Ambitious

GOP Loads Bill with Environmental Cuts

39 riders to strip government regulatory authority.

Apparently not everyone in Washington is focused on the debt ceiling. House Republicans have tacked at least 39 riders onto an appropriations bill, each designed to curtail an aspect of environmental regulation. One proposal would prevent the Bureau of Land Management from designating new wilderness areas, while another would prevent the Department of Interior from policing mountaintop-removal mining. Yet another would allow uranium prospecting near the Grand Canyon. There was even a proposal to forbid any new plants and animals being listed as endangered until several Republicans broke ranks and tossed it out. It's unlikely that all 39 proposals will pass, but Democratic allies worry that some will make it through the negotiation process.