"John J. Duncan Jr. (Tenn.), who also is on the Natural Resources Committee, said in a floor speech that while the bill fell short of passage, members nevertheless voted overwhelmingly in favor of it. "All this really means is that it will now be taken up under regular order, where it should have been in the first place and which requires only a majority vote. Thus, there is no question this bill will pass the next time it's taken up," he said. [link]"
What I was told today is that they bill is now in some sort of "discussion phase." [Sorry I can not describe it in better detail. The way these things work does not make much since to me and after talking about it more, the process seems pretty convoluted to me.] And with the vote showing that there really is interest in this bill, hopefully there will be many positive discussions to come. It was also suggested to me that this is the time to contact your representatives - and often! We really need to let them know what we think of this bill and that it is important to us. So please take the time to pester your representative about this and when I have more information I will be sure to pass it along! ;)
Till then, check out Fossils and Other Living Things which talks about yesterdays events towards the top of the post (also check out the column on the right).
© ReBecca K. Hunt-Foster
2 comments:
Let us hope that the paleontological resources act is not applied to invertebrates. The young wanna-be gulag guard has no idea of what freedom is. By the time you have tramped enough trails and discovered enough wonders, you won't be quite as ready to take away the freedom to pick up a fossil and put it in your pocket. I can handle leaving vertebrates alone, archeological sites, etc. but when I find a nice brachiopod weathering out of the Percha Shale, the last thing I want is some federal employee telling me I must leave it there to be destroyed instead of adding it to my collection where I and my descendants could possibly appreciate. Enough laws already. Stand up for freedom and tell the gulag-ites to back off.
This current bill is not trying to restrict invertebrate collection and I do not think anyone wants to put restrictions on invert collecting, unless it is some rare fauna, as the Canadians have done with the Burgess Shale area for example.
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