I am writing to ask your support for Congressman Maurice Hinchey. Maurice continues to be one of the strongest voices for the environment in the United States Congress, and we need to keep him there.
We can always count on Maurice’s votes for environmental protection in the House. Year after year, the League of Conservation Voters has given him a perfect 100% rating on its scorecard of major environmental votes. The Sierra Club has chosen him as one of its national “environmental heroes” again this term, as it has in every term he has served in Congress.
But Maurice does much more than simply vote to protect the environment. He has made it one of his top priorities--something not enough public officials do these days. He has willingly taken up causes that win him few points and little publicity back home. But he puts in time and effort because he believes in them, and because he knows that these environmental issues truly affect all Americans.
The wild country of southern Utah is especially dear to me. Congress will decide whether or not those lands--lands owned by all Americans, and held in trust by the federal government--will be permanently protected as wilderness. Many Americans aren’t familiar with the wonders of Utah’s Red Rock country, but it is a treasure on a par with Yosemite and Yellowstone.
When that country was threatened with destructive regulations and legislation throughout the Bush administration, it was Maurice Hinchey--who took up the challenge of protecting it. He held back the threat then, and he has continued the fight as the sponsor of America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, legislation that would permanently protect those treasured lands. This past October, thanks to Maurice’s tireless advocacy, this legislation reached a historic turning point when the U.S. House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forest, and Public Lands considered this bill in a public hearing. Widely considered a huge success, this historic hearing has led to a renewed enthusiasm to protect the wild canyon country and sweeping mesas of Southern Utah.
In this past term, he has also worked to protect wild lands in Alaska against similar threats and is leading the effort in Congress to overturn some of the most environmentally destructive policies of the Bush Administration that, unfortunately, remain in place today. In November, Maurice led a group of 89 House members in a letter to U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar urging him to reject “No More Wilderness” policy implemented by his predecessors and to reassert his authority to help protect America’s fragile landscapes from oil and gas leasing, off-road vehicle use and mining.
Taking on the oil and gas industry and its special interest groups is ample proof of his courage to take on tough issues. But Congressman Hinchey has gone further than that, and, as we’ve seen, hasn’t hesitated to push the new administration to do more to protect our common lands.
Back home in New York, Maurice has been the leader on efforts to clean up the chemical contamination in the Hudson River, which after decades of delay, finally began last year thanks in large part to Maurice’s efforts. And he is spearheading efforts to ensure that New York’s, and other states’, environmental resources and local communities are protected from a new rush to drill for natural gas in shale formations that run through New York, as well as Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.
In short, he’s been taking on the toughest fight--and more than holding his own in his efforts on behalf of our environment. That has made him a prime target of the special interest groups again this year. Multiple well-funded, industry-backed organizations have recently initiated baseless attacks on Maurice because of his unwavering dedication to protecting the environment. They don’t want him around any more because they know how effective he has been.
This year is shaping up to be the most difficult election cycle for strong progressives like Maurice. We cannot afford to allow the progress we are starting to make in reversing the destructive policies of the Bush administration to end prematurely. I’m asking those of you who share my commitment to the environment and to the future of our treasured lands to join me in helping Maurice Hinchey to stay in Congress and continue his work. We can’t afford to lose him. A contribution of $500, $250, $100 or whatever you can afford would help ensure that he will be there. And, if he remains in Congress, I have no doubt that his voice will be heard, and his commitment to the environment will not waiver.
Sincerely,
Robert Redford
