To: The United States House of Representatives
A Costly Bill Putting Our Economy and Rivers at Risk
As a supporter of American Rivers, I am writing to you to ask you to oppose H.R. 6247, introduced by Rep. Doc Hastings, Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee. This extreme legislation would roll back nearly a century of environmental protections for rivers, block federal funding for conservation groups who exercise their constitutional right to challenge the federal government's decisions, and provide massive taxpayer-funded giveaways to agribusinesses. Plus, it would also increase, not reduce, federal spending and undermine free speech and the rule of law.
Why is this important?
Congressman “Doc” Hastings introduced legislation that would stop river restoration in communities nationwide, hurt local economies, and strip away wildlife protections all to benefit a handful of special interests.
This “Dangerous Dams Protection Act” would do sweeping damage to rivers across the country. It would:
* Harm rivers and wildlife and threaten public safety by prohibiting federal funds to be used to remove or study the removal of any hydropower dam - even unsafe dams that the dam owner and the local community want to remove.
* Slow job growth and hurt businesses by bringing river restoration to a screeching halt and stopping growth in commercial and recreational fishing.
* Create an expensive new subsidy that would not only allow private groups to build new dams, whether or not they are in the public interest, but taxpayers would have to reimburse the full cost.
This irresponsible bill could be up for debate this month. Will you tell your Representative to oppose this destructive vision for rivers and hydropower – one that is at odds with mainstream thinking about hydropower policy?
This “Dangerous Dams Protection Act” would do sweeping damage to rivers across the country. It would:
* Harm rivers and wildlife and threaten public safety by prohibiting federal funds to be used to remove or study the removal of any hydropower dam - even unsafe dams that the dam owner and the local community want to remove.
* Slow job growth and hurt businesses by bringing river restoration to a screeching halt and stopping growth in commercial and recreational fishing.
* Create an expensive new subsidy that would not only allow private groups to build new dams, whether or not they are in the public interest, but taxpayers would have to reimburse the full cost.
This irresponsible bill could be up for debate this month. Will you tell your Representative to oppose this destructive vision for rivers and hydropower – one that is at odds with mainstream thinking about hydropower policy?