Senator: Alex Padilla, Democrat Website: https://www.padilla.senate.gov/
Contact: https://www.padilla.senate.gov/contact/#locations
Senator: Alphonsa Butler, Democrat Website: https://www.butler.senate.gov/ Contact: https://www.butler.senate.gov/share-your-opinion/
This bill was brought up for another vote and passed the House 213-211. It still retains the anti-environmental riders that would contaminate our food and water supplies with pesticides, roll back protections for endangered species, and log away our national forests!
The Senate votes this week on their bipartisan version which so far avoids these toxic riders. Urge our Senators to keep the Farm Bill clean.
Action Needed - Call/write your Senators:
Senator Dianne Feinstein 202-224-3841 or 415-393-0707
Email: www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/e-mail-me
Senator Kamala D. Harris 202-224-3553 or 916-448-2787
Email: www.harris.senate.gov/content/contact-senator
This bill failed in the house 198-213. 30 Republicans voted nay on the bill along with the Democrats albeit for different reasons. The bill is now dead opening the door to negotiating a hopefully better reiteration.
HR2, the Farm Bill is reauthorized approximately every five years. It is moving rapidly through the House of Representatives and has many troubling provisions including adding stringent work requirements to the SNAP (food stamp) program, gutting the highly successful Conservation Stewardship Program which encourages farmers to protect soil and water resources, and places logging ahead of all other uses of public lands.
As far as logging, this bill allows numerous categorical exclusions (CEs) from environmental review and public comment for nearly every land management activity the Forest Service conducts, including road building and logging on up to 6,000 acres-nearly 10 square miles.
The bill undermines the Roadless Rule by creating a loophole that would allow logging and costly roadbuilding on millions of acres of protected roadless forest.
The bill weakens Endangered Species Act protections by eliminating expert opinion about whether actions would harm endangered species and critical habitat. This approach has been declared unlawful by the courts.
Read More from the Wilderness Society HERE.
Status update - Introduced 4/12/2018, considered by the House Committee on Agriculture 4/18/2018 who issued a report on 5/3/2018. Currently there is a 66% chance of H.R. 2 becoming law according to GovTrack.us.
Status - Introduced 4/12/2018, considered by the House Committee on Agriculture 4/18/2018 and may be up for a vote in the House before the end of April. Currently there is a 54% chance of H.R. 2 becoming law according to GovTrack.us.
Action Needed - Call/write your Senators:
This bill promotes extensive unregulated logging as a remedy for combating the increase in devastating wildfires. This will be done by greatly decreasing public oversight. It will prevent the public from going to court to enforce environmental laws. It also caps endangered species consultation for environmental issues arbitrarily to 90 days, and grants the Forest Service unilateral authority to forgo Endangered Species act consultation. Tom McClintock is a co-sponsor of this bill.
Read more www.npca.org/articles/1674-position-on-h-r-2936-resilient-federal-forests-act-of-2017
Status - passed House 232-188 on 11/1/2017, referred to Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry. Currently there is a 49% chance of H.R. 2936 becoming law according to GovTrack.us.
Action Needed - Call/write your Senators:
Senator Dianne Feinstein 202-224-3841 or 415-393-0707
Email: www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/e-mail-me
Senator Kamala D. Harris 202-224-3553 or 916-448-2787
Email: www.harris.senate.gov/content/contact-senator