September 27, 2000 Volume 3, Issue 13

On Wednesday, September 20, the American Land Sovereignty Protection Act (S. 510) was supposed to be voted on in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The bill had the votes, and was certain to pass with no problem. Then the unforeseen occurred. Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell pulled his own bill from the discussion—even though he had the votes! It is almost unprecedented for a Senator to pull his own bill, especially when he has the votes.

When the American Policy Center learned of this outrage, we immediately organized a "Sledgehammer" action alert. We held on to this alert for 24 hours—so we could make certain that we weren’t broadcasting any misinformation. We verified the story with sources from the Energy Committee. Then we sent out the "Sledgehammer."

Apparently, after receiving tons of phone calls from concerned advocates of sovereignty, Sen. Campbell’s staff started to work on damage control. They gave callers a wide array of misinformation in an attempt to discredit APC’s alert, such as: "The Senator is delaying until he has the votes." Not true. Not only did he have them, but he wasn’t delaying in the least as S. 510 wasn’t even rescheduled to be brought up again before the Oct. 6 recess. They also said: "It’s going to be brought up again sometime next week (the week of Sept. 25-29)." Not true. Again, our sources on the Energy Committee confirmed that not only was S. 510 not on the schedule for this week—but it wasn’t on the schedule at all!

After literally having his office paralyzed by your phone calls, something truly amazing happened. Sen. Campbell called the Energy Committee personally, and asked that S. 510 be rescheduled for mark-up on Wednesday, October 4. If you EVER doubt that your phone calls make a difference—simply remember this chain of events. YOU are the reason that Sen. Campbell personally rescheduled S. 510 in the Energy Committee.

Why did Sen. Campbell pull his bill off the table in the first place? Truth is, we don’t know for sure. Maybe he didn’t think it that vital (although we don’t see how, considering S. 510 would require congressional approval before U.S. land could be declared a U.N. Heritage Site or Biosphere Reserve). Maybe he didn’t think Clinton would sign it. Maybe Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), a staunch opponent of this sovereignty saving bill, somehow convinced him. One fact does remain: he did pull it—even though he had the votes to pass it!

Now is the time to refocus our efforts. S. 510 is going before the Energy Committee next Wednesday. We need to ensure that it passes. After it makes it through the committee, it will have only two days (Congress recesses on Oct. 6) to be brought up for a vote in the Senate. This is why it is so important that you call both of your Senators and urge them to support this vital bill.

Also call S. 510’s biggest opponent, Sen. Jeff Bingaman, and let him know that you won’t stand for any backroom arm-twisting when it comes to a bill that is so very important to the sovereignty of our great nation.

**ACTION TO TAKE

1. Call Sen. Jeff Bingaman and let him know that national sovereignty is of utmost importance—and that the American Land Sovereignty Protection Act is vital to protecting it! Sen. Bingaman: (202) 224-5521.

2. Call both of your Senators and urge them to support S. 510. We’ve worked so hard to get this far. If S. 510 doesn’t pass the Senate before Oct. 6, we will have to start all over again next year. Capitol Hill Senate Switchboard: (202) 224-3121 or toll-free at 1-800-648-3516. (Simply ask for your Senator by name)

***CARA Battle Coming Down to the Wire

Don’t Give Up Now!

The Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA) is the biggest threat to private property in well over a decade. CARA will give the federal government $45 billion over the next 15 years to kick property owners off their land. It’s that simple. Truly, this bill is devastating to anyone who advocates the right to private property.

APC, private property organizations, and most of all, YOU have done an amazing job up to this point keeping this enormously destructive bill from passing. CARA has enough opposition in the Senate that the last thing supporters of the land grab want to do is bring it up for a floor vote—where it would surely die a slow, wonderful death. The Senate version of CARA is so much worse than the House version, that the House must now go back and reconsider it.

So the land grabbers are resorting to dirty, filthy tricks. With time running out, CARA supporters, in order to avoid a certain defeat, are attempting to sneak CARA onto a last minute appropriations bill in order to pass it before Congress adjourns on October 6. No separate vote on CARA. No free-standing debate. No kidding! As Mike Hardiman of the American Land Rights Association stated: "In the rush to adjournment, Congress frequently meets late at night, with no public notice, behind closed doors, and cuts deals with powerful interest groups." DON’T LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT!

Rep. Helen Chenoweth-Hage (R-ID) and other heroes of private property in the House are busy gaining signatures for a letter that urges House Republican leadership to not allow any dark-of-night, backroom deal, land grab.

We must keep fighting. We’ve come so far. We can’t let CARA supporters in the Senate get away with this. We must keep calling Congress—every day—until they adjourn!

**ACTION TO TAKE

1. Call your Representative and tell him or her to OPPOSE CARA! Also, urge him or her to sign Rep. Helen Chenoweth-Hage’s "NO DARK-OF-NIGHT LAND GRAB" letter. Capitol Hill House Switchboard: (202) 225-3121 or toll free at 1-800-648-3516.

2. Call both of your Senators and urge them to stop any attempt to sneak CARA through on an appropriations bill in the "dark-of-night." Capitol Hill Senate Switchboard: (202) 224-3121 or toll free at 1-800-648-3516.