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The Planet

April 1998, Volume 5, Number 3

Legislative Scorecard


Below is a brief recap of the bills the Sierra Club is tracking in the 105th Congress. To contact your senators or representative, call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121. For more information on the Club's legislative priorities, call the Legislative Hotline at (202) 675-2394.

    BILL AND DESCRIPTION CLUB
    POSITION
    STATUS ACTION NEEDED
    H.R. 3232 — Miller (D-CA): Farm Sustainability and Animal Feedlot Enforcement Act (Farm SAFE)
    Would establish national minimum environmental standards for all industrial-sized livestock operations.
    Support Awaiting
    committee
    action.
    Urge co-sponsorship.
    H.R. 1404 — Waxman (D-CA): Defense of the Environment Act
    Would require Congressional committees to identify and quantify, where possible, the negative impact on the environment of any proposed legislation before consideration on the House floor.
    Support Awaiting
    Commerce
    Committee
    action
    Urge co-sponsorship

    H.R. 2094 — Pallone (D-NJ) & Bilbray (R-CA): Beaches Environmental Assessment, Closure and Health Act
    Would establish consistent beach water-quality testing, standards and increase public notification.
    Support In Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Urge co-sponsorship

    H.R. 2155 — Neumann (R-WI): Continuance of a Nationwide Permit for Discharges of Dredged or Fill Materials
    Would write into law Nationwide Permit 26, the scientifically discredited "quick permit."
    Oppose Introduced Deter co-sponsorship
    S. 599 — Boxer (D-CA): Children's Environmental Protection Act
    Would protect children and other vulnerable people from exposure to certain environmental pollutants.
    Support Awaiting
    Environmental and
    Public Works
    Committee action
    Urge co-sponsorship
    S. 769 — Lautenberg (D-NJ): Right-to-Know-More and Pollution Prevention Act
    Would increase the disclosure of toxic chemical use and public access to pollution data.
    Support Awaiting
    Environmental and
    Public Works
    Committee action
    Urge co-sponsorship
    S. 8 — Smith (R-NH) & Chafee (R-RI): Superfund Cleanup Acceleration Act
    Would weaken clean-up standards, disempower communities and roll back polluter-pays liability.
    Oppose In Environment and Public Works Committee Write letters to
    Environment and Public Works
    Committee
    S. 866 — Hutchinson (R-AR): Environmental Protection Partnership Act
    Would undermine the public's right to know, silence whistle blowers, undercut environmental law and enforcement.
    Oppose Hearing in
    Environment and Public Works
    Committee
    Urge senators to
    oppose bill if it comes to a vote

    S. 981 — Levin (D-MI) & Thompson (R-TN): Regulatory Improvement Act
    Would put economic tests and risk assessment at the center of public policy decision-making.
    Oppose In Government
    Affairs Committee
    Write letters to
    committee and
    senators
    H.R. 1984 — Klink (D-PA) & Upton (R-PA): Moratorium on Establishment of Ozone and Fine Particulate Matter for Air Standards Act
    S. 1084 — Inhofe (R-OK): Ozone and Particulate Matter Research Act
    Would place a moratorium on the newly approved EPA air standards for smog and soot, delaying the approved clean-up measures until more research is conducted.
    Oppose

    Oppose

    Awaiting floor vote — unlikely to get floor time.

    Awaiting floor
    action, not in near future.

    Be ready for a major clean air fight if this moves

    Urge senators to
    oppose bill

    S. 1256 — Hatch (R-UT): Citizens Access to Justice Act
    Would override local zoning laws, expand opportunities to sue local governments and allow federal courts to invalidate environmental and other safeguards enacted by Congress.
    Oppose In the Judiciary Committee Urge Judiciary
    Committee members to oppose bill

    S. 1180 — Kempthorne (R-ID): Endangered Species Recovery Act
    Would weaken the Endangered Species Act by making it harder to protect imperiled fish, wildlife and plants.
    Oppose Could come to floor soon Tell senators to
    oppose; write letters to the editor

    H.R. 2351 — Miller (D-CA): Endangered Species Recovery Act
    Pro-wildlife counter to the bad bill moving through Senate.
    Support Pending in the House with 99
    co-sponsors
    Urge co-sponsorship; write letters to the editor
    H.R. 2789 — Leach (R-IA) & McKinney (D-GA): National Forest Protection and Restoration Act
    Would phase out commercial logging from national forests.
    Support   Urge co-sponsorship; write letters to the editor
    H.R. 1739 — Oberstar (D-MN): Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Accessibility and Fairness Act
    Would allow more trucks and motorized boats into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota.
    Oppose Passed
    committee, ready for House floor
    action

    Write letters to the editor
    The Club is engaged in a number of co-sponsorship drives to protect America's wilderness:
    H.R. 900 — Vento (D-MN): the Arctic Refuge
    H.R. 1500 — Hinchey (D-NY): Utah
    H.R. 1425 — Shays (R-CT) & Maloney (D-NY): Northern Rockies


    Support

    Support
    Support



    130 co-sponsors

    132 co-sponsors
    63 co-sponsors



    Urge co-sponsorship

    Urge co-sponsorship
    Urge co-sponsorship

    S. 531 — Roth (R-DE): Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
    S. 773 — Durbin (D-IL): America's Redrock Wilderness Act
    Would protect key wilderness areas.
    Support

    Support

    18 co-sponsors

    10 co-sponsors

    Urge co-sponsorship

    Urge co-sponsorship

    H.R. 2458 — Chenoweth (R-ID): Community Protection and Hazardous Fuels Reduction Act
    Would increase logging in the national forests under the guise of wildfire reduction.
    Oppose   Write letters to the editor
    H.R. 2515 — Smith (R-OR): Forest Recovery and Protection Act
    Would increase logging in the national forests under the guise of protecting "forest health."
    Oppose   Write letters to the editor
    H.R. 2812, H.R. 2259. & H.R. 3088 — Young (R-AK): King Cove Health and Safety Act
    Would either convey portions of our public lands in Alaska to special interests or open them up to destructive uses.
    Oppose   Write letters to the editor
    S.1253 & S.1254 — Craig (R-ID): Public Lands Management Improvement Act and Federal Lands Management Adjustment Act
    S. 1467—Smith (R-OR): Forest Recovery and Protection Act
    Would dramatically increase logging and weaken environmental-protection laws in our national forests.
    Oppose

    Oppose

    Could come to floor soon Tell senators to
    oppose; write letters to the editor

    Tell senators to
    oppose; write letters to the editor

    S. 783 — Grams (R-MN): Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Accessibility and Fairness Act
    Would increase motorized use of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota.
    Oppose Passed committee, could move to Senate floor Write letters to the editor
    S. 967, S. 1092, S. 660, S. 439, S. 1158 & S. 1159 —Murkowski (R-AK)
    Would either convey portions of our public lands in Alaska to special interests or open them up to destructive uses.
    Oppose Out of committee and ready for floor action Write letters to the editor

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