To all Oregon Cabin Owners -

The following information was shared 21 June by Heath Heikkila of Ball Janik, who represents Oregon and Washington cabin owners in support of the Cabin Fee Act. Many of you deserve congratulations for your letters and phone calls encouraging the Senator’s support.

Thank you for your continued involvement and support of C2.

Sharon Karr
Oregon C2 Political Coordinator
Diamond Lake Tract

Please read the letter from Sen. Wyden at the end of this post.

Great News from Oregon! Senator Ron Wyden just indicated the he will be signing on as a cosponsor of S. 1906, the Cabin Fee Act (CFA).  Senator Wyden had previously indicated his support for the effort, but as the Chairman of the Subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Cabin Fee Act, his office has a policy of not cosponsoring this type of legislation until it has had a committee hearing.    A positive hearing in Senator Wyden’s Public Lands and Forests Subcommittee was held March 22.  Wyden’s active support for the legislation is a big boost since he is currently the Chairman of the relevant Subcommittee and is likely to be the Chairman of the full Energy and Natural Resources Committee next year.

Senator Wyden’s office received many letters from cabin owners and tract presidents, so many of you deserve much of the credit for this positive development.  If you received a response to a letter or email from the Senator’s office feel free to reply with a quick thank you for his support.

Beyond that good news, we continue to anticipate a mark-up session by the Senate Energy & Natural Resources (ENR) Committee.  The many letters sent by cabin owners to ENR Committee members urging the committee to action have helped though Aubrey King our NFH Washington Representative stated that David Brooks, Senior Counsel for the ENR, suggested the earliest an ENR mark-up could occur is sometime in July.  We remain optimistic that a mark-up session will be held this summer.  We face the reality that many other bills are also waiting for mark-up in the committee.  The wheels turn slowly in our current Congress.

Many of you may have heard recently, that our Senate sponsor of the Cabin Fee Act, Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) offered the CFA (S. 1906) as a possible amendment to the Senate Farm Bill.  However, because the Cabin Fee Act has not yet come out of committee, that option did not materialize.  Regardless, we sincerely appreciate the Senator‘s effort to move the CFA forward.  Please continue to demonstrate your appreciation of Senator Tester’s support.

In the House, the Cabin Fee Act is currently attached to the House Secure Rural Schools Bill (H.R. 4019).  No House vote has taken place on this bill.  Since C2 continues to pursue all options, we have offered another approach.  After discussions with the Forest Service, a slightly modified version of the CFA has been developed, that we believe would not only achieve revenue neutrality but more precisely parallel the Senate bill.  Given broad bi-partisan support in Congress, we hope this modified bill would allow the CFA to be considered as a stand-alone bill or be more easily attached to some other legislative vehicle.

The Cabin Coalition 2 continues their dogged efforts to get the Cabin Fee Act passed in 2012!  As we have in the past, we wish to thank everyone for the continuing support by writing your Legislators.  These communications are crucial to our success.  Also, your continuing financial support is essential and greatly appreciated.

Best Wishes for a happy and safe Fourth of July at the cabin!  Enjoy!

Pete Bailey, C2 Legislative Contact Chair

This letter was received by MHFHA Board member Carolyn Raz from Senator Wyden. Letter from Wyden 6-12