ALERT! ALERT! ALERT!

TomWheaton@AOL.COM
Thu, 15 Jun 1995 08:08:05 -0400

It is PANIC time, folks. ACRA has found out some very disturbing news and is
requesting your help.

Last night, Wednesday, June 14, our worst nightmare happened. We found out
that the $3 million proposed for the Advisory Council is being zeroed out of
the appropriations bill. Coincidentally, the National Trust for Historic
Preservation, which had been targeted to be zeroed by the Dan Young memo of
May 8 (and which we put on the Net last week), will actually be funded at
approximately $3 million. This is only a small part of the National Trust
budget, which is primarily funded by non-federal sources. It is all of the
Advisory Council budget.

Up until now, everyone had thought that since the Advisory Council had not
been specifically named by Young in his recommended cuts, the House would
probably finance it. This would counterbalance the Senate's elimination of
the Council in its budget resolution of late May. Now both houses will have
eliminated the Council. Unless we can stop the vote today in the House
appropriations subcommittee, the Council, and therefore Section 106
enforcement is effectively dead. The consequences for CRM will be
catastrophic. This is the worst news we could possibly imagine and news
that I still find hard to believe. There is still the slim possibility that
the Senate appropriations committee will put it back in, but this is very
unlikely in the present political climate.

This morning, Thursday June 15, please call your state's representative on
the committee (see our previous mailings) even if he is not from your
district. If you live in Georgia, call Newt Gingrich's office. If you live
in Louisiana call Rep. Livingston's office. He is chairman of the House
appropriations committee. If nothing else, call Ralph Regula, the
appropriations interior subcommittee chairman. Tell them that you have heard
a vicious rumor (we cannot say exactly who told us about this) that the
Advisory Council, a program that works, is beneficial for us all, and is
cheap, is going to be eliminated from today's appropriations bill, and that
you support the Council. You hope the rumor is not true, and would like him
to get back in touch with you to squelch the rumor as soon as possible. Get
your friends to call, but call this morning. This is probably our last
chance.

And just when we were finally getting our act together with ACRA and other
initiatives. We were a year or two too late. Too bad.

HEY, LET'S START BUILDING COALITIONS VIA THE INTERNET FOR THE LONG ROAD
BACK!! WHADDYA SAY??

Tom Wheaton