[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 139 (Tuesday, October 1, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12058-S12059]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      PRESIDIO OMNIBUS PARKS BILL

  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I come to the Senate floor this afternoon 
to update my colleagues and those who are following this issue, to 
update you all on our efforts to pass an omnibus parks bill for this 
Nation. My report has both disappointment and hope. I want to explain 
why.
  We have been working nonstop to try to get an agreement from every 
single Member of this U.S. Senate to accept the House-passed omnibus 
parks bill called the Presidio parks bill, so that we can quickly act 
and send this bill to the President's desk.
  It is important to note that the omnibus parks bill in the House, 
Presidio bill, passed with only four dissenting votes. So there was 
near unanimity over on the House side for this bill, which is very far-
reaching, very important for American people, very bipartisan and has 
been agreed to by the administration.
  So here we have an extraordinary opportunity, Mr. President, to end 
this session on a high note, to pass the bill that passed in the House 
in a bipartisan way, to pass a bill here that has bipartisan support, 
send it to the President, and all of us can go home feeling very good 
that we did something for this country's environment and that we did it 
in a bipartisan fashion.
  So why is my report filled with some disappointment? First of all, I 
was very disappointed that the majority leader, who is working hard to 
build a consensus for this bill--there is no question Senator Daschle 
and Senator Lott are working hard to build a consensus for this bill--
but the majority leader, Senator Lott, has the ability to bring this 
bill up before this body right now. He could have done it yesterday. 
Had he made that decision to bring this bill to the floor, we could 
have started the process, just as we have on the FAA bill, to vote on 
this bill.
  The rules of the Senate can sometimes be confusing. I have had many 
people call and say, ``Well, don't you have 60 votes in favor of the 
parks bill?'' I said, probably more like 85 votes, maybe 90 votes, but 
we cannot get a cloture motion filed until the majority leader decides 
to call the bill up. He has not done so to date.
  He says he prefers to have every single Senator agree. Of course, Mr. 
President, that would be a wonderful thing if every single Senator 
would agree with this bill. Then we could get it done without a 
recorded vote, without the necessity of filing cloture. But surely it 
seems to me we would have a better way to make this bill the law of the 
land if that bill was to be pending and a cloture motion pending. I 
think that would bring people to the table in a faster manner, and if 
we were not able to achieve unanimity, we could then go to the cloture 
route.
  So I am very disappointed that to date the majority leader has not 
chosen to bring the parks bill before the U.S. Senate. I urge him to do 
that right now. We are going to be here. We should be here doing our 
work. We all want to resolve the FAA dispute, and we will. We surely 
ought to want to work on this parks bill. I hope that the majority 
leader will bring that bill before us.
  Every single Democrat has told me that he or she is very much for 
this bill. The vast majority of Republicans have said the same. So all 
we need to do is have the bill brought before us, and if someone did 
filibuster it, we could bring the debate to a close with 60 votes and 
get on with it, and, as I say, I believe the vote would be 
overwhelmingly in favor of this bill.

  Mr. President, I want to explain why this bill is so important.
  No. 1, it includes parks for 41 States. Forty-one States in the 
Nation will benefit from this parks bill, which has required 2 years of 
effort, Mr. President, to put together, 2 years of effort to put 
together this Presidio omnibus parks bill. We could see this chance 
evaporate. I hope we do not. I hope everyone will agree. I surely will 
be on my feet until the waning hours of this session, if need be, 
proposing that we pass this House bill unanimously.
  What States are covered? Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, 
California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, 
Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, 
Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, 
Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, 
Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, 
and Wyoming.
  As you go into the bill and you read the various titles, you see, Mr. 
President, that in many States there is more than one important parks 
project.
  Mr. President, every one of these States is counting on us. I am 
very, very hopeful--very hopeful--that we can resolve our differences. 
I for one have been doing whatever I could do to talk to individual 
Senators.
  There are some Senators who have disappointments that they did not 
get everything they wanted in this bill. I understand that. You know, 
the Presidio, for example, which is so important to us; we had to 
compromise on

[[Page S12059]]

that legislation, Congresswoman Pelosi and I and Senator Feinstein and 
Congressman Miller. I want to thank all of them for everything they are 
continuing to do as we speak to make this work. I had a conversation 
with Congressman Miller. I have been talking to Senator Murkowski and 
his staff. We are trying to make this happen.
  In Alabama we have the Selma to Montgomery Historic Trail 
designation.
  In Alaska there are many, many important provisions, ranging from 
Alaska Peninsula land exchange to Federal borough recognition, 
regulation of Alaska fishing, and University of Alaska.
  In my State of California, Senator Feinstein and I are so strongly in 
favor of this bill, not only because of what it will do for the rest of 
the country, but surely for our State. It includes setting up a trust, 
a nonprofit trust at the Presidio to make sure that, as this 
magnificent park takes shape from a historic military base that started 
so many years ago before California was a State--we need this trust to 
make the important decisions about the reuse of the various buildings 
and doing it in the right way and doing it in the environmentally sound 
way.
  We have in that bill San Francisco Bay enhancement, Butte County 
conveyance, Modoc Forest boundary adjustment, Cleveland National 
Forest, Lagomarsino Visitor Center, Merced irrigation district land 
exchange, the Manzanar historic site exchange.
  I see my friend from Illinois is here. The Manzanar Historic Site, we 
know this is where, during a very dark period of our country, Japanese 
Americans were held literally as prisoners in their own country. 
Manzanar is a historic site. In this bill it will be preserved. Very 
important.

  The AIDS memorial grove, timber sale exchange, Santa Cruz Poland 
acquisition, Stanislaus Forest management, Del Norte School conveyance.
  It goes on in Colorado, in Florida, in Georgia, in Hawaii.
  I just want to mention one other very important--very important--
issue. I see my friend from Alaska has come to the floor. How many 
times he has been to San Francisco to pledge to work to make this 
happen.
  I know that the Sterling Forest in New Jersey is so very important to 
both Senators from New Jersey and to the entire bipartisan 
congressional delegation over in the House. We have Senator Bradley 
leaving after a distinguished career. I know he is working with Senator 
Murkowski to try to resolve all of our problems that we have. Sterling 
Forest is the largest unbroken, undeveloped track of forest land still 
remaining along the New York-New Jersey border. The bill will allow an 
appropriation of up to $17.5 million for land acquisition. It 
designates the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, a Federal 
commission to manage this land. It goes on.

  Most importantly for New Jersey are the billions of gallons of fresh 
clean drinking water that flow from the boundaries here.
  When you look at the development that is possible for Sterling 
Forest, 14,000 homes, 8 million square feet of commercial space, even 
if the development were concentrated in the least environmentally 
critical and successful tracks, the construction will, according to 
Republicans and Democrats who support this acquisition, will 
irrevocably alter this land.
  As I said when I took to the floor, I am mixed with disappointment 
and optimism. Clearly, I reiterate, not every single thing is in here 
that Senators feel ought to be in here. I so well understand it. I am 
working to see if there are ways to get those things done. I am looking 
forward to the remarks of my colleague from Nebraska who may be here on 
this topic. I hope that we are moving closer.
  I can assure the Senator that if we can get this done, I will work 
with him do everything I can in the next Congress to move forward to 
address some of the concerns that he has raised. I have tried to do 
that, talking with the administration, as late as very late last night.
  I hope when I come back to the floor I can speak more with hope and 
speak with more belief that we will, in fact, get this done.
  I yield the floor.

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