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Sierra Club Grassroots Email Express
June 9, 2006
Volume 4 No. 8
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CALL IN FOR CORPS REFORM

Call your Senators on June 19th and let them know your support amendments to the Water Resources Development Act

THE ISSUE

On August 29, 2005 Hurricane Katrina plowed through southern Louisiana. More than 1500 people died and a great American city was destroyed. Today, we know that the damage was made worse by the lack of a national water resource policy and shoddy engineering. Current policies put ports and economic development ahead of people and natural ecosystems that can buffer storm damage. Numerous reports have concluded that the Army Corps of Engineers failed in New Orleans. Even the Chief of Engineers, Lt. Gen. Carl Stock admitted recently that, "This is the first time the Corps has had to stand up and say we had a catastrophic failure of one of our projects." Click here to read the full article.

On Monday, June 19 conservation groups across the country will join forces to CALL THEIR SENATORS to demand that the next Water Resources Development Act fix the problems with our nation's water resource program that have been made apparent in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is under intense pressure to bring the Water Resource Development Act to the floor for debate and a vote. Your Senators will be asked to stand up for a plan that will help fix the problems that led to death and destruction in New Orleans. Senators Russ Feingold and John McCain, sponsors of the Water Resource Planning and Modernization Act of 2006, have negotiated to have some parts of their bill included in the version that comes to the floor. HOWEVER, the co-sponsors of the WRDA bill (Senators Bond and Inhofe) refused to accept some of the most critical elements of the reform agenda. That's where you come in!

WHAT YOU CAN DO

CALL YOUR U.S. SENATOR TO TELL THEM TO REQUIRE THE CORPS TO BE MODERNIZED, REFORMED AND HELD ACCOUNTABLE. Call and tell them to support amendments by Feingold and McCain that will:

·         Require the Corps to submit costly or controversial projects to be reviewed by an independent panel of experts in science and transportation.

·         Require an independent panel to identify the top priority flood control, navigation and restoration projects. The list of priority projects would be given to Congress to guide funding decisions.

·         Be sure to tell them to support amendments to the Water Resources Development Act to be offered by Senators Feingold and McCain. Tell them the reform provisions in S. 728 (including new language negotiated last month) are a good start, but they fall short.

·         And finally, MARK YOUR CALENDARS and SPREAD THE WORD. Let your friends know that you plan to participate in the call-in. The more people that call the more difficult it will be for Congress to ignore our voices.

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR MAINE SENATORS

Susan M. Collins (R.)
(202) 224-2523
461 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510

 

Olympia J. Snowe (R.)
(202) 224-5344
154 Russell Senate Office Building
 Washington DC 20510 

With your support, and help from your members, allies and supporters, we can send a loud and clear message to the Senate that they must support amendments to the Water Resources Development Act that will help fix the fundamental problems at the Corps.

For more information contact the Chapter Office at 761-5616 or by email at maine.chapter@sierraclub.org.