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<DIV>Hi,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I think my attempt to send the bill from my BlackBerry wasn't successful.
I'm still taming that tech beast of mine. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Here is the press release regarding the bill. Call or email your House
representative today and ask them to co-sponsor the bill and vote yes when it
comes up for a vote. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Christine Williamson</DIV>
<DIV>Chicago/Cook</DIV>
<DIV><A href="mailto:birdchris@aol.com">birdchris@aol.com</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
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<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">January 15, 2009<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><STRONG><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Contact: </SPAN></FONT></B></STRONG>James Navarro,
Defenders of Wildlife, (202) 772-0247; <A title=mailto:jnavarro@defenders.org
href="mailto:jnavarro@defenders.org">jnavarro@defenders.org</A><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Rahall introduces bill to overturn
Bush ESA regs<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></B></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><EM><I><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Defenders of Wildlife applauds the Chairman’s
legislative resolution<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></I></EM></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">WASHINGTON</SPAN></FONT></st1:place></st1:State> –
Today, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.)
introduced a resolution (H.J. Res. 18) that would overturn the Bush
administration’s 11<SUP>th</SUP> hour attempt to undermine the Endangered
Species Act. The following is a statement from Jamie Rappaport Clark, executive
vice president for Defenders of Wildlife and former director of the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service.<o:p></o:p></P>
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style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">“I’m delighted that Chairman Rahall has introduced this
resolution. These regulations were a last-ditch effort by a near-extinct
administration to impose the same fate on <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
endangered species. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
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style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">“The Bush administration wanted to let federal agencies
in charge of building highways, dams and other projects decide whether those
projects might drive rare plants and animals to extinction, without ever
checking with the expert biologists in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and
National Marine Fisheries Service. The Bush administration wanted to let the
polar bear drown in a sea of inaction by preventing the Endangered Species Act
from protecting the bears from the threat of global warming. Today, Chairman
Rahall is taking action to stop this last environmental insult from the Bush
administration.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">“We hope that Congress will quickly pass this
resolution, and show <st1:country-region w:st="on">America</st1:country-region>
that change has truly come for <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s rarest
wildlife.”<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><B><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Background</SPAN></FONT></B>:<o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">First proposed by the Department of the Interior in
August 2008, the Bush administration changes to Section 7 of the Endangered
Species Act would have eliminated the requirement that agencies seek advice from
expert biologists with federal wildlife agencies in decisions about whether
dams, towers, highways and other projects will likely harm imperiled species.
<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV></DIV></FONT><BR><BR><BR><DIV CLASS="aol_ad_footer" ID="8ed96d52c9799552b0a09d6d9cf42737"><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px"><b>A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. <a href="http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1215855013x1201028747/aol?redir=http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072%26hmpgID=62%26bcd=DecemailfooterNO62"> See yours in just 2 easy steps!</a></b></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>