Free Republic

Washington - The U.S. House on Wednesday rebuffed an effort Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., to limit planting of commercial crops in the Klamath Basin wildlife refuges, but not before the proposal fanned an argument over urban and rural priorities. (snip)Although Blumenauer's amendment to the Interior Department spending bill faced long odds from the start, it irked colleagues who represent the farming-dependent region. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore, said that the cities such as Portland do greater damage to waterways and the environment than farmers do, but Congress often ignores their problems. "In the city of Portland, 3.4 billion gallons of storm...