"In any discussion of the problems in our world today, racism must rank high. Not because we are soft-minded liberals obsessed with countless crimes throughout history induced by colour, religion, tribalism or chauvinism of one kind or another. But because the poison which we hoped and believed had been eradicated in our own time by the knowledge of the ultimate evil- the gas-chamber murders committed by the Nazis--is in fact still present, not in any one area of discrimination or racism, or in a restricted number of specific rulers or governments, but in all humankind. I call it "Inner Racism."-

Gitta Sereny, "The Healing Wound"

Friday, December 9, 2016

IT'S OPEN HOUSE IN AMERICA

from Sam:

How convenient is thy bounty, America....

Trump Expected to Pick Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers to Host Interior

If confirmed by the Senate, she would lead administration’s efforts to open up federal lands and waters to fossil-fuel development

Amy Harder and

Michael C. Bender

Updated Dec. 9, 2016 1:42 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON—President-elect Donald Trump is expected to tap Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R., Wash.) to lead the Interior Department, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Ms. McMorris Rodgers, a senior member of the House of Representatives, if confirmed by the Senate, would lead Mr. Trump’s efforts to open up federal lands and waters to fossil-fuel development and reverse environmental policies the Obama administration has pursued over the past eight years.

114th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 5861

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

July 14, 2016

Mrs. McMorris Rodgers introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

Lake Roosevelt NRA and Grand Coulee Dam

Double up your history in a water world of hydroelectric power, recreation, Indian heritage, and the Works Progress Administration's need for power and work. Today, the Grand Coulee Dam is the largest provider of hydro power in the United States, and the lake formed behind it, one hundred and thirty miles of boating, camping, and old world and new world history. Beneath it lies a fort. Above it lies a fort. All around it lies the stories of the tribes in the area; Colville, Spokane, Lakes, Sanpoil, and Nespelem, who would come to the shores of the river and fish for salmon, and the white settlers who would come to convert them or pan for gold. And today, you can also visit the dam for a tour or laser light show, and learn how man could harness a river, and change the landscape, then create rivers of light and sound to tell you about

A BILL

To establish terms and conditions under which the Secretary of the Interior shall convey, for fair market value, certain properties in the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area in the State of Washington to the permittees of those properties, and for other purposes.

1.Finding:

Congress finds that it is in the public interest to eliminate expensive and contentious disputes between the Secretary and permittees by conveying, for fair market value, certain federally owned land in the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, Washington.

Our RE Agent Cathy

2.Purpose:

The purpose of this Act is to establish terms and conditions under which the Secretary shall convey, for fair market value (less the improvements), certain Federal land in the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, Washington.

3.Definitions

In this Act:

(1)

The term permittee—

(A)

means a person who, on the date of the enactment of this Act, holds a valid permit for use of a Property; and (B) includes the permittee’s heirs, executors, and assigns of that permittee’s interest.

(2)

FOR SALE BY CATHY McMORRIS RODGERS

The term Property means Federal land (including improvements) associated by permit with one of 25 private cabins on 26 vacation sites located along Sherman Creek and Rickey Point in the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area.

(3) Secretary

The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.

4. Sale of properties

(a) Timing; Purchaser To extend option To purchase

(1) In general

The Secretary shall give the permittee of a Property the first option to purchase that Property for fair market value (less the value of all permittee improvements) as determined under subsection (d). The Secretary shall convey the Property as soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of this Act, but no later than at the conclusion of the current permit period. If the Secretary fails to convey the property before the lease expires, the Secretary shall authorize permit extensions at no additional cost to the permittee.

(2) Compensation for improvements

If a permittee declines to purchase a Property, the Secretary shall offer the Property for sale to the general public at fair market value, as determined under subsection (d). If a person other than the permittee purchases the Property, that person shall compensate the permittee for the fair market value of all private improvements made to the Property, as determined under subsection (d).

(3) Failure to sell

If no person submits a bid at or above the fair market value as determined under subsection (d), the property shall remain in Federal ownership.

(b) In general

The Secretary—

(1) shall offer to sell, for fair market value—

(A) all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to each Property, subject to valid existing rights; and

(B) easements for—

(i) vehicular access to such Property;

(ii) access to and use of one dock for such Property; and

(iii) access to and use of all boathouses, ramps, retaining walls, and other improvements for which access is provided in the permit for use of such Property on the date of the enactment of this Act; and

(2) may sell, for fair market value, Federal land contiguous to each Property, not including shoreline or land needed to provide public access to the shoreline, if the Secretary—

(A) determines that such a sale will eliminate inholdings and facilitate administration of adjacent land remaining in Federal ownership after the sale of each Property; and

(B) after consultation with the appropriate Indian tribe, determines that such a sale will not adversely affect Indian cultural resources and sacred sites.

The Secretary shall—

(1) solicit sealed bids for each Property; and

(2) sell each Property to the bidder who submits the highest bid at or above the fair market value of the Property, as determined under subsection (d).

(d) Appraisal

The Secretary shall conduct an appraisal of each Property (less the value of all permittee improvements) to determine the fair market value of that Property. The appraisal shall—

(1) be conducted in conformance with the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice;

(2) appraise the value of the Property, including the value of appurtenant easements, exclusive of the value of private improvements made by permittees of the Property before the date of the appraisal; and

(3) appraise the value of all private improvements made by permittees of the Property before the date of the appraisal.

(e)

The cost of a conveyance of a Property under this Act, including the cost of required appraisals, shall be paid—

(1) by the Secretary in the case of a sale to a permittee, from revenues of that sale; and

(2) by the purchaser in the case of a sale to any person other than the permittee.

5. Proceeds from the sale of land

Revenues from the sale of Federal land under this Act shall be made available to the Secretary, without further appropriation, for costs under section 4(e)(1) and for deferred maintenance activities in the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area.