TIMBER JOBS: Fact Sheet - 9/14/92 September 14, 1992 CLINTON AND GORE: TIMBER JOBS ARE THE NEW ENDANGERED SPECIES o Clinton Sees No Need to Consider Jobs: In May, Bill Clinton said that he opposed changing the Endangered Species Act to take into account the impact of a spotted owl recovery plan on timber jobs and communities (AP, 5/14/92). Now, Clinton is waffling. As he has done on a whole range of issues -- from free trade to fuel economy -- Clinton is looking for a way out until Election Day. Then, he can show his true stripes. -- Clinton has offered loggers more of what they have been hearing for years -- another meeting, another delay. Clinton refuses to stand with the communities and workers in Oregon and Washington that would be devastated by the radical environmentalists' agenda. -- In essence, Clinton is ducking the issue. He cannot explain his own past statements, and has no desire to distance himself from his running mate's extremist position. But he has nothing else to offer the 30,000 workers who will lose their jobs, and the communities that will be wiped out, if Gore and his friends have their way. -- In short, what is needed is a change in the law that will allow jobs to be saved. George Bush will fight for that change. Bill Clinton will not. o The Enemy of Timber Communities: Al Gore is no friend to timber families or their communities. He bragged in his book that: "I led the fight to save the spotted owl," (Earth in the Balance, p.121). Gore has called for a halt to all logging in possible spotted owl habitats, a measure that would cost over 30,000 jobs in the Pacific Northwest. Bill Clinton stands by Gore's environmental positions, and promises that Gore would be a leading force in shaping a Clinton Administration's environmental policy. In short, more bad news for Oregon timber families. o More Rigidity on Jobs: While others are citing the rigidity of the Endangered Species Act, and calling for the economic impact on jobs and communities to be taken into account, Al Gore would rather make the Act even more restrictive: "[M]ore than just a simple reauthorization is required -- the Endangered Species Act needs to be strengthened." (Congressional Record, 7/25/88). -- The contrast between Republicans and radical environmentalists on this issue could not be more clear: the Democrats omitted any mention of the Endangered Species Act in their "stealth" platform; the Republican platform, on the other hand, recognizing the need for greater accountability for decisions that cost jobs, urges that the Act require not just the rubber stamp of a bureaucrat, but a second vote by the Congress to approve any recovery plan that costs jobs. o Gore's Hypocrisy: Gore backs the most radical protection plan for the owl, regardless of job loss. But when the issue and the jobs, were closer to home in Tennessee, Gore's answer was very different. Then, Gore voted in favor of the Tellico Dam -- and Tennessee jobs -- though the dam threatened the endangered snail darter. Gore has yet to explain why he has seems to have a higher regard for Tennessee jobs than Oregon and Washington jobs. o Putting Even Plants Before People: Al Gore even goes so far as to imply that it is wrong to cut down yew trees in order to harvest taxol, one of the most promising drugs in the fight against breast and ovarian cancer in women, (Earth in the Balance, p.119). o Bogus Al: For someone who has already flip-flopped on the need to balance jobs and the environment, Gore's recent comments on the employment effects of his radical environmentalism are remarkably insensitive: "This supposed choice between jobs and the environment is a bogus issue." -- It's no surprise, then, that the architect of Clinton's future environmental policies -- Al Gore -- ignores any attempt to balance jobs and the environment. Just as Clinton opposes any change in the law to take job loss into account, Gore even voted against a study of the economic impact on families and communities, (Congressional Record, 10/23/90). o Being President Means Making Decisions, Bill: The people of the Pacific Northwest know the difference between a meeting and a decision. It's time Governor Clinton learned the difference, too. If he is truly interested in "putting people first," the place to start is in the Pacific Northwest. o President Bush Makes the Tough Decisions: Whether on trade, or endangered species, or questions of war and peace, President Bush has made the tough calls that Bill Clinton prefers to avoid. The President knows that jobs are at stake, and that the time for talk has passed. He has told the people of Oregon and Washington that he supports a less extreme recovery plan for the owl, one that will save 15,000 jobs, and is fighting for its passage by Congress. President Bush has taken other steps within his power to relieve the hardships for timber communities, and has announced that he will not sign an extension of the Endangered Species Act unless it allows job impact to be considered. That's true leadership. # # #