Last year, Rep. Barbara Cubin supported changes
to the 1872 Mining Law, which
would have opened thousands of acres of public
land to potential private
development. The proposed changes were roundly
condemned by Western
politicians, including Wyoming Senator Craig
Thomas, also a Republican.
Now Congress is considering another scheme that
would force the sale of
millions of acres of the public lands managed
by the Department of the Interior
(except for National Parks and tribal lands).
Given her past positions, I
wasn't surprised to see Cubin listed a
co-sponsor of the legislation. Now,
Cubin is seeking to distance herself from the
bill. To that end, her spokesman
has offered a couple of different
explanations.
First, he claimed that it was all a mistake:
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Barbara Cubin,
R-Wyo., said Monday that she is
mistakenly listed as a cosponsor of a bill that
would sell off millions of
acres of public lands in the West to raise
money for hurricane relief, and that
she in fact opposes the bill. ... “Somehow
the wires got crossed and she got
listed,” spokesman Joe Milczewski said. “We’re
going to get it fixed and have
her name taken off as soon as possible.” (Casper
Star-Tribune; January 10,
2006)
As it became evident that Cubin actually signed
a document to be listed as a co-
sponsor, her spokesman offered a revised
explanation:
U.S. Rep. Barbara Cubin, R-Wyo., said
Tuesday that in a shuffle of
paperwork she accidentally might have signed a
document that listed her as
cosponsor of a bill that would sell off
millions of acres of public lands in
the West to raise money for hurricane relief.
... "If (her signature is
there), we can only surmise that what happened
is the wrong piece of paper got
signed at a weekly Members' lunch meeting when
a number of bills and letters
get passed around to sign while speakers are
giving their presentations," Cubin
spokesman Joe Milczewski said.
"She meant to sign something else. She didn't
mean to cosponsor this bill -- in
fact, she opposes it -- and her name is being
removed," he added. "Twenty
pieces of legislation were introduced that day
alone. A mistake was apparently
made that day." (Casper
Star-
Tribune; January 11, 2006)
To me, this explanation seems to raise more
questions than it answers.
- Rep. Cubin has been a member of Congress
for over a decade. Wouldn't she
recognize the form that a Representative signs
to co-sponsor legislation?
- If twenty pieces of legislation were
introduced that day, which one did
Rep. Cubin mean to co-sponsor?
- Why did it take her over three months to
discover her mistake
As the state party's chairman said earlier
today, "'I signed the wrong paper'
sounds a lot like 'I was stuck in traffic' or
'The dog ate my homework.'"
