Daily Sentinel allowed Penry, Schaffer campaign official to mislead on Udall's Animas-La Plata vote

Summary: Reporting March 8 on criticisms by state Sen. Josh Penry (R) and a campaign adviser to U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer (R) regarding Schaffer opponent Rep. Mark Udall's (D) voting "present" during a 2000 U.S. House committee vote on the Animas-La Plata water project, The Daily Sentinel of Grand Junction omitted that Udall later voted for the spending bill authorizing the project when the House approved it -- while Schaffer failed to cast a vote. Additionally, the article included no response from Udall or his campaign staff.

A March 8 article on the website of The Daily Sentinel of Grand Junction quoted Sen. Josh Penry (R) and a campaign adviser to Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer as criticizing Schaffer opponent Rep. Mark Udall's "present" vote in July 2000 during consideration of a measure that would have approved the construction of the Animas-La Plata water storage project. But the article failed to report that while Udall voted "present" on that measure in committee, he later voted in favor of the project as part of an appropriations bill agreed upon in the full House -- while Schaffer did not cast a vote on that appropriations bill when the House passed it in December 2000. Additionally, the article did not provide any comments from Udall or his staff in response to the criticisms.

The article by Mike Saccone reported, "Nearly half a decade ago, the Western Slope and a majority of Coloradans rejected Referendum A, a $2 billion water-projects ballot initiative." The article continued:

Since then, nearly every major candidate who opposed what was branded in 2003 as a massive "water grab" -- from Congressman John Salazar, D-Colo., in 2004 to Gov. Bill Ritter in 2006 -- has met success on the Western Slope.

Now, conservationists and Democrats hope Referendum A's legacy will again work in their favor in the state's contentious U.S. Senate race between Congressman Mark Udall, D-Colo., and former Congressman Bob Schaffer, R-Colo.

Tony Massaro, senior vice president of public affairs for the League of Conservation Voters, said he hopes Western Slope voters see Schaffer's support for the ballot measure in 2003 and ask whether he "gets" the region's issues and character.

[...]

Schaffer's supporters, however, have pointed out that Udall's history on water issues is not without blemish.

If Udall presses Schaffer on Referendum A, they said, the Democratic congressman can expect a serious water fight.

The article further reported that "Penry said an examination of Udall's voting record shows he also has made some bad decisions on water," and added:

During a July 2000 vote on the House Resources Committee, Udall voted "present" on a more than $343 million water storage project that drew from the Animas and La Plata rivers.

Penry, who worked for the bill's sponsor, Congressman Scott McInnis, R-Colo., said everyone was stunned upon hearing Udall's vote.

"Mark Udall didn't vote yes, he didn't vote no," Penry said. "He voted present."

Penry said that vote shows that Udall's priorities on water storage are much closer to groups opposing all water storage than those of widely revered Congressman Wayne Aspinall, D-Colo.

Aspinall, who hailed from Palisade, was one of the architects of legislation creating several major water-storage projects along the Western Slope.

"Wayne Aspinall had a very different philosophy than Mark Udall," Penry said.

Walt Klein, a campaign adviser for Schaffer, said Udall not taking a position on the water project in committee was particularly perplexing given the history of the Animas-La Plata project.

"It was a very significant event for Colorado, because it may very well be the last major ... federally endorsed and funded water project for Colorado," Klein said, "and the history of it was 30 or 35 years of strong bipartisan cooperation between Republicans and Democrats."

Udall reportedly voted "present" in a voice vote during the July 19, 2000, House Committee on Resources' consideration of the Colorado Ute Settlement Act Amendments of 2000 (H.R. 3112), which would have reauthorized Animas-La Plata. As The Denver Post reported on July 20, 2000 (accessed through the Nexis database), "When it came time to cast his first vote on the controversial Animas-La Plata water project, Rep. Mark Udall didn't vote 'yes' and he didn't vote 'no.' " The Post continued:

Instead, he voted 'present' Wednesday when the House Resources Committee endorsed the controversial southwestern Colorado water project. That allows him to record his presence without taking a position.

The Boulder Democrat said he is worried about the environmental damage that will be caused by building a new dam, but also takes seriously the interests of the Indian tribes that have been seeking the project for decades.

[...]

The committee endorsed the $343.8 million dam and diversion project on a voice vote. Udall said he heard no 'no' votes, then specifically asked that he be recorded as voting present.

Schaffer was a member of the same House committee, but the newspaper did not report his voice vote on the Animas-La Plata project.

However, the Daily Sentinel omitted that Udall later voted in favor of passing the Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 4577), which included authorization for the Animas-La Plata project; it was not included in an earlier version of the bill the House passed in June 2000. The article failed to mention that neither Schaffer nor McInnis -- who originally sponsored the legislation -- voted on the version of H.R. 4577 that the House agreed to on December 15, 2000, and that became law on December 21, 2000.

The full House never voted on McInnis' original bill, H.R. 3112. However, on December 15, 2000, its language was included as part of H.R. 5666, a last-minute addition to the appropriations legislation H.R. 4577. According to a December 15, 2000, article in the Congressional Quarterly Daily Monitor (accessed through Nexis), "In keeping with the holiday season, the 106th Congress stuffed its final bill with year-end goodies." The article further reported:

But lawmakers sneaked other last-minute legislation into the must-pass appropriations measure, preventing debate and perhaps detection.

"As long as humans breathe, there will be mischief in legislation," [Rep. David R.] Obey [D-WI] said.

Mississippi Delta lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, gained a new regional authority to spur economic development, costing $30 million over the next two years.

The Colorado Ute Indian tribe won a victory with the inclusion of a scaled-back version of the Animas-La Plata water project. The plan calls for the siphoning of Animas River water to the tribe. Environmentalists charged the project would threaten rivers, wildlife habitat and American Indian burial sites.

The Post similarly reported on December 16, 2000 (accessed through Nexis), that the "most direct reason" for the project's passage "was legislative maneuvering, said Lori Potter, an attorney representing several environmental groups opposed to the project. McInnis put the project in a broad bundle of bills, avoiding a separate vote, she said." The article further reported:

"I think it passed because it was made part of a package on the very end of a very drawn-out congressional session when nobody is going to fight over any issues," she said. "There was no substantive debate on Animas-La Plata."

According to the House of Representatives Web site, McInnis abstained from the vote on the overall appropriations bill. He could not be reached late Friday to comment on his abstention.

The single most important reason for Animas-La Plata's success, supporters said, was the project's downsizing in recent years. It went from $700 million plus down to about $300 million. It went from a project that was to divert 150,000 acre-feet -- enough water to quench the annual needs of more than 150,000 households -- to one diverting about 57,000 acre-feet.

In addition, the Rocky Mountain News reported (accessed through Nexis) on December 16, 2000, "The Animas-La Plata reservoir, first approved by Congress when Lyndon Johnson was president, won final passage Friday when Congress OK'd $334 million to build it." In the article headlined "Congress OKs Animas La Plata funds," the News further reported:

The overall appropriations bill passed 292-60.

Democrats Diana DeGette and Mark Udall voted for the bill.

Udall said the bill contains several positive provisions for Colorado, among them, additional funding for the Bureau of Standards in Boulder.

Although he had some concerns with the environmental impact of the water project, Udall said he was also concerned with respecting the tribal water rights accorded in the treaty.

Republican Rep. Tom Tancredo voted against the bill. Fellow GOP Reps. Joel Hefley, Bob Schaffer and McInnis were listed among the 80 representatives who did not vote. [emphases added]

On March 11, Saccone in his Daily Sentinel online blog "Political Notebook" posted a statement from the Udall campaign noting Udall's vote on the appropriations bill and the fact that Schaffer, McInnis, and several other Colorado GOP members did not vote on that bill. However, as of March 11 the Daily Sentinel had not provided a news article with that information.

—C.H.