Richard Pombo, The Rambo of privatizing public assets?

Dredge Spoil Discharge. Photo: Jack Fancher, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Yesterday's Post, in "Bill Would Sell Land Promised to D.C.," reports that:

"Tucked inside a huge budget bill headed for an upcoming House vote is a provision that could spur the federal government to sell off millions of acres of public land to mining interests, marking a major shift in the nation's mining policy. The measure, which would generate an estimated $158 million in revenue over the next five years, would also put on the market key parcels of federal land in the District that had been promised to the city for initiatives such as redevelopment along the Anacostia River."

Granted as you can tell from what I write, it's not like I think that the DC Government will necessarily be a good steward of the properties promised to it by the Bush Administration. But this provision, like many other bills, hearings, and actions by Congressman Richard Pombo of California, doesn't serve the American "people" very well, even if it does serve corporate interests.

"Rep. Nick J. Rahall II (W.Va.), ranking Democrats on Pombo's committee, criticized the measure in an interview yesterday. He said that it "would result in a blazing fire sale of federal land to domestic and corporate interests." Rahall said the government would collect hundreds of millions of dollars more if it charged an 8 percent royalty on the extracted minerals. "We're setting up Uncle Sam to be Uncle Sucker," he said.

Congressman Rahall sure has a way with words. (Also see this previous blog entry, "Pombo Time -- New York Times editorial") Earlier in the week, I added links to the House Committee on Resources and a couple anti-Pombo blogs to the set of historic preservation links section in the right sidebar.

Strip Mining in Wyoming. Photo: Arthur Allen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.