16 June 2015
This was just posted by someone in the ornithological community,
"I was just told by Hill staff that the Senate CJS appropriations bill that
came out of the full appropriations committee on 6/11 does not contain any
provisions pertinent to the MBTA or MBTA enforcement but that Duncan's staff is
pushing for the provision to be included in a manager's amendment. That means
that when it goes to the full Senate for a floor vote, the person who manages
the bill during floor debate could propose it. A manager's amendment is usually
a package of smaller amendments so if any one amendment is important, they
usually all go through. They usually negotiate the manager's amendment in
advance so it is almost certain to go through.
Since this is an election year, there is a big push to get appropriations done
before the August recess so this could move extremely fast. It is therefore
very important to get everyone to voice opposition to their Senators.
FYI, the wind industry has not yet come out publicly against this bill; it has
not even denied responsibility for it."
Note that while form letters are fine, they may get glossed over since the
people reading them get inundated with the same wording and talking points. It
may be more effective to draft your own letter, just keep it brief, stay on
point, and be polite.
David Aborn
Chattanooga, TN
