There's a New Politico story about the Omnibus Federal Land and
Water bill below and about the Lame Duck Congress.
Lame Duck Congress now could continue until December 17th or later.
You could not be in more danger.
Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi have put together a massive bill with
hundreds of Wilderness and land lock up bills inside that have not
yet passed the Congress in 2010.
Things are being done in secret. No bill number yet. Included will be
all the Wilderness Bills, Billion Dollar LWCF Trust Fund, Corps and
EPA Land and Water Jurisdiction Grab and many, many more.
-----Reid is going around to the Republicans and getting them to
agree to sign on. You must make it clear to the Republicans that this
vote is a threat to rural America and you and will be remembered
forever.
When you call, do not threaten. Just make it clear that this is a
terrible bill where they have lumped together hundreds of bills that
no Senator has read completely.
Let them know you are telling all your neighbors, friends, allies,
and business associates about the Omnibus Federal Land and Water Bill
and will remember how they vote on this bill when you vote in the
future.
- - - - -
-----You must urge your Senators to filibuster, place a hold on, or
otherwise delay the Omnibus Lands Bill. They must agree to vote
against it when it comes to a vote. The Senate has a limited amount
of time in the Lame Duck Session. Every day your Senator delays the
bill gives rural America a better chance to survive this onslaught.
-----Do Not Make The Mistake Of Ignoring the Omnibus Land And Water
Bill because it does not yet have a number. Harry Reid is trying to
keep the bill in secret.
- - - - -
Here is a new story about what the Greens are doing to pass the
Omnibus Bill:
Politico
Dems aim for 100+ bills in 1 swoop
By: Darren Goode
December 6, 2010 04:43 AM EST
http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=B88D7B5B-EF00-974C-679165CBCA7CAD93 Democratic efforts to push through more than 100 public lands and
water bills in the lame duck session are reaching a fever pitch, with
the recognition this is the last chance many of them have to become
law.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has tasked Democratic
leaders on at least three committees to come up with a list of bills
that could get past a GOP filibuster.
They may also need to be able to secure the two-thirds support that
would be needed if the House tries to expedite the package without
amendments in a tight legislative calendar.
Senate Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer
(D-Calif.) told reporters Thursday that she has given Reid a draft
list of bills to consider. That evolving list is believed to include
plans to provide protection to the Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes, Lake
Tahoe, the Gulf of Mexico and the San Francisco Bay.
"The issue is getting 60 votes, which we think we can," Boxer
said.
Boxer, most of the Democrats on her panel, Energy and Natural
Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Sen. Carl Levin
(D-Mich.) were among those who gathered with Reid off the Senate
floor during a vote last Monday to talk options. More formal meetings
were also held Tuesday.
Several Senate Republicans are cosponsors of individual bills that
could be included but the GOP appears likely to object to the package
as a whole.
"There's no way a giant omnibus like that would gain support
among Republicans," said Robert Dillon, spokesman for Energy and
Natural Resources ranking member Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska).
"There's bills in there we would like to see passed but not this
way. We don't have the time to fix all the problems."
A potential Democratic package could include more than 100 measures
from at least three panels. Energy and Natural Resources has passed
72 public lands bills that are pending on the Senate calendar and
there are others the panel has not yet voted on; the Environment and
Public Works Committee has so far given more than a dozen bills to be
considered; while the Commerce Committee Friday sent over a list of 13
bills.
A Boxer spokesperson said bills being considered for the package were
reported from several committees with bipartisan support. "They
represent the work of committees and senators over the course of this
Congress and, for many, over the course of a career and they deserve a
vote," the spokesperson said.
Bingaman spokesman Bill Wicker said the panel's bills are not
controversial and many were approved with no opposition. Bingaman
staffers are holding off on providing a final list to Reid in case
additional bills not voted on by the panel could be added.
Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Environment and
Public Works Committee has threatened to block swift approval of a
land and water omnibus bill if it includes, for example, the version
of the Chesapeake Bay protection bill that passed the panel by voice
vote with the understanding that work on it would continue.
That bill "still needs significant changes, principally with
respect to restricting the broad, and unprecedented, scope of
authority it grants EPA over state permitting programs," Inhofe
said last week. Inhofe said he wants to keep talking with the bill's
chief sponsor, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.).
"But it won't be reached today or if this bill is thrown together
with several other bills, many of which are too expansive and set
unrealistic authorization levels," Inhofe said.
Inhofe aides sent POLITICO a list of water bills the committee has
passed that the Oklahoma Republican thinks are fine in their current
form. They include protections for Lake Tahoe, the San Francisco Bay,
Gulf of Mexico and marine turtles.
The chances of passage for the package in a packed calendar this
month is further complicated by the demand last week of all 42 Senate
Republicans not to allow any measures to come up until the Senate
agrees to extend a set of Bush-era tax cuts.
A Reid spokeswoman simply said that a lands and water package is on
"a long list of items to consider and not much time to do so."
If the Senate were able to move the omnibus measure, the House would
still need to follow suit.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) could pass the measure in five
minutes if she can round up a two-thirds majority to avoid any
amendments and tricky GOP motions to recommit. But that's no sure
thing.
House Natural Resources ranking member Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) - who
is in line to chair the panel in the next Congress - pushed back
last week at any attempt to quickly pass what he deemed "a
Frankenstein" bill.
"This omnibus lands bill will have significant impacts on American
jobs, our economy and our nation's energy, environmental and
land-use policies," he wrote to House Democratic leaders Thursday.
"Such a significant bill should not be hastily pushed through
Congress without thoughtful and careful consideration."
Some Democrats also may not just simply want to green light a list of
Senate bills without adding their own input.
Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) - who chairs a key Natural Resources
subcommittee overseeing public lands - wants his committee to come
up with its own list to offer House Democratic leaders.
"I feel it is imperative that the House Natural Resources Committee
and House leadership has equal say in what legislation is included in
a final package," Grijalva wrote. "If the Senate develops a list
of bills to package, the House should be able to do the same."
