I. KEY SENATORS HOLD CARA PRESS CONFERENCE

II. SENATE COMMITTEE ACTIONS ON FUNDING LEGISLATION SCHEDULED

III. SENATOR BOXER INTRODUCES HOUSE-PASSED VERSION OF CARA

IV. WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP

V. H.R.701 TEXT AVAILABLE ON THE WEB

I. Majority Leader Trent Lott Among Primary CARA Supporters

In a strong showing of bipartisan support, seven Senators held a press conference Thursday, May 18th, to discuss the prospects of the Conservation and Reinvestment Act in the Senate. Attending and speaking at the press conference were Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS), Senator John Breaux (D-LA), Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Senator Bob Graham (D-FL), Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL).

Speaking of reinvesting money from Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) lease sales in conservation programs, Majority Leader Trent Lott said "The concept is excellent, conservation reinvestment, is something we should do. And I believe Americans overwhelmingly agree with that." After the strong passage of H.R. 701 in the House a week ago, this press conference was an important starting point on the road to passing the Conservation and Reinvestment Act in the Senate.

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II. Environment and Public Works, Energy and Natural Resource Committees Schedule Action

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, chaired by Bob Smith (R-NH), is scheduled to hold a hearing on S. 2123, the Conservation and Reinvestment Act, and S. 2181, the Conservation and Stewardship Act. Both bills would use OCS lease sale money to reinvest in conservation programs in all 50 states. The hearing, to be held May 24th, will provide further input into the process of creating a consensus conservation funding bill in the Senate.

Senator Frank Murkowski (R-AK), the chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee (which has jurisdiction over the conservation funding bills), has scheduled a "mark-up" for June 14th. The mark-up is where members of the committee debate the legislation and submit amendments. The entire committee will then vote on whether the legislation should continue to move forward in the process. If the bills are voted out of committee, they would then be reported to the full Senate. Although it is likely that S.2123 (CARA) will be the primary vehicle, it is unclear what positive changes will be incorporated from Ranking Minority Member, Jeff Bingaman's (D-NM) S. 2181 (CASA). Negotiations between the primary co-sponsors are reportedly underway.

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III. New Senate Conservation and Reinvestment Act Introduced

Following the passage of H.R. 701(CARA) by the full House of Representatives last week, a new bill was introduced in the Senate by Barabara Boxer (D-CA). Senator Boxer's bill is the version of H.R. 701 that was ultimately passed by the House, after strengthening amendments were added during the voting process. The new bill is not expected to serve as a final conservation funding bill to be passed by the Senate, but rather would contribute to the process of creating a bipartisan compromise conservation funding bill that could find widespread support in the Senate.

In a statement on the Senate floor, Senator Boxer stated: "I believe that the fastest way to pass legislation to protect our national lands legacy is to take up where the House left off last week. . . The House bill isn't perfect. I would like to see further changes. But it would be a good start for the Senate. We must not let this session of Congress end without passing this critical legislation to protect our natural heritage."

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IV. How You Can Help!

The next major step for the Conservation and Reinvestment Act is the Energy and Natural Resources mark-up on June 14th. Between now and this hearing, support must be built among committee members, and in the Senate as a whole, for a strong conservation funding bill. Most Senators don't know a lot about these bills, most are still "gettable", and most are not used to feeling grassroots pressure like we were able to put on the House. Senators have already been hearing from property rights groups, the chief opponents of the Conservation and Reinvestment Act. CARA supporters need to demonstrate wide support for this historic conservation legislation at the grassroots level. Do your part today!

Call and write your Senator to let them know you support permanent conservation funding legislation. In addition, the Senate will be on Memorial Day recess from May 26 - June 1. What better time to meet with your Senator in their district office or arrange a site visit than the first weekend of summer. Ask them to work with their colleagues to develop a strong bipartisan consensus bill that has the most benefit for the environment. We can't affort not to make this investment!

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V. House Bill Available on Internet

For a copy of H.R. 701 as it passed out of the house, log on to the Library of Congress webpage at: http://thomas.loc.gov/, type in "h.r.701" in the search bar. Click on the "Engrossed" version to view the legislation with the amendments that were added on the House floor.

For a more detailed account of the vote, including exactly what Members said in the debate, download the Congressional Record from the Government Printing Office's web site at http://www.access.gpo.gov/. Under the Quick Links Section, click on "Congressional Record." When you get to that page, check the "House Section," add the dates "05/10/2000" to "05/11/2000" in the date range, then enter "Conservation and Reinvestment Act" in the word search area. You'll get 5 entries that you can download as text or PDF files.

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