Off Roading The greenie weenies are at it again

[kenny61]

Pickerington, OH (1/14/2009) - The U. S. Senate is poised to act as early as Sunday on a massive package of public lands bills that would shut motorcyclists out of more than 1 million acres without adequate public comment, the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) reports.



The last-minute move just as the newly elected Congress takes over has raised the ire of the AMA and at least one congressman, who believe the proposal and process deserve more public participation.



"Those who say things get better with time obviously never encountered the public lands omnibus bill," said U. S. Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah). "This bill was a bad idea last Congress and it's only gotten worse over the past month. "



Ed Moreland, AMA vice president for government relations, agreed.



"It makes little sense to lump together more than 160 very important public lands bills into once package and expect the public to digest it all, and to rush a vote through the Senate on a weekend. " Moreland said.



More than 160 public lands bills have been grouped together by Senate majority leader Harry Reid. The package would create more than 1 million acres of designated Wilderness land, which would shut out all motorized vehicles.



The last-minute congressional maneuver would also make the National Landscape Conservation System permanent. This system creates an additional level of bureaucracy for the National System of Public Lands and would remove much of the authority of the existing agency in managing those lands.



"Congress should put together a new package and pass it through committee rather than debate legislation carried over from the previous Congress," Rep. Bishop said. "Poor process produces poor product, and this is an example of congressional process at its worst. Parts of this bill are good, and parts are very bad. Each part deserves to be discussed and voted on its own merits. "



"Continued responsible access to public lands is a vitally important right for current and future generations," added Moreland. "This measure deserves to be fully analyzed and thoughtfully debated in the 111th Congress prior to a final vote. "



All AMA members and anyone else who enjoys outdoor recreation is urged to contact their U. S. Senators and ask them to oppose the omnibus public lands bill.

 

[MickeyMiller]

Freedom is not free, and there is no freedom in a one party system... especially when the 4th estate is the mouth piece for that party! Land closures are just the start...

 

[fmj]

here's some more information on the bill. we have been writing our representatives on this for a bit. this all comes into being while the jerkoff blm is being investigated for improper collusion with environmental organizations. looks like there might be some resistance in the house, but... ... ... ...





S. 22 - Senate Omnibus to Move Under Suspension to The House

Senate omnibus to move under suspension, Rahall says

January 23rd, 2009

Energy&Environment Daily

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Eric Bontrager



The House Democratic leadership hopes to expedite the passage of a public lands omnibus bill cleared by the Senate last week by bringing it up under suspension, Natural Resources Chairman Nick Rahall (D-W. Va. ) said today.



There is no set date for when the package of more than 160 public lands, water and natural resources bills will come to the House floor, but Rahall said he and other Democrats will bring it up soon rather than go through committee first.



"We worked painstakingly on every part of this bill," Rahall said, calling the package a largely noncontroversial measure that includes dozens of proposals approved by his committee and the full House in the last Congress.



Senate Democrats tried for almost a year to move the bill in a number of forms, but those efforts were stalled by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla. ), who used procedural tactics to delay the package, saying it would curtail energy development and raise government spending.



The wide-ranging, 1,294-page bill (S. 22) finally passed last week by a vote of 73-21, with 19 Republicans voting against Coburn (E&ENews PM, Jan. 15).



Coburn also tried to attach more than a dozen amendments to the bill to limit or otherwise stall the legislation in the Senate. Under a suspension of rules in the House, no member can attach amendments to a package, and a two-thirds majority is required if a vote is requested.



Rahll said the decision to introduce it under suspension is not intended to prevent House Republicans from using the same tactics as Coburn. "Republicans have been treated very fairly in this bill. Every process has been open, every bill scrutinized, every opinion considered," Rahall said.



But Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah) said House Republicans may resist passing such a sweeping package without a hearing on any of its proposals. Many of the provisions in the package were approved by the Senate but not by the House.



"I have two bills in there. It's still the wrong way to do it," said Bishop, the ranking member of the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Parks. He said the current Congress should have time to assess the package's individual proposals before bringing it to a vote.



Included in the omnibus are 15 different proposals that would designate nearly 2 million acres of public lands as wilderness in California, Colorado, Idaho, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, Virginia and West Virginia.



The bill also contains dozens of proposals authorizing new studies for national park units, heritage areas and wild and scenic rivers. The bill would codify the 26-million-acre National Landscape Conservation System and allow construction of a road through Alaska's Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.