Kitcat Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 I recently wrote a letter to our senators regarding the government's latest attempt to keep us out of PUBLIC lands. Here is a response from Senator Ensign: Thank you for contacting me regarding the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 (S. 22). I appreciate the opinion of every Nevadan and am always grateful to those who take the time to inform me of their views. The federal deficit is nearly $1.2 trillion. I believe that Congress and the federal government must be better stewards of the tax dollars Nevadans send to Washington. As you may know, the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act is a compilation of over 150 pieces of legislation with an estimated cost of $10 billion. At a time when our economy is struggling and so many Americans are out of work, I believe that Congress must reconsider its priorities and eliminate wasteful Washington spending. Some of the questionable priorities included in S. 22 are $1 billion in funding for a water project in California to save 500 salmon; $3 million for a "road to nowhere" through the Alaska wildlife refuge; $5 million for botanical gardens in Hawaii and Florida; and nearly $4 million to celebrate the 450th anniversary of the founding of St. Augustine, Florida, in 2015. S. 22 would also designate more than 2 million acres as federal wilderness land, eliminate major recreation areas, and reduce our ability to obtain more domestic sources of energy. I do not believe this is an efficient use of taxpayer dollars when the National Park Service already has a $9 billion backlog of existing projects that need to be funded. In addition, the Bureau of Land Management maintains that a provision in S. 22 will take nearly 9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and over 300 million barrels of oil out of production in the state of Wyoming alone. This is a step in the wrong direction at a time when the United States is trying to decrease its dependence on foreign energy sources. Although this lands bill includes some important legislation for Nevada, it is being pushed through with the inclusion of billions of dollars in wasteful Washington spending and with the voices of millions of Americans being shut out. Senate consideration of this bill has been a closed process with no amendments, which is disappointing because overwhelmingly Americans want more transparency in government. Given the large amount of wasteful spending and the closed consideration process, I could not support this bill. Please rest assured that I will continue to support legislation that will honestly address America's land management priorities without unnecessarily burdening future generations with additional debt. Once again, thank you for contacting me on this very important issue. Should you have any other questions or comments, please feel free to write or e-mail me via my website at http://ensign.senate.gov. Sincerely, JOHN ENSIGN United States Senator JE/u1 Your thoughts and opinions are important. Unfortunately, any replies to this e-mail will not be received and processed. If you want to contact Senator Ensign electronically again please visit: http://ensign.senate.gov/forms/email_form.cfm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wingnut Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 I got the same reply yesterday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ynot Posted February 20, 2009 Share Posted February 20, 2009 Yeah me to! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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