[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 124 (Wednesday, September 17, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9526-S9527]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                                  1998

                                 ______
                                 

                        CRAIG AMENDMENT NO. 1212

  Mr. GORTON (for Mr. Craig) proposed an amendment to the bill, H.R. 
2107, supra; as follows:

       On page 127, at the end of title III add the following 
     general provision:
       Sec. 3  . The Secretary of Agriculture shall hereafter 
     phase in, over a 5 year period, the fee increase for a 
     recreation residence special use permit holder whose fee 
     increase is more than 100 percent of the previous year's fee, 
     provided that no recreation residence fee may be increased 
     any sooner than one year from the time the permittee has been 
     notified by the Forest Service of the results of an appraisal 
     which has been conducted for the purpose of establishing such 
     fees, and provided further that no increases in recreation 
     residence fees on the Sawtooth National Forest will be 
     implemented prior to January 1, 1999.
                                 ______
                                 

                       BUMPERS AMENDMENT NO. 1213

  Mr. GORTON (for Mr. Bumpers) proposed an amendment to the bill, H.R. 
2107, supra; as follows:

       At the end of title I, add the following new section:

     ``SEC.   . ARKANSAS POST NATIONAL MEMORIAL.

       (a) The boundaries of the Arkansas Post National Memorial 
     are revised to include the approximately 360 acres of land 
     generally depicted on the map entitled ``Arkansas Post 
     National Memorial, Osotouy Unit, Arkansas County, Arkansas'' 
     and dated June 1993. Such map shall be on file and available 
     for public inspection in appropriate offices of the National 
     Park Service of the Department of the Interior.
       (b) The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to acquire 
     the lands and interests therein described in subsection (a) 
     by donation, purchase with donated or appropriated funds, or 
     exchange: Provided, that such lands or interests therein may 
     only be acquired with the consent of the owner thereof.''
                                 ______
                                 

                       COCHRAN AMENDMENT NO. 1214

  Mr. GORTON (for Mr. Cochran) proposed an amendment to the bill, H.R. 
2107, supra; as follows:

       On page 47, line 9. following ``(25 U.S.C. 45, et seq.)'' 
     insert the following: ``or the Tribally Controlled Schools 
     Act of 1988 (25 U.S.C. 2501, et seq.)''
                                 ______
                                 

                  MURKOWSKI AMENDMENTS NOS. 1215-1217

  Mr. GORTON (for Mr. Murkowski) proposed three amendments to the bill, 
H.R. 2107, supra; as follows:

                           Amendment No. 1215

       At the appropriate place insert the following:
       ``Sec. ----. Entry and permit limitations for Glacier Bay 
     National Park shall not apply to the Auk Nu Marine-Glacier 
     Bay Ferry entering Bartlett Cove for the sole purpose of 
     accessing park or other authorized visitor services or 
     facilities at, or originating from, the public dock area at 
     Bartlett Cove: Provided, That any such motor vessel entering 
     park waters for this stated and sole purpose shall be subject 
     to speed, distance from coast line, and related limitations 
     imposed on all vessels operating in waters designated by the 
     Superintendent, Glascier Bay, as having a high probability of 
     whale occupancy based on recent sighting and/or past patterns 
     of occurrence: Provided further. That nothing in this Act 
     shall be construed as constituting approval for such vessels 
     entering the waters of Glacier Bay National Park beyond the 
     immediate Bartlett Cove area as defined by a line extending 
     northeastward from Pt. Carolus to the west to the 
     southernmost point of Lester Island, absent required 
     permits.''
                                                                    ____


                           Amendment No. 1216

       Title I of Public Law 96-514 (94 Stat. 2957) is amended 
     under the heading ``Exploration of National Petroleum Reserve 
     in Alaska'' by striking ``(8) each lease shall be issued'' 
     through the end of the first paragraph and inserting in lieu 
     thereof the following:

     ``(8) each lease shall be issued for an initial period of ten 
     years, and shall be extended for so long thereafter as oil or 
     gas is produced from the lease in paying quantities, or as 
     drilling or reworking operations, as approved by the 
     Secretary, are conducted thereon; (9) for purposes of 
     conservation of the natural resources of any oil or gas pool, 
     field, or like area, or any part thereof, lessees thereof and 
     their representatives are authorized to unite with each 
     other, or jointly or separately with others, in collectively 
     adopting and operating under a unit agreement for such pool, 
     field, or like area, or any part thereof (whether or not any 
     other part of said oil or gas pool, field, or like area is 
     already subject to any cooperative or unit plan of 
     development or operation), whenever determined by the 
     Secretary to be necessary or advisable in the public 
     interest. Drilling, production, and well re-working 
     operations performed in accordance with a unit agreement 
     shall be deemed to be performed for the benefit of all leases 
     that are subject in whole or in part to such unit agreement. 
     When separate tracts cannot be independently developed and 
     operated in conformity with an established well spacing or 
     development program, any lease, or a portion thereof, may be 
     pooled with other lands, whether or not owned by the United 
     States, under a communitization or drilling agreement 
     providing for an apportionment of production or royalties 
     among the separate tracts of land comprising the drilling or 
     spacing unit when determined by the Secretary of the Interior 
     to be in the public interest, and operations or production 
     pursuant to such an agreement shall be deemed to be 
     operations or production as to each such lease committed 
     thereto; (10) to encourage the greatest ultimate recovery of 
     oil or gas or in the interest of Conservation the Secretary 
     is authorized to waive, suspend, or reduce the rental, or 
     minimum royalty, or reduce the royalty on an entire 
     leasehold, including on any lease operated pursuant to a unit 
     agreement, whenever in his judgement the leases cannot be 
     successfully operated under the terms provided therein. The 
     Secretary is authorized to direct or assent to the suspension 
     of operations and production on any lease or unit.

[[Page S9527]]

     In the event the Secretary, in the interest of conservation, 
     shall direct or assent to the suspension of operations and 
     production on any lease or unit, any payment of acreage 
     rental or minimum royalty prescribed by such lease or unit 
     likewise shall be suspended during the period of suspension 
     of operations and production, and the term of such lease 
     shall be extended by adding any such suspension period 
     thereto; and (11) all receipts from sales, rentals, bonuses, 
     and royalties on leases issued pursuant to this section shall 
     be paid into the Treasury of the United States: Provided, 
     That 50 per centum thereof shall be paid by the Secretary of 
     the Treasury semiannually, as soon thereafter as practicable 
     after March 30 and September 30 each year, to the State of 
     Alaska for (a) planning; (b) construction, maintenance, and 
     operation of essential public facilities, and (c) other 
     necessary provisions of public service: Provided further, 
     That in the allocation of such funds, the State shall give 
     priority to use by subdivisions of the State most directly or 
     severely impacted by development of oil and gas leased under 
     this Act.''
                                                                    ____


                           Amendment No. 1217

       On page 69, lines 9 and 10, strike ``the relocation of the 
     Regional Office for Region 10 to Ketchikan and other''
       On page 77, beginning on line 14 add the following: ``Funds 
     appropriated by this Act for Region 10 of the Forest Service 
     to implement the Revised Tongass National Forest Land 
     Management Plan, shall be spent and obligated at the Forest 
     Supervisor and Ranger District levels. No funds appropriated 
     under this or any other Act for the purpose of operations 
     conducted at the Region 10 headquarters, including funding of 
     centralized field costs for funding of persons employed at 
     the Regional Office, shall be obligated or expended in excess 
     of $17,500,000 from the total funds appropriated for Region 
     10.''
                                 ______
                                 

              JEFFORDS (AND TORRICELLI) AMENDMENT NO. 1218

  Mr. JEFFORDS (for himself and Mr. Torricelli) proposed an amendment 
to the bill, H.R. 2107, supra; as follows:

       At the end of title III, insert the following:
       Sec.   . It is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) preserving Civil War battlefields should be an integral 
     part of preserving our Nation's history; and
       (2) Congress should give special priority to the 
     preservation of Civil War battlefields by making funds 
     available for the purchase of threatened and endangered Civil 
     War battlefield cites.

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