Thursday, June 11, 2015
Jewell, enviros slam 'dreadful' policy riders in Interior-EPA bill
A top Obama administration official joined environmentalists in
blasting numerous policy riders contained in the House fiscal 2016
spending plan for the Interior Department and U.S. EPA unveiled
yesterday. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said she is especially concerned
about a provision in the bill that would bar the Fish and Wildlife
Service from preparing a potential Endangered Species Act listing rule
for sage grouse. "They're dreadful, and they should be eliminated," Jewell told E&E Daily
about the policy riders after a wildfire briefing yesterday at the
Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge outside Denver. Republican House appropriators unveiled the draft bill about 24
hours before a markup scheduled for this morning in the Appropriations
Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies. The 134-page draft bill
includes more than 20 policy riders, including provisions that would
bar EPA's efforts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from new and
existing power plants and amend which bodies of water get automatic
Clean Water Act protection. Jewell yesterday also called the spending bill's overall funding
level -- set by Republicans to conform to sequester spending caps --
unworkable. "We've got to get together and do some kind of a budget compromise,"
she said. "I'm hoping that at least with a markup, we're in a partial
regular order process that will cause the sides to get together and
maybe work on a two-year budget deal." In a letter obtained by E&E Daily,
more than 20 environmental organizations also yesterday said the draft
bill's funding levels and policy proposals would undermine the
administration's efforts to address climate change, clean up the air and
water, and save endangered species...more
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1 comment:
Ms Secretary Jewell sounds absolutely pitiful and without hope when she learned that Congress was in fact going to limit the amount of money she gets to spend. In fact she sounds angry with congressmen who don't realize how important she is. Yet the story indicates she has a potential source of all the money she needs at her fingertips in the form of bank accounts owned by over 20 environmental groups. If this entire conglomerate of agency and NGO leaders are so heartbroken over the lack of money in the DOI budget then they should put their money where there mouth is and send the DOI some of their money --- especially the part that came from the taxpayers under payment in lieu of taxes.
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