[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 146 (Tuesday, September 19, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S13867-S13868]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            AGRICULTURE APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 1996

                                 ______


                      BINGAMAN AMENDMENT NO. 2693

  Mr. BUMPERS (for Mr. Bingaman) proposed an amendment to the bill 
(H.R. 1976) making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, 
Food and Drug Administration, and related agencies programs for the 
fiscal year ending September 30, 1996, and for other purposes; as 
follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC.   . ENERGY SAVINGS AT FEDERAL FACILITIES.

       (a) Reduction in Facilities Energy Costs.--The head of each 
     agency for which funds are made available under this Act 
     shall take all actions necessary to achieve during fiscal 
     year 1996 a 5 percent reduction, from the average previous 
     three fiscal year levels, in the energy costs of the 
     facilities used by the agency.
       (b) Use of Cost Savings.--An amount equal to the amount of 
     cost savings realized by an agency under subsection (a) shall 
     remain available for obligation through the end of fiscal 
     year 1997, without further authorization or appropriation, as 
     follows:
       (1) Conservation measures.--Fifty percent of the amount 
     shall remain available for the implementation of additional 
     energy conservation measures and for water conservation 
     measures at such facilities used by the agency as are 
     designated by the head of the agency.
       (2) Other purposes.--Fifty percent of the amount shall 
     remain available for use by the agency for such purposes as 
     are designated by the head of the agency, consistent with 
     applicable law.
       (c) Report.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than December 31, 1996, the 
     Secretary of Agriculture (a) shall submit a report to 
     Congress specifying the results of the actions taken under 
     subsection (a) and providing any recommendations concerning 
     how to further reduce energy costs and energy consumption in 
     the future.
       (2) Contents.--Each report shall--
       (A) specify the total energy costs of the facilities used 
     by the agency;
       (B) identify the reductions achieved; and
       (C) specify the actions that resulted in the reductions.
                                 ______


                 McCAIN (AND OTHERS) AMENDMENT NO. 2694

  Mr. McCAIN (for himself, Mr. Domenici, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Bingaman, Mr. 
Conrad, and Mr. Dorgan) proposed an amendment to the bill H.R. 1976, 
supra; as follows:

       On page 25, line 14, strike ``$568,685,000'' and insert in 
     lieu thereof ``$564,685,000''.
       On page 15, line 13, after the semi-colon insert 
     ``$1,450,000 for payments to the 1994 institutions pursuant 
     to Sec. 534(a)(1) of P.L. 103-382;''.
       On page 15, line 17, strike ``$418,172,000'' and insert in 
     lieu thereof ``$419,622,000''.
       On page 18, line 2, after the semi-colon, insert 
     ``$2,550,000 for payments to the 1994 institutions pursuant 
     to Sec. 534(b)(3) of P.L. 103-382;''.
       On page 18, line 11, strike ``$437,131,000'' and insert 
     ``$439,681,000''.
                                 ______


                 KERRY (AND OTHERS) AMENDMENT NO. 2695

  Mr. KERRY (for himself, Mr. Bryan, Mr. Smith, Mr. Lieberman, and Mr. 
Dorgan) proposed an amendment to the bill H.R. 1976, supra; as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC.   . MINK INDUSTRY.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
       (1) since 1989, the Federal government, through the 
     Department of Agriculture Market Promotion Program, has 
     provided more than $13,000,000 to the Mink Export Development 
     Council for the overseas promotion of mink coats and 
     products; and
       (2) the Department of Commerce has estimated that since 
     1989 the value of United States exports of mink products has 
     declined by more than 33 percent and total United States mink 
     production has been halved.
       (b) Funding.--None of the funds made available in this Act 
     may be used to carry out, or to pay the salaries of personnel 
     who carry out, the market promotion program established under 
     section 203 of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 
     5623), in a manner that provides assistance to the United 
     States Mink Export Development Council or any mink industry 
     trade association.
                                 ______


                       STEVENS AMENDMENT NO. 2696

  Mr. STEVENS proposed an amendment to the bill H.R. 1976, supra; as 
follows:

       On page 32 of the bill, strike lines 7 through 11 and 
     insert in lieu thereof the following:
       Sec.  . For necessary salaries and expenses of the Office 
     of the Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment 
     to administer the laws enacted by Congress for the Natural 
     Resources Conservation Service, $677,000: Provided, That none 
     of these funds shall be available to administer laws enacted 
     by Congress for the Forest Service: Provided further, That 
     $350,000 shall be made available to the Secretary of 
     Agriculture to administer the laws enacted by Congress for 
     the Forest Service: Provided further, That notwithstanding 
     Section 245(c) of Public Law 103-354 (7 U.S.C. 6961(c)), the 
     Secretary of Agriculture may not delegate any authority to 
     administer laws enacted by Congress, or funds provided by 
     this Act, for the Forest Service to the Under Secretary for 
     Natural Resources and Environment.
                                 ______


                FEINGOLD (AND McCAIN) AMENDMENT NO. 2697

  Mr. FEINGOLD (for himself and Mr. McCain) proposed an amendment to 
the bill H.R. 1976, supra; as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC.  . SPECIAL RESEARCH GRANTS PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--None of the funds made available under 
     this Act for the program established under section 2(c) of 
     Public Law 89-106 (7 U.S.C. 450i(c)) may be used for a grant 
     that is not subject to a competitive process 

[[Page S13868]]
     and a scientific peer review evaluation by qualified scientists in the 
     Federal Government, colleges and universities, State 
     agricultural experiment stations, and the private sector.
       (b) Deficit Reduction.--Any funds made available under this 
     Act that are not expended because of subsection (a) shall 
     revert to the general fund of the Treasury for deficit 
     reduction.
                                 ______


                       CONRAD AMENDMENT NO. 2698

  Mr. CONRAD proposed an amendment to the bill H.R. 1976, supra; as 
follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC.   . REPAYMENT OF ADVANCE DEFICIENCY PAYMENTS FOR 1995 
                   DISASTER LOSSES.

       (a) In General.--Notwithstanding subparagraphs (G) and (H) 
     of section 114(a)(2) of the Agricultural Act of 1949 (7 
     U.S.C. 1445j(a)(2)), if the producers on a farm received an 
     advance deficiency payment for the 1995 crop of a commodity 
     and suffered a loss in the production of the crop due to 
     weather or related condition, the producers shall not be 
     required to repay an amount of the payment that is equal to, 
     subject to subsection (b), the product obtained by 
     multiplying the applicable crop acreage base and the farm 
     program payment yield.
       (b) Limitations.--The amount of the payment that the 
     producers on a farm are not required to repay under 
     subsection (a) shall--
       (1) not exceed $2,500; and
       (2) not be available for production on which crop insurance 
     coverage is available, as determined by the Secretary of 
     Agriculture.
       (c) Funding.--Up to $35,000,000 that has been made 
     available to carry out the export enhancement program 
     established under section 301 of the Agricultural Trade Act 
     of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5651) during fiscal year 1996 may be used 
     to carry out this section.
                                 ______


                 BUMPERS (AND BRYAN) AMENDMENT NO. 2699

  Mr. BUMPERS (for himself and Mr. Bryan) proposed an amendment to the 
bill H.R. 1976, supra; as follows:

       On page 65, line 18, before the period at the end, insert 
     the following: ``: Provided further, That funds made 
     available under this Act to carry out the market promotion 
     program established under section 203 of the Agricultural 
     Trade Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5623) may be used to provide 
     cost-share assistance only to organizations that are 
     recognized as small business concerns under section 3(a) of 
     the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632(a)) or to associations 
     described in the first section of the Act entitled `An Act to 
     authorize association of producers of agricultural products', 
     approved February 22, 1922 (7 U.S.C. 291): Provided further, 
     That such funds may not be used to provide cost-share 
     assistance to a foreign eligible trade organization: Provided 
     further, That none of the funds made available under this Act 
     may be used to carry out the market promotion program 
     established under section 203 of the Agricultural Trade Act 
     of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5623) if the aggregate amount of funds and 
     value of commodities under the program exceeds $70,000,000''.
                                 ______


                 DORGAN (AND CONRAD) AMENDMENT NO. 2700

  Mr. COCHRAN (for Mr. Dorgan, for himself, and Mr. Conrad) proposed an 
amendment to the bill H.R. 1976, supra; as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ____. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON UNITED STATES-CANADIAN 
                   COOPERATION CONCERNING AN OUTLET TO RELIEVE 
                   FLOODING AT DEVILS LAKE IN NORTH DAKOTA.

       (a) Findings.--The Senate finds that--
       (1) flooding in Devils Lake Basin, North Dakota, has 
     resulted in water levels in the lake reaching their highest 
     point in 120 years;
       (2)(A) 667,000 trees are inundated and dying;
       (B) 2500 homeowners in the county are pumping water from 
     basements;
       (C) the town of Devils Lake is threatened with lake water 
     nearing the limits of the protective dikes of the lake;
       (D) 17,400 acres of land have been inundated;
       (E) roads are under water;
       (F) other roads are closed and will be abandoned;
       (G) homes and businesses have been diked, abandoned, or 
     closed; and
       (H) if the lake rises another 2 to 3 feet, damages of 
     approximately $74,000,000 will occur;
       (3) the Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of 
     Reclamation are now studying the feasibility of constructing 
     an outlet from Devils Lake Basin;
       (4) an outlet from Devils Lake Basin will allow the 
     transfer of water from Devils Lake Basin to the Red River of 
     the North watershed that the United States shares with 
     Canada; and
       (5) the Treaty Relating to the Boundary Waters and 
     Questions Arising Along the Boundary Between the United 
     States and Canada, signed at Washington on January 11, 1909 
     (36 Stat. 2448; TS 548) (commonly known as the ``Boundary 
     Waters Treaty of 1909''), provides that ``. . . waters 
     flowing across the boundary shall not be polluted on either 
     side to the injury of health or property on the other.'' (36 
     Stat. 2450).
       (b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate 
     that the United States Government should seek to establish a 
     joint United States-Canadian technical committee to review 
     the Devils Lake Basin emergency outlet project to consider 
     options for an outlet that would meet Canadian concerns in 
     regard to the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909.
                                 ______


                        DOLE AMENDMENT NO. 2701

  Mr. COCHRAN (for Mr. Dole) proposed an amendment to the bill H.R. 
1976, supra; as follows:

       On page 13, line 23, insert the following after ``law'': 
     ``: Provided further, That of the funds made available under 
     this heading for the National Center for Agricultural 
     Utilization Research, not less than $1,000,000 shall be 
     available for the Grain Marketing Research Laboratory in 
     Manhattan, Kansas''.
                                 ______


                ABRAHAM (AND OTHERS) AMENDMENT NO. 2702

  Mr. COCHRAN (for Mr. Abraham, for himself, Mr. Brown, and Mr. Grams) 
proposed an amendment to the bill H.R. 1976, supra; as follows:

       At the appropriate place in title VII, insert the 
     following:

     SEC. 7  . ELIMINATION OF UNNECESSARY ADVISORY COMMITTEES.

       (a) Swine Health Advisory Committee.--Section 11 of the 
     Swine Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 3810) is repealed.
       (b) Global Climate Change Technical Advisory Committee.--
     Section 2404 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and 
     Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6703) is repealed.
                                 ______


                 GORTON (AND OTHERS) AMENDMENT NO. 2703

  Mr. COCHRAN (for Mr. Gorton, for himself, Mrs. Murray, and Mr. Burns) 
proposed an amendment to the bill H.R. 1976, supra; as follows:

       To H.R. 1976, Title VII General Provisions, on page 84, 
     line 1, insert the following new section:
       Sec. 730. Upon the date of enactment of this Act, the 
     Secretary of Agriculture shall immediately withdraw Federal 
     regulation 36 CFR Part 223 promulgated on September 8, 1995, 
     for a period of no less than 120 days; provided that during 
     such time the Secretary shall take notice and public comment 
     on the regulations and make the necessary revisions to 
     reflect public comment. Any fines assessed pursuant to 36 CFR 
     Part 223, from the effective date of said regulation to the 
     date of enactment of this Act, shall be null and void. During 
     the 120 day period, the interim regulatory guidelines 
     published pursuant to 55 CFR 48572 and 56 CFR 65834 shall 
     remain in effect.
                                 ______


                       BENNETT AMENDMENT NO. 2704

  Mr. COCHRAN (for Mr. Bennett) proposed an amendment to the bill H.R. 
1976, supra; as follows:

       On page 25, line 14, strike $564,685,000 and insert 
     $563,004,000.
       On page 37, line 8, strike $1,000,000 and insert 
     $2,681,000.
                                 ______


                      FEINGOLD AMENDMENT NO. 2705

  Mr. COCHRAN (for Mr. Feingold) proposed an amendment to the bill H.R. 
1976, supra; as follows:

       On page 44, line 16, before the period insert the 
     following: ``Provided further, That loan guarantees for 
     business and industry assistance funded under this heading 
     shall be made available to tourist or other recreational 
     businesses in rural communities''.
                                 ______


                        LEAHY AMENDMENT NO. 2706

  Mr. COCHRAN (for Mr. Leahy) proposed an amendment to the bill H.R. 
1976, supra; as follows:

       On page 14, strike on line 12, ``40,670,000'' and insert in 
     lieu thereof, ``42,620,000''.
       On page 15, strike on line 17, $419,622,000'' and insert in 
     lieu thereof ``421,622,000.''
       On page 82, reduce ``$800,000,000'' by $4,444,000.

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