Money for Landgrabs. This bill, the Conservation and Restoration Act (CARA), is, in the words of one of its chief sponsors, Representative George Miller (D-CA), "the largest environmental bill for the conservation of American resources in the past 36 years." The bill would require the Treasury Department to set aside up to $2.8 billion per year in royalties from oil and gas drilling on federal lands in a conservation fund to be used to purchase lands deemed environmentally sensitive and for other conservation purposes. Additionally, the use of the money in the fund would not be subject to annual appropriation votes by Congress.
The CARA, H.R. 701, passed the House on May 11, 2000 by a vote of 315-102 (Roll Call 179). We have assigned pluses to the nays.
