[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 98 (Tuesday, July 13, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H5384-H5387]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 2466, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
             AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2000

  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the 
Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 243 and ask for its 
immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 243

       Resolved, That at any time after the adoption of this 
     resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule 
     XVIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the 
     Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of 
     the bill (H.R. 2466) making appropriations for the Department 
     of the Interior and related agencies for the fiscal year 
     ending September 30, 2000, and for other purposes. The first 
     reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. Points of order 
     against consideration of the bill for failure to comply with 
     section 306 or 401 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 
     are waived. General debate shall be confined to the bill and 
     shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by 
     the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on 
     Appropriations. After general debate the bill shall be 
     considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. Points 
     of order against provisions in the bill for failure to comply 
     with clause 2 of rule XXI are waived except as follows: 
     beginning with ``Provided'' on page 37, line 23, through the 
     closing quotation mark on page 38, line 13; beginning with 
     ``Provided'' on page 59, line 13, through 22; beginning with 
     ``and such new'' on page 76, line 16, through 22; and page 
     80, line 11, through ``funding agreements'' on line 23. Where 
     points of order are waived against part of a paragraph, 
     points of order against a provision in another part of such 
     paragraph may be made only against such provision and not 
     against the entire paragraph. The amendment printed in the 
     report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution 
     may be offered only by a Member designated in the report, 
     shall be considered as read, shall not be subject to 
     amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division 
     of the question in the House or in the Committee of the 
     Whole. All points of order against that amendment are waived. 
     During consideration of the bill for amendment, the Chairman 
     of the Committee of the Whole may accord priority in 
     recognition on the basis of whether the Member offering an 
     amendment has caused it to be printed in the portion of the 
     Congressional Record designated for that purpose in clause 8 
     of rule XVIII. Amendments so printed shall be considered as 
     read. The chairman of the Committee of the Whole may: (1) 
     postpone until a time during further consideration in the 
     Committee of the Whole a request for a recorded vote on any 
     amendment; and (2) reduce to five minutes the minimum time 
     for electronic voting on any postponed question that follows 
     another electronic vote without intervening business, 
     provided that the minimum time for electronic voting on the 
     first in any series of questions shall be 15 minutes. During 
     consideration of the bill, points of order against amendments 
     for failure to comply with clause 2(e) of rule XXI are 
     waived. At the conclusion of consideration of the bill for 
     amendment the Committee shall rise and report the bill to the 
     House with such amendments as may have been adopted. The 
     previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill 
     and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening 
     motion except one motion to recommit with or without 
     instructions.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pease). The gentleman from Washington 
(Mr. Hastings) is recognized for 1 hour.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate 
only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman 
from New York (Ms. Slaughter), 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. HASTINGS of Washington asked and was given permission to revise 
and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 243 would grant H.R. 
2466, a bill making appropriations for the Department of the Interior 
and Related Agencies for fiscal year 2000, an open rule waiving points 
of order against consideration of the bill for failure to comply with 
sections 306 or 401 of the Congressional Budget Act.
  The rule provides 1 hour of general debate to be equally divided 
between the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on 
Appropriations. The rule waives clause 2 of rule XXI, prohibiting 
unauthorized or legislative provisions in an appropriations bill, 
against provisions in the bill except as otherwise specified in the 
rule.
  Mr. Speaker, the rule also makes in order the amendment printed in 
the Committee on Rules report which may be offered only by a Member 
designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall not be 
subject to amendment and shall not be subject to a demand for division 
of the question in the House or in the Committee of the Whole. The rule 
waives all points of order against the amendment printed in the 
Committee on Rules report.
  The rule further waives clause 2(e) of rule XXI, prohibiting 
nonemergency designated amendments to be offered to an appropriations 
bill containing an emergency designation, against amendments offered 
during consideration of the bill.
  The rule authorizes the Chair to accord priority in recognition to 
Members who have preprinted their amendments in the Congressional 
Record. It also allows for the Chairman of the Committee of the Whole 
to postpone votes during consideration of the bill and to reduce votes 
to 5 minutes on a postponed question if the vote follows a 15-minute 
vote.
  Finally, the rule provides one motion to recommit, with or without 
instructions.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2466 would provide regular annual appropriations 
for the Department of the Interior and for other related agencies, 
including the Forest Service, the Department of Energy, the Indian 
Health Service, the Smithsonian Institution and the National Endowment 
for the Arts and the Humanities.
  The Subcommittee on Interior was originally allocated $11.3 billion, 
a 19 percent decrease in funding from last year. Last week, the 
subcommittee received a $2.7 billion increase in funding over this mark 
made possible by selling the electromagnetic spectrum sooner than was 
expected.
  The bill provides $14.1 billion in budgetary authority for fiscal 
year 2000, $200 million below last year's level and $1.1 billion below 
the President's request.
  Mr. Speaker, every year millions of Americans enjoy the world 
renowned parks, forests, wildlife refuges and other facilities funded 
in this bill. In addition, H.R. 2466 would do much to enhance, develop 
and protect our Nation's abundant natural resources in an 
environmentally responsible way and do so while staying within the 
overall discretionary spending caps.

[[Page H5385]]

  The Committee on Rules was pleased to grant the request of the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) for an open rule which will make it 
possible for Members seeking to improve this bill the fullest 
opportunity to offer their amendments during House consideration of 
H.R. 2466. Accordingly, Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to 
support both H. Res. 243 and the underlying bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Washington 
(Mr. Hastings) for yielding me the time, and I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this is an open rule providing for consideration of the 
Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. This bill helps the 
people of this Nation and the world to enjoy some of the most 
spectacular natural beauty that Mother Nature has to offer. It also 
helps us to be wise stewards of those natural resources. The bill also 
provides important assistance for Native Americans in health care and 
education. And the bill funds two of the most valuable and unusual 
Federal agencies that produce revenue for the United States instead of 
just taking it and have been proven to enhance and improve education 
and the SAT scores for students. We know now that any child who studies 
art for 4 years in high school, that their SAT scores go up around 59 
points. That is cheap at the price, Mr. Speaker. I am speaking of the 
National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for 
the Arts. As the chairwoman of the Congressional Arts Caucus, I have 
spent a great deal of time and effort encouraging my colleagues to 
adequately fund these important agencies which give us back so much.
  The arts and humanities tell us who we were and who we are and who we 
hope to be. They help us to understand an increasingly complex world 
and help our children and youth express their hopes and dreams through 
creative expression. Most importantly, they get our youth ready for 
what we want, the smartest and brightest students in the next century. 
Exposure to modern dance increases their math scores, and the way to 
best learn about computers is to learn to play piano. These are not 
wild notions but are well-proven facts. I expect to offer an amendment 
to help these important agencies continue their vital mission, bringing 
artistic expression and an understanding of the human condition to the 
villages and cities and nooks and crannies of this Nation from sea to 
shining sea, Mr. Speaker.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such 
time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from California 
(Mr. Dreier) chairman of the Committee on Rules.
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Washington for his 
typical superb job in managing this rule. It is a very fair, balanced 
and open rule. It is nice to see that, because as my good friend the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula) knows, in years past we have had 
slightly controversial rules as we have dealt with this very important 
Interior appropriations bill.
  I want to say that every year, millions of Americans and foreign 
tourists as well come and enjoy our renowned park system. In my 
important talking points here, the Florida Everglades are mentioned out 
of respect to my friend from Sanibel, FL (Mr. Goss) the vice chairman 
of the Committee on Rules. And also the Angeles National Forest which 
according to the gentleman from Ohio is in fact the most utilized of 
our National Forest Service system. That is why this bill itself is 
very, very important.
  One of the other things that I think we need to touch on that is key 
is the focus on dealing with fires which has been a real issue for us 
in the Angeles National Forest. Obviously the funding that has been 
placed into this bill by the gentleman from Ohio is going to be helpful 
in dealing with that.
  I want to raise one other issue that I discussed with the gentleman 
from Ohio when he testified yesterday afternoon before the Committee on 
Rules. That has to do with the issue of the adventure pass. There has 
been a lot of concern raised in the San Gabriel Valley in eastern Los 
Angeles County about the adventure pass. As the gentleman from Ohio 
appropriately pointed out yesterday, it is a pilot program that is 
under way right now. But the concern that has been raised by a number 
of my constituents has been the fact that they have not yet been able 
to see tangible evidence that the resources that have come in from the 
use of that adventure pass have in fact gone towards improvement or 
dealing with the Angeles National Forest itself. And so I want to take 
a very close look at this program. We know that it is well-intentioned 
and the idea of having a user fee rather than taxing people who do not 
in any way utilize some kind of service is again laudable but we want 
to make sure that that fee that is there in fact does go to address the 
needs of those who are in fact paying for that pass. And so I want to 
see us move ahead.
  There are a number of, I think, very important questions that need to 
be raised, but I do want to congratulate again the gentleman from Ohio 
and all of our colleagues who have worked long and hard on this bill.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman 
from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern).
  Mr. McGOVERN. I want to thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this rule and to alert my 
colleagues to an amendment that I will be offering later today. Along 
with the gentleman from California (Mr. Campbell), the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Hoeffel) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. 
Holt), I will be proposing to provide a very modest $30 million to the 
stateside program of the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
  The stateside program has broad bipartisan support but unfortunately 
it receives no funding under the Interior appropriations bill before us 
today. The U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National Association of 
Counties, the National Governors Association, and regional governors 
associations from across the country support stateside funding.
  In addition, groups as wide ranging as the National Association of 
Realtors and the Wilderness Society are strongly supporting our 
amendment. The League of Conservation Voters, the Sierra Club and the 
Appalachian Mountain Club have expressed their strong support. The time 
to act is now. We have an opportunity to make a very clear statement in 
this House today that States and local communities deserve the land and 
water conservation funding that they are owed. They deserve the support 
of this Congress.

                              {time}  1130

  As my colleagues know, there has been a lot of talk on both sides of 
the aisle about livable communities and ways to protect open space for 
future generations. Today Members of Congress will have the opportunity 
to put those words into action. I look forward to the debate on this 
issue when we consider the bill, and again I want to thank the 
gentlewoman from New York for having yielded this time to me, and I 
urge my colleagues to support the rule and to support the Land and 
Water Conservation Fund amendment.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula), the distinguished chairman of the 
Subcommittee on Interior.
  (Mr. REGULA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding this time 
to me.
  I would just like to point out to my colleagues that even though we 
are $200 million under the enacted number for fiscal year 1999, we are 
adding 99 million additional dollars over last year for the parks, $200 
million for Indian education and health programs, $205 million for high 
priority land acquisition, $33 million for national wildlife refuges, 
$114 million for Everglade restoration, and we have tried hard to have 
a bill that is balanced, it is nonpartisan, it is fair, and it 
recognizes the fact that the public lands, which are about 30 percent 
of the United States that we provide the funding in this bill, are 
being dealt with in a responsible way.
  In light of the comments by the chairman of the Committee on Rules, I

[[Page H5386]]

thought it was interesting: Our subcommittee visited last week Olympic 
National Forest and park areas, and they have signs up for the various 
projects. It said, this project up on the Hurricane Ridge where they 
are redoing the center for the visitors, ``This project being financed 
by your fees,'' and I think it is a very good way to tell the story of 
how the fees are being used, which was our intent to enhance the 
visitors' experience. And I thought it was also interesting that they 
had a little can there that people can put in some extra money, and it 
was getting filled up also. So it says the people, in addition to 
paying fees, are so happy with what is being done that they wanted to 
contribute some additional money.
  The other subject that he mentioned, and appropriately so, was the 
fire issue. We have $561 million in here for wildfire fighting. But I 
think a program we have innovated that I like, and that is we get the 
local fire departments, the adjacent cities and villages to participate 
by providing a training program, $29 million to train these local 
firefighters how to deal with forest fires, and they can be on call to 
provide assistance, if necessary, to the firefighters that are part of 
the agency itself. It is working out very well. And, of course, it is 
important because fires in a forest or a park for that matter can 
spread beyond the borders. We have seen that a lot in California. And 
by getting the local fire fighting agencies as part of a cooperative 
agreement we really maximize the forces and the ability to deal with 
what is a serious threat, and it enables the agencies to not commit 
quite as much of their funds.
  So, on balance, I hope my colleagues will look at the issues in this 
bill and judge it for what it is, which is a very good bill, very 
responsible and very fair.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to 
the distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. Goss), the distinguished 
vice chairman of the Committee on Rules.
  (Mr. GOSS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my able friend from Washington (Mr. 
Hastings), my colleague on the Committee on Rules, who does such a good 
job with yet another fair and open rule. The interior appropriations 
bill is an important bill, as the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula) just 
said. It provides funding for the agencies involved in protecting our 
national resources for future generations for our children, as it were.
  I am pleased that even though this bill frugally spends several 
billion less than last year it still provides adequate funding for the 
national parks, national forest system and the national wildlife 
refuges, which is the purpose of it. The Interior bill is especially 
important for my home State of Florida, which is why I take this time. 
It is the vehicle for the crucial Everglades restoration funds to meet 
the Federal commitment of our ongoing effort to restore and preserve 
for future generations the unique River of Grass we know and love.
  The bill provides $114 million for the Everglades, which includes 
land acquisition, improved water delivery and Everglades park 
management. Under the leadership of the Interior Appropriations 
Subcommittee, the House has consistently led the charge on restoring 
the Everglades, and I am proud of that, and this year is no different.
  I want to commend the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula) for his 
attention to this unique national treasure and his personal visits to 
the area to understand it, and I note the irony that almost as we are 
speaking today President Clinton is in Florida at a very exclusive high 
roller fund-raising event that is held by one of the special interest 
groups that has not been enthusiastic about our efforts to deal with 
the Everglades, as we propose to do in this legislation.
  So this bill comes at a very good time.
  Also, vital to Florida's economy and our national commitment to wise 
stewardship of natural resources is the annual outer continental shelf 
oil and gas exploration moratorium, which protects our fragile 
coastline. Again, Florida takes great pride in its coastline, and we 
are very concerned about oil slicks and pollution. Each year for the 
last 13 years Congress has passed this moratorium. I am very pleased 
that this year's bill continues that effort.
  And I must note the chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young), started this process many years 
ago, and it has been ably picked up by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Regula). We believe this is a good temporary solution, but we think we 
can find a more precise and permanent solution to the question of oil 
drilling off Florida's coast.
  I have introduced H.R. 33 which would create a Federal State task 
force to review the relevant scientific and environmental data and then 
make a recommendation to the Secretary of Interior for permanent 
policy. I believe this approach offers a number of benefits, including 
making Florida a key player in the decision that will have great impact 
on our State, relying on scientific data rather than rhetoric and 
affording us the opportunity to institute a more precise policy than 
our current moratorium year to year.
  The House Committee on Resources is scheduled to have a hearing on 
this bill the first week in August, and I remain hopeful we can move 
forward on this critically important issue to our State. Of course, 
there are some issues in the Interior bill that remain controversial, 
and that will certainly be the subject of some debate later this 
afternoon.
  I look forward to the opportunity to resolve some of those 
controversies and move forward on this important legislation. I applaud 
the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula) and Members of the Committee on 
Appropriations for their hard work at this point.
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
distinguished gentleman from Ohio.
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding this time 
to me and just wanted to reemphasize on the Everglades that we have put 
a condition in here to ensure that in the long haul that the water will 
be available to protect the Everglades because that is the primary 
responsibility of the American taxpayer, and the reason they are going 
to spend 7 to $10 billion of taxpayers' money from all across the 
country is to ensure the protection of the Everglades, and we tried do 
that with the language in the bill.
  Mr. GOSS. Reclaiming my time, Mr. Speaker, part of my applause for 
the chairman's efforts is his understanding of all the intricate issues 
and complexities that are involved. I think he has handled them well. I 
congratulate him on that, and I know that under his leadership we are 
going to keep this on course.
  I urge support of the rule, and I urge support of the bill.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman 
from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall).
  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding this 
time to me.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise support of this rule, and I wish to particularly 
commend the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula), my good friend, the 
Subcommittee on Interior chairman, as well as the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. Dicks), the ranking member. These gentleman have had to 
wrestle hard with severe caps and meeting their responsibilities; and 
to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula) in particular I say I am 
indebted to him on behalf of the coalfield residents throughout this 
country for the $11 million increase in Abandoned Mine Land funding.
  And I also want to say to the gentleman from Ohio that many of us 
appreciate his support for the Heritage Area program, citizens working 
together from the grassroots to celebrate and promote their heritage. I 
am indebted to the gentleman from Ohio for funding this worthy program 
as well.
  In conclusion, I like to draw attention to three amendments that will 
be offered to the bill today. One seeks to strike the funding 
limitation it carries for the American Heritage Rivers program. One of 
these heritage rivers flows through my congressional district, the New 
River. I cannot tell my colleagues how much excitement this designation 
has generated from local

[[Page H5387]]

citizens, community leaders and chambers of commerce. I urge support of 
this amendment.
  Another amendment to be offered by myself, the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Shays) and the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Inslee) 
seeks to maintain some semblance of sanity in the mining law program. 
It is my hope that perhaps the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula) will be 
kind to us when this amendment is offered.
  And the third amendment to be offered by the gentleman from Vermont 
(Mr. Sanders) and myself and a cast of thousands seeks to bolster 
funding for the low income weatherization program. This is so 
critically important to so many people who are struggling to improve 
their lot in our society. I urge adoption of the rule, Mr. Speaker.
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker , I have no further requests for time, and 
I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. 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 resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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