S. 486 / H.R. 819 Status Report / Request for Help:

6/15/2013

On May 12 and 13 I advised you of the House Natural Resources Committee and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee meetings scheduled for May 15 and 16 respectfully.  I asked you to contact the Congressmen and Senators who are members of those committees to urge their support for markup of these bills to the full House and full Senate for consideration.

Thanks to your action, and the action of the congressmen on the House committee, H.R. 819, Preserving Access to Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area Act was approved for markup to the full House.  We expect that the floor debate and vote will be scheduled in the near future.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, at the request of Chairman Ron Wyden deferred consideration of S. 486 Preserving Access to Cape Hatteras Beaches Act at the May 16 meeting.  Chairman Wyden referred to strong opposition from the National Park Service as the reason for removing the bill from the May markup.  He stated that committee members would attempt to craft a compromise in “a bi-partisan and good faith effort to find a solution to this matter at Cape Hatteras.”  He also promised that the bill would be considered in the committee’s June markup meeting.

The June markup meeting for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is scheduled for June 18.  While we understand that the Committee staff has been working on a solution, we do not know if anything new will be presented at the June 18 business meeting.

Once again, I ask for your help.

URGENT ACTION NEEDED ASAP

Just as I asked you in May, I ask that you contact the Senate committee and its members to urge their support for S 486 at that hearing.  I also ask that you contact those Senators that have already shown their support for this legislation. Senator Burr and Senator Hagan introduced the bill on behalf of the citizens of the Outer Banks, the citizens of the state of North Carolina, and all of the visitors from the east coast and beyond that come to Cape Hatteras.  Special thanks should also be given to committee member Joe Manchin- WV (bill co-sponsor), ranking committee member Lisa Murkowski- Alaska, and committee member Mary Landrieu- Louisiana, all of whom supported the bill in discussion at the May business meeting.

This contact is critical.  In recent days, organizations that oppose this legislation have stepped up their campaign through radio ads and “letters to the editor” in various publications.  We must continue to make every effort possible to make our voices heard in our effort to preserve beach access to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area.

Members of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee are listed at http://www.energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/members .

You can contact the Senators using one or more of the following methods:

Email:

• Some Senators have public email addresses but most require the use of contact forms managed through their web sites.  A directory of Senator e-mail addresses does not exist, but online contact forms can be accessed using the following links.

Web Links:

• http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm is a directory of all U.S. Senators with links provided for contact forms for each Senator.
• http://www.energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact-us is contact information for the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Telephone:

• A phone call will be the fastest way to communicate your opinion to the Senators.  You will find the phone numbers at the above websites, or you may dial the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 to ask for assistance.

Articles found on www.islandfreepress.org , www.obpa.org, www.ncbba.org, may help you formulate your thoughts before you communicate with the Senators. However, timing is critical since any communication must be received by the Senators prior to the June 18 vote.  We ask that you quickly take action.

Thank you.

John Couch

President, OBPA