So what's Congress going to do about this one? (subscription req.)
The Bush administration is refusing to comply with an unusual resolution adopted by the House Natural Resources Committee seeking to halt uranium mining near the Grand Canyon.
An Interior Department official said this week that the administration could not act on the resolution because a quorum was not present for the committee vote....
Democrats cited a rarely invoked provision in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (PL 94-579) that allows the panel to seek immediate withdrawal of lands under "emergency" situations.
The Democrats on the committee used this provision for the incredibly controversial protection of one of the nation's greatest treasures. Republicans boycotted the vote in committee. Because of course we have to have uranium mining at the Grand Canyon. And what could possibly be the problem with that? It's not like there aren't other national parks, right?
Committee chair Nick Rahall has written to Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, explaining that, by committee rules, a sufficient quorum was present and the resolution stands. Another sternly worded letter to the Bush administration. Yeah, that'll work.