapons through national parks when trying to reach areas where it is legal to hunt. More important, it makes all federal lands open to hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting unless otherwise specified.
Jesse Deubel, executive director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, said in an interview that expanding wilderness in his state will be a powerful lure for hunters seeking bighorn sheep, mule deer, quail and other animals. People will travel to these places to pursue game in this wild, untamed habitat.
Hermit-The-Prog
(33,021 posts)4. Russiapublicans padding resumes
The Russiapublicans in the Senate are just adding talking points for their 2020 campaigns.