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Friday, July 1, 2016

AMERICA'S NATIONAL LANDS BEING SOLD BY CONGRESS

House bill to sell national forests passes committee.



THESE ARE LANDS GUARANTEED TO THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES IN PERPETUITY, BUT THEY'RE ON THE AUCTION BLOCK TO EVADE FEDERAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND OTHER CONSUMER PROTECTION LAWS SO OUR CONGRESSMEN CAN MAKE THEIR OWNERS HAPPY.

ONCE AGAIN, THE WHORES ON THE HILL SELL US OUT TO PLEASE WALL STREET.

THANKS ONCE AGAIN TO THE GOP, WHO VOTED EN MASSE TO SELL OFF OUR NATIONAL TREASURES, ONCE PUBLIC LANDS ARE  BEING RAIDED SO THAT THE GOP's FINANCIERS, THOSE WHO CONTRIBUTE MOST TO CAMPAIGN 'WAR CHESTS', CAN MAKE A KILLING AND HAUL IN BIG PROFITS WHILE DESTROYING OUR NATIONAL PARKS.

WHEN THE EPA AND OTHER FEDERAL REGULATORS WOULDN'T ALLOW BIG BUSINESSES TO RAPE AND PILLAGE OUR NATIONAL LANDS, POLLUTE AT WILL, CLEAR-CUT, STRIP-MINE, REMOVE THE ENTIRE TOPS OF MOUNTAINS, WHAT DOES CONGRESS DO?

CONGRESS DECIDED TO SELL THE LANDS TO STATES SO THAT STATES CAN THEN SELL THE LANDS TO PRIVATE BUSINESSES WHO ARE GOING TO DO ALL THAT AND MORE!




[This article appeared in the Guardian, UK, in February, 2016, months before the last vote.]

"Congress is to consider two bills that would allow states to hand over vast tracts of federal land for mining, logging or other commercial activities...

The legislation, which will be presented to the House committee on natural resources on Thursday, would loosen federal authority over parts of the 600m acres (240m hectares), nearly one-third of the land mass of the US, it administers.
A bill put forward by Republican Don Young would allow any state to assume control of up to 2m acres of the national forest system to be “managed primarily for timber production” in order to address what Young claims is a decline in national logging rates.
A further bill, written by Republican Raúl Labrador, would allow state governors to assign up to 4m acres of land as “forest demonstration areas”, which would allow logging free from any federal water, air or endangered species restrictions.

“The idea that states will manage this land well is just an illusion. They don’t have the resources to do so, which means there will be a fire sale for mining and timber companies. The American public would lose access to these lands. Those days should be behind us.”
The authors of the bills, along with the committee chairman, Rob Bishop, were all approached for comment.

YEAH, "NO COMMENT" BECAUSE IF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE KNEW WHAT THEY'RE DOING THEY JUST MIGHT SEE IT AS A BAD THING, MIGHT COST THE GOP SELL-OUTS A FEW MILLION MORE VOTES.


IT IS A BAD THING.
THEY'RE ROBBING ALL OF US, YET AGAIN!
THEY'RE MAKING OUR NATIONAL PARK LANDS AVAILABLE TO ANY COMPANY THAT WANTS TO EXPLOIT THEM, AND ONCE THE STATES TAKE CONTROL, THOSE COMPANIES WILL NOT FACE FEDERAL REGULATIONS ON HOW TO DESTROY THOSE LANDS.


IF COMPANIES WANT TO MINE AND RUN THEIR MINING WASTE INTO OUR RIVERS, THEY CAN DO THAT!

IF A COMPANY WANTS TO STRIP OUR FORESTS CLEAN, NOT A PROBLEM ONCE THE FEDS HAVE NO SAY-SO ON WHAT THEY DO!
CLEAR-CUT?
SURE, GO AHEAD!
SO WHAT IF MOUNTAINS ERODE INTO RIVERS AND LAKES!
WHO NEEDS CLEAN WATER ANYWAY, AMERICANS WILL DRINK MUD TO HELP OUT WALL STREET!

DIG OUT MORE COAL FROM THE ROCKIES, THE APPALACHIANS?
GO AHEAD!

FILL THE AIR WITH COAL DUST, BURN THAT CRAP LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW...BECAUSE THERE WON'T BE AS MANY TOMORROWS AFTER THIS FROM THE GOP!
SURE, SURE, ANYTHING FOR "THE ECONOMY", RIGHT?

ONCE AGAIN, THE GOP MAJORITY SELLS OUT AMERICA FOR THE BENEFIT OF WALL STREET AND EVEN DONALD TRUMP SAID SO.


"Without demonstrable public will and with strong opposition from environmentalists, hunters, anglers, the Department of the Interior, and the outdoor recreation industry, among others, Republican lawmakers are attempting to transfer control of your public lands from federal to state governments in a thinly-veiled attempt to force their sale for purposes of resource exploitation.
Now, the first blow has been struck.

Last week, the House committee on Natural Resources voted to adopt HR 3650, the summary of which reads:
“This bill directs the Department of Agriculture, through the Forest Service, to convey to a state up to 2 million acres of eligible portions of the National Forest System (NFS) in it that it elects to acquire through enactment by the state legislature of a bill meeting certain criteria. Portions of the NFS conveyed to a state shall be administered and managed primarily for timber production.”

It’s hard to discuss this issue without appearing partisan. While opposition to the land heist is bipartisan, support for it comes exclusively from Republican lawmakers, and the corporations which fund them. HR 3650 passed committee with the support of all but one Republican congressman, every Democrat on the committee opposed it.

Last year, SA 838, which called for the sale of national forests and other public lands, was also unanimously supported by Republicans, and unanimously opposed by everyone else. 

Timber production itself isn’t the issue here. In 2014, the federal government raised $202,721,030.86 by selling timber from national forests.

Rather than the states rights issue supporting lawmakers are painting it as, this move to transfer ownership of your public lands to states is instead widely understood as an effort to force its sale.

According to Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewel, who has spoken out strongly against the heist, states couldn’t even afford the annual firefighting budget such large tracts of land require, positively guaranteeing their sale to private interests.

Why is private ownership of vast tracts of land THE AMERICAN PEOPLE currently own bad?
Well, it’s historically been demonstrated to reduce public access, and moves the land out of any unified, managed or regulated conservation program.

Yes, there is a significant financial gain to be had by selling these lands, but that’s a one-off instance of profit from lands that currently contribute massively to local, state, and the national economy.

The outdoor recreation industry alone, which relies on land access to exist, employs 6.1 million Americans and contributes $650 billion to the economy annually.

The land where you and I currently go to camp, climb, cycle, hike, hunt, fish, and paddle is under threat.

The Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Partnership—an organization of hunters and fishermen—called the bill an “overt attempt to undermine public land ownership.”

Its president and CEO, Whit Fosburgh, went on to state, “Make no mistake, these are the first votes on legislation that would legitimize the wholesale transfer or sale of America’s public lands.”
In fact, the heist is so blatantly anti-American that even Donald Trump opposes it.

“I don’t like the idea because I want to keep the lands great, and you don’t know what the state is going to do,” Trump told Field & Stream. “I mean, are they going to sell if they get into a little bit of trouble? And I don’t think it’s something that should be sold. We have to be great stewards of this land. This is magnificent land.”
DO YOU CARE IF YOUR CHILDREN AND THEIR CHILDREN DON'T HAVE NATIONAL PARKS, OR CARE IF AMERICA'S NATIONAL LANDS GET USED UP?

CALL YOUR ELECTED WHORES TO WALL STREET AND RAISE HELL THEN!

VOTE THEM OUT OF OFFICE!

KEEP WHAT LITTLE WE, THE PEOPLE, HAVE LEFT!

How to Contact Your Elected Officials

Contact State Elected Officials

Other Local Government Officials - This directory can help you find contact information for your city, county, and town officials in your state.



ORGANIZATIONS LIKE  ProtectOurPublicLand.org  HAVE TRIED TO PREVENT THIS, BUT NOT ENOUGH AMERICANS HAVE BECOME INVOLVED.



WHEN THE AREA YOU LIVE IN HAS NO CLEAN WATER FOR YOU TO DRINK, WHEN YOUR AIR IS UNFIT TO BREATHE AND THE NATURAL BEAUTY YOU ONCE LOOKED OUT ON BECOMES WASTELAND, IT'LL BE TOO LATE.

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