🚀 go-pugleaf

To: California activists
From: Jim Jontz
Date: July 1, 1996
 
 
FEINSTEIN ASKED TO SPONSOR RIDER CUT OFF AMENDMENT
 
Today we met with Kathy Lacey of Sen. Feinstein's staff, to ask her
if the Senator would consider sponsoring an amendment to the
Interior Appropriations bill on the Senate side to stop rider funding
at the end of the fiscal year (a twin to the Furse amendment).
 
Present at the meeting were John Leary from the Sierra Club, Mike
Leahy from Audubon, Marty Hayden from SCLDF, and Mary
Munson from Defenders.  
 
Kathy said she saw lots of reasons why the Senator would be a
strong sponsor for us (so do we) and would go to the Senator to
ask.  Kathy clearly understands why such an amendment would be
important to California, given that the sales that remain after
October 1 are the Option 9 and "salvage" sales that are the issue in
her state (not 318 sales).  
 
Kathy seemed very interested in the list of pending CA sales that
we had, and the upcoming report on "Forests at Risk" from rider
sales in CA.  There are three particular pieces of information about
sales that she says are especially important for Sen. Feinstein:
 
     1) Information about which sales have a signficant "green"
component, which they are Option 9 or "salvage" sales;
 
     2) Information about sales that predated the Rider, were
proposed as part of the regular program, but then transformed into
"salvage" sales in order to avoid environmental requirements, and
 
     3) Any sales that are expected to be offered this calendar
year, but not cut until next year or some time in the future
(evidence that these sales do not relate to any "crisis" as rider
proponents argue).
 
We want to make as much information as possible available to Sen.
Feinstein, so anything you can provide along these lines would be
extrordinarily helpful.  
 
A second major set of issues/needs is political.  Kathy suggests that
any statements or resolutions by local government bodies (or
individual officials) are supporting rider repeal are very helpful. 
She also encouraged us to seek editorials urging Senate action on
rider repeal not just in the Chron and LAT, but also in other
papers.  
 
Your feedback and help on any of this would be much appreciated;
I believe that if we can convince Sen. Feinstein to sponsor such an
amendment, we would have a great opportunity to pick up the
Democrats we need (plus a couple Republicans) to win a vote.  Call
me or reach Paul Spitler, our WAFC California organizer, at
(916)758-0380.  THANKS.
 
 
To: All California forest activists:
From: Paul Spitler, WAFC California Field Organizer
 
Greetings!
Many of you have already heard about how close we came in
winning a House vote to defund the Clearcut Rider. We lost by
only two votes--easily made up with a little more organizing.
Regrettably, the White House was noticeably absent during the
House debate over rider defunding. With a simple letter encouraging
a "Yes" vote, Clinton easliy could have pulled at least a few of the
36 defecting Democrats to our side. Instead, the White House stayed
on the side as Congress continued to wreak havoc on National
Forests.
 
We'll try to attach the amendment to defund the Rider to another
bill within the coming weeks. In the meantime, it is essential that
we continue to gather as many votes as possible. Now is the time
to  pressure Congress and the White House to end one of the
legacy of destruction that the rider has brought to our National
Forests. It is important to remember that both Congress and the
Administration share responsibility for the Rider. With a wave of its
wand, the Administration could cancel every devastating timber sale
offered on National Forests. They ought to do just that. 
 
What you can do:
1. Write to President Clinton's Chief of Staff Leon Panetta at The
White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, D.C. 20500.
Demand that the Administration cancel the worst timber sales
covered by the Clearcut Rider. Also, encourage him to use the
White House to lobby for Rider repeal. 
 
2. Write a Letter to the Editor of your local newspaper describing
last weeks vote. A sample letter is enclosed. Don't forget to
mention how your representative voted, and the lack of interest by
the White House.
 
3. Write your representative at U.S. House of Representatives,
Washington, D.C., 20515. Thank or shame them for their vote. If
they voted in favor of rider defunding, but are not co-sponsors of
H.R. 2745, encourage them to become a co-sponsor.
 
4. Spread the word.
 
Here is how the Californians voted.
In favor of Rider defunding (with us) were:
Becerra, Beilenson, Berman, Bilbray, Brown, Campbell, Dellums,
Dixon, Eshoo, Farr, Fazio, Filner, Harman, Horn, Lantos, Lofgren,
Martinez, Matsui, Millender-McDonald, Miller, Pelosi, Roybal-Allard,
Stark, Torres, Waters, Waxman, Woolsey  
Against Rider defunding (against us) were:
Baker, Bono, Calvert, Condit, Cox, Cunningham, Dooley, Doolittle,
Dornan, Dreier, Gallegly, Herger, Hunter, Kim, Lewis, McKeon,
Moorhead, Packard, Pombo, Radanovich, Riggs, Rohrabacher, Royce,
Seastrand, Thomas
 
 
 
Here's a sample Letter to the Editor for your use:
 
Editor:
Last week, with the Clinton Administration sitting idly by, Congress
voted to keep in place a policy of destruction for National Forests.
In doing so, Congress not only shrugged off the will of American
voters, it also signed the death warrant for thousands of acres of
old-growth forests in California and throughout the west. 
 
Since passage of the infamous 'logging without laws' rider, scores
of old-growth forests have been lost. The rider allows the Forest
Service to exempt certain types of logging on National Forests from
ALL environmental laws--including the Endangered Species Act. It is
a brash public resource giveaway, designed to continue subsidies to
an industry that has grown dependent on federal handouts. 
 
Ninety five percent of American ancient forests have already been
logged.  With no laws to protect them, the remaining five
percent--and the dozens of species that depend on them--will soon
perish. President Clinton needs to understand that Californians will
not tolerate the reckless decimation of our natural heritage. In the
bat of an eye, the Administration could cancel every 'lawless' timber
sale in California. With ancient forests in the balance, Clinton ought
to do just that.
 
Sincerely,
 
 
Paul Spitler
Western Ancient Forest Campaign
Davis, CA