[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 92 (Monday, July 17, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7007-S7009]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                                  2001

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the hour of 3 p.m. 
having arrived, the Senate will now resume consideration of H.R. 4578, 
which the clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 4578) making appropriations for the Department 
     of the Interior and related agencies for the fiscal year 
     ending September 30, 2001, and for other purposes.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
  Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, we are now back for the final 3 and one-
quarter hours of debate on amendments to the Interior appropriations 
bill. Any Member who reserved an amendment to that bill may present it 
between now and 6:15 this evening, at which time, by unanimous consent, 
we go to the marriage penalty bill for what may be an extended series 
of votes. Any of the amendments reserved on the Interior bill will be 
voted on, if, in fact, the vote is necessary, tomorrow morning.
  I list 12 amendments that were reserved for debate during this period 
of time. I am informed by staff that we have settled 4 of them. That 
leaves eight amendments: two by the Senator from New Mexico, Mr. 
Bingaman; one by the Senator from California, Mrs. Boxer; one by the 
Senator from Nevada, Mr. Bryan; one by the Senator from Connecticut, 
Mr. Lieberman; one by the Senator from Oklahoma, Mr. Nickles; one by 
the Senator from Rhode Island, Mr. Reed; one by the Senator from 
Wyoming, Mr. Thomas.
  Curiously enough, most of these Senators who have said they will be 
here from between 5 o'clock and 6 o'clock p.m., which takes a 
considerable portion of the debate time, are away. I think some of 
those eight amendments I have listed will themselves be settled without 
debate or by agreement. If any of the seven Senators whose names I have 
just mentioned are within hearing and sight of this debate, I urge that 
Senator to reach the Senate floor promptly. At this point they have a 
real opportunity to present their amendments. Later on, they are likely 
to be very constricted as to time.
  Therefore, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Collins). The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THOMPSON. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. THOMPSON. Madam President, as we debate this bill to provide 
funding for the Department of the Interior in the next fiscal year, I 
would like to discuss an issue that is of increasing concern to me: our 
underinvestment in our national parks.
  There are 379 national parks in the United States and U.S. 
territories, covering over 80 million acres. These parks provide 
Americans with an opportunity to enjoy activities such as hiking, 
camping, white water rafting, or horseback riding in some of the most 
beautiful sites in the world. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park 
in my home State of Tennessee is often referred to as the crown jewel 
of the national park system, and for good reason.
  But one can't help but be concerned about what is happening in our 
parks today. I have seen first hand the problems associated with air 
pollution, traffic congestion, and invasive species in our parks. Folks 
come to the Smokies to escape the big city and breathe the clean 
mountain air. Unfortunately, there are too many days now when the air 
quality in the Smokies is worse than in major cities. Already this 
year, the park has recorded 13 days with unhealthy ozone levels. Who 
would believe that visiting a national park could be hazardous to your 
health?
  Air pollution is also diminishing the experience of visitors in the 
park. People visit the Smokies for the magnificent mountain vistas. 
Unfortunately, the pollution reduces their visibility not only by 
affecting how far they can see from a scenic overlook, but also how 
well they can see. Ground level ozone washes out the bright colors of 
the leaves in the fall and the flowers in the spring. These air quality 
problems have landed the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the 
list of 10 most endangered national parks compiled by the National 
Parks and Conservation Association.
  Another major threat facing many of our national parks, including the 
Smokies, is damage from invasive species. Organisms that are not native 
to parks are finding their way in and are killing wildlife. Virtually 
all of the frasier firs on top of Klingman's Dome in the Smokies are 
dead. At first glance, it would appear that they were killed by fire, 
but that is not the case. These trees were killed by the balsam woolly 
adelgid which is not native to the Smokies and has no natural predator 
there.
  These and similar problems afflict our entire national park system. 
That is why I'm pleased that the appropriations bill before us today 
recognizes these serious threats by providing $11 million for the 
National Park Service's Natural Resource Challenge. This money will 
help fund air and water quality studies in our parks. It will also fund 
efforts to address the problems caused by non-native invasive

[[Page S7008]]

species. I thank the Senators from Washington and West Virginia for 
their attention to these needs. I especially thank Senator Gorton for 
his leadership as chairman of this very important subcommittee.
  I am also growing increasingly concerned that our national parks are 
showing the wear and tear of neglect. Each year our parks are host to 
more and more visitors. In 1998, almost 300 million people visited our 
national parks. Ten million of those visitors went to the Smokies, 
making it the most visited national park in the country. That is more 
visitors than the Grand Canyon and Yosemite combined--which rank second 
and third in terms of park visitation.
  We in Tennessee and North Carolina welcome these visitors to our 
beautiful mountains. National parks are here to be used and enjoyed. 
But our parks are laboring under their popularity. One might say our 
parks are being loved to death. We must face up to the stresses to 
infrastructure that result from increased visitation. More visitors 
cause more wear and tear on the trails, campgrounds, and roads. Growing 
visitation also requires higher staffing levels in the parks since more 
visitors mean more stranded hikers that need to be rescued, more 
comfort stations that need to be cleaned, and more trash that needs to 
be picked up.
  Unfortuantely, park budgets have not kept pace with increases in 
visitation. The National Park Service estimates that there is currently 
a $4.3 million maintenance backlog. Park Service staff are struggling 
to do more with fewer resources.
  Fortunately, they have been able to rely on a number of organizations 
for help such as friends groups, the National Park Foundation and other 
cooperating associations. These organizations raise money to fund 
maintenance and educational projects within the parks.
  I am proud that the Friends of the Great Smoky Mountains National 
Park is held up as the model friends group for the country. Over the 
last 7 years, the Friends of the Smokies has raised $6 million--$1.5 
million last year alone. This money has come from donation boxes in the 
park, license plate sales, telethons and direct contributions. And, it 
is used for a variety of projects. For example, the Friends just 
produced a new orientation film to welcome park visitors. The Friends 
funded the restoration of the historic Mount Cammerer Fire Tower. And, 
the Friends help organize and manage volunteer projects in the park. 
When a team of volunteers goes out to work on a trail, it's the Friends 
of the Smokies that buys the materials needed to do the job. The hard 
work and generosity on the part of the Friends of the Smokies is 
critical to assisting the Park Service officials maintain our valuable 
natural resource.
  Just as important as the financial contributions to our national 
parks are the generous donations of time. This year alone, volunteers 
will donate almost 75,000 hours valued at $1.1 million to run the 
visitor centers and help maintain trails and campgrounds in the Great 
Smoky Mountains National Park. Because the Smokies was a gift from the 
residents of Tennessee and North Carolina to the Federal Government, 
citizens living near the park have a strong sense of ownership. They 
want to volunteer to take care of their park.
  Several years ago, Congress also recognized the need to increase 
resources to our national park system, and we passed legislation to 
provide the Park Service with new sources of funding for maintenance 
projects. This new law allows national parks to retain most of the 
entrance and other fees they may charge, and use that money for visitor 
services. Fee revenue can be used to fund maintenance projects or to 
pay seasonal employees, but it cannot be used to fund basic operations. 
This year, Smokies' fees will generate $1.9 million over and above the 
park's $13.2 million annual appropriated budget.
  Fee revenue, volunteer hours, and donations are critical to keeping 
our parks running, but they are just not enough. Without an adequate 
operations budget and enough permanent full-time staff, the Park 
Service lacks the capability to handle the generosity of groups like 
the Friends of the Smokies.
  Again, I compliment my colleagues from Washington and West Virginia 
for recognizing the most pressing needs of our national park system by 
providing a substantial increase in the Park Service's basic operations 
budget in this bill. The bill before us includes over $1.4 billion for 
the National Park Service. That's an increase of more than $80 million 
over FY 2000.
  But as impressive a job as the managers have done here today, I'm 
sure they would both agree with me when I say that Congress still must 
do better for our national parks. I believe that the Federal Government 
has a fundamental responsibility to ensure the protection of these 
natural resources for the enjoyment of both the current and future 
generations. But we are not meeting that responsibility fully. We must 
provide our park officials with adequate resources to maintain the 
trails and campgrounds. We must give them better tools to combat 
threats like air pollution.
  As Congress debates what to do with the projected budget surplus, I 
think we should start by determining whether government is meeting its 
fundamental responsibilities now. If we see that we are neglecting 
certain responsibilities, then we need to make fulfilling those 
obligations a priority.
  I believe that increasing our investment in our national parks is a 
priority. I intend to work closely with my colleagues in the years to 
come to ensure that Congress provides the funding necessary to protect 
our precious natural resources for the enjoyment of my grandchildren 
and their grandchildren.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada is recognized.
  Mr. REID. Madam President, before my friend leaves the floor, I want 
to tell him how very much I appreciate his statement. In years past, I 
offered amendments when we did not have a budget surplus to increase 
funding for our park system. I hope next year we can work together in a 
bipartisan fashion to increase significantly the funding for our 
National Park System.
  I have not had the good fortune to be in the park to which the 
Senator referred, the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, but I have 
been to a number of national parks. For example, the living conditions 
our park rangers have to put up with in our national parks is a 
disgrace. My colleague should see what park rangers live in at the 
Grand Canyon National Park. They are from World War II. They look like 
icehouses; they are square. It is disgraceful.
  We only have one national park in Nevada. It is one of the newer 
ones, so I really do not have the right to complain as many do, but we 
have so many things that need to be done there. We do not have a 
visitors center. Interpretive trails have not been built. There are 
parts of our great National Park System that we have closed as a result 
of dangerous conditions. The Park Service simply does not have the 
resources to keep up.
  I commend and applaud my friend from Tennessee. He has given a great 
statement. I look forward to next year. Perhaps we can work together to 
come up with a funding formula that would be permanent in nature to 
take care of the $5 billion backlog in our National Park System.
  Mr. THOMPSON. Madam President, I thank my friend from Nevada for 
those comments. This is something upon which I believe we can all 
agree. Even those who view the role of Government to be a limited one 
must agree that there are certain basic obligations and functions the 
Federal Government has. Of course, national defense is one of them; 
infrastructure is one of them. Our national parks are a precious 
resource that we must all protect.
  They are, as the Senator indicates, being attacked from so many 
different directions right now. We are taking them for granted and 
slowly, but surely, they are falling into disrepair, and they are being 
damaged environmentally. We in the Smokies have a particular problem 
with the weather patterns, for example. Not only do we have some old 
coal-fired plants in the area, but we have a weather pattern that 
brings the pollution in from other parts of the country that just seems 
to hover over that particular area. We have days where there is more 
pollution on top of the Smoky Mountains than there is in downtown New 
York City. It is an increasing problem. Hopefully, as my colleague 
suggests, we can

[[Page S7009]]

join together and do even more next year.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Madam President, first, I thank our distinguished 
assistant Democratic leader for his graciousness once again in 
providing me the opportunity to say a couple of words this evening.

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