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Nobility knows rules, nobility understands rules, and nobility recognizes the real reasons of staying within the border lines of rules that uphold dignity as a sacred responsibility. - Ernest Agyemang Yeboah








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PUBLIC LANDS & NATURAL AREAS        





SENATE SEEKS TO GIVE LWCF A PULSE: Two days after the Land and Water Conservation Fund expired, the Senate is taking its first concrete steps towards reviving it. The Energy and Natural Resources Committee this morning plans to mark up a bipartisan bill S. 569 (115) that would permanently authorize the fund and allow the money paid into it by oil and gas companies from offshore drilling to be utilized without congressional appropriations. There will be a substitute amendment offered by Ranking Member Maria Cantwell, according to an agenda posted late Monday, so ME will be watching to see how it tweaks the original bill.
Backers of the fund, welcomed the markup but urged Congress to pick up the pace. "The Senate and House, once it reconvenes, should fix this mistake and ensure this wildly successful American conservation program does not fall victim to Washington gridlock," said Tracy Stone-Manning, associate vice president for public lands at the National Wildlife Federation.
Reminder! There's still a long way to go in the process. The funding mechanism in the Senate's bill would "probably blow it up" across the way, according to House Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop . Both chambers want to consider LWCF as part of broader legislative packages, but must still decide what goes in those, iron out differences in the LWCF portions, and pass them. Democrats warned against adding controversial provisions to the reauthorization. "Now is not the time to tie LWCF's fate to bills that can't pass Congress on their own steam," House Natural Resources ranking member Raúl Grijalva said. "Let's pass LWCF as soon as we get back in session and handle other issues as they arise."
Among the nearly four dozen bills on the agenda beyond LWCF is the Interior Department-endorsed bipartisan S. 3172 (115), which would create dedicated funding for the National Park Service to address billions in deferred park maintenance. There's also bills creating an Every Kid Outdoors program, H.R. 3186 (115), and modernizing wildfire fighting technologies, S. 2290 (115). [POLITICO's Morning Energy, October 2, 2018]
800-year-old Trees on the Chopping Block: Take Action

Alaska's Tongass National Forest contains some of the largest tracts of temperate old-growth rainforest left in the world. It's stunningly beautiful, it helps mitigate climate change — and it's the newest target in Trump's war against public lands.

The administration is proposing exempting or weakening protections given to the Tongass by what's known as the "roadless rule" — a policy that's protected much of our remaining wild, road-free public forests from damaging logging and roadbuilding. If the proposed changes go through, the Tongass would be logged and bulldozed to build roads. This would harm habitat for bear, moose and salmon and set a dangerous precedent that could lead to road construction in our other last wild forests. [Center for Biological Diversity, October 4, 2018]

Tell the U.S. Forest Service to keep roadless areas in the Tongass protected.










ROBERT MUELLER
     Special Counsel      






Devin Nunes      



Committee Republicans shuttered their Russia investigation in March, but Democrats have continued to conduct interviews and called on Nunes to release all interview materials. Nunes said House conservatives want President Donald Trump to declassify Justice Department documents related to the Russia probe for the sake of transparency. "There's so much that's out there that's misinformation or disinformation on this Russia-gate fiasco ... we need this information out before the election," he said. [POLITICO's Morning Cybersecurity, September 17, 2018}


REFUGEES 



REFUGEE CONSULTATION WITH CONGRESS: Trump administration officials on Monday afternoon consulted with members of the Senate and House Judiciary committees about the proposed refugee ceiling for fiscal year 2019. The administration announced in late September that the cap would be 30,000 — the lowest in the history of the program. But before Trump can make a formal determination, administration officials were required by law to consult with Congress.

The consultation took place via videoconference, a source with knowledge of the meeting told Morning Shift. During the session, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and USCIS Director Francis Cissna discussed the cap with Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) along with Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.). Trump now will issue a formal determination of the refugee ceiling, but the administration isn't expected to stray from its existing plan. [POLITICO's Morning Shift, October 2, 2018]



SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS
 White House Press Secretary      



- "Sanders often appears to mistake journalism for stenography or cheerleading - she sometimes tells the media what to 'celebrate,' such as the state of the economy," Williams writes. "Sometimes, when confronted with the fact that reporting is often adversarial, she reflexively mentions courtesy, seemingly not understanding that journalism is an exercise in democracy, not etiquette."[ Morning Media, September 17, 2018]



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North Korea has between 20 and 60 nuclear weapons, South Korea believes. Anyway, that's what Seoul's Unification Minister told parliament on Monday, the Associated Press reported.
Reminder: "U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is to visit Pyongyang this month to set up a second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un." A bit more, including how Minister Cho Myoung-gyon may have arrived at that 20-to-60 range, here. [The D Brief, October 3. 2018]



NOTE: I have no official connection to any organization from which information is shared.. Occasionally, I post informational material and/or an opportunity to donate or join as  a "community service" announcement.  These again are shared for their varying perspectives.


Any commercial or business interest information shared is purely informational, not an endorsement.  I have no connection with any such commercial or business interest.

Any books listed are random or topic-related to something else in the post.  Think of these as a "library bookshelf" to browse.  They are shared for informational or entertainment value only, not as being recommended.
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