Bennett Johnston (D-LA), the powerful chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, is attempting to fast-track S. 341 through the full Senate. Co-authored by Wyoming Republican Malcolm Wallop, this disastrous bill takes the same misguided, oil-and-nuclear-based approach as the White House energy plan.
We must move now to derail it. If approved, the Johnston-Wallop bill would:
¥Destroy the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by allowing massive oil exploration
¥Threaten hundreds of miles of sensitive coastline - including areas President Bush has promised to protect from offshore drilling
¥"Streamline" the construction of more nuclear plants through "one-stop" licensing and restricted public participation
¥Increase taxpayer subsidies to the nuclear power industry by $20 billion
¥Destroy free flowing rivers by eliminating environmental reviews of proposed dam projects
¥Deregulate the nation's utilities - among the worst environmental offenders
The Johnston-Wallop bill would also weaken acid-rain provisions of the Clean Air Act, eliminate state's rights to conduct environmental reviews of dam projects, allow the federal government to grab private property for a natural-gas pipeline, and violates Congress' own rules designed to prevent taxpayer ripoffs.
The built in dangers of this bill may explain why Johnston is moving it at such a rapid clip - so fast that committee staff must review videotapes to keep up with the action. The Energy Committee has also refused to make legislative changes available to the public. And Johnston - as chairman of the Senate Democratic Task Force on Energy - is now trying to block consideration of the Bryan bill, which would help America kick its oil habit by improving auto fuel efficiency.
Ask your U.S. Senators to put the brakes on Johnston-Wallop by supporting a filibuster against it. We must act now to stop this attempt to railroad the Congress and the American public.
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 2004
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