On June 27, Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA), along with 35 California and Oregon members of Congress, called for congressional hearings on Vice President Dick Cheney’s involvement in the political decision that killed 80,000 spawning salmon. They made this request to House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-WV) after a Washington Post investigative report found that Cheney pressured mid-level bureaucrats in the Department of Interior to divert water from the Klamath River Basin for political gain.
The following day, Rahall announced he will hold a hearing. In response to the Congressional letter, Rahall released the following statement:
“This committee has already begun examining the penchant for this administration to favor politics over science in the implementation of the Endangered Species Act, which was highlighted during a May 9th hearing and in the resignation of the Interior Department’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks over the fiasco.
“In light of the revelations being made over the situation in the Klamath River Basin, it is my intention to again convene the committee to delve into the issues raised by the members of Congress from California and Oregon. It certainly appears this administration will stop at nothing to achieve political gain from natural resources disasters. Ultimately, it will be hardworking Americans and their healthy environment that will lose if we fail to act.”
Thompson said, “We’ve known since 2002 that the Bush Administration manipulated science in a perverse and petty attempt to win votes. Now it appears that this manipulation goes straight to the top. Despite what he may think, Vice President Cheney is not above the law and not above Congress’ oversight. We want a thorough investigation of his involvement in the largest salmon kill and fishing disaster in our nation’s history.”
In 2002, the Interior Department diverted water from the Klamath River Basin to farmers in Oregon, resulting in the death of 80,000 adult salmon. The Washington Post reports that Vice President Cheney called for the damaging water policy to secure the farmer’s votes, despite scientific evidence that it would endanger two federal protected species of fish, a violation of the Endangered Species Act.
Thompson and others brought a lawsuit against the administration in 2002, and three courts found that the water diversion was “arbitrary and capricious and in violation of the Endangered Species Act.”
Thompson added, “Unfortunately, this is not the first instance of Vice President Cheney choosing political gain over the health and welfare of the American people and our natural resources. It’s time the vice president is brought out of the shadows and held accountable for his actions.”
Congress seeks hearing on Cheney’s role in water diversion
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ABushismaDay
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Congress seeks hearing on Cheney’s role in water diversion
This bussiness will get out of Hand!
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Bubba
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OMG....arguments and politics over water supplies and water rights in the western states. I'm shocked...SHOCKED!
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Killington Zone
You can checkout any time you like,
but you can never leave
"The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function" =
F. Scott Fitzgerald
"There's nothing more frightening than ignorance in action" - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe