Read 1st ! Corps has Amendment Squashed ..Rick D.

[tkwalker]

Lobbyist has bought out Legislators ... We knew the Agenda was not about Safety !!! <'TK><
Here is some action that has taken place in the last few days:


Per Senator Alexander’s announcement, the Senate passed an amendment (SA 49) to the House Budget Continuation Bill (H.R. 433). But during the House processing and ultimate approval of the Senate amendments, the six little paragraphs of the Freedom to Fish Act (SA 49) were surgically plucked from the 530 page bill.



Apparently, lobbyists representing the Corps, got to key legislators who had the power to table items within H.R. 433, and $ufficiently motivated them to yank it.



I think its pretty safe to say now that this goes way beyond the Corps funding of the barricades. There are some serious forces at work here, that grass roots efforts have slim chances of stopping. In my opinion, its going to take big money law firms and lobbyists to turn the tide. That will require the mobilization of monies within the industries with so much at stake. Bass Pro, Shimano, Berkley, Cabela’s, the hotel business, all have to start playing the big money game of American politics, or the Corps’ “Property Line” , as shown on their web site aerial view of the 10 dams, will grow until something intervenes.


Read on...


SA 49. Mr. ALEXANDER (for himself, Mr. MCCONNELL, Mr. PAUL, and Mr. CORKER) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 26 proposed by Ms. MIKULSKI (for herself and Mr. SHELBY) to the bill H.R. 933, making appropriations for the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and other departments and agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2013, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:



On page X, between lines X and X, insert the following:

Sec. __XXX. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law (including regulations), no funds made available under this Act or any other Act to the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, shall be used to take any action to establish a restricted area prohibiting public access to waters downstream of a dam owned by the Corps of Engineers.

(b) For purposes of this Act, installing and maintaining sirens, strobe lights, and signage for alerting the public of hazardous water conditions shall not be considered to be an action to establish a restricted area under subsection (a).

(c)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), this section shall apply to an action described in subsection (a) on or after August 1, 2012.

(2) If the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, has taken an action described in subsection (a) during the period beginning on August 1, 2012, and ending on the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall--

(A) cease implementing the restricted area resulting from the action; and

(B) remove any barriers constructed in connection with the restricted area.

[Pookie]

I don't want to argue with you, but we are talking about a government agency. As such, they have no money to budget for lobbyists. Being politicians, members of the committee may have felt that some lobbying money would be forthcoming on this issue, but to believe that the USACE was implementing lobbying efforts is ludicrous.

[RADUTY]

Pookie,

You apparently misunderstood the post, a passage was misleading, or you don't understand the wonderful ways some of our government entities spend your money. The post was not intended to imply that the Corps wrote the check to the lobbyist(s) involved. The Armed Services don't need to do that. They simply snap their fingers, and the lobbyist swarm on congress like flies on rotten fruit. That finger snap comes in the form of a Request for Proposal, or RFP. That is, a proposal for the design or/and delivery of a system, weapons platform, facility, etc. As soon as the word (through the RFP or otherwise) is out, all the major civilian contractors who want a piece of the action, will jump through the required registering hoops, and start the process to win the contract. It is the likes of Halliburton, Oshkosh Corp., or general Dynamics, who will - in their own self-interest - represent the respective leg of the armed services in the halls of congress in the form of MASSIVE lobbying. Just the top 10 defence contractors alone, spent close to $200 million in lobby expenses last year. When the Pentagon needs lobby action on Capitol Hill, there is almost no end to the means at their disposal. A simple word from the USACE to one of the firms who has something at stake in coming contacts, and a skilled lobbyist convinces (through whatever means) a House committee member to act on behalf of the of the Corps. Far from "ludicrous" - it's how the game is played...

[j19bill]

Sneaky bastards.

What's our next step?

Sent from my Droid Bionic complete with typos and sarcasm.