[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 150 (Tuesday, October 20, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H11553-H11558]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF S. 1132, BANDELIER NATIONAL MONUMENT
ADMINISTRATIVE IMPROVEMENT AND WATERSHED PROTECTION ACT OF 1998 AND S.
2133, PRESERVATION OF THE ROUTE 66 CORRIDOR
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I
call up House Resolution 604 and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
H. Res. 604
Resolved, That upon the adoption of this resolution it
shall be in order without intervention of any point of order
to consider in the House the bill (S. 1132) to modify the
boundaries of the Bandelier National Monument to include the
lands within the headwaters of the Upper Alamo Watershed
which drain into the Monument and which are not currently
within the jurisdiction of a Federal land management agency,
to authorize purchase or donation of those lands, and for
other purposes. The bill shall be considered as read for
amendment. The previous question shall be considered as
ordered on the bill to final passage without intervening
motion except: (1) one hour of debate on the bill equally
divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority
member of the Committee on Resources; and (2) one motion to
recommit.
Sec. 2. Upon the adoption of this resolution it shall be in
order without intervention of any point of order to consider
in the House the bill (S. 2133) an act to preserve the
cultural resources of the Route 66 corridor and to authorize
the Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance. The bill
shall be considered as read for amendment. The previous
question shall be considered as ordered on
[[Page H11554]]
the bill to final passage without intervening motion except:
(1) one hour of debate on the bill equally divided and
controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the
Committee on Resources; and (2) one motion to recommit.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New York (Mr. Solomon) is
recognized for 1 hour.
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield half
our time, 30 minutes, to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hall), pending
which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration
of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.
Mr. Speaker, this resolution is a straightforward rule providing for
the consideration of two Senate bills that are pending now before the
House.
First, the resolution provides for consideration in the House,
without intervention of any point of order, of S. 1132, the Bandelier
National Monument Administrative Improvement and Watershed Protection
Act of 1998.
The rule provides 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by
the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Resources,
and the rule also provides for one motion to recommit on this bill.
Secondly, the rule provides for the consideration in the House, again
without intervention of any point of order, of S. 2133, the
Preservation of the Route 66 Corridor.
The rule also provides 2 hours of debate on that bill equally divided
and controlled by the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on
Resources.
Finally, the rule provides one motion to recommit on the second bill
as well.
Mr. Speaker, S. 1132, Bandelier National Monument Administrative
Improvement and Watershed Protection Act of 1998, was introduced by
Senator Bingaman on July 31, 1997, was reported by the Senate Committee
on Energy and Natural Resources on April 19 of this year, and was
adopted by the Senate on July 17, 1998.
Likewise, S. 2133, the Preservation of the Route 66 Corridor, was
introduced by Senator Domenici on June 4 of this year, was reported by
the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on September 25,
last month, and passed the Senate on October 9, just a couple of weeks
ago.
Mr. Speaker, both these Senate bills were considered by the House
last week under the suspension of the rules procedure. That is a
procedure where we bring noncontroversial legislation to the floor and,
instead of requiring a majority vote of 50 percent plus one, it
requires two-thirds to pass, because it is being brought under a
special procedure. However, both of these bills, which have bipartisan
support in both Chambers, failed to achieve the necessary two-thirds
support of the House required under that procedure. There were some 50
Members missing on that particular day.
Nevertheless, both these bills did receive the support of a majority
of the House. Consequently, this rule allows the House to consider
these bills under a regular order procedure that will most efficiently
get them to the President's desk for signature in the waning days of
this Congress, and might I say the waning day of this House of
Representatives. This should be the last day that we are going to be
meeting on legislation.
Mr. Speaker, considering Senate bills in an expeditious manner at the
end of a session of Congress is a common House practice. This rule will
help the 105th Congress to expeditiously conclude its work, and I urge
adoption by the House of both the rule and the two bills that it does
make in order.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HALL of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume, and I wish to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Solomon),
the chairman of the Committee on Rules, for yielding me this time.
Mr. Speaker, this is a closed rule. It will allow for consideration
of two resolutions, one is S. 1132, the Bandelier National Monument
Administration Improvement and Watershed Protection Act of 1998, and S.
2133, which is called the Route 66 Preservation Act.
As my colleague from New York has described, this rule provides for 1
hour of general debate to be equally divided and controlled by the
chairman and the ranking minority member on the Committee on Resources.
No amendments will be in order under this very closed rule.
Mr. Speaker, on the last day the House will be in session in the
105th Congress, once again we are asked to vote on measures for which
there have been no House hearings, no committee reports, and without
any opportunity to perfect these bills on the House floor.
My objection to this rule is more on process than substance. The
Route 66 Corridor bill is controversial, should not be coming up under
a closed rule without House hearings or committee markup or committee
report. There are several uncontroversial bills that the Committee on
Resources has considered and approved and these bills are not being
brought to the House floor. The two bills we are taking up today,
including one which is controversial, should not be given this special
treatment.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume
to say that there is no one I have greater respect for than the
gentleman from Ohio, but I would just say that I think he protests too
much.
These bills do have committee reports. There were hearings held in
the Senate. They are relatively noncontroversial and, as everyone
knows, in the waning days of any session that I have been here for, for
the last 20 years, legislation like this passes back and forth between
the two Houses, and that is what is happening here today. It is
absolutely regular order.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from New Mexico (Mr. Redmond), an outstanding relatively new Member of
this body, but he has certainly left his mark in such a short time and
we admire him.
Mr. REDMOND. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York for
yielding to me this time to speak in favor of this rule.
I rise in support of the rule for S. 1132, the Bandelier National
Monument Administration Improvement and Watershed Protection Act, and I
urge the support of my colleagues on this legislation.
The Bandelier National Monument was established by the President on
February 11, 1916 to preserve the archeological resources of a vanished
people, with as much land as may be necessary for the proper protection
thereof. At various times since the establishment of the monument, the
Congress and the President have adjusted the boundaries and purpose of
the monument to further preservation of the archeological and natural
resources within the monument.
S. 1132 was introduced by Senator Bingaman in the Senate. This bill
will expand the boundaries of Bandelier National Monument, located in
northern New Mexico, next to the Santa Fe National Forest.
With passage of S. 1132, the State of New Mexico will see
approximately 900 acres of expansion of the Bandelier National
Monument, one of the oldest national monuments in the United States.
The National Park Service will be able to fulfill a long-time goal to
acquire the Alamo Headwaters and to protect the watershed from any
upstream contamination.
S. 1132 expands Bandelier National Monument to include the lands
often known as Elk Meadows within the headwaters of the upper Alamo
Watershed which drains into the Monument, but which are not currently
within the jurisdiction of the Federal Land Management Agency because
they currently reside on privately owned land.
This bill has both bipartisan and bicameral support. The Senate
support of S. 1132 was the result of efforts of both Senator Domenici
and Senator Bingaman. S. 1132 passed the Senate with unanimous consent.
S. 1132 will authorize the National Park Service to purchase
approximately 900 acres from a willing seller located adjacent to
Bandelier. This land is an inholding within the Santa Fe National
Forest. It makes sense to add it to the Federal inventory of property.
There is no doubt in my mind that if the Federal Government does not
purchase this land at this time, it will be developed and the
protection of the
[[Page H11555]]
monument watershed will be lost forever. If this bill does not pass
this year, then the National Park Service will not be able to use the
money appropriated in the omnibus bill that Congress will pass later
this week. This is money for the purchase of the land called Elk
Meadows.
S. 1132 will allow the National Park Service to readjust the
boundaries of the Bandelier around Elk Meadows, and to take in the
watershed north of the Monument for protective purposes.
This bill should be noncontroversial. The National Park Service fully
supports this. Members on the other side of the aisle should support
this bill introduced by a Senator from their own party. The residents
of the region are very supportive of this bill.
Currently, Bandelier's boundaries tend to ignore the natural
geographic features, particularly on the western side that cuts across
the mid-watershed of the Alamo Canyon.
In March 1997, the Sandoval County Commission approved a subdivision
on Elk Meadows of an approximately 90 private acre parcel that
straddles the headwaters. That development will be inevitable if this
bill does not pass. Development in what may be considered to be an
environmentally and ecologically sensitive area would permanently
seriously disturb the Bandelier Wilderness Area.
{time} 1415
The National Park Service's recommendations for fixing these problems
are two. One, expand the Bandelier boundary to include the Alamo
headwaters and, two, acquire the title to the land to include the
adjacent boundary.
Under current law, the U.S. Forest Service has blanket authority to
purchase lands outside the Forest Service boundaries in every state
except New Mexico and Arizona. That is why the boundaries are needed to
be changed legislatively before the purchase can take place. S. 1132
would make the necessary boundary adjustment and authorize the purchase
of land.
Mr. Speaker, I would also like to speak in favor of the Route 66
component of this rule. I think it is important for us to understand
that Route 66 is very important to the culture of America. Long before
the information superhighway came about, there was an American
superhighway. It was called Route 66. Just mentioning its name invoked
the restless American spirit of exploration and adventure and yet it
linked America together.
I cannot help but think of Route 66 without thinking of the words to
the song from Woodie Guthrie as he states, ``I roamed and rambled and
followed my footsteps through the sparkling sands of her diamond
desert, and all around me the voice kept saying `this land was made for
you and me.' ''
Route 66 is that land that was described by John Steinbeck in the
novel ``The Grapes of Wrath.'' Truly, Route 66 has deep roots in
American culture and protection of this is very important.
Mr. HALL of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman
from California (Mr. Miller), who is the ranking minority member on the
Committee on Resources.
Mr. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for
yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this rule because, once again,
the Republican majority is misusing the procedures of this House to
deny the Democratic Members an opportunity to participate fully in the
legislative process, which is our right.
Last week the House voted down two resources bills that are now back
before us today. These bills have only been recently introduced. They
have never had hearings. They have never been subjected to review by
the Committee on Resources, and they have never been debated or marked
up.
So this House is being called upon to vote to spend nearly $20
million on projects that we have never reviewed. They may be good. They
may be wasteful. We do not know.
The proponents of these bills never asked for a hearing. Or if they
did, they never got them. They certainly did not make a case for these
bills. Now, at the last hour, we are told we have to pass them, without
full debate, without any amendment, without questions being answered.
Why? Because everyone in this Chamber knows, for election reasons, pure
and simple.
Once again, the Republican leadership of the Committee on Resources
and the House is demanding that only Republican-sponsored bills be
allowed to come to the House floor. When they tried this tactic two
weeks ago, the House overwhelmingly defeated their Omnibus Parks bill.
And then we did what we should have done in the first place. We
negotiated out an agreement where an equitable number of Democratic and
Republican bills were passed.
Now the Republican leadership is desperate to enhance the image of
the vulnerable Members with terrible environmental voting records who
did not do their jobs to get these bills considered in the normal
procedure. These rules let them steamroll this House into passing
legislation that was never considered by any subcommittee or committee
of the House.
And what of the promises of fair treatment? Request after request for
consideration of Democratic sponsored bills, bills that have passed the
committee, that have passed the Senate, just like the two we are
presenting here today, are ignored. We are told the Democratic bills we
have requested cannot be considered. Not the bill of the gentlewoman
from the Virgin Islands (Ms. Christian-Green), not the bill of the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Reyes), not the bill of the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Rodriguez), not the bill of Senator Daschle, not the bill of
Senator Landrieu. None of them. Just Republican bills for vulnerable
incumbents. Does anyone doubt that politics is at work here?
Let us look at the bill of the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands
(Ms. Christian-Green), a bill that affects only her district that was
approved unanimously by the Committee on Resources, a bill without any
known controversy. I have asked no fewer than five times that this
noncontroversial bill be brought before the House and each time I am
told that it cannot be considered, that it is out of our hands at the
Committee on Resources. Whose hands is it in? We do not know. No one
will say.
Lo and behold, yesterday a story appears in the Virgin Islands Daily
News quoting a Republican staffer of the Committee on Resources who
denies that there has been any effort to block consideration of the
bill of the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Ms. Christian-Green).
He claims delays are common at the end of session. He conveniently
ignored that our committee passed over 30 bills last week, many of them
having received less consideration than the committee-approved bill of
the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Ms. Christian-Green).
What we are seeing is a stealth effort to kill Democratic bills while
trying to pass unknown and expensive legislation simply to benefit
marginal Republican Members. This House should not do that.
We should oppose these rules because they are designed simply to
silence the minority, deliver election year favors to vulnerable
Republicans. We should oppose these rules because they are an attempt
to misuse the rules of this House to prevent full consideration of this
legislation at last hour and to prevent any Member of this House from
offering an amendment to approve these bills. We should oppose these
rules because they disenfranchise the entire Democratic Caucus of this
House.
This action does not suspend the rules, as they tried last week, but
it does bend the rules to play partisan politics with taxpayers' money.
We should vote no on the rules and we should vote no on the bills.
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I am going to retire at the end of this year, after 20 years in this
House, and the one thing I will not miss about this body, although I
will miss almost everything else, is statements like my good friend and
nextdoor neighbor in the second floor of Rayburn, when he stands up
here and he criticizes Republicans for bringing these bills up in a
political way on the last day of the session. He says we are doing it
to help marginal Republicans.
Well, first of all, Senator Bingaman, last I knew, was not a
Republican. He is a Democrat. He is not marginal. And he wants this
bill. He has asked for it.
[[Page H11556]]
Senator Domenici is a Republican in the other body. He certainly is
not marginal. And he is an outstanding Member and he wants this bill.
We are doing exactly what the Democrats did for 40 years on the last
days of the session. Only this time we are bringing two bills before
the House that did pass the House with a majority vote, not with two-
thirds as required under suspension, because 50-some Members were
missing that day. And now we are bringing the bills up and that is the
way it should be, and I am very proud to have done it.
Over here we have two outstanding Members, one I spoke of, the
gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Redmond) and how he is one of the most
highly respected Members. He replaced a good friend of mine, Bill
Richardson. Bill Richardson and I served together for many years. He
was the UN ambassador. And although he and I did not agree
philosophically on a number of things, he was a good Member. And he is
replaced by an equally good Member.
And we all remember Steve Schiff. Steve Schiff, serving on the
Committee on the Judiciary, was respected on both sides of the aisle.
He was a member of the Committee on Ethics. And every Member of this
body praised him. And he died of cancer not too long ago and he was
replaced by the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson). And in this
short time, I would just say to her, I have never seen any Member come
to this body and take hold and be able to carry out her duties like she
has done. And I just greatly admire and respect her.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman
from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson). Then I would ask my colleagues to tell
me if they think this is a political act.
Mrs. WILSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support today of this rule and in
support also of Senate bill 2133. The fact is that this bill had a
hearing on the Senate side and was marked up in the Senate and passed
the committee by unanimous voice vote.
It passed the Senate floor under unanimous consent and came over here
to the House. It is important to my district, but not in a partisan
political way. It is an important part of Americana and it is something
that my predecessors and Senator Bingaman and Senator Domenici and
others who live along this historic route have been working on for 5
years now. Something that is as simple as this little bill that does
not appropriate a dime, it merely authorizes expenditures over 10 years
and recognizes this historic route, should not be lost in the waning
days of this session.
It is supported by the National Parks and Conservation Association,
which endorses this bill, and by the National Park Service, and enjoys
bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate.
Route 66 is 2,448 miles long. It crosses 8 States and three time
zones, stretching from Chicago all the way down to Los Angeles, and it
is firmly rooted in Americana.
Almost every child in America who studies English in high school
reads ``The Grapes of Wrath,'' where John Steinbeck writes Highway 66
is the migrant road; 66, the long concrete path across the country,
weaving gently up and down on the map from the Mississippi to
Bakersfield, over the red lands and the gray lands, twisting up into
the mountains crossing the divide and down into the bright and terrible
desert, and across the desert to the mountains again and into the rich
California valleys. 66 is the path of a people in flight, refugees from
dust and shrinking land, from the thunder of tractors and shrinking
ownership, from the desert's slow northward invasion, from the twisting
winds that howl up out of Texas, from the floods that bring no richness
to the land and steal what little richness is there.
From all of these, the people are in flight and they come into 66.
From the tributary side roads, from the wagon tracks and the rutted
country roads, 66 is the mother road, the road of flight. 250,000
people over the road. 50,000 old cars wounded, steaming wrecks along
the road, abandoned. Well, what happened to them? What happened to the
folks in that car? Did they walk? Where are they? Where does the
courage come from? Where does the terrible faith come from?
Here is a story we can hardly believe, but it is true and it is funny
and it is beautiful. There was a family of 12 and they were forced off
the land. They had no car. They built a trailer out of junk and loaded
it with their possessions. They pulled it to the side of 66 and waited,
and pretty soon a sedan picked them up. Five of them rode in the sedan
and seven on the trailer and a dog on the trailer. They got to
California in two jumps. The man who pulled them fed them, and that is
true.
How can such courage be and such faith in their own species? Very few
things would teach such faith.
The people in flight from the terror behind, strange things happened
to them, some bitterly cruel and some so beautiful that the faith is
refired forever.
Route 66 is a part of our history and a part of our literature and a
part of our lives, and it continues to be part of our lives from
Chicago all the way down to L.A.
There is a little elementary school in Moriarty, New Mexico, the east
mountains of my district. It is called Route 66 Elementary School. I
showed last week the hubcap that they gave to me, and one of their
teachers there wrote me a letter, and some of the children did, too,
about their school and how it is designed around the Route 66 theme.
There is one of them that I wanted to read, or at least read a part
of it, from Kelsey Byrne in Ms. Trujillo's fourth grade class. It says,
Honorable Congressman Wilson, our principal told us about
the hubcap. It is an honor to have had you show it on
television. I am very glad to get part of my education here
at Route 66. It is historical, you know. I believe that this
school will go on for generations. I think a good education
is very important, especially if you want to be something,
like a computer technician, a teacher or an astronaut. People
use their school education all the time, even us kids. That
is why I think everyone deserves a good education. Route 66
is very important to me. It is old, but it is in very good
shape. I would like to thank you for supporting us and good
luck.
Unlike today's interstate highways, Route 66 is a collection of
roads, tied together by highway signs. It is a means to an end and a
bona fide destination in itself. It is now decommissioned but it
remains a preferred means of travel for those who want to get a little
bit off the beaten path. Remember Phillips 66? It used to be the
Phillips Petroleum Company. It changed its name near Tulsa, Oklahoma,
on Route 66.
Many of us have gotten our kicks on Route 66, and much of our culture
surrounds this great migration westward on Route 66.
When America entered World War II, traffic on Route 66 slowed to a
trickle because of gas rationing. Military convoys began to travel
across the highways with men and machines renewing the need for a fast,
complete corridor from the heart of the country to the coast. Chicago
mobsters like John Dillinger, Al Capone, Bugsy Moran used Route 66 as
their getaway route.
Route 66, the start of it moved to Chicago in 1933 when the World's
Fair reclaimed land that was previously a swamp.
There are many sites along that great route: The Chain of Rocks
Bridge in Missouri; the Jessie James Wax Museum also in Missouri; in
Kansas, and Galena, Kansas, the home of the 1935 United Mine Workers
strike that erupted into violence; the Will Rogers Museum in Oklahoma;
and on into Texas, and the art deco Conoco Service Station there in
Shamrock.
{time} 1430
There is, of course, Cadillac Ranch where Stanley Marsh is buried in
cement, rear end upward, 10 famous tail-fin Cadillacs built from 1948
to 1964. And then, of course, New Mexico through Tucumcari and Santa
Rosa to Moriarty, the home of Route 66 Elementary School, and into
Albuquerque, my hometown, where Route 66 is now central, and one can
drive it from one end to the other looking at the old motor courts and
the curio shops, most of which still operate, and have lunch at the
Route 66 diner. In Arizona, the Petrified National Forest and the
Painted Desert, the Meteor Crater and the gateway to the Grand Canyon
National Park. And finally on into California, the home of Ray Crock's
first McDonald's in San Bernardino, and then on down in Pasadena along
the route of the Tournament of Roses Parade.
Route 66 is truly America's Main Street. This is a simple bill that
recognizes that, promotes tourism along it
[[Page H11557]]
and will help those small businesses that are a part of our heritage.
Route 66 Elementary,
Edgewood, NM.
Dear Representative Heather Wilson: Greetings from Route 66
Elementary. Thank you for your interest in our area. Although
our school building is new, it has a lot of history around it
and within it. In many ways our school is like one of the
original Route 66 Main Street communities.
Our school is located near the site of Old Barton, one of
the many Route 66 filling stations between Tucumcari and
Albuquerque, New Mexico. Old Barton is now only a broken-down
building and windmill. Where the school stands was a cow
pasture. Just down Barton road is the grave of a man who
claimed to be Billy the Kid.
The design of our school includes many features related to
Route 66. When you walk in the front doors you find yourself
on a ``walking map'' beginning at Chicago. To get to our
room, follow the map down the hall, and take a left
immediately after you cross the Arizona border into
California. Our signs in the halls are replicas of the old
highway signs. The front of our school bears up a huge neon
``Route 66'' sign. There is a time capsule buried in the
walls of our building, with things the students chose to
include. Many of our building's features were generated by
the students during the planning phase of our permanent
structure. Our student council raises money by selling the
states on the walking map and, as you well know, cool old
hubcaps.
The folks around here call our part of the historic roadway
``Old 66'', never ``New Mexico 333'' as the people from the
State have renamed it. Although Interstate 40 runs alongside
66 and is much faster, many of our families prefer to take
the more leisurely drive into Albuquerque on 66. Several
families of the students in our class own their own
businesses on or near Route 66, and many others are second,
third, fourth or even fifth generation in this community. We
have strong ties here.
Our school is so small that we have to have combination
classes, and barely have enough students to put together a
sixth grade traveling basketball team, but the students,
families, teachers . . . all of us pitch in to make our
school the best it can be.
Sincerely,
Mr. Tyrrell's 5th/6th grade combination class.
____
October 16, 1998.
Honorable Congresswoman Wilson: It was wonderful for you
to present the hubcap on television that we gave to you. As
you know, our school is located near the Historic Route 66
road. That is why our school's name is Route 66 Elementary.
I heard that you were invited to the Grand Opening but
couldn't make it.
I really think that education is very important. I believe
that everyone needs an education. I think staying in school
is the coolest thing anyone could ever do.
Route 66 Elementary is a very important place to me. One
thing I know about the Historic Route 66 is that it is very
old.
Thanks again!!
Sincerely Yours,
Rebecca Rasbeck,
Mrs. Trujillo's 4th Grade,
Route 66 Elementary.
P.S. Good luck in the next election!
____
October 16, 1998.
Honorable Congresswoman Wilson: Thank you for showing the
hubcap we gave to you on Cable Television. I'm very honored
to be writing this letter to you. I'm also honored to be in a
``famous school.'' I feel education is important to our
future life, because I think it helps us do whatever career
we get. For example if I become an engineer, I would need to
know about spelling, mathematics, social studies, and
science.
Route 66 road goes from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific
Ocean. I don't know very much about Route 66, but I do know
it's very old. Route 66 is important to me. Good luck on the
election! Ohi! Thanks again for making our school famous.
Sincerely,
Nicole Aurand,
Mrs. Trujillo's 4th Grade.
Route 66 Elementary School.
____
October 16, 1998.
Honorable Congresswoman Wilson: Our principal told us about
the hubcap. It is an honor to have had you show it on
television! I am very glad to get part of my education here
at Route 66. It is historical you know. I believe that this
school will go on for generations!
I think a good education is very important. Especially if
you want to be something like a computer technician, a
teacher, or an astronaut.
People use their school education all the time. Even us
kids do! That's why I think everyone deserves a good
education.
Route 66 is very important to me. It is old but is in very
good shape. I would like to thank you for supporting us. Good
luck at the election!
Sincerely yours,
Kelsey Byrne,
Mrs. Trujillo's 4th grade.
____
October 16, 1998.
Honorable Congresswoman Wilson: I think education means
helping children with there lifes. Route 66 elementary gets
kids to do better with education. We sent you your hubcap
because we are good citizens. Route 66 was built from the
east to west in the 50's.
Sincerely yours,
Steven Christensen,
Route 66,
Mrs. Trujillo's 4th grade.
____
October 16, 1998.
Honorable Congresswoman Wilson: Thank you for showing the
hubcap that we gave to you on television. I really appreciate
you doing that!
My principle Mr. Marshall said for me to write this letter.
It is about our school.
I will tell you about it. Route 66 starts at the Pacific
and ends at the Alantic Ocean. As you know our school is on
it. I will also tell you about the history about it. Route 66
is a very old road.
Now I will tell you about education. It means a lot to me.
You get a job from education and a lot more. The most thing I
like about education is knowing that you learning something.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Hunt,
From Mrs. Trujillo's class.
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
As my colleagues know, that to me was so reminiscing. I enjoyed it
immensely. But I would like to just point out to the Members that the
gentlewoman from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson) not only is a mother of two,
and she is serving here in this body, but she also is the first woman
graduate of the United States Air Force Academy ever to be elected to
Congress. I wish we had more like her. I wish we had more veterans
serving in this body. I am going to have more to say about that when we
bring up the omnibus bill in just a few minutes and about how we ought
to be defending the defenders of our Nation, and I thank the
gentlewoman.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he might consume to the gentleman
from New Mexico (Mr. Redmond).
Mr. REDMOND. Mr. Speaker, again I would like to stand in support of
the rule on this bill for both the Bandelier National Monument
expansion and also the Route 66 designation.
And, Mr. Speaker, you are aware that in America there are a number of
symbols in our Nation that unite us as a people. We have the Statue of
Liberty, we have the monuments here in Washington, D.C., but there is a
symbol that the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson) has
identified for us, the symbol of Route 66 that stretches from my
hometown, Chicago, through my new home state, New Mexico, and on into
California, and again during the years of the Depression and many times
strong relationships and ties were built during that era for our
people, and part of our national heritage is identified by that
defining point in our history. And, as I stated earlier, the song by
Woody Guthrie talks about this land is your land, this land is my land,
from California to the New York islands, from the redwood forests, to
the Gulf stream waters, this land is made for you and me. And the Route
66 embodies that symbol and unites all Americans. Mr. Guthrie goes on
in his song, and I believe that he was describing Route 66 when he
wrote: ``As I was walking that ribbon of highway, I looked above me,
the endless skyway, I saw below me the golden valley, this land was
made for you and me.''
I would respectfully ask that my colleagues on both sides of the
aisle support the Route 66 and also the Bandelier expansion because
both these are symbolic of who we are as Americans and how we are
united as a people.
Mr. HALL of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, before I yield back the balance of my time, I would just
simply say that we in the minority will probably, almost 100 percent,
be against this rule and for a variety of reasons. Number one, it is a
closed rule. Number two, the bill itself really has not had any
hearings in the House of Representatives, and in this particular rule
there is not really a chance to change it, so it is up or down. We do
not have a choice because it says in the rule that we cannot make
amendments. There has been no committee report. It has been said by
papers that I have here by the ranking minority member that one of the
bills that is up before us is somewhat controversial, and if we put all
those things together, one is enough for us to oppose the bill. The
majority really does not give us much of a choice.
So, for that reason we will oppose the rule.
[[Page H11558]]
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Hall), and in
closing let me just repeat one more time these are two noncontroversial
bills. The people that have been on the floor listening, the people
that have been back in their offices listening and certainly the
viewing audience, I think they have made up their mind there is nothing
controversial about these bills. They were brought to the floor under
regular order. I have here a whole list of Members who were not here
for the vote on these two bills, 50 some Members and an awful lot of
Democrats. I do not know where they were:
The gentleman from New York (Mr. Ackerman), the gentleman from Maine
(Mr. Allen), the gentleman from California (Mr. Berman), the gentleman
from California (Mr. Brown), the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Edwards),
the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank), the gentleman from Texas
(Mr. Frost), the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Furse), the gentleman
from Texas (Mr. Green), the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hefner),
the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Johnson), the gentlewoman from
Connecticut (Mrs. Kennelly), the gentleman from California (Mr.
Lantos), the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski), the gentleman from
Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr.
McIntyre), the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Meehan), and it goes
on, and on, and on.
They ought to have a chance to vote on this. I urge support of the
rule.
In closing, let me point out to anyone who has any question about
either one of these bills: Because of the changes that I and the
Committee on Rules made when we took control here 4 years ago, the
minority party always has the right to a motion to recommit, and that
means they can offer their alternative. They have an alternative; now
is their time to offer it.
Ms. CHRISTIAN-GREEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in objection to S. 2133
which is being brought to the floor today without having undergone
review by the House Resources Committee.
First of all, the program will, if enacted, divert $10 million from
underfunded and backlogged projects, possibly even in the National Park
system in my own district, the U.S. Virgin Islands. Today, my
constituents have been asked to pay a fee, despite the fact that when
the property was deeded to the Park Service it was with the stipulation
that residents especially on the Island of St. John where over 60% of
the land is park, would never be charged for use. This would not be
necessary if we were funded adequately, and so I object to this bill.
But even more insulting to our territory is what happened in the case
of my bill, H.R. 4313, which is similar to provision passed for Guam,
and which was submitted upon a resolution passed by the local
representatives in the Virgin Islands. Our legislature asked to be
given the authority to reduce the size of our legislature even though
it was passed unanimously out of committee, it still has not come to
the floor for passage.
This is similar to the fate of several of the Democratic bills that
are languishing and apparently about to die as we close out this
Congress.
This is no way to do the people's business, Mr. Speaker. I urge my
colleagues in the interest of fairness to vote no on the rule and on
these bills.
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I
move the previous question on the resolution.
The previous question was ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaTourette). The question is on the
resolution.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. HALL of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 5 of rule I, further
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
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