Politics Push Back Casa Grande Expansion
The Casa Grande Ruins National Monument expansion bill (HR 5110) received a substantial majority of votes on Thursday (Sept. 23), with 244 votes “yea,” and 174 votes “nay.” However, the bill was considered under “suspension of the rules,” which requires a two-thirds vote. The bill did not reach that threshold, so it failed.
Just hours before the vote, an Arizona Republic editorial strongly praised the bill:
“If any bill should be a slam dunk, this is it….The proposal isn’t remotely partisan. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, a Democrat, introduced the current bill, but an earlier version was sponsored by her GOP predecessor, Rick Renzi. The neighboring towns of Florence and Coolidge, as well as Pinal County, are strong supporters.”
Representative Kirkpatrick also reminded her House colleagues right before the vote:
“The legislation before us is the result of community- based bipartisan support. These communities have collaboratively decided what works for them and support moving ahead; Washington should not turn its back on these grassroots efforts, but enable these communities to move forward.”
The Arizona Republic editorial closed by saying: “The Casa Grande expansion shouldn’t get caught up in election-year obstructionism.”
But that was not to be. The vote followed party lines. All but two of the 244 votes in favor were Democrats and all but two of the 174 votes against were Republicans.
Arizona’s Republican representatives (Trent Franks, John Shadegg, and Jeff Flake) voted “nay,” and the Arizona Democrats (Ann Kirkpatrick, Ed Pastor, Harry Mitchell, Raul Grijalva, and Gabrielle Giffords) voted “yea.”
While this outcome is disappointing, Center staff will continue to work with the strong coalition of local supporters to move this legislation forward. We’ll keep you informed as more information becomes available.
See the full Arizona Republic editorial at:
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2010/09/23/20100923thur2-23new.html
