House Considers ‘Drone Zone’ Bill To Roll Back Dozens Of Environmental Laws Within 100 Miles of U.S.
This afternoon the House of Representatives is considering H.R. 2578, a package of public lands bills that contains a provision from Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) giving U.S. Customs and Border Protection authority to shut down any economic or recreational activity within 100 miles of the northern and southern U.S. borders if deemed necessary for securing them.
The section also rolls back more than 30 environmental and public health laws within the 100-mile zone including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the National Park Service Organic Act that helps protect and preserve national parks (see full list here).
Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA) dubbed the provision a drone zone bill and explained at a press conference today that:
It essentially will be a national sacrifice zone where our rights, our liberties, and our environment can be sacrificed for the sake of an ideological anti-immigrant, anti-environment agenda. Make no mistake, this isnt a bill that actually addresses immigration issues.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/06/19/502243/house-considers-drone-zone-bill-to-roll-back-dozens-of-environmental-laws-within-100-miles-of-us-borders/