[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 85 (Wednesday, June 29, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 29, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
      H.R. 4602, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1995

                                 ______


                               speech of

                          HON. BERNARD SANDERS

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 22, 1994

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4602) making 
     appropriations for the Department of the Interior and related 
     agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1995, and 
     for other purposes:

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to be able to express my 
support for H.R. 4602, the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations 
bill for fiscal year 1995. This bill includes funding for many of our 
important agencies, in particular in two important areas: conservation 
of natural resources, and the arts and humanities.
  In the area of conservation, I'm particularly pleased that this 
year's bill reverses a trend of many years' duration, in increasing the 
funding for States from the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The 
original plan for the LWCF was for a 50:50 split between the States and 
the Federal Government, but over three decades the ratio has shifted 
more and more to the Federal side. In recent years, only about 20 
percent of LWCF funds have gone to the States.
  This year's bill begins to remedy that. While Federal-side spending 
has gone down, the State-side share is increased by about 5 percent in 
this year's appropriation. This is a welcome change, and one more 
reason to support this bill.
  I'm also pleased that the subcommittee chose to continue supporting 
the Forest Legacy program. Although the amount is not increased, as I 
would have liked, the decision to maintain funding in the face of a 
tight budget is a reflection of the demonstrated success of Legacy in 
providing a new way to protect our lands at relatively low cost.
  It's ironic that advocates of private property rights have been 
criticizing this program, which provides funding to acquire easements 
from landowners who want to conserve productive forest land. In fact, 
Forest Legacy is an example of a successful Government-private 
partnership. This program, established in the 1990 farm bill, has 
already allowed the conservation of important forest lands in Vermont, 
such as the ridge crest of the Worcester Mountains and the beautiful 
Cow Mountain Pond area. A major success of this program has been the 
Big Jay tract, a 5,400 acre property adjacent to Jay State Forest which 
includes parts of the Long Trail and the Catamount Trail as well as the 
highest privately owned, undeveloped mountain peak in Vermont. The 
State of Vermont and Vermont conservation groups developed an 
innovative plan to protect Big Jay through a combination of easements 
and purchases, combining State, private, and Forest Legacy program 
funds.
  Support for the arts is a yearly battle. Jesse Helms and his cohorts 
will stop at nothing to stifle the artistic spirit of our country. I 
will continue to fight for increased funding for the arts and against 
the right wing movement to eliminate the National Endowment for the 
Arts altogether. This year, $171 million is being appropriated to the 
NEA, and of that money Vermont will receive a little over $1 million. 
This money is essential to many groups like Vermont Council on the 
Arts, the Flynn Theatre and the Vermont Symphony Orchestra Association. 
However, that price tag is nowhere near what a country should be 
spending in support of the arts, especially when considering we spend 
$718 million a day at the Pentagon. Annually, each American pays taxes 
of $1,138 for the military, $201 for education and 68 cents for arts. 
There is no doubt that we need to rethink our national priorities.

  I feel very strongly that art and culture are a vital part of 
society, and that cultural activities should be open to all people. 
Unfortunately, today our children are being desensitized to violence 
through television, rather than inspired by music and theatre and the 
creative arts.
  At the Vermont Council on the Arts a new initiative has been launched 
called the ``Voices of Youth,'' which will begin new partnerships 
between the human services and the arts communities and youth 
organizations. ``Voices of Youth'' gives Vermont youth the opportunity 
to express themselves and get involved in the community through various 
artistic endeavors. ``Voices of Youth'' promotes the idea that children 
and youth should be seen and heard because they have a lot of important 
things to say--things that we all need to hear.
  The efforts of the ``Voices of Youth'' work alongside my efforts to 
implore the President to sign the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the 
Child, which codifies all existing international laws regarding 
children and establishes a bill of rights for the world's children. One 
of the articles focuses directly on the need to develop a child's 
personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest 
extent. The convention also clearly states that children and youth have 
the right to freely express themselves. Our youth face so many terrors 
and frustrations in the world today, we need to ensure that the arts 
are a living part of their experience. In order to guarantee that this 
happens, we need to support institutions and organizations that equip 
our teachers and leaders with necessary skills and provide freedom of 
expression.
  I've mentioned just a few of the valuable programs funded by this 
bill. I congratulate my colleagues Mr. Yates and Mr. Regula and their 
subcommittee on their good work, and urge continued support for the 
protection of both the nature and the creative spirit of our country.

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