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Breaking News from America's Progressive Community... Latest Releases
Making news? The press releases posted here have been provided to NewsCenter by the one of the many progressive organizations we have selected to participate . If you would like more information about this press release, you should contact the organization directly.
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| OCTOBER 21, 1998
12:03 PM FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Sierra Club Holly Minch, 202/675-7903 |
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| Anti-Environmental Riders Are Poison Pills In Giant Budget Bill | ||||
| WASHINGTON -
October 21 - Despite the hard fought efforts of the Clinton Administration, a number of
destructive anti-environmental riders remain buried in the final $520 billion budget bill,
which the House passed last night on a 333-95 vote. The Senate passed the bill this
morning on a 65-29 vote, and President Clinton is expected to sign the bill into law
today. "The leadership of this Congress has once again turned a deaf ear to the American people who -- by a large majority -- want our wild lands protected from development and want cleaner air and water. We oppose this bill and we oppose this way of doing business," Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope explained. Pope characterized the leadership of the 105th Congress as "sneaks who worked in backrooms and used legislative riders to erode and weaken the laws that protect our environment. To them we say 'Good-bye and good riddance.'" After two years of doing nothing to protect America's environment, the 105th Congress spent its final days trying to push through provisions that would clearcut National Forests, punch roads through wildlife refuges, and kill initiatives to curb global warming. "The Clinton Administration's efforts to clean up the worst provisions amounted to damage control, but still produced a bill full of unacceptable anti-environmental provisions. And the sad fact that these negotiations occurred at the end of the legislative process -- after the bills were already larded with scores of anti-environmental riders -- meant the final outcome would inevitably include compromises damaging to the environment," Pope explained. "This is a flawed process and it led to a deeply flawed product. That's why we're asking the President to begin the next Congress with a declaration that he will have no tolerance for anti-environmental riders." "While this budget bill includes some good news -- increased funding for clean water, land acquisition and addressing the problem of global warming -- we oppose the bill because it still contains riders that do serious harm to the environment," concluded Pope. Those destructive riders include:
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