NTF issue paper: cong200.doc. 5-21.
NEBRASKA TAXPAYERS FOR FREEDOM ISSUE PAPER:
LOBBY TO STOP THE BIDEN REGIME 30 x 30 LAND GRAB.
BACKGROUND. Conservative congressmen and conservative taxpayers across the nation, including NE, are mobilizing to stop the Biden Regime radical proposal to forcibly require landowners, mostly rural landowners, to reserve 30% of their land holdings for conservation purposes, locking up at least 30% of all lands and waters by 2030. The Regime has ignored the input of American counties that oppose restrictions of grazing on federal land, energy production, and other land uses that cause few emissions. The plan would harm local economies and prevent Americans from using public lands and enjoying outdoor recreation and hunting. Hundreds of millions of acres now managed for economic development threatened. Private lands not exempt from this plot. The federal government already manages 640 million acres of land and more than 750 million acres of federal waters. However, eco-radicals want an additional 681 million acres of land and water under federal control. The Regime declared that the 30 x 30 goal, recommended by scientists, means to preserve health, food supplies, and biodiversity. Biden has made climate change one of his core policy issues; this audacious proposal is one facet. To read the full plan, see https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/report-conserving-and-restoring-america-the-beautiful-2021.pdf. Now, a courageous Colorado congresswoman has introduced a bill to stop this audacious land grab advanced at the behest of extremist environmentalists.
THE BILL. Conservative Rep. Lauren Boebert (CO.) introduced HR 3014, the 30 x 30 Termination Act, to block the Regime proposal. She describes that plan as another radical program to pander to Green New Deal radicals who believe that the federal government must control more land. Her bill would nullify Exec. Order 14008, which contains the 30 x 30 program. It prohibits federal tax $$ from funding that program and similar ones. HR 3014 would prevent loss of private land in counties and states that already contain 15% or more of federal land and prohibits withdrawing federal lands from mineral development without congressional approval. Said Boebert, “The people . . . deserve a voice in land use decisions that impact their daily lives, but career politicians in Congress want to drown them out with a partisan landgrab.” She warns that the Biden extreme package will kill jobs, limit outdoor recreation, prevent public access, exacerbate wildfire threats, stifle responsible energy production, and lock up 3 million acres of public land. Local residents will suffer economic harm, but no Biden official bothered to ask these people for input and did not consult with her office or offices of other congressmen before trying to force conservation. Lands left in undisturbed states are a burden on local counties, because they are highly susceptible to wildfires, insect infestation, and disease. Proponents are ignorant that taxpayers in targeted counties are dependent on federal lands and the resources under those lands. The Biden government resists coordinating with local governments. Federal agencies should work closely with local governments, because local governments have much knowledge about local land management. Her bill currently is in the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committees awaiting advancement to the full House.
BILL SUPPORTERS. NE Reps. Don Bacon and Adrian Smith joined several other conservative congressmen as co-sponsors. Said Smith, “I hear daily from NE farmers and ranchers who, already dependent on their access to and stewardship of the land, are deeply concerned about the potential of this arbitrary goal impacting their lives and livelihoods.” Gov. Ricketts also supports the bill, stating “Nebraskans should not be deceived by the report’s ‘America the Beautiful’ branding. This rollout includes the endorsements of a wide array of environmental lobbying groups while mainstream agriculture stakeholders continue to be cut out of the process. While the report states that 30 x 30 will include voluntary private measures, at least in part, this reassurance is not enough. If the Biden Administration really believed that voluntary measures worked, they would leave conservation efforts to the states and private landowners instead of pursuing a national strategy that imposes goals written by federal bureaucrats. Thank you to Congresswoman Boebert and everyone who is stepping up to stop President Biden’s radical climate agenda and the 30 x 30 plan. It will take an all-hands-on-deck effort to stop the Biden-Harris Administration. They are attempting to undermine the prerogative of states and private landowners to manage their land and natural resources. Together, we can push back on federal overreach and protect our way of life.” Governor Ricketts with 14 other governors sent a letter to Biden, which states that 2 months have passed since the plan appeared, and none of the states have received information regarding the meaning, objectives, or implementation of the plan. The governors asked Biden 12 questions in the letter, such as how the feds will acquire and manage private lands and the process if a landowner objects to having land and water rights taken or restricted and chooses to opt out of the program. Currently, about 97% of land in Nebraska is privately owned. In their letter, the governors reminded the Regime that it lacks the authority to pursue its 30 x 30 goal. “[We] are not aware of any constitutional or statutory authority for the President, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or any other federal agency to set aside and permanently conserve 30 percent of all land and water in the United States,” they wrote, “Nowhere in the laws of our nation is the authority delegated by Congress to the President or executive agencies to unilaterally change the policies governing land use in America.” Governors added that the Biden Regime should focus on better management of the lands the federal government already controls and improve coordinating with states. Adding to the supporter list are the Western Congressional Caucus, Americans for Limited Government, Conservatives for Property Rights, Council for Citizens Against Government Waste, Jefferson Co. NE, and Keith Co. NE. Other NE counties soon will join this list.
THE 30 x 30 ENABLING BILL. HR 803 is a leftist radical bill that would kill jobs in the energy and mining industries, curtail recreational activities, forbid public access to federal lands, prevent needed energy production, and reserve about 3 million acres of federal land. This bill passed the House without a committee hearing to allow testimony and public comment. The legislation arbitrarily would designate 1.5 million acres of new wilderness areas, the most aggressive form of federal protections. Many of the lands under consideration in this bill do not meet the basic characteristics of wilderness areas. Instead, the bill arbitrarily designates areas as wilderness and wild and scenic rivers despite official testimony provided by the relevant land management agencies that many of these designations are inappropriate and not recommended. It will undermine state water rights, violate private property rights, and instill government overreach into our private and commercial lives. “This land grab by liberals is a perfect example [of] why rural Colorado so desperately needs a strong voice fighting for them in Washington, D.C.,” said Cong. Boebert. Passing the House on a narrow partisan vote, HR 803 now awaits Senate debate.
TAKE ACTION NOW. This Biden Regime ploy and HR 803 are moving us from a nation founded on private property principles to one further controlled by the administrative state. Local jurisdictions have rights upon which this legislation would trample. To stop this land grab and preserve our NE urban and rural private property prerogatives, use the above information to lobby Rep. Jeff Fortenberry to co-sponsor HR 3014 and urge Sen. Deb Fischer to introduce or support similar legislation in the Senate. Email netaxpayers@gmail.com for congressional contact information and join our NTF Congress Watch Project.
Research, documentation, and analysis for this issue paper done by Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom. This material copyrighted by Nebraska Taxpayers for Freedom, with express prior permission granted for its use by other groups in the NE Conservative Coalition Network. 5-21. C