Congresswoman Kirkpatrick Introduces McCain compromise in House

Yesterday Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick introduced the compromise language Senator McCain wrote last year on the Oak Flat land exchange.  That language was substituted for the original language in S 409 and was voted out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee last December.  The new bill, HR 4880 has been referred to the House Natural Resources Committee.  Representative Kirkpatrick has renamed the bill the ‘‘Copper Basin Jobs Act’’ in a cynical attempt to convince the Democratic leadership of the House or Representatives to help her move the bill.  The bill mentions not one word about job creation beyond the title and disguises the fact that the bill would allow for the destruction of religious freedom and the Oak Flat campground.  As pointed out in a recent article in the Tucson Weekly, new jobs would not be created for at least a decade even if this bill were to be signed into law tomorrow.