[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 115 (Thursday, July 28, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1433]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        EXPRESSING CONCERN OVER THE NOMINATION OF REBECCA WODDER

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BLAINE LUETKEMEYER

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 28, 2011

  Mr. LUETKEMEYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my concern 
regarding the recent nomination of Rebecca Wodder as Assistant 
Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks at the U.S. Department of the 
Interior.
  Until recently, Ms. Wodder served as president of American Rivers, an 
environmental organization that specializes in the removal of dams 
across the United States. Under the direction of Ms. Wodder, American 
Rivers removed over 200 dams in 13 states from 1999 to 2010. In total, 
the organization claims credit for the removal of 150 dams across 
America. In many cases, the lawsuits that preceded the removal of these 
dams cost U.S. taxpayers millions of dollars. This clearly demonstrates 
that Ms. Wodder's agenda hinges on practices that result in the 
expenditure of vast amounts of federal time and money in exchange for 
the promotion of an environmental agenda that has shown questionable 
results.
  The Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks oversees and 
coordinates all policy decisions made by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service and National Park Service. For someone who has spent much of 
her career battling the very agencies she will control, this is a prime 
example of the fox guarding the hen house. Indeed, American Rivers 
touts the fact that they have ``secured the planned removal of more 
than 100 dams on some 55 rivers in the next five years.'' I doubt very 
seriously whether Ms. Wodder will conduct an unbiased assessment on the 
merits of these and other projects during her tenure at the Interior 
Department.
  American Rivers is currently party to seven lawsuits against American 
taxpayers and the federal government. At a time when Congress is 
attempting to get our fiscal house in order, we do not need a litigious 
leader who has brought millions of dollars in lawsuits against our 
government.
  Furthermore, many Americans living along rivers depend on them to 
support their livelihoods. During this summer alone, flooding has 
caused insurmountable damage to these communities. If we are going to 
expend capital on our inland waterways, Congress and the Obama 
Administration should be focused on maintaining flood control and 
preserving valuable river infrastructure, not increasing the disparity 
of funding between fish and wildlife conservation measures and human 
protection.
  The protection of wildlife is a valid concern that should be 
addressed in a thoughtful manner. However, when efforts to protect 
wildlife result in irresponsible policy decisions, we must take a stand 
for the safety of our constituents.
  I was proud to join 38 of my colleagues from all corners of this 
country in sending the following letter to the Senate. In light of not 
only the country's current financial crisis but also devastating 
floodwaters that continue to batter our river communities, I urge all 
of my colleagues in the House and the Senate to carefully consider the 
nomination of Rebecca Wodder as Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife 
and Parks. The consequences for millions of Americans could be dire.

     Hon. Barbara Boxer,
     Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
     Hon. James Inhofe,
     Hon. Lisa Murkowski.
       Dear Senators: As you consider President Obama's nomination 
     of Ms. Rebecca Wodder as Assistant Secretary for Fish, 
     Wildlife and Parks at the Department of the Interior, we 
     respectfully write to let you know of our serious concerns 
     with her record as the head of American Rivers, a single-
     purpose interest group focused on litigating against the 
     federal government and removing economically important 
     infrastructure. We seriously question whether she could 
     adequately represent broader and more balanced interests at 
     the federal level, especially at a fragile economic time with 
     national unemployment exceeding nine percent.
       The position for which Ms. Wodder has been nominated 
     oversees the management of at least 180 million federal acres 
     and would have a direct influence on current and potential 
     federal regulations impacting private lands, water rights, 
     energy projects and other infrastructure. This is troubling 
     given her past activities at the Wilderness Society and 
     American Rivers, a non-governmental organization with a long 
     record of receiving American taxpayer dollars while actively 
     litigating against the federal government on multiple fronts. 
     Between 1988 and 2011, American Rivers has either sued or 
     been a party to 150 lawsuits against various parties, mostly 
     the federal government. In fact, American Rivers is currently 
     party to seven lawsuits against American taxpayers and the 
     federal government.
       One illuminating piece of litigation revolves around 
     American Rivers' longstanding lawsuit against the federal 
     government's operation of four multi-purpose dams in the 
     Pacific Northwest. These dams, located on the lower Snake 
     River in Washington state, provide multiple benefits 
     including emissions-free, renewable hydroelectricity (enough 
     power to serve a city the size of Seattle), navigation to 
     deliver agricultural products to market, recreation and the 
     good-paying jobs associated with these benefits. Writing in 
     the August 25, 2003 edition of The Dissident Voice, Ms. 
     Wodder wrote that ``Breaching the four dams on the lower 
     Snake River would be the single most effective way to bring 
     back wild salmon.'' This is a completely unproven statement 
     and the reality is breaching these dams is an extreme action 
     that would have devastating economic impacts across an entire 
     region while not actually assisting fish recovery. Despite 
     broad agreement, including from the Obama Administration, on 
     a biological opinion for Columbia Basin salmon recovery, Ms. 
     Wodder's organization continues an over decade long lawsuit 
     campaign against the federal government in an effort to 
     demolish these dams.
       There are numerous examples of how the policies advocated 
     by Ms. Wodder at American Rivers will have serious impacts 
     throughout the country. First, she effectively advocated for 
     federal regulations that caused up to 40 percent unemployment 
     in parts of the San Joaquin Valley, California by diverting 
     farm water under the guise of protecting the Delta smelt, a 
     three-inch fish. Second, she endorsed last Congress' 
     controversial legislation (H.R. 5088 and S. 787) that many 
     argued could allow the EPA to regulate street and gutter 
     water run-off and man-made ditches. This could cause 
     significant job loss throughout rural America and the 
     National Association of Counties, a non-partisan entity 
     composed of locally elected officials, was concerned that 
     this legislation could lead to ``more court cases'' and 
     federal groundwater regulation. Third, by naming the 
     Susquehanna River as one of ``America's most endangered 
     rivers,'' her organization attempted to stifle the domestic 
     production of affordable natural gas through hydraulic 
     fracturing.
       Furthermore, we are also concerned that this appointment 
     may run afoul of President Obama's own goal of ensuring that 
     political appointees would not work on regulations or 
     contracts directly and substantially related to their prior 
     employer. Ms. Wodder has received significant, long-term 
     compensation during her tenure at American Rivers. As 
     previously noted, the organization currently has numerous 
     pending lawsuits against the very agencies over which she 
     would have regulatory authority and for others that directly 
     or indirectly have been involved in litigation with the 
     Interior Department. This creates a very real and serious 
     conflict of interest.
       As Members of the House of Representatives, we appreciate 
     the unique role of the Senate in the confirmation process. 
     Nonetheless, the policies advocated by this nominee would be 
     so detrimental to jobs, our economy and the livelihood of 
     rural Americans that we felt compelled to make our views 
     known and ask that you take them into consideration.
           Sincerely,
     Blaine Luetkemeyer.

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