1-13 NWR Simpson Acts

1-13 NWR Simpson Acts

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.

This is your Northwest report for Friday January 13, I'm David Sparks and as you all probably know by now, President Obama just designated two new national monuments including the Bears Ears Buttes in southeastern Utah and Gold Butte in Nevada,

The monuments are Mr. Obama's latest effort to protect public lands and waters from development and to nail down as much of his environmental legacy as he can before Trump assumes the presidency on Jan. 20. In response, Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson voted for two pieces of regulatory reform legislation to prevent regulatory overreach by the Obama administration during its final days and to return accountability and transparency to the federal regulatory process. I called Congressman Simpson's spokesperson, Nikki Wallace. "Nikki, the president just sequestered two pieces of land without talking to anybody. When Congressman Simpson agree with that? No, David, he would not. Congressman Simpson worked very hard for almost 15 years to pass his Boulder White Clouds bill and he worked with all parties in order to do it. That's how these kinds of bills and managing land should happen. Through the people from the states they impact and through Congress. Not through the act of just signing with a pen.

 

President-elect Donald Trump has announced his intention to nominate David Shulkin as his secretary of Veterans Affairs. That leaves only secretary of Agriculture as the only cabinet secretary left to be named by the incoming administration. AFBF President Zippy DuVall politely expressed a bit of frustration with Trump's lack of priorities on this choice.

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