Recently we posted an op-ed questioning AFFTA's decision to give Senator Mike Enzi their Jim Range Legislator of the Year award. In our opinion AFFTA's response confirms that our trade association is having difficulty seeing where the sun shines.
Let's take it point by point.
It's not about politics.
AFFTA is first and foremost a trade association that represents the fly fishing industry. As a trade group, it has always been our mission and our goal to reach out to and work with all members of Congress in advancing the interests of the sport of fly fishing and the fly fishing industry.
As a trade organization, we don't take the position of only working with and talking to those that score high on conservation issues. While we certainly recognize and appreciate politicians that champion fisheries-related conservation causes, we also need to recognize those members that work to help our industry on tax, trade, and business issues.
Nobody has issues with AFFTA working across the political spectrum, the issue is giving an award to someone with an atrocious environmental record.
And it's not just about fisheries fellas.
AFFTA's second point.
Mike Enzi is a champion of legislation that is important to our trade association.
Senator Enzi is a highly respected Member of the United States Senate who has used his senior positions on the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee to advance legislation that is extremely important to our trade association.
AFFTA then goes on to list 6 pieces of legislation Enzi has either "sponsored or co-sponsored" that help small business. Care to take a guess as to how many of those pro business bills have advanced into law? Hint: It starts with Z and ends with O.
Links to the individual bills are below, judge for yourself the benefits to our trade association. By the way, he was a not a sponsor of any of this legislation, just a co-sponsor.
Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act – S. 3578
Save Our Small and Seasonal Business Act – S. 388
Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act – S. 428
United States Optimal Use of Trade to Develop Outerwear and Outdoor Recreation – S. 704
Carbon Storage Stewardship Trust Fund Act – S. 1502
Heart Mountain Relocation Center Act – S. 2722
Here is one example of legislation sited as proof of Enzi's pro business cred.
The Save our Small and Seasonal Business Act if passed would, Amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to extend for three years after the date of enactment of this Act the annual cap exemption for returning H-2B aliens (temporary nonagricultural worker).
This legislation was so critical to small businesses that the following "trade organizations" registered overwhelming support for that bill.
- American Horse Council
- American Nursery & Landscape Association
- Professional Landcare Network
- Save Small Business
- The Association of Pool and Spa Professionals
So exactly how does this act benefit the fly fishing trade.... other than making it easier to hire someone to mow the lawn and clean the casting pool?- Now, let's balance the record of Mr. Enzi, champion of small business and kid's health, with his environmental record.
- Here is his evironmental voting scorecard for his entire tenure in the US Senate.
- 110th Congress: 15%
109th Congress: 7%
108th Congress: 0%
107th Congress: 0%
106th Congress: 0%
- Hey, at least it's improving!
- Here is how it breaks down by actual number of votes cast.
You can review Senator Enzi's entire environmental voting record here on the League of Conversation Voters website.
Outlined below are three of those 122 votes, pay particular attention to the first one which would have gutted one of the sacred cows of conservation funding, the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund is used by land management agencies to protect recreational access, natural resources and cultural heritage sites.
During consideration of the Interior-Environment appropriations bill Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) offered an amendment that would have taken funding for land acquisition under the Land and Water Conservation Fund and authorized it for operations, maintenance, and repair or rehabilitation projects for constructed assets. Had this amendment passed, the Land and Water Conservation Fund would effectively have been raided for the foreseeable future to give priority to construction projects. Construction was not the original intent of the 1965 law establishing this fund, which stated that offshore development royalties be used to acquire new lands – an asset for an asset. Because of the sheer number of operations and maintenance projects in the agency pipelines, the Land and Water Conservation Fund might not have received any land acquisition money at all and this important program would have ceased to exist as we currently know it.
On September 24, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) offered a motion to table the Coburn amendment,which passed by a vote of 79-19 (Senate roll call vote 297).
YES IS THE PRO-ENVIRONMENT VOTE - Mike Enzi was one of the 19 who voted NO.
Sorry kids!
How's this for supporting the business of fisheries?
The Bay-Delta Estuary is the largest estuary on the West Coast. It is an ecosystem that supports an important array of species including listed salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, and smelt populations. In recent years, the Delta ecosystem has been on the verge of collapse. Water diversions from the Delta have depressed salmon numbers and resulted in the closure of the salmon fishery for the last two years. This has caused an economic disaster along hundreds of miles of the Pacific Coast, with estimated losses in California of $2.8 billion and 23,000 jobs in the commercial and recreational fishing industries in 2008 and 2009.
YES IS THE PRO-ENVIRONMENT VOTE - Mike Enzi voted NO.
The Interior-Environment appropriations bill allocates yearly funding for many federal environment and natural resource programs that protect our public lands, wildlife, air and water and safeguard communities from toxic pollution. In addition, as the nation increasingly grapples with the need to address climate change and its impacts, the Interior-Environment appropriations bill has become an important vehicle for making advances on this critical front.
H.R. 2996, the FY 2010 bill as passed by the Senate, while not perfect, made important strides in reviving programs devastated by years of starvation budgets, providing a total of $32.1 billion, $4.5 billion (16%) over the FY 2009 level. The bill provided significant funding in a number of areas including $3.63 billion for clean drinking water and wastewater; $478 million to protect great bodies of water such as the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay; $419 million for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and Forest Legacy; and significant increases for wildlife conservation and to bolster management of our national forests, wildlife refuges, parks, monuments and other public lands.
On June 26, H. R. 2996 passed the Senate by a vote of 77-21 (Senate roll call vote 298).
YES IS THE PRO-ENVIRONMENT VOTE - Mike Enzi voted NO.
So lets review AFFTA's response again.
It's not about politics. We have to work across the political spectrum and we balanced Mike Enzi's pro business support and perfect Casting Call attendance along with his shitty environmental record and he still qualified.
Last time I checked The National Casting Call is a DC lobbying event and is rooted in politics. Nobody is suggesting not working with politicians who don't support a clean and healthy environment but it's not OK to honor them with an award.
Mike Enzi is such a hero of small business that he deserved the award.
If we subscribe to that argument then a senator who believes in developing the Pebble Mine could win the award, where do you draw the line? Based on the public record Enzi is also not a champion of legislaltion that helps the fly trade.
Finally, AFFTA uses this argument, which in my mind is the most egregious.
Senator Enzi has also been an eloquent voice on the importance of fishing to the health of American Children; an important statement from the Ranking Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Seriously!? I'm happy he's a voice for the importance of fishing for the health of our kids. Unfortunately, the health of ALL children depends on clean air and water. Just a cursory glance at Mr. Enzi's record makes it clear that he is no friend of children's health. He has also also voted against stricter mercury emissions, and increased lead paint restrictions, two issues that profoundly effect the health of kids.
Enzi is also a co-sponsor of recent legislation that would abolish the EPA by merging it with the Department of Energy.
Have you checked the air quality surrounding Pinedale Wyoming lately?
AFFTA is right about one thing, it's not just about legislation that supports healthy fishiries.
Enzi led the oppostion for funds to provide health care to 9/11 responders.
We close with a link to a recent post on AFFTA's website.
AFFTA continues to express concerns about proposed federal conservation cuts
There must be better way to express your concerns than giving an industry award to a senator who supports those cuts.