A version of this story appeared in E&ENews PM

The future of an omnibus lands package that would designate more than 2 million acres of new wilderness area remains cloudy after the House yesterday rejected the measure on a 282-144 vote.

Democrats failed to win enough votes for S. 22 when the measure was brought up under suspension of the rules, a maneuver that shields legislation from amendments but requires a two-thirds majority for passage.

House leaders could bring the bill, which contains more than 160 public lands, water and resources measures, to the floor again under suspension. Or they could move it under regular order, which would only require a majority vote on the floor. That option could subject the bill to amendment and a GOP motion to recommit, something Democratic leaders seem eager to avoid.

A senior Democratic aide said that hurdle was too great for House leaders to take up the bill again under a rule. "We're not going to bring it up under a rule," the aide said. "We are looking to the Senate to send us a package we can pass."

House Natural Resources Chairman Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) said he knew the vote was going to be close but added that "a lot of groups came out of the woodwork" in the final days leading up to the vote, discouraging lawmakers from voting for the omnibus.

While there have been no discussions thus far as how to move forward, Rahall said the bill is not dead. "Anything is on the table," he said.

House Democratic leaders had held off on bringing the bill to the floor since the Senate passed the package in January while they attempted to gather enough support for the bill to pass it under suspension. Any changes to the bill would require sending it back to the Senate, where it would again face objections by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), before it could go to the White House.

But before bringing the bill to the floor yesterday, Democrats added language from Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) designed to ensure that the omnibus would not close off lands that are already open to hunting and fishing. Rahall said the inclusion of the provision helped clear up many of the concerns some groups, including the National Rifle Association, had with the measure.

House Republicans would not object to considering the package again on the House floor if it came under a rule that would allow the package to be amended, said Natural Resources Committee ranking member Doc Hastings (R-Wash.). "In an ideal world, we would have considered this bill in committee first, but obviously, the Democratic leadership isn't interested in that," he said. "A rule on the floor would be the next best thing."

Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah), who himself had two bills in the failed package, said it was a mistake for the Senate to pass such a large package and for the House to take it up. "If they have to lump these bills together, they could easily pass it by removing any bills members object to, which would truly make it a noncontroversial bill."

While unsure what will happen next, Bishop speculated that the easiest step would be to reintroduce the bill with the Altmire language under a closed rule, meaning it would only require a simple majority to pass. However, he noted, Democrats might not have the votes to overcome a motion to recommit.

The bill would designate more than 2 million acres of wilderness in nine states and would establish three new national park units, a new national monument, three new national conservation areas, more than 1,000 miles of national wild and scenic rivers and four new national trails. It would enlarge the boundaries of more than a dozen existing national park units and establish 10 new national heritage areas.

It would also authorize numerous land exchanges and conveyances to help local Western communities and address water resource and supply issues, and includes provisions to improve land management (E&E Daily, March 11).

Supporters confident

Environmental groups that support the bill vowed to continue pushing it.

"This is not the end of the world," said Mike Matz, executive director for Campaign for America's Wilderness. "We'll be able to move forward at some point."

Matz's group had been lobbying hard for passage of the bill. He noted that it fell just shy of the needed two-thirds and received 34 Republican votes, more than enough votes to pass the bill under regular order.

"It was close, but no cigar," he said. "We fell three votes short. We're pleased they tried to take it up expeditiously like this. But we're going to have to regroup with the leadership and see how to move it forward and when to move it forward. ... I think it's something they would have liked to check off the list and get done, but they'll get to it."

Kevin Mack of the Wilderness Society said the vote total shows broad congressional support for the measure. "Two-thirds is a heavy list for any piece of legislation, so there's no one thing [that went wrong]," he said. "I think it's important to note it was two votes shy. ... We look forward to having another day on it."

If House leaders keep the Altmire provision, the package would have to return to the Senate before heading to the president's desk.

The Senate passed the omnibus, 74-21, after nearly a year of trying to beat Coburn's procedural roadblocks against various provisions in the measure, which he claimed would increase government spending and limit potential oil and gas development on public lands.

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee staff said the Senate would not need to vote on the entire bill again but rather would vote to concur with the House amendment and send the bill to the president.

If Senate leaders could not get unanimous consent to agree to the House amendment, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) would need to file a cloture motion to end debate. But unlike when the Senate considered the whole bill, which required numerous votes to overcome procedural objections, this would require only one cloture vote, the aides said.

Coburn spokesman John Hart said the bill's failure in the House shows that it is "deeply flawed and in need of major revisions."

"If it is brought up in the Senate, Dr. Coburn will continue to insist on a full debate and open amendment process," Hart said. "The bill is still loaded with wasteful earmarks and other provisions that undermine property rights and our ability to access domestic sources of energy."