{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hydesmith.senate.gov/nomination-tracy-stone-manning-executive-calendar", "NOMINATION OF TRACY STONE-MANNING (Executive Calendar)", "2021-07-21", "2021", "2021-07", "Republican", "Senate", "MS", "Cindy Hyde-Smith", "H001079", "www.hydesmith.senate.gov", "hydesmith", "https://www.hydesmith.senate.gov/newsroom", "scraper", "Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 131\n\n(Senate - July 27, 2021) PDF\n\nMrs. HYDE-SMITH. Madam President, I rise to join my colleagues in\n\nexpressing my grave concern over the nomination of Ms. Tracy Stone-\n\nManning to be the Director of the Bureau of Land Management.\n\nThe Office of the Director of the Bureau of Land Management is tasked\n\nwith an enormous responsibility. As it manages an eighth of our\n\nNation's land, its leadership should be held to the highest standards.\n\nEvery nominee referred to the Energy and Natural Resources Committee\n\nmust complete and submit the statement for completion by Presidential\n\nnominees, which is the standard committee questionnaire. In the sworn\n\nstatement, Ms. Stone-Manning told the committee that she has never been\n\narrested or charged and, to her knowledge, has never been the target of\n\nan investigation.\n\nUnfortunately, as many of us are now aware, Ms. Stone-Manning's\n\nresponses were not forthcoming nor fully accurate.\n\nI am particularly disturbed by Ms. Stone-Manning's involvement with\n\nthe ecoterrorist organization Earth First!, which organized the tree-\n\nspiking plot in Idaho. As you all may know, tree spiking involves\n\nhammering a metal or ceramic rod into a tree trunk in order to prevent\n\nloggers from harvesting the timber. If the saw makes contact with a\n\nspike, it can result in severe injury or even the logger's death.\n\nMake no mistake, the people who put these spikes into the trees are\n\nwell aware of the potential consequences of their actions. These\n\nschemes are carried out with intent to harm or even, at the very least,\n\nthe intent to frighten the loggers who are carrying out their daily\n\njobs.\n\nI want to be clear, no one is claiming that Ms. Stone-Manning put any\n\nspikes in any trees herself. However, it is undisputed that Ms. Stone-\n\nManning assisted the people who did.\n\nMs. Stone-Manning wrote a letter laced with vulgarities to the U.S.\n\nForest Service, threatening loggers who were simply carrying out their\n\njobs, doing what they do for a living.\n\nIn the aftermath of this tree-spiking conspiracy, Ms. Stone-Manning\n\nwas investigated and subpoenaed by a Federal grand jury. Ms. Stone-\n\nManning was silent about her involvement in the plot, but when new\n\nevidence came to light 4 years later, she struck a deal for immunity in\n\n1993.\n\nTracy Stone-Manning's involvement in ecoterrorism as well as her\n\ndishonesty to the Senate is more than alarming. There are questions\n\nthat need to be revisited and answered. The statements from the former\n\nlead investigator of the Idaho tree-spiking scheme as well as the\n\nactions of the Federal grand jury tell a different tale than what Ms.\n\nStone-Manning led the committee to believe. These discrepancies must\n\nnot be cast aside.\n\nI am concerned about the precedent that will be set for future\n\nnominees if my colleagues simply agree to accept or disregard these\n\ninconsistencies.\n\nI am very disappointed that my Democratic colleagues on the Energy\n\nCommittee moved forward with Ms. Stone-Manning's nomination. There are\n\nserious unanswered questions about her voracity and her qualifications\n\nto lead.\n\nI applaud my colleagues who have sought the truth, and I am\n\ndisheartened that those efforts have met with resistance. The American\n\npeople deserve transparency. I cannot support this nominee, and I would\n\nurge my colleagues to do the same.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:03:51Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.hydesmith.senate.gov/nomination-tracy-stone-manning-executive-calendar"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.2636559549719095, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}