[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 21 (Wednesday, March 1, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1019-S1020]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   CONSERVATION AND REINVESTMENT ACT

  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, most certainly I hope the cameras can 
get a great shot of this beautiful poster. It says: Parks and 
recreation: The benefits are endless. This is a picture of a Little 
League team. I do not exactly know from which State they hail, but it 
is from one of our great States. This is a team; and you can tell they 
are having a lot of fun.
  To me and many of us who are working on a very important 
environmental bill, this poster represents something that is absolutely 
essential for our country today and is something that has been a joy to 
work on in this Congress and something on which we are making such 
progress.
  Besides a great education for kids, we also have to give them a place 
to grow up and ball teams to belong to. It builds character and it 
teaches them how to work together and how to be productive.
  Really, life is a lot about teamwork. We learn that in the Senate. We 
learn it in classrooms. We also learn it on ball fields all over this 
great country and around the world.
  I want to take a moment, if I can, to say a couple words about a bill 
introduced last night by a group of us. I thank Senators Trent Lott, 
Frank Murkowski, John Breaux, and Dianne Feinstein for being 
cosponsors. Senator Evan Bayh indicated to me a few minutes ago he is 
anxious to join with us; and also Senator Campbell mentioned his 
interest. I am sure there will be many who support us as the word gets 
out about this particular bill. It is S. 2123 that was filed. It is the 
exact version of a bill that was worked out in a great compromise in 
the House about the ways we should reinvest our oil and gas revenues to 
provide for the expansion and full funding of our land, water, and 
conservation funds, which would fund thousands of opportunities such as 
this for the children I just mentioned.
  It would fund significantly our wildlife conservation programs in 
this country, not necessarily dictated from Washington but actually 
decisions made at the State and local levels where, with regard to game 
and nongame species, special methods can be used; one size doesn't fit 
all.
  Significant to my State of Louisiana as a producing State, this 
particular bill would provide some significant resources to address the 
great coastal needs of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, but also 
of New Jersey, California, Washington, and all of our coastal States, 
including our Great Lakes States. Whether we drill or not--and there 
are no incentives for drilling--it will be a great resource to help 
restore our coastlines, help stop the erosion, and help preserve 
wetlands in this Nation and our State of Louisiana, which represents 
over 60 percent of the coastal wetlands in the United States, and 40 
percent of the commercial fisheries, the habitat of which rests in 
these wetlands. So it is a tremendous treasure.
  This bill was introduced along with others we have before our 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. I thank the growing number 
of Senators who have stepped up to the plate to try to help us pass 
what is arguably the most important conservation and environmental bill 
in the last 100 years.
  To my friends who are concerned about more acquisition of Federal 
land, I will share a few thoughts from Don Young, who has been the 
leader on the House committee, who has been a champion of private 
property rights, a champion of the outdoors. They joked earlier today 
that he carries a knife. I guess it is OK in the House because he has 
one. If worse comes to worst, he may use it to help get this bill 
passed. I think that is probably going too far. But trust me, he is an 
outdoorsman from Alaska; he knows about private property rights.

  He says the bill we are debating, S. 25, and also this new bill, S. 
2123, which reflects the compromise he and Congressman Miller from 
California worked out, would actually improve the position of Western 
States that are concerned that perhaps this bill gives even more money 
to purchase land because, in fact, any administration can do that, and 
right now some administrations have done it without much oversight from 
Congress.
  This bill provides the proper partnership and balance between the 
administration and Congress. This bill gives the appropriators and the 
authorizing committee the authority and encourages them to actually 
make the decisions about what lands will be purchased. In addition, 
what I think is so right about what Chairman Don Young says, is that 
our environmental efforts need to be about much more than just 
acquiring more land; we have to take care of the land we already own. I 
think the Chair would agree with that. That is what the bill does.
  I reach out to my colleagues from Western States, many of whom have 
supported this effort, many of whom have other concerns and have 
hesitated so far with their endorsement, to ask them to really look at 
western values within the Conservation and Reinvestment Act piece that 
is being circulated and really look at what an improvement this bill 
offers over the current status quo.
  My last point is actually a word to the White House and to the 
President,

[[Page S1020]]

first to thank the President for his leadership in lands legacy. He has 
a tremendous idea about trying to leave a great legacy. Of course, he 
has done many good things in his time as President for these 8 years. 
He has been a leader in the environmental effort. I so appreciate that; 
many of us do.
  I thank him for laying down a mark on lands legacy but urge him to 
consider that this piece of legislation is permanent in nature. It is 
broader than the vision he has outlined. And it is an improvement. It 
brings in the East and the West, the North and the South. It helps 
urban areas and rural areas because we have added urban parks and 
historic preservation. There have been some great improvements 
demonstrated through the development of this piece of legislation.
  I thank him for his great leadership, acknowledge the work of many 
people in the White House, but urge them to embrace the concept that is 
now supported by over 300 Members in the House. We have a growing 
number of Members in the Senate to pass this bill now.
  Some people think we can't afford it. If we can't afford to take $2 
billion, which our bill is calling for, out of arguably a $3 trillion 
surplus--if you want to take Social Security completely off the plate, 
which I want to do, and give very conservative estimates, it leaves us 
with about $800 billion to allocate. We can do it through some tax 
cuts, which I support, reasonable and targeted. We can do strategic 
investments in education. But there is one investment I know, besides 
education, the American people want us to make. That is preserving land 
that is lost every hour and every minute, preserving parks for these 
children, preserving opportunities to hunt and fish, to take your 
grandchildren to the pond outside of your farm or down the road or 
across the State line to spend a weekend in the woods.

  I am positive people in Louisiana and all over America want us to act 
now. Ten years is too late. Next year is too late. My question is, if 
we can't afford to take this money now, which in my opinion should not 
be going into the Federal Treasury because it is taxes from a resource 
that is depleting--we should not be using it in our operating expenses 
anyway because one day, probably in my lifetime, these oil and gas 
wells will be dried up--why do we not take this opportunity in the dawn 
of this new century to take some of this money and give it back to our 
kids and our grandkids in ways that are responsible and meaningful and 
for something that is permanent.
  In conclusion, I know many people will thank us for passing this 
bill, but the most important group will be our grandchildren. We will 
be proud that we did it.
  I look forward to working with all of my colleagues, Republican and 
Democrat, to get this bill out of committee, passed on the floor, and 
be there for the signing when the President will enthusiastically 
embrace what we have done to improve his lands legacy approach to 
provide security for Western Senators, to provide urban help to our 
urban areas, and to do it in a way that is very fair to all parts of 
the country.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to print a document in the 
Record entitled ``Western Values Within the Conservation and 
Reinvestment Act of 1999.''
  There being no objection, the document was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

  Western Values Within the Conservation and Reinvestment Act of 1999 
                                 (CARA)


                               background

       For decades, the Land and Water Conservation Fund has made 
     $900 million available for state and federal land 
     acquisition. State acquisitions are driven by a state 
     planning process and states and local governments are 
     responsible for their own plans and receive direct funding 
     (matched 50/50) based upon a formula. Since fiscal year 1995, 
     the states have not received funding from the Land and Water 
     Conservation Fund.
       For federal acquisitions, any amount (up to $900 million) 
     may be spent on Federal land acquisition as appropriated 
     through the annual Congressional appropriations process. 
     There are virtually no restrictions with this process and 
     almost $300 million has been historically appropriated to 
     purchase new federal lands. In a recent year, nearly $700 
     million was used to buy private lands.


      how does cara change this process to protect western values?

       1. By making permanent and dividing (between the state and 
     federal portions) the $900 million within the Land and Water 
     Conservation Fund, we require the federal government to share 
     half of the LWCF funds with the states to be spent on locally 
     selected projects.
       2. Each year the Administration must transmit a list to 
     Congress requesting specific approval for each tract of land 
     to be acquired.
       3. Congress must specifically approve each project.
       4. The Administration must seek to consolidate federal land 
     holdings in states with checkerboard Federal land ownership 
     patterns.
       5. The Administration must seek to use exchanges and 
     conservation easements as an alternative to acquisition.
       6. The Administration must notify Congress (within the 
     annual request required by CARA) if tracts are identified for 
     acquisition from non-willing sellers.
       7. Transactions will be carried out with willing sellers, 
     because CARA prohibits the government from using adverse 
     condemnation to acquire lands--unless specifically authorized 
     by Congress.
       8. The Administration must demonstrate, to Congress, its 
     authority to carry out the federal acquisition.
       9. 30 days after the submission of the LWCF acquisition 
     request (new CARA requirement), the Congressional 
     representatives, the Governor, and local government official 
     must be notified.
       10. 30 days after the submission of the LWCF acquisition 
     request (new CARA requirement), the local public must be 
     notified in a newspaper that is widely distributed to the 
     area in which the proposed acquisition is to take place.
       11. Prior to the federal purchase of lands, all actions 
     required under Federal law must be completed.
       12. Prior to the federal purchase of lands, a copy of the 
     final NEPA documents must be given to Congress and the 
     Congressional representatives, the Governor, and local 
     government officials must be notified that the environment 
     work is complete and the documents are available.
       13. CARA requires just compensation for the taking of 
     private property, as provided within the Constitution.
       14. CARA protects State water rights.
       15. CARA provides $200 million annually for maintenance.
       16. CARA provides up to $200 million in additional funding 
     for PILT and Refuge Revenue Sharing.
       17. CARA will provide the necessary funds to reduce the $10 
     billion backlog of willing sellers stuck within an inholding.
       18. Restricts the federal governments regulatory ability 
     over all private lands.
       19. CARA prohibits funding for wildlife law enforcement.
       20. If revenues for CARA fall, all titles and programs are 
     reduced proportionally.

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