Copyright 2000 The Denver Post Corporation
The
Denver Post
July 26, 2000 Wednesday 2D EDITION
SECTION: A SECTION; Pg. A-04
LENGTH: 606 words
HEADLINE:
Senate panel OKs parkland bill Campbell, other foes, set for floor fight
BYLINE: By Mike Soraghan, Denver Post Washington
Bureau,
BODY:
WASHINGTON - Republican senators from
the Rocky Mountain West, including Colorado's Ben Nighthorse
Campbell, were unsuccessful Tuesday in blocking legislation that
would put nearly $ 45 billion over the next 15 years into buying
parkland around the country.
Enough other Republicans joined
with Democrats to win committee approval for the Conservation
and Reinvestment Act, brushing aside concerns that the bill
is just 'green pork.' As the committee vote finished, one opposing
lobbyist shouted 'oink! oink!' as senators left the room.
The
bill is supported by environmental groups and sporting goods makers,
who say Congress has long diverted the money that is supposed to go
into buying land for parks, hiking trails and soccer fields. It is
opposed by property rights advocates, who say the bill encourages
governments to take land.
The 13-7 vote moved the legislation past a key
hurdle, but supporters are bracing for a fight on the Senate floor.
With fewer than 20 working days left in this Congress, it may be a
fight even to get it to the floor.
The bill takes nearly $ 3
million a year from offshore drilling revenues and puts it into
buying land. Some of the money would go toward buying environmentally
sensitive land, some to the states for parks and recreation, and some
to cities and counties with federally owned land, to help make up for
the land not being subject to property taxes.
Supporters say
Colorado would get more than $ 57 million a year from the Senate
version of the bill. Of that, about $ 24 million would go to local
governments for 'payment in lieu of taxes,' or PILT. Last year,
Colorado got $ 9 million in PILT.
Campbell sits on the Energy and
Natural Resources Committee that moved the bill Tuesday. He actually
missed the vote, allowing a fellow opponent to cast his 'no' vote by
proxy as he attended a hearing on airline problems.
But he
had already rejected the bill as 'socialism,' saying that it takes
too much control over federal dollars out of the hands of elected
legislators and into the hands of bureaucrats. Environmentalists and
sporting goods makers have criticized him, saying he's ignoring
Coloradans' support for open space.
Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Loveland,
remains undecided. A number of other Colorado Republicans support the
bill, including Gov. Bill Owens. U.S. Rep. Bob Schaffer, R-Fort
Collins, voted against the bill in the House, but the rest of the
Colorado delegation supported it.
Campbell was joined in his
opposition by Western Republican Sens. Conrad Burns of Montana, Larry
Craig of Idaho, Pete Domenici of New Mexico and Slade Gorton of
Washington. Westerners including Sens. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., and
Gordon Smith, R-Ore., supported it.
But the biggest supporter in the
Senate has been Energy Chairman Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, who
shepherded the bill through committee. Opponents say the bill has
been loaded with goodies for Alaska in order to maintain Murkowski's
support. During Tuesday's meeting, the American Land Rights
Association, a property rights group that opposes the act,
distributed a flier reading 'Alaska's snout in the trough.'
Murkowski said the fight was not so much over
Western distrust of federal land ownership as it was legislative
budget writers holding on to their power.
'Let's be honest
with ourselves,' Murkowski told reporters after the vote. 'We've
taken on the appropriators and the budgeteers. This detracts from
their traditional area of responsibility.'
LOAD-DATE: July 31, 2000 
