ACTION - Good Things Happening in Congress

[YellowSub1962]

<font color="yellow">This is some good FYI on a few new bills to watch. There is also an IMPORTANT ACTION ITEM near the bottom</font c>

American Land Rights Association - Land Rights Network
PO Box 400 - Battle Ground WA 98604
Phone: 360-687-3087 - Fax: 360-687-2973 - Email: <alra@pacifier.com> - http://www.landrights.org
Legislative Office: 508 First St SE - Washington DC 20003
Phone: 202-210-2357 - Fax: 202-543-7126 - Email: landrightsnet@aol.com


Good Things Happening in Congress


SEVERAL pieces of legislation have been introduced by our friends in
Congress that will help private property rights and access to federal
lands.

ALSO, Interior Secretary Gale Norton and Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman,
who oversees the Forest Service, have made excellent appointments to
important posts within their administrations. This will lead to good
policies.

HOWEVER, it took eight years or more for liberal Democrats like Al Gore and
liberal Republicans like John Turner to mess things up. It's not going to
get better overnight. Norton and Veneman are doing the best they can, and
are making progress.


BACK TO CONGRESS:

Here are a few examples of good things that are happening from friends of
ours, along with a VERY IMPORTANT action item below:

S. 322 - Sponsored by Senator Craig Thomas of Wyoming. No net gain of
federal lands. The bill applies to states that have 25% or more federal
land ownership. It says that if the federal government wants to buy more
land, it must first dispose of land of approximately equal value within the
same state.

Senator Thomas has been a hero for property rights for many years, and this
is another example of how he is a leader in helping out people like YOU.

S. 347 - Sponsored by Senator Craig Thomas of Wyoming. This bill adds
common sense to the Endangered Species Act (ESA), so of course the land
grabbing enviros are against it.

It says that petitions filed to request listing of a species under the ESA
must show scientific proof of the need to list, solicit the input of state
government officials where the listing is proposed, and improves the public
hearing process to include people in the decision on whether to list.

Senator Thomas continues to do a great job for Wyoming and for everyone who
believes in the Wise Use of our natural resources! Thank you Senator
Thomas!


IN THE HOUSE:

H. R. 1592 - Sponsored by Congressman Mac Thornberry of Texas. This very
important bill will add property rights protections to land acquisitions
done with the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).

LWCF is a double danger to land owners - half of the money goes to federal
agents to grab land, and the other half goes to state governments for
several reasons, including land acquisition.

LWCF spending may be as high as $900 million in the coming fiscal year,
with as much as $450 million going to both the feds and the states. Other
land grab funding is being decreased, but this will probably go up. So,
YOU NEED PROTECTION from both the state and federal agents, and this
bill will do it.

It includes several excellent sections, including:

Protections for private property inholders and people owning land adjacent
to federal property. It says that federal agents may not harass land
owners and attempt to restrict property use exclusively because their land
is next to federal land. It does not repeal any laws or exempt land owners
from laws. It says that the feds cannot harass land owners simply because
they are the next door neighbors.

Each individual federal land acquisition must be approved by Congress.

State and local officials and residents must be notified of attempted
acquisitions. This will severely limit the sneak attacks that "land
trusts" like the Conservation Fund and the Nature Conservancy attempt with
the collusion of federal agents.

And best of all - here it is directly from the bill:
"Prohibition on use for condemnation - Amounts made available from the Land
and Water Conservation Fund may not be used to acquire property by
condemnation."

<font color="yellow">this is the IMPORTANT PART:</font c>
ACTION ITEM:

Congressman Thornberry is looking for cosponsors in support of HR 1592.
Four have joined on so far: Congressmen Walter Jones of North Carolina,
Sam Graves of Missouri, Tom DeLay of Texas, and Butch Otter of Idaho.

FIRST, if you live in their home states, even if you're not in their
district, THANK Thornberry and the four cosponsors for taking the lead!

SECOND, contact your Congressman, your representative in the House, and
tell him or her to cosponsor the "Thornberry property rights bill, HR
1592."
The more cosponsors it has, the better chance if it moving through the
legislative process!


PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO YOUR ENTIRE LIST

[YellowSub1962]

use this link to e-mail your reps

<font color="yellow">here's my letter, as always, feel free to copy it, plagerize it,or just sign and send it to your Reps... Just do something with it <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"></font c>

Dear Elected Official,

Please support the "Thornberry property rights bill, HR 1592." I urge you to cosponser this bill for the benefit of all the people you serve. The Land & Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) is a double danger to land owners - half of the money goes to federal agents to grab land, and the other half goes to state governments for
several reasons, including land acquisition. LWCF spending may be as high as $900 million in the coming fiscal year, with as much as $450 million going to both the feds and the states. Private Property owners NEED PROTECTION from both the state and federal agents, and this bill will provide it.

Once again I urge you to support the "Thornberry property rights bill, HR 1592."

Sincerely,
A Very Concerned Citizen,
full name
full address
city, state, zip

[ 05-01-2001: Message edited by: Yellowsub1962 ]