Congressman Barney Frank
Representing Massachusetts' 4th District

Congressmen Barney Frank and James McGovern expressed disappointment that legislation to support the protection and community-based management of the Taunton River as part of the Wild & Scenic River system failed to pass House of Representatives today, but they vowed to continue pushing for its eventual passage.

The Taunton River bill, which was strongly backed by the two lawmakers, was included in the larger Omnibus Public Land Management Act (S. 22). Though the Public Lands bill received a majority of House votes today, it came before the House under parliamentary procedures requiring a two-thirds “yes” vote, and the bill failed to achieve this supermajority, meaning that it went down to defeat. Both legislators vowed to continue the fight to pass legislation to protect the Taunton River, and expressed optimism that the bill would pass in the near future.

“We have overcome partisan objection to this important bill in the past and I am confident that we will be able to do so again this year,” said Congressman Frank. “Congressman McGovern and I won’t give up the fight to protect the Taunton River.”

“I will continue to work with Congressman Frank on this important designation,” Rep. McGovern said. “Today’s vote should not be interpreted to mean that a majority of the House opposes the Taunton River provision. We have already had – and won – several votes on that issue. As Vice-Chairman of the Rules Committee, I will be working with the Democratic Leadership to determine the best way to proceed on the overall bill.”

The bill was brought before the House under a parliamentary mechanism known as “suspension of the rules” where a two-thirds vote is required for passage. This procedure is typically used to pass widely supported legislation. Unfortunately there was insufficient Republican support to reach the two-thirds threshold, and therefore the bill was technically defeated, despite receiving 282 favorable votes, and 144 against. Because the bill received a large majority of votes, Frank and McGovern will be urging the House leadership to bring it forward under standard procedures which require only a simple majority for passage.

Efforts to protect the Taunton River began in 1999 when Senators Ted Kennedy and John Kerry introduced legislation with former Congressman Joe Moakley (D-Mass.) to authorize a study of the Taunton River for consideration of a Wild and Scenic River Designation. That legislation was signed into law on October 19th, 2000. The subsequent study found that the Taunton River could qualify for protected status under the Wild and Scenic River Act.

The Taunton River is the longest coastal river in New England without dams. It supports 45 species of fish and many species of shellfish, including seven types of freshwater mussels, and its archaeological treasures date back 10,000 years. The watershed is a habitat for 154 species of birds, including 12 rare types. It is also home to the river otter, mink, gray fox, and deer.