And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Date: Fri, 21 May 1999 01:14:27 -0500 To: (Recipient list suppressed) From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: President Nixon started this land givaway to the UN; and Now the Demo's want to keep it going! Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" House OKs Land Treaty Restrictions By JIM ABRAMS Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House moved Thursday to give Congress veto power over U.N. land designations, with supporters saying that such international actions threaten the property rights of Americans. The bill, opposed by the administration and with poor prospects in the Senate, would require congressional consent before any federal land can be included in an international land reserve. It is aimed specifically at two U.N. programs -- biosphere reserves and World Heritage areas. Supporters, led by Rep. Don Young, chairman of the House Resources Committee, said the Constitution gives Congress alone the authority to manage federal lands. Young, R-Alaska, said decisions on land use are ``a responsibility of Congress, not some U.N. committee of unelected bureaucrats.'' Opponents said the bill addressed a phantom problem because the designations give the United Nations no control over U.S. lands and change no U.S. laws. Several lawmakers said the proposal was motivated by unfounded fears of the United Nations. ``It caters to the suspicions and the conspiracy theories of extreme organizations and individuals,'' said Rep. Joseph Hoeffel, D-Pa. ``This really ought to be entitled the American land paranoia act,'' added Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, in a statement, said: ``President Nixon signed the World Heritage legislation as a way of exporting one of America's best ideas, our national parks. I am sure we can expect the Senate again to ignore (the House bill), which is all it deserves.'' The bill, which passed by voice, gives Congress veto power over World Heritage areas, a program started by a U.N. agency, UNESCO, in 1972 to identify world sites of exceptional interest and universal value. There are 20 sites in the United States, including 18 national parks such as the Statue of Liberty, Independence Hall and Yellowstone. The bill also would end all 47 existing U.N. biosphere reserves in the United States unless Congress authorizes them by the end of 2003. The program, established in 1968 for the study of environments around the world, includes the Southern Appalachian Biosphere Reserve, which covers six states in the southeast. The bill would also affect 16 wetlands sites under a third U.N. program. Rep. Bruce Vento, D-Minn., who opposed the bill, won acceptance of an amendment that would also give Congress authority to stop mining, timber harvesting and other foreign commercial activities on U.S. lands. Those activities, he said, represented a greater threat to the nation than the U.N. designations. The vote was 262-158. The Republican majority tried unsuccessfully in the past two congresses to move similar bills. In the last Congress the bill passed the House but was never taken up by the Senate. ---- The bill is H.R. 883. AP-NY-05-20-99 1850EDT Copyright © Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. <<<< To remove your name from this list send a message to "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" with the message "unsubscribe triballaw" >>>> Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
