[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 118 (Wednesday, September 9, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10118-S10120]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. WARNER (for himself and Mr. Robb):

[[Page S10119]]

  S. 2450. A bill to make technical corrections to the National Capital 
Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997; to the 
Committee on Governmental Affairs.


              The Lorton Technical Corrections Act of 1998

 Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, today I introduce the Lorton 
Technical Corrections Act of 1998, along with my colleague Senator 
Robb.
  As you know, I along with my colleague Congressman Tom Davis and the 
rest of the delegation from the Commonwealth of Virginia succeeded in 
1997, in passing the National Capital Revitalization and Self-
Government Improvement Act to close the Lorton Complex in its entirety, 
and relocate prisoners to other facilities outside of northern 
Virginia.
  Under this act, transfer of the Lorton facility would go to the 
control of the U.S. Department of the Interior after 2001. Since that 
time, however, discussions with both the affected communities and the 
Department of Interior have concluded that this is not the best option 
for ultimate disposal of this property, and that the General Services 
Administration would be a better agency to assume title to the property 
for ultimate disposal.
  Fairfax County would then be able to submit a reuse plan to the 
General Services Administration delineating preferred permissible or 
required uses of the land. It should also be noted that the Department 
of Interior will still have the authority to use a portion of this 
property for land exchange, to expand the properties of the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service properties, as originally envisioned.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues to resolve this most 
important issue.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. COVERDELL:
  S. 2451. A bill to improve protection and management of the 
Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area in the State of Georgia; 
to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.


     chattahoochee national recreation area boundaries legislation

 Mr. COVERDELL. Mr. President, today I introduce legislation 
which would modify the boundaries of the Chattahoochee River National 
Recreation Area to protect and preserve the endangered Chattahoochee 
River and provide additional recreation opportunities for the citizens 
of Georgia and our nation. This legislation authorizes the creation of 
a greenway buffer between the river and private development to prevent 
further pollution from continued development, provide flood and erosion 
control, and maintain water quality for safe drinking water and for the 
fish and wildlife dependent on the river system. In addition, this 
legislation promotes private-public partnerships by authorizing $25 
million in federal funds for land acquisition for the recreation area. 
This $25 million will be matched by private funds but only if Congress 
acts quickly. The State of Georgia, private foundations, corporate 
entities, private individuals, and others have already given or pledged 
tens of millions of dollars to protect and preserve the Chattahoochee 
River for future generations of Georgians to enjoy.
  The legislation I introduce today is a Senate companion to 
legislation introduced by Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. I applaud 
the leadership Speaker Gingrich has shown on this important issue. It 
is crucial for Congress to act quickly on this legislation in order to 
protect the Chattahoochee River, a vital natural resource. I look 
forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate on this proposal 
and urge its speedy consideration.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mrs. BOXER:
  S. 2452. A bill to amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act 
to require States receiving funds under section 106 of such act to have 
in effect a State law providing for a criminal penalty on an individual 
who fails to report witnessing another individual engaging in sexual 
abuse of a child; to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources.


                          sherrice iverson act

 Mr. BOXER. Mr. President, I am pleased to join Congressman 
Nick Lampson of Texas today in introducing the Sherrice Iverson Act. 
This ``good samaritan'' legislation is named in honor of the 7-year old 
girl molested and murdered in a Nevada casino in May of 1997, while a 
bystander did nothing.
  Nevada authorities report this vicious attack was at least partially 
witnessed by David Cash, Jr. the best friend of the assailant. Mr. Cash 
was in a position to stop this brutal murder, yet he did nothing. He 
then failed to report the crime to the proper authorities. Nevada 
officials considered prosecuting Mr. Cash for his callous disregard of 
human life but found no legal basis for a criminal prosecution.
  Nevada officials had no legal recourse because the state does not 
have a ``good Samaritan'' law requiring witnesses to report crimes to 
the proper authorities.
  This is wrong and we need to address that aspect of our laws. That is 
exactly what the Service Iverson Act does. It requires that states pass 
laws requiring witnesses of child sexual abuse to report that crime to 
the police. If they do not pass such laws, states would become 
ineligible for federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act funds. 
The details of these laws, including the penalties imposed, are left to 
the states.
  The bill only requires people to report the crimes they witness; it 
does not require them to intervene in potentially dangerous situations. 
Only two states, Vermont and Minnesota, currently have such ``good 
samaritan'' laws.
  I want to thank Representative Nick Lampson for all his hard work on 
this issue, and I look forward to working with him to pass this 
important legislation; I ask unanimous consent that the text of this 
bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2452

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Sherrice Iverson Act''.

     SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT ON STATES RECEIVING GRANTS FOR CHILD 
                   ABUSE AND NEGLECT PREVENTION AND TREATMENT 
                   PROGRAMS.

       (a) In General.--Section 106(b)(2) of the Child Abuse 
     Prevention and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a(b)(2)) is 
     amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting ``; and''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(E) an assurance in the form of a certification by the 
     chief executive officer of the State that the State has in 
     effect and is enforcing a State law providing for a criminal 
     penalty on an individual 18 years of age or older who fails 
     to report to a State or local law enforcement official that 
     the individual has witnessed another individual in the State 
     engaging in sexual abuse of a child.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
     shall take effect on December 31, 2004.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. ROTH:
  S. 2453. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend 
the credit for producing electricity from certain renewable resources; 
to the Committee on Finance.


               poultry electric energy power legislation

  Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, today I introduce legislation that would 
amend section 45 of the Internal Revenue Code to provide a tax credit 
to biomass energy facilities that use chicken manure as fuel.
  Joining me as original cosponsors are Senators Biden, Mikulski, 
Sarbanes, Jeffords, Harkin, Helms, Huchinson, and Bumpers. 
  Mr. President, I am bullish on poultry's future in America. It is 
hard not to be with world-wide poultry consumption growing at double-
digit rates.
  In the United States, poultry production has tripled since 1975. We 
now produce almost 8 billion chickens a year to feed the growing world-
wide demand for poultry.
  In particular, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia produce some of the 
world's finest poultry. Just last year Delmarva poultry farmers 
produced over 600 million chickens. Our poultry farmers are among the 
most productive and efficient in the world.
  As the amount of chickens we produce as a nation has grown, so too 
has the amount of manure.
  Due to environmental pressures, spreading manure on land is no longer 
an option in some areas for our rapidly growing poultry industry.

[[Page S10120]]

  In the United Kingdom, several companies have been able to do what 
medieval alchemists dreamed of--turning a base element into gold--in 
this case an agricultural waste product into electricity.
  The UK has two utility plants that use poultry manure to generate 
electricity. These two poultry power plants will, when combined with a 
third scheduled to open this fall, burn 50 percent of the UK's total 
volume of chicken manure.
  The electricity generated by these plants will supply enough power 
for 100,000 homes. These plants have the support of both the poultry 
industry and the international environmental community.
  The way this system works is simple.
  Power stations buy poultry manure from surrounding poultry farmers 
and transport it to the power station. At the station the manure is 
burned in a furnace at high temperatures, heating water in a boiler to 
produce steam which drives a turbine linked to a generator. The 
electricity is then transfered to the local electricity grid.
  It is then used to supply electricity to commercial and residential 
customers.
  There are no waste products created through this process. Instead, a 
valuable by-product emerges in the form of a nitrogen-free ash, which 
is marketed as an environmentally friendly fertilizer.
  The legislation I am introducing today will provide a tax credit to 
energy facilities that use poultry manure as a fuel to generate 
electricity.
  It will build on concepts in the tax code that provide incentives for 
environmentally friendly energy production.
  I am introducing this legislation in an effort to encourage the 
development of another environmentally-friendly method of producing 
electricity, while at the same time tackling a thorny animal waste 
disposal problem.
  This legislation will provide incentives to build an energy plant 
that will not only dispose of poultry manure and create clean 
electricity, but will also supply our nation's farmers with a clean 
fertilizer free of nitrates.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in cosponsoring my bill, the Poultry 
Electric Energy Power Act, affectionately known as the PEEP Act. It is 
important for future generations that we continue to explore green 
technologies that will protect our environment.

                          ____________________