From: alra@governance.net
Subject: CARA - GOP says no to Young act
Land Rights Network
American Land Rights Association
PO Box 400 – Battle Ground, WA 98604
Phone: 360-687-3087 – Fax: 360-687-2973 – E-mail: alra@landrights.org or
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Legislative Office: 507 Seward Square SE – Washington, DC 20003
CARA - GOP says no to Young act
GET OUTDOORS: Bill would dedicate funds to buying land for public.
New CARA bill (HR 4100) gets slammed in Alaska Republican Convention.
Call your Congressman and Senators
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).
By SAM BISHOP
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
GOP says no to Young act
(Published: May 26, 2004)
Rep. Young's $3 billion-a-year bill would have meant an automatic, $175 million a year for land purchases in Alaska. (Photo by Bill Roth / Anchorage Daily News)
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WASHINGTON -- Alaska Republicans again rejected one of U.S. Rep. Don Young's favorite initiatives, a bill to put more than $3 billion a year into public land purchases, recreational facilities and projects loosely related to coastal conservation.
The state Republican Party, at its convention this past weekend in Soldotna, passed a resolution opposing Young's proposed Get Outdoors Act.
Young, a Republican, announced the bill's introduction last month with co-sponsor Rep. George Miller, D-Calif. They were backed by sports celebrities, outdoor and recreational gear manufacturers, and public land advocates.
The bill closely resembles the Conservation and Reinvestment Act, or CARA, which Young and Miller ushered through the House of Representatives in 2000 with a large majority. It fizzled in the Senate, where some members opposed dedicating that much money.
Alaska Republican convention delegates passed a resolution opposing CARA that year too.
The new bill would direct about $175 million a year to Alaska for land purchases, wildlife management, conservation projects and recreational facility improvements.
The money would come from offshore oil and gas leases, and most of the money would go to coastal states such as Alaska. The expenditure would be automatic, similar to the nation's highway funding system, rather than subject to the annual appropriations process in Congress.
Paula Easely, an Anchorage delegate to the convention, said her Midtown district and several others brought the resolution against it forward this year. She also is president of the Alaska Land Rights Coalition, which opposes Young's bill.
The resolution criticizes the idea of dedicating money for government to buy more land. Under Young's bill, about $38 million could go to such purchases by state and federal agencies in Alaska each year.
Sixty percent of the land in Alaska is already controlled by federal agencies, the Republican resolution states.
Easely said the loss of private land in Alaska would undermine communities.
"Gradually, the economic lifeline of the community disappears," she said.
Miller, at the April news conference, countered that argument. He said, "We have discovered over the years that when we have great recreational facilities that they become economic engines in and of themselves."
The bill states that federal agencies could use the money to buy land only from "willing sellers."
The resolution said that some federal land purchases are justified, but "they should be after the specific debate and approval of Congress."
Young has argued that the property owner protections in the bill essentially do that. The purchased lands could only come from a list provided to Congress by the agencies.
Also, the agencies would have to notify the congressman who represents the area where the land is located, the governor of the state and every local government. That will put enough attention on the transaction to prevent abuses, Young has argued.
The bill also states that if an owner is unwilling to sell, an agency would have to get congressional approval to condemn and buy the land.
Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., now chairman of the House Resources Committee, was a staunch opponent of CARA. A spokesman said last month that the congressman hasn't changed his outlook.
Young has said he doesn't expect the GO Act to pass this year but encouraged groups at the April news conference to build support for it. The groups are promoting the connection between personal health and the availability of the kind of outdoor recreational opportunities the bill would create.
http://www.adn.com/alaska/v-enlarge/story/5114590p-5041229c.html
Here’s what you can do to help:
-----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.
Please forward this message as widely as possible. Thank you.
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