Key Vote “No” H.R. 415: a bill to designate the Taunton River as “Wild and Scenic”

On behalf of hundreds of thousands of members nationwide, I urge you to vote “No” on H.R. 415, a bill to designate the Taunton River as “Wild and Scenic.”  Far from being a bill that encourages responsible conservation, this is a misuse of legislation to impede energy and economic progress.

The original Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, written forty years ago was intended to protect rivers with “outstanding natural, cultural, or recreational values” from development.  Anyone familiar with the area to be designated knows immediately that this bill is not aimed at protecting some pristine mountain stream possessing “outstanding remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife” values the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act calls for, but an economic and transportation hub packed with industry, bridges, and docks.  To proclaim the Taunton River to be “Wild and Scenic” makes such designations a joke and puts the prosperity of the community at risk.

It is not a secret to anyone that the real intention behind this legislation is to block the building of a liquefied natural gas terminal – a project that would provide affordable, clean fuel to millions in New England, cutting fuel costs in that cold region and replacing dirtier coal electricity plants.  Advancing technology in this field makes LNG a very safe alternative fuel that we can obtain from our closest friends. 

With skyrocketing energy costs, New England’s families should not be held hostage by legislative semantics.

We will count your vote on H.R. 415 as a KEY VOTE when calculating the FreedomWorks Economic Scorecard for 2008. The FreedomWorks Economic Scorecard is used to determine eligibility for the Jefferson Award, which recognizes members of Congress with voting records that support economic freedom.