Posted on 12/01/2004 9:39:14 AM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (AP) - The California rancher and congressman whose committee oversees environmental policy wants to enlist some home-state muscle in his campaign to rewrite the Endangered Species Act.
House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo, R-Calif., said he'll seek backing for his legislative efforts from Arnold Schwarzenegger and other Western state governors during a meeting this weekend of the Western Governors' Association.
"I think that having the governor on board is critical for a lot of different reasons, particularly the impact that the act has had on California, and I think he also helps influence a lot of people," Pombo said in an interview.
"It's critical to have the governors on board with any legislative effort that we make," Pombo said.
Pombo's committee passed bills this year that would change the 30-year-old act by requiring peer review before a species can be listed as endangered and allowing critical habitat to be designated for species only when "practicable."
Environmentalists said the changes would gut the landmark law. Pombo and other property rights supporters said they were needed to improve a law they contend creates unreasonable regulatory hurdles for property owners while failing to help many species.
The Western Governors Association, which has 18 member governors now split between 12 Republicans and six Democrats, has supported reforming the Endangered Species Act for years. The group has convened an "Endangered Species Act Executive Summit" for Friday and Saturday in San Diego.
"What the governors would say is that the act is not meeting its intended purpose, which is to recover species," said Shaun McGrath, the group's program manager.
Schwarzenegger is expected to attend, but the moderate Republican has sided with environmentalists on some issues, and a spokeswoman said he hasn't taken a position on rewriting the Endangered Species Act.
"As the ESA reform legislation makes its way through Congress next year the governor will be tracking it closely to make sure California's interests are represented," said spokeswoman Ashley Snee.
The Western Governors Association has endorsed legislation changing the act in the past. Pombo said he will ask for the group's support and lobbying as he tries to get his bills through the full House and the Senate after Congress reconvenes in January.
fyi
This should be fun.
This is only tangentially related to the article, but I'll throw it out there: I really hope Pombo is considering a run for the U.S. Senate. (After Jones' nonexistent campaign this year, I really wish we could go back in time and put Pombo on the ballot.)
He's been doing a great job with some big issues, and I hope this is a sign he is positioning himself for higher office.
This is only tangentially related to the article, but I'll throw it out there: I really hope Pombo is considering a run for the U.S. Senate. (After Jones' nonexistent campaign this year, I really wish we could go back in time and put Pombo on the ballot.)
He's been doing a great job with some big issues, and I hope this is a sign he is positioning himself for higher office.
Hahahaha!!! ROFLMAO!!!
Rights, farms, environment ping.
Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from this list.
I don't get offended if you want to be removed.
;-)
lol
LMAO(((PING)))
He isn't. Pombo's family is big in converting farms and ranches to residential development. Ain't nothin quite like enviro-racketeering to make such conversions quite profitable. Better read up, we may be getting sold down the river.
Probably both.
I did a Vulcan mind meld with my forehead pressed to my screen.. ;-)
I learned a long time ago to be cynical of "change agents".
I got a good taste of eminent domain and the after-effects of practicable environmental policies as a kid.
BTTT!!!!!!
Well, after reading the other replies to this thread, I certainly feel foolish. I'm off to do some research and bring myself up to date on Pombo.
I seriously doubt that Dick Pombo is ignorant of where Arnold stands ideologically on environmental issues, but I don't know if he fully understands Arnold's affiliations with his backers. Frankly, I hope he doesn't and this is all just political posturing. I suspect you know that Arnold is deeply involved with the NRDC, primarily through his cousin-in-law Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In addition, Arnold's largest source of his opulent campaign money is large scale developers, such as Kaufmann & Broad http://www.arnoldwatch.org/assets/contributions_graph.gif, followed by Wall Street banks that just so happen to have "facilitated" massive bond sales to bail out a State on the brink of bankruptcy. He also has uncomfortably close affiliation with some rather unsavory gambling interests, not to mention substantial investments in hydrogen fuels.
I'm certainly aware of Arnold's ties and stands, but am getting the impression from many of the posts on this thread that Pombo has also sold his soul. That is the part that is news to me. He had always struck me as someone who is strong on property rights issues.
Not exactly. Dick Pombo is old school. He thinks a person ought to be able to do anything with their land they wish, as long as it does no harm to someone else. The problem is that he, like many conservatives AND extreme environmentalists, want to be able to define for everybody else what constitutes actionable harm. Principle on his list of "good things" is the ability to develop one's property. Unfortunately, there are a good many people upon whom he would depend for support to reform of the ESA who would place development at the top of their list of harmful activities. Nobody. outside his immediate group of supporters, is going to buy his definition.
So, to get what he wants so that his friends and family can cash in, he'll apparently compromise. Unfortunately, the devil lies in those details, including selling out those property owners who don't want what he does.
Therein lies the rub. What he doesn't understand, and would not accept until forced to think about it, is that while the principles he espouses are true, he doesn't understand them terribly well as regards managing competing risks among externalities. I wish I could sit that guy down for a few hours over a few beers and get him to get it, but at this late date, he's so frustrated with these issues I'm not sure he would care about what I had to say.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
