S 22 fails to pass in the House
March 12, 2009
S 22, the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, failed to pass in the House of Representatives, after passing in the Senate on January 27.The bill would have placed millions of additional acres off-limits to mining and other public land uses, and created a National Landscape Conservation System to manage public lands "in order to conserve, protect, and restore nationally significant landscapes that have outstanding cultural, ecological, and scientific values for the benefit of current and future generations..."
The 1,200 page measure contained over 160 separate land bills.
Democrats in the House tried to prevent detractors from amending the bill by calling for a vote under a suspension of the rules. This process bars amendments but requires a two-thirds majority for passage. The Democrats believed they had sufficient votes -- they were wrong.
The vote was 282-144 in favor of the bill, 65% in favor to 33% against -- just shy of the needed total.
Click here if you would like to see how your Representative voted.
Please take a moment to thank (or scold) your Representative. You can use the Members of Congress page at govtrack.us to locate your Representative.
