Susan tours the San Diego River Park with Rob Hutsel, Executive Director of the park’s foundation.
On the Issues
Environment
Both here at home in San Diego and across the country, Susan is committed to protecting our environment. She understands the critical importance of preserving our nation’s natural legacy for future generations of Americans to enjoy and explore. To accomplish this end, Susan has cosponsored legislation and supported efforts to protect wildlife, preserve wilderness, safeguard our rivers and wetlands, save our oceans and beaches, and care for our National Parks and Forests.
Protecting Endangered Species and Wildlife
Susan believes that we as human beings need to take responsibility and protect those species that are endangered because of our actions. The world's rich biomass is increasingly under encroachment from the effects of human civilization, through problems such as habitat destruction, overhunting, pollution, and climate change.
Susan is the proud cosponsor of legislation to stop the importation of polar bear parts as hunting trophies (H.R. 2327) and providing financial incentives for conservation efforts targeting large cats (such as lions and snow leopards) and rare canids (such as the gray wolf and bush dog). In addition, she has supported science-based conservation and restoration efforts for Columbia River salmon and the Mexican gray wolf.
Saving Our Oceans and Beaches
As San Diegans, our oceans and beaches are one of our city’s most prized possessions and keeping them clean and safe has always been a personal priority for Susan. Like you, Susan wants to protect our beaches so that her children and grandchildren can swim, surf, and play in them without worrying about their health or safety.
Susan is a member of the Congressional Oceans Caucus and has repeatedly cosponsored legislation (H.R. 2758 and H.R. 2918) to prohibit environmentally harmful oil drilling off the California coast. She is also the proud cosponsor of the OCEAN-21 Act (H.R. 21) which establishes a coordinated national policy on protecting our oceans. Susan also proudly supported the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act which President Bush signed into law in January 2007. This legislation mandates a halt to overfishing and institutes a science-based approach to replenishing our depleted fisheries.
Preserving Our Wild Spaces
The supply of pristine, unspoiled land in this country is dwindling, and much of that remains vulnerable to environmental hazards, such as gas and oil exploration and off-road vehicles. These wilderness areas are home to some of the most stunning natural beauty left in the world and Susan believes that we must preserve them so that they will still be here for our children and grandchildren.
Susan is the proud original cosponsor of National Forest Roadless Area Conservation Act (H.R. 2516), which will help prevent road construction through parts of our National Forest system that are currently roadless. She has also cosponsored legislation to designate millions of acres of lands across the country – including the Skykomish Valley in Washington and the Colorado Plateau in Utah – as wilderness areas.
Safeguarding Our Rivers and Wetlands
Because rivers often serve as the primary water supply for many communities and wetlands act as natural water filters, Susan has always treated protecting these waterways as not only a matter of habitat preservation, but also a public health issue.
Susan is the proud cosponsor of both the Clean Water Restoration Act (H.R. 2421) and the Clean Water Protection Act (H.R. 2169). H.R. 2421 would expand the amount of wetlands protected by the landmark 1977 Clean Water Act. H.R. 2169 would prohibit the practice of dumping mining debris into rivers and lakes. Both of these efforts would go a long way to protecting these delicate ecosystems and safeguarding the quality of our water supply.
Caring for Our National Parks and Forests
America’s National Parks and National Forests are some of our nation’s greatest natural treasures. Susan has always been a strong advocate for maintaining and caring for these preservation areas which include the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the Tongass National Forest, and Yellowstone National Park.
Recently, Susan supported legislation (H.Amdt. 429) to prohibit harmful commercial logging in the Tongass National Forest, the world’s largest remaining temperate rainforest. She is also a proud cosponsor of legislation (H.R. 39) that would permanently protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil and gas drilling. In addition, Susan has repeatedly voted in the past on legislation that would prohibit polluting and disruptive snowmobiles from being allowed in Yellowstone National Park.
Susan is a cosponsor of the National Park Centennial Act (H.R. 1731) that would significantly increase funding to address the backlog of unmet needs for our National Parks system.
Protecting San Onofre State Park
Congresswoman Davis offered an amendment in the House Armed Services Committee that would repeal an unprecedented exemption from state environmental laws for the proposed Foothill-South toll road along State Route 241. Congresswoman Davis offered this amendment out of concern about the impacts this project could have on the recreational and natural resources at San Onofre State Park and Trestles Beach, and the impact encroachment by that road could have on the readiness and security of Marine Corps operations at Camp Pendleton, through which the planned route would pass.
The amendment passed as part of the Defense Authorization Act (HR 1585).
Rep. Susan Davis Puts State Environmental Laws in Play on Toll Road Extension
Cleaning up Naval Base Point Loma Fuel Plume
In February 2006, the U.S. Navy disclosed that a plume of fuel product in the ground water beneath Naval Base Point Loma was migrating north toward private residences in the neighboring community of La Playa. The fuel plume is the result of leaking tanks in the fuel farm located on the Navy’s base. To ensure that residents were well informed, my office hosted town hall meetings with Councilmember Kevin Faulconer, Captain Mark Patton, Commander, Naval Base Point Loma and the California Regional Water Quality Control Board to address this issue and discuss the short and long term solutions.
I have been focused on securing the federal funding that will provide a long term solution to the problem of leaking fuel tanks at Naval Base Point Loma. In fact, the House Armed Services Committee has already passed legislation authorizing the much needed funds, and I will continue to work with my colleagues in Washington to help appropriate money for repairs as quickly as possible. In addition, Naval Base Point Loma has continued to host bi-monthly Navy Community Liaison Group Meetings to update interested constituents on the most recent developments in fuel recovery, as well as the status of the tank replacement project.