Lobbyist's Ties to Lawmaker (Rep. Richard W. Pombo) Examined

[papau]

links between Duane Gibson, "a Washington lobbyist under federal scrutiny in the Jack Abramoff scandal, and Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA).

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-mining8feb08,0,4053265.story?coll=la-home-nation

Lobbyist's Ties to Lawmaker Examined
· Duane Gibson, who worked for mining firms, raised money for Rep. Richard Pombo, who supported a bill to open federal land.

By Richard A. Serrano, Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON — Duane Gibson, a Washington lobbyist under federal scrutiny in the Jack Abramoff scandal, helped raise money for a California congressman who championed legislation that would benefit Western mining interests that Gibson represented.

Last fall, Rep. Richard W. Pombo (R-Tracy), chairman of the House Resources Committee, attached an amendment to a budget bill — without hearings or floor debate — that would have opened national forest and other public land to mining. The so-called Pombo provision passed the House, but was deleted from the bill in the Senate when several Western state senators and governors complained that it would endanger vast portions of federal land.<snip>

[Sequoia]

1. Throw Pomo to the Grizzley Bears!!!

[sofa king]

2. If he hasn't killed them all first, that is.

[Sequoia]

3. Take him to Idaho...wolves....!

Speaking of wolves...did you ever read "My Antonia" by Willa Cather?
Aside from it being a wonderful novel, there's a part in the old country where these two guys were driving the sleigh of the bride and groom and other guests when they were set upon by a pack of wolves. The driver told the groom to throw the bride out but he refused so the guys threw the bride and groom and the rest of the guests off and went back to the village. When the people found out what these guys did....boy oh boy...POMBO!

[MasonJar]

4. Pombo must go; he is the nemesis of the environment. He

should not pass go, but go straight to jail.

[kineneb]

5. we got some nice volcanos he can visit-

I'm thinking deep in the cauldera of Lassen. Then watch the mountain reject him...burp!:evilgrin:

[UpInArms]

6. updating this with more information

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pombo14feb14,0,742715.story?coll=la-home-headlines

After finally getting a bill through the House last fall that would eliminate habitat protections on more than 150 million acres, Pombo has never been closer to reaching his goal. But as the Senate prepares to take up his measure this year, Pombo finds himself on the defensive, with his ideology increasingly viewed as extreme and his connections to industry and to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff under scrutiny.

<snip>

In November, Pombo tacked onto a budget bill provisions to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling and expand oil and gas drilling off the nation's coastlines, including California's. Another rider would have reversed a long-standing moratorium on selling federal mineral lands to mining companies and opened up public lands to private development. And budget language drafted by Pombo's staff — but never introduced — would have sold 15 national parks to raise federal revenue.

Moderate Republicans blocked the drilling provisions while conservative Western GOP senators rallied by sportsmen's groups killed the land sell-off. A key GOP senator has also raised doubts about elements of the species act revision.

In environmental circles, Pombo's efforts cemented his reputation as the most dangerous man in Congress. And they provided fodder for a lengthening list of political opponents who challenge his carefully cultivated image as the straight-shooting protector of the rural little guy.

"It was an outrageous set of proposals, and he's not done," complained Roger Schlickeisen, president of the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, which has launched a "Pombo in their pocket" campaign to underscore Pombo's corporate ties. "There's nobody else that competes with him" in compiling an anti-conservation record in Congress, Schlickeisen said.