Issa Blasts Anti-241 Amendment Cooked Up By Davis and Enviros

This just came over the transom from Rep. Darrell Issa:

ISSA BLASTS SPECIAL INTEREST AMENDMENT KILLING TRANSPORTATION PROJECT AND THREATENING CAMP PENDLETON

Washington, DC - Rep. Darrell Issa, today, made the following statement regarding the midnight passage of the amendment by Rep. Susan Davis in the House Armed Services Committee jeopardizing the agreed upon alignment of the Foothill South Toll Road:

"I adamantly oppose the Davis amendment which stripped out legislative language I worked to pass into law in 2001 to protect the preferred alignment of the Foothill South Toll Road from legislation being considered in the California State Legislature that sought to block its construction on land owned by the federal government.  I also urged Rep. Sanchez to oppose the Davis amendment."

"While Rep. Susan Davis, Rep. Loretta Sanchez, and I discussed a proposed amendment to the Foothill South Toll Road, no agreement was reached and no language was ever shown to me.  I have told Rep. Davis that my first priority is protecting the mission of Camp Pendleton.  Her amendment, if it stands, threatens to deny the residents of Southern California the benefits of an important regional transportation asset and could result in further encroachment on Camp Pendleton and its critical military mission.

"In discussions with Reps. Sanchez and Davis, I made clear that federal property, even if leased to the state, remains federal and not state property.   The preferred alignment of the Foothill Toll Road is the result of years of negotiations among the affected communities, the Marine Corps and other interested parties and has been vetted through the established state and federal environmental review process.

"The intervention of Reps. Davis and Sanchez to harm a transportation project and a military installation far outside their respective districts is unusual, unwelcome, and ill-informed.  It does nothing to serve the interests of the residents in the impacted communities and much to advance the agenda of the outside special interests they serve.

"I will continue to work closely with the Marine Corps, the Transportation Corridor Agency and my colleague Rep. Calvert to turn back the Davis amendment and preserve the preferred alignment for Foothill South."

Comments

[Theodore Judah]

Godspeed Congressman!

[Joe]

So how exactly does NOT building a road on Pendleton cause encroachment? The military doesn't want the road, they're just not allowed to say so.

[Theodore Judah]

No, what the military doesn't want is that park. Tough to train, drop bombs and practice your marksmanship when you got birkenstock wearing hippies tromping through the military base searching for the ever elusive (and nonexistent) steelhead trout.

[Joe]

No, actually the military likes the park, it gives them a nice buffer from the OC sprawl that you seem to love so much. And I have that straight from General Lehnert's mouth. A toll road will only facilitate construction and sprawl along the boundaries of the base. This is what the USMC wants to avoid, because once people move in, they start complaining about the noise from guns, mortars and trucks. The parks buffers residents from that.

Nice Try.