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BIG ENVIRONMENTAL VICTORY!

PRESIDENT TRUMP SIGNED THE LAW 3/12/19

The LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND IS PERMANENTLY AUTHORIZED & FUNDED

INFORMATION FOR ACTION 3

This is a huge opportunity to protect wildlife and wild public lands and waters!

The Senate just passed (2/21/19) a public lands package that will:

1. Permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

  2. Protect over a million acres of wilderness.

  3.Protect hundreds of miles of wild and scenic designation for rivers.

  4. Include additional sporting conservation bills.

This would be an historic win if it just gave permanent funding to the Land and Water Conservation Fund, but it includes additional extensive conservation measures!

Last year our league wrote many post cards urging our members of Congress to fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund for 2018.  It does not cost taxpayers a dime.  Every year $900 million of royalties paid by oil and gas companies is set aside for the LWC fund.  But each year Congress decides how much of that money will be kept for conservation and how much they will divert to other uses. This vote would forever prevent Congress from raiding the fund for other purposes.

Land and Water Conservation Funds are used for big public areas like national parks, as well as for small conservation projects in every county in every state.  Massachusetts has received over $229 million for projects, including improvements to Look Park.  There was recently a column in the Hampshire Gazette that explained the importance of the LWC fund and how it has been used in MA.

Contact your Representative: James Mc Govern or Richard Neal

What should I say? Vote YES for the Public Lands Package, which will permanently reauthorize and fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Act, and protect over a million acres of wild public lands and hundreds of miles of our waterways.

James McGovern

Washington office                                                   Northampton office

408 Cannon House Office Building                    94 Pleasant St.

Washington, DC 20515                                          Northampton, MA 01060

Phone: 202-225-6101                                            phone: 413-341-8700

Fax: 202-225-5759                                                 hours: M-F 9-5:00pm

https://mcgovern.house.gov

hours: M-F 9-5:30

Richard Neal

Washington office                                                   Springfield office

2309 Rayburn House Office Building                300 State Street

Washington, DC 20515                                          Suite 200

Phone: 202-225-5601                                            Springfield, MA 01105

Fax: 202-225-8112 fax                                           Phone: 413-785-0325

https://neal.house.gov/contact                           Fax: 413-747-0604

Fund the Civics Project Trust Fund

The civic education law was passed in 2018.

 No funds were appropriated for it. 

We must work to keep it from becoming an unfunded mandate.

 In 2018 the Northampton Area league sent hundreds of post cards urging our legislators to vote for the civic education law.  LWVMA was a major supporter of the bill, S.2631, working as a member of the Massachusetts Civic Learning Coalition.  We all celebrated when it passed.

The new law provides for funding for the professional development of teachers to teach civics effectively, the opportunity for students to participate in civics-based projects, and establishes civic education as a priority for school districts across the state.

“Understanding how government works is the essence of power.  To be a strong citizen, you need to know how the structures of our government work and how to operate within them,”wrote Stefanie Sanford, chief of global policy of the College Board.  A few years ago, the leaders of the College Board, those who write the SAT exams, identified the two most important areas of knowledge that students would need to become engaged citizens: the U.S. Constitution and computer skills.  Thomas Friedman described the focus of the College Board this way, “if you want to be an empowered citizen in our democracy – able to not only navigate society and its institutions but also to improve and shape them, and not just be shaped by them – you need to know how the code of the U.S. Constitution works.” “The Two Codes Your Kids Need to Know,” Thomas Friedman, NYTimes,2/12/19.

Contact your state Representative and Senator.

What should I say?

It is of paramount importance to fund the Civics Project Trust Fund.  I encourage you to support this funding in both the supplemental budget for 2019 and for the FY20 operating budget.

 Senator Adam Hinds                                                Senator Jo Comerford

24 Beacon St.                                                                       24 Beacon St.

Room 109-E                                                                         Room 70C

Boston, MA 02133                                                              Boston, MA 02133

Phone: 617-722-1625                                                         Phone:617-722-1532

Adam.hinds@masenate.gov                                            Jo.Comerford@masenate.gov

Senator Donald Humason, Jr.

24 Beacon St.

Room 313-A

Boston, MA 02133

Phone: 617-722-1415

donaldhumason@masenate.gov

Representative Daniel Carey                       Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa

24 Beacon St.                                                       24 Beacon St.

Room 33                                                               Room 443

Boston, MA 02133                                              Boston, MA 02133 

Phone: 617-722-2060                                         Phone:617-722-2460

Daniel.carey@mahouse.gov                            Lindsay.sabadosa@mahouse.gov