[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 128 (Tuesday, September 23, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H7646-H7648]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 1997

  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
concur in the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 1420) to amend the 
National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 to improve 
the management of the National Wildlife Refuge System, and for other 
purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:
  Senate amendments:
       Page 4, line 11, after ``a'' insert ``wildlife-dependent 
     recreational use or any other''.
       Page 11, line 19, strike out ``and''.
       Page 11, strike out lines 22 and 23 and insert ``fish and 
     wildlife agencies during the course of acquiring and managing 
     refuges; and
       ``(N) monitor the status and trend of fish, wildlife, and 
     plants in each refuge.''.
       Page 15, line 8, after ``use'' insert ``, except that, in 
     the case of any use authorized for a period longer than 10 
     years (such as an electric utility right-of-way), the 
     reevaluation required by this clause shall examine compliance 
     with the terms and conditions of the authorization, not 
     examine the authorization itself''.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Alaska [Mr. Young] and the gentleman from California [Mr. Miller] will 
each control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Alaska [Mr. Young].
  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  (Mr. YOUNG of Alaska asked and was given permission to revise and 
extend his remarks.)
  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, on June 3 the House passed H.R. 
1420 by a vote of 407 to 1. They approved the National Wildlife Refuge 
System Improvement Act. This measure is the result of 3 years of hard 
work by the Committee on Resources, the minority and majority. The 
gentleman from California [Mr. Miller] and myself and the gentleman 
from Michigan [Mr. Dingell] and other people were involved.
  We conducted seven hearings and three markups on ways to improve our 
National Wildlife Refuge System. It is the culmination of successful 
negotiations between members of the committee, the administration, 
hunting and conservation and environmental groups.
  The other body has now overwhelmingly approved the amended version of 
H.R. 1420. The three differences in the legislation include an expanded 
definition of the term ``compatible use'' to

[[Page H7647]]

mean ``a wildlife-dependent recreational use or any other use of a 
refuge''; a requirement that the Secretary monitor the status and 
trends of fish, wildlife, and plants in each refuge; and a 
clarification requiring existing rights-of-way within refuges.
  I have carefully reviewed these changes and find them acceptable. By 
approving this measure today, we will conclude the legislative process 
and send the bill to the President of the United States. By so doing, I 
am convinced we have enacted an organic act for our 509 wildlife refuge 
units that will serve our Nation well in the 21st century.
  In the final analysis, this is a fine piece of conservation 
legislation that is true to the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, and it 
reaffirms the National Wildlife System Act of 1966.
  Before closing, again I would like to mention the people that have 
participated in this extraordinary effort: My good friend, the 
gentleman from Michigan, Mr. Dingell, who was one of the fathers of the 
Wildlife Refuge Act; the gentleman from New Jersey, Mr. Jim Saxton, the 
chairman of the subcommittee; the gentleman from Tennessee, Mr. John 
Tanner; and the gentleman from California, Mr. Duke Cunningham.
  I would like to recognize and express my appreciation to Secretary 
Bruce Babbitt; Majority Leader Trent Lott; the ranking minority member, 
the gentleman from California, Mr. George Miller, who cosponsored this 
bill; the leadership of the Senate Environment and Public Works 
Committee; and all the conservation and environmental and hunting 
organizations supporting this effort.
  Together we have been successful in crafting a bill that will 
effectively conserve and manage our fish and wildlife for the future, 
while allowing millions of Americans to enjoy wildlife-dependent 
recreation within our refuge system.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill, and I urge an ``aye'' vote on H.R. 
1420.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the amendments to H.R. 1420 made by 
the other body. This is in fact a bona fide compromise which resulted 
from concessions on both sides. When the House last considered this 
bill, it was 407 to 1. Maybe we can find that one person and they can 
vote for it this time.
  I want to thank my chairman of the committee, the members, and so 
many people who helped on this measure: Secretary Babbitt, the 
gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Dingell], the gentleman from Alaska [Mr. 
Young], and the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Saxton], who really did 
in fact search for common ground on this bill.
  This bill continues building on the original version of the refuge 
system put together by the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Dingell], a 
true National Wildlife Refuge System that was envisioned at that time, 
and ensures that wildlife refuges, the only public lands dedicated to 
wildlife conservation, are properly managed and protected, while 
encouraging greater public appreciation for wildlife and the use of the 
refuge system.
  Whether or not Members like to shoot birds with a Browning or a 
Nikon, this bill will enhance their appreciation of the refuge system. 
I urge passage of the legislation.
  Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1420, the National Wildlife Refuge 
System Improvement Act for the first time establishes a conservation 
mission for America's 509 refuge units.
  Equally important, the measure establishes hunting, fishing, and 
environmental education, as legitimate and appropriate priority general 
public uses of the 92 million-plus acres of land and water that make up 
our refuge system. It also affirms the refuge system not only as a home 
to all wildlife, but also as a haven to endangered wildlife and fish.
  Indeed, each of the six National Wildlife Refuges in Tennessee are 
either entirely or in part in my congressional district and you can 
fish and hunt on each of them.
  Through the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Program, the North 
American Wetlands Conservation Fund, the Dingell-Johnson-Wallop-Breaux 
Sportfish Restoration Program, the purchase of Federal duck stamps, and 
many other conservation and restoration programs, hunters and anglers 
are the unquestioned leaders when it comes to wildlife and fisheries 
restoration and conservation.
  America's hunters and anglers have contributed well over $6 billion 
to wildlife and fisheries restoration over the past 60 years. And last 
year alone, they spent nearly $60 billion pursuing the twin traditions 
of hunting and fishing. And with this legislation, hunters and anglers 
are again leading the conservation movement.
  In the best tradition of President Theodore Roosevelt, an avid 
hunter, this bill recognizes that fact. So I want to applaud Chairman 
Young, Representative Dingell, Chairman Saxton, Representative Miller, 
Secretary Babbitt, and those at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are 
all to be commended for their leadership on this measure.
  The bipartisan process that led to this consensus agreement should be 
a model for problem solving.
  This is an excellent vote for conservation, hunting, and fishing, as 
we approach the 100th anniversary of our National Wildlife Refuge 
System. Earlier this year our bill received 407 votes in the House, the 
Senate passed it earlier this month by unanimous consent, and the 
President has said he will sign the legislation.
  I would urge everyone's support of this bill so that we can send it 
to President Clinton for his signature.
  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1420, the National 
Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act.
  This bill passed the House on June 3, 1997 on a recorded vote of 407 
to 1. The National Wildlife Refuge Improvement Act provides an organic 
act for the Refuge System similar to those which exist for other public 
lands. Its principle focus is to establish clearly the conservation 
mission of the System, provide a mechanism for unit-specific refuge 
planning, and give refuge managers clear direction and procedures for 
making determinations regarding wildlife conservation and public uses 
of the System and individual refuges.
  The other body passed this bill, amended, on October 9, 1997. The 
House concurs to the amendments.
  I urge all Members to vote in support of this bill, which greatly 
benefits the Refuge System.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. Mr. Speaker, when President Theodore Roosevelt 
established the first wildlife refuge in Florida 94 years ago, he could 
hardly have imagined a national system of 500 refuges covering 93 
million acres.
  Today, we have another opportunity to make a genuine contribution to 
this remarkable legacy of wildlife conservation and management. It is 
in that spirit that I rise today in support of H.R. 1420, the National 
Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997. The Chairman and 
Ranking Member have worked together to craft a bill that ensures the 
future biological integrity of our refuges.
  Legacies are not historic relics: like the species that inhabit our 
refuges, they survive only if they prosper and evolve. This bill will 
help protect species large and small, beautiful and not-so-beautiful, 
endangered and common alike, and specifically recognizes the benefits 
that refuges bring to people who live and work near them.
  The bill explicitly encourages the Interior Department to work with 
local communities, states and private and non-profit groups. It is 
precisely such a partnership that has characterized our progress toward 
one of the newest additions to the refuge system, in Mashpee on Cape 
Cod, home to over 180 migratory fish and bird species.
  Like so many others across the country, the Mashpee Refuge has value 
even beyond its statutory objectives--in this case, in safeguarding the 
quality and quantity of the area's fragile water resources. This 
imperative has become particularly acute with recent findings that 
pollution emanating from a nearby military reservation is seriously 
contaminating groundwater and jeopardizing future drinking water 
supplies.
  For all these reasons, I urge my colleagues to enact H.R. 1420--and 
then to pay for it by passing a 1998 Interior appropriations bill that 
includes the $700 million for land acquisition provided for in the 
budget agreement.
  This bill draws on historic, bipartisan support for the basic mission 
of the refuge system, and makes adjustments that keep this refuge 
system alive and vibrant. I urge my colleagues to again join me in 
helping the House send this legislation to the President.
  Mr. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for 
time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for 
time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Alaska [Mr. Young] that the House suspend the rules and 
concur in the Senate amendments to H.R. 1420.
  The question was taken.
  Mr. CONDIT. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum

[[Page H7648]]

is not present and I make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 5 of rule I and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

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