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From the American Policy Center
Tom DeWeese, President
70 Main Street, Suite 23
Warrenton, VA 20186
http://www.americanpolicy.org
URGENT URGENT URGENT URGENT
PLANS READY TO SNEAK MASSIVE HERITAGE AREA LAND GRAB
THROUGH LAME DUCK SESSION
URGENT ACTION NEEDED
The American Policy Center has been the leader in the fight to
stop federal implementation of National Heritage Areas. APC spokesmen
have testified before both the House and Senate five times in
opposition.
Heritage Areas threaten property rights by:
· Providing federal taxpayer dollars to special interest
groups who use those funds to apply pressure on local community
governments to comply to their agenda for land lock-aways, even
pressuring local government to use its power of eminent domain to
take land it wants for “preservation.”
· Heritage Areas create a federal management entity to oversee
land use policy in the designated Heritage Area.
· Heritage Areas direct this management entity to create an
inventory of all property it wants “preserved,” “managed,” or
“acquired.”
· Heritage Areas do not notify property owners of such designations.
· Federal funds created for implementation of the Heritage
Area are disbursed for the purpose of land acquisition and
restricting land use – creating local zoning as a direct result of
the Heritage Area.
Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA) is the chief sponsor in the House
(H.R. 5195) and Senator George Allen is chief sponsor in the Senate
(S.2645) of the “Journey Through Hallowed Ground Heritage Area.”
(JTHGHA) This monster would stretch from Thomas Jefferson’s home in
Charlottesville, VA to the battlegrounds of Gettysburg, PA.
It is pork barrel politics at its worst, padding the pockets of
special interest groups at the expense of property owners.
Representative Wolf couldn’t get this Heritage Area passed
through congress in the light of day under honest debate. So now he
plans to sneak passage of the JTHGHA next week, in the dark of
night, during the current lame duck session – just as APC has
predicted he would do.
Typical of his dishonest drive to shove the Heritage Area down
the throats of homeowners, Wolf is telling his fellow congressmen
that the bill has wide support from property owners in the designated
area. That is simply a lie. Please see the article below produced by
former APC Executive Director Peyton Knight, the nation’s foremost
expert on Heritage Areas.
“Local Support" for Congressman Wolf's National
Heritage Area Bill Largely Smoke and Mirrors
Sources Say Effort Will Be Made to Get Bill
Adopted During Lame Duck Session
By Peyton Knight
Washington, D.C. - The Journey Through Hallowed Ground National
Heritage Area Act does not enjoy the broad local support that its
supporters claim, concludes an investigation by the National Center
for Public Policy Research.
According to multiple Congressional sources, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA)
has now made plans to sneak his controversial Journey Through
Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area Act through during the "lame
duck" congressional session next week.
During promotional and lobbying efforts, the Journey Through Hallowed
Ground Partnership has claimed their "campaign to be recognized as
the nation's 28th National Heritage Area continues to move forward as
counties and towns along the four-state corridor join their neighbors
in passing resolutions of support."
However, an examination reveals many of these supposed resolutions of
support do not endorse the federal legislation, but merely
acknowledge the rich history of a region described by the Journey
Through Hallowed Ground foundation as a "corridor… from Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania, through Frederick County, Maryland and ending in
Charlottesville, Virginia" and laud the opportunity of local groups
to work with and learn from one another.
Resolutions passed by the Virginia General Assembly, the Virginia
town of Warrenton and the Albemarle County VA Board of Supervisors
and others do not support, nor even mention, the federal legislation.
For example, the resolution passed by the Virginia General Assembly
acknowledges "the intrinsic importance to Virginia of the Journey
Through Hallowed Ground project," but defines the project not as a
federal National Heritage Area but as a "partnership" among 19
specified non-profit organizations and local government entities. The
partnership, the resolution states, is supported by the General
Assembly so Virginians can "learn from groups in Maryland and
Pennsylvania" and "contribute to the economic development potential
of the localities that border the Route 15/20 corridor."
There is no indication in the resolution that the General Assembly
was even made aware of, let alone supported, plans to create a
federal "Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area,"
which would involve the federal government in Virginia's local
land-use planning, before the resolution was voted on.
The Albemarle County Board resolution is strikingly similar to the
Virginia state resolution. It endorses only the "importance" of the
19-member partnership and the opportunity to "learn from groups in
Maryland and Pennsylvania." No federal role is mentioned, let alone
endorsed.
According to Kenneth Boyd, vice chairman of the Albemarle County
Board of Supervisors, the Albemarle County Board's resolution was for
"general support of the concept, but not much beyond that."
The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors rejected a resolution in
support of the Journey Through Hallowed initiative.
"One of the big reasons I'm opposed to the Journey Through Hallowed
Ground Heritage Area is the inability to get the true facts about the
project from the people who are promoting it," said Jim Clem, a
member of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors. "While this
project may be well intended, it's my opinion that it's just another
means of stopping development in this area."
"Route 15 is a busy State Highway that needs safety improvements,"
continued Clem, who chairs the Loudoun County Board's Public Safety
Committee. "It's my opinion that the Journey Through Hallowed Ground
Project will cause delays or stoppage of these critical highway
improvements. While I am a strong supporter of preserving our
history, people's rights need to be preserved also."
Warrenton, Virginia's supposed resolution of support is entitled
"Resolution Nominating Route 15 in the Town of Warrenton for
Inclusion in the State's Scenic Byway System." No mention of federal
Heritage Areas.
Other claims of local support for the federal legislative initiative are weak.
Proponents of the federal heritage area legislation, including its
sponsor, U.S. Representative Frank Wolf in his testimony before the
House Subcommittee on National Parks in September, cite a poll
purporting to show that a significant majority of residents along the
Heritage Area's proposed route support the initiative.
But the Fauquier Times Democrat reported last year that the poll was
commissioned by special interest groups pushing for the Heritage Area
and used a questionable sampling method. The poll also did not
disclose any specific legislative initiatives to the poll's
respondents. In addition, the Times Democrat noted, "96 percent [of
respondents] were not familiar with the plan."
The National Center also questions the claim that the Heritage Area
lobbying effort is locally-driven, given the financing of the group
leading the effort. The Journey Through Hallowed Ground foundation
received a one million dollar earmark in last year's federal
transportation bill. As a member of the powerful House Appropriations
Committee, Rep. Wolf was well-positioned to play a key role in
securing such funding for the group.
On October 10, 2006, the National Center for Public Policy Research
issued a press release, "Did Frank Wolf Earmark Funds to Aid His Own
Legislative Initiative?," calling on the Congressman "to fully
disclose his role in securing a $1 million earmark to the Journey
Through Hallowed Ground Foundation included in last year's massive
transportation bill." No response was received. Congressman Wolf has
reportedly refused other requests to disclose his earmark activity.
"There is a big difference between resolutions that praise the
historic significance of the area, and resolutions that support
federal legislation to empower a new, unelected 'management entity'
to help manage the area's land use policies," said Peyton Knight,
director of environmental and regulatory affairs for the National
Center for Public Policy Research. "Anyone who is told that a local
government entity has endorsed the Wolf bill should request a copy of
the alleged resolution of support, and check the actual text."
"Local support for this federal Heritage Area must depend on your
definition of the word 'local,'" said David Ridenour, vice president
of the National Center for Public Policy Research. "It appears that
push polls, earmarks and creative interpretations of county and city
resolutions constitute 'local support' to the Hallowed Ground lobby.
That's not how things work in the real world."
ACTION TO TAKE:
1. It is urgent that your call you congressman now to express
your opposition to the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Heritage Area
(H.R. 5195). Say this is pork barrel politics and should not be
passed in the dead of night in a lame duck session.
House switchboard: 202-225-3121 (Ask for your congressman by name
and you will be directly connected with his office.)
2. It is equally urgent that you call both of your state’s U.S.
Senators. Senator Allen, a lame duck himself, sees passage of this
bill to be his finally “legacy.” He desperately wants to pass it and
is working hard to convince his fellow Senators to support the bill.
Make sure you voice is heard loud and clear as you tell your
Senator’s to vote “NO” on S.2645. Be sure to call it by name: the
Journey Through Hallowed Ground Heritage Area.”
Senate Switchboard: 202-224-3121. (Ask for your two Senators by
name and you will be directly connected with their offices.)
We can stop this massive land grab, but only if we act now with
force. Stop this Heritage Area now and it may well be dead forever.
Please do it for the property owners in its wake – or your land may
be next. We must stop it now.