©2026 League of Conservation Voters
1980 Scorecard Vote
202
211
20
Issues
H.R. 7590. The vote is on the Cavanaugh amendment to delete all funding for the O’Neill Irrigation Unit on the Niobrara river in Nebraska. 40% of the land to be irrigated by this project in already productive. While taxpayer spend nearly $2,800 an acre to irrigate 77,000 acres within the O’Neill irrigation district, another 30,000 acres of farmland outside the district would be destroyed by the project. It would also destroy 11 miles of outstanding canoeing stream, and threaten the habitat of whooping cranes and bald eagles, both endangered species that use the Niobrara river as a major flyway. The beneficiaries of the project will pay back on 25% of the total cost, and only after 100 years. Cavanaugh rejected 202-211. June 25, 1980. YES is the correct vote.
©2026 League of Conservation Voters