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JOHN FICHTER: INCOHERENT ON THE ENVIRONMENT
FEBRUARY 10, 2005:
Finally waking up to the importance of addressing suburban sprawl and urban blight to voters in our district, John Fichter has made a big show of support for the Republican-sponsored "Green PA" plan. Unfortunately, this plan is not a sincere attempt to address the issues- instead it is an attempt to water down the bipartisan "Growing Greener II" plan supported by Governor Rendell. It figures, since John Fichter has one of the worst records on the Environment in the House (with a League of Conservation Voters rating of only 38 out of 100). (For comparison, in Montgomery County, Rep. Daylin Leach scored an 83 rating; Rep. Jacqueline Crahalla and Rep. Carole Rubley each scored a 75 rating.)
"As Pennsylvanians, we are proud to have some of the most pristine lands in our state, but we have a responsibility to future generations to preserve and protect these natural resources," Fichter said. "I am pleased that the new Green PA initiative takes a bold approach without passing the costs onto our children." (from John Fichter's web site).
Once again, Fichter's illiteracy - [what does it mean for "Pennsylvanians" to have "the most pristine lands in our state"?] - is overshadowed only by his lack of concern for the facts. How is Green PA's $800 million bond issue, with no new funding source, going to keep the costs from being passed on to our children, better than Rendell's, which offers a new dedicated funding source (which, by the way, will cost each Pennsylvanian only $5 per year)? Perhaps the "children" Fichter is referring to are just the children of Waste Management, Inc.'s CEO, who opposes Growing Greener II because its $5 /ton increase on tipping fees may cut into his profits and bonuses.
Here are some more clarifying pearls of wisdom about the Green PA program from John Fichter (also from his web site):
"We're taking another look at, uh, the environment, uh, and then throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania we're also looking at acid mines, uh, preserving farmlands, uh, buying open space...and Montgomery County is doing an aggressive job with it, and this is going to provide funds to continue that, and buy what we need at this point in time, and not waiting, uh, for a few years." -John Fichter, complete transcript of video interview clip posted on his web site.
(As a rookie candidate myself, it's amazing to me that our 7-term incumbent public servant still has trouble threading together a coherent public statement, and then posts it proudly as a prominent feature on his web site. Surely the Montgomery County Republican Party can offer better than this?)
In case Fichter's statements didn't clear it up for you, Clean Water Action has this to say about the Republican-sponsored "Green PA" program:
On January 26th , Pennsylvania House Republicans introduced their Green PA program as an alternative to the Governor's Growing Greener Initiative as a way to fund environmental programs in Pennsylvania. It is clear that the Pennsylvania Legislature has heard the message that their constituents are concerned about issues like open space, abandoned mine reclamation and clean waterways. However, the existence of two environmental funding plans has confused many voters who simply want a cleaner, healthier environment. The main difference between the two plans is that Green PA, which proposed a $2 billion package stretched out over 28 years, intends to fund environmental programs through a bond, without creating a new funding source. While this plan offers no new funding for the environment, the Governor's Growing Greener II plan would fund environmental programs through a bond and by raising tipping fees at landfills and placing a 15-cent per pound fee on toxic emissions from polluting facilities. Under Green PA, after 7 years, the only programs that receive funding are farmland preservation and the Hazardous Sites Clean Up Fund. GreenPA is more of a short term fix that could lead to greater problems in the long run.
While Clean Water Action supports the creation of any program designed to fund more environmental initiatives, the Governor's Growing Greener II plan makes more sense to solve existing environmental problems while also making polluters pay for their share of the cleanup.
How you can help:
Call your legislators! They need to hear that voters want polluters to pay for environmental funding. The House is likely to vote on HB2 and HB3 next Tuesday, Feb. 15. (HB 2 provides wording for a question to be placed on the primary election ballot, and HB3 sets up the funding structure for the plan). Call your Reps. before Tuesday and tell them to support the Governor's plan which makes polluters pay for environmental funding.
Here's what the Philadelphia Inquirer had to say about the Green PA plan in comparison to Growing Greener II:
"By using existing and renewed tipping fees, [the Republicans' Green PA program] is nowhere near as ambitious as [Rendell's Growing Greener II program] and appears overly solicitous of deep-pocket polluters. Most troubling to this region, it shortchanges urban reinvestment that the governor rightly views as vital as saving farms.
"The major step forward is that Rendell now has partners among GOP lawmakers for a plan to rescue the state from decline. A plan closer in scale to the governor's remains best for Pennsylvania's future." -Phila. Inquirer, 1/30/2005
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