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Tax Dollar Tracker
Natural Resources Committee Republicans
Demanding Accountability and Transparency
Chairmen Question Obama Admin. on Mailing Out
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$2 bills randomly sent in envelopes as incentive to
complete (Klamath dam) surveys
WASHINGTON, D.C.
–
Earlier this week, House Natural Resources Committee
Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) and Water & Power
Subcommittee Chairman Tom McClintock (CA-04) sent
letters to the Bureau of Reclamation and the Office
of Management and Budget requesting information on
the use of American tax dollars to pay for a
controversial Department of the Interior (DOI)
survey on the need to remove four privately owned
dams on the Klamath River in Oregon and California.
In 2011, DOI
distributed a nationwide survey with the
questionable purpose of measuring the societal,
non-economic value of removing the four dams. The
survey consisted of several waves of mailings, some
of which included a two dollar bill used as an
incentive to respond and a letter stating that DOI
will send an additional $20 if the completed survey
is returned before a specific deadline. According to
the Federal Register, an estimated 10,400 households
were contacted about the survey. In questioning
yesterday before the House Water and Power
Subcommittee, the Bureau of Reclamation was unable
to provide an accounting of how much had been spent
on this survey.
“This is as
maddening as it is wasteful. The Obama
Administration literally mailed cash to random
citizens across the country to find out their
feelings on tearing down four dams that they’ve
likely never heard of. Federal spending is out of
control and this type of nonsense needs to stop. Our
demand for documents and emails is aimed at finding
out exactly how this ever happened,”
said Chairman Hastings.
“This so-called
survey is yet another example of how out-of-touch
this Administration has been on its quest to remove
four perfectly good hydroelectric producing dams.
Using taxpayer dollars on a slanted survey and the
muzzling and eventual firing of its own scientist
who disagreed with the Interior Department proves
what many have been saying: dam removal is a
pre-determined conclusion from this Administration.
It simply ignores the destruction of jobs along with
the cheapest and cleanest source of electricity on
the planet,”
said Chairman McClintock.
Click
here to read a full copy of the letter to the
Bureau of Reclamation.
Click
here to read a full copy of the letter to Office
of Management and Budget.
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