Statement On Beginning of Senate Deliberation on Interior Appropriations

Statement of Rodger Schlickeisen, President, Defenders of Wildlife

(07/27/1999) - Today the Senate has taken an important step toward restoring order to a legislative process that has been rigged to serve the opponents of sound wildlife and resource conservation. By reinstating Rule 16 and subsequently deciding to remove four anti-environmental riders from the Interior Appropriations bill, I hope they are saying "no" to future stealth attacks on the environment. Defenders of Wildlife is particularly heartened to see the removal of these environmentally damaging riders, including a provision that would have prohibited the introduction of grizzly bears into Montana and Idaho. If it isn’t a subterfuge, today’s action will enable the government to move forward with an unique collaborative effort by local timber, conservation, and labor interests to restore grizzly bears to the Selway-Bitteroot ecosystem in Idaho and Montana. Notwithstanding the elimination of some bad riders so far, we strongly object to numerous other anti-environmental riders that remain in the Senate Interior Appropriations bill. As consideration of the bill continues, we will work tirelessly to remove every last one of them.

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Contact(s):

Cat Lazaroff, (202) 772-3270