I. CARA IS VERY CLOSE TO PASSAGE BUT NEEDS YOUR HELP


II. POTENTIAL WAYS FOR CARA TO BE ENACTED

I. CARA Is Very Close To Passage But Needs Your Help

The first message is that WE ARE VERY CLOSE in reaching our goal of CARA's passage!!! The Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee voted 13-7 in favor of the Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA) shortly before the August recess. This leaves CARA in a good place for potential enactment this year, but with the very short legislative calendar, we still have an uphill battle. It is critical that CARA moves this year because there is no "Next Year" for this bill. This is because the legislation would have to start at the beginning of the legislative process again and the key House champions of the bill, Congressmen Young and Miller, will no longer be in their leadership positions on the Resources Committee. In addition, it will be nearly impossible to generate the tremendous grassroots energy that we have right now. This is the year that Congress must pass CARA. But we can only get there if all of us keep the pressure on and continue to encourage members of Congress and the President to do the right thing.

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II. Potential Ways For CARA To Get Enacted

There are two potential ways for CARA to get enacted, the first would be to go through the normal legislative process as a stand alone bill. This means it would head to the Senate floor, then to Conference with the House, then both houses would need to vote on the final package before it heads to the President for his signature. This seems may be unlikely given there is strong opposition to the bill by a few Senators who have said that they will filibuster the bill. Although we should have the 60 votes to invoke cloture, this process would take several days on the floor and the Senate very likely does not have time to do this. The second option would be to attach CARA to another bill, such as an omnibus appropriations bill, at the end of the session. This option may be more viable since it will wrapped into a "must pass" appropriations package. But we should only think about this option if we fail to get CARA as a stand alone bill.

The good news is that CARA should still be in play up until the very last hour that Congress is in session, but this means that we must keep the pressure on Congress and the White House for the next six weeks. To this end, NWF is working actively with other organizations on three key activities at this time - and we'd like your help in your home state:

• A letter from Senators to Senator Lott and Daschle asking them to bring CARA to the floor this year. We are working at the DC and grassroots level to get over 60 Senators to sign on to this letter to show the strong support that the legislation has. If you haven't already done so CALL YOUR SENATOR AND ASK HIM OR HER TO SIGN ON TO THIS LETTER.

• State sign-on letters in all fifty states to show Senators how strong the support for CARA is in their home state. These letters were compiled last week, but if you haven't signed your organization on or know someone who would like to be added, please contact us no later than September 18.

• A final CARA lobby event on September 21. This event will be the third in a series of lobby days designed to bring in activists from the states and raise awareness for CARA. The highlight for the September 21 event will be a press conference and awards ceremony in front of the Capitol. WE NEED LOTS OF PEOPLE TO COME TO THIS EVENT!!! Try to make time in your schedule to come to DC and make the final push for CARA. Contact us if you have questions about the event.

Thanks to everyone for all your help over the last months. KEEP THE FAITH, WE CAN GET THERE IF WE ALL KEEP WORKING HARD!!!

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