[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 122 (Wednesday, October 4, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1669]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 4578, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND RELATED 
                   AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2001

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 3, 2000

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I will vote for this conference 
report--and I will do so as a strong supporter of the Conservation and 
Reinvestment Act, or ``CARA.''
  I understand that other supporters of CARA may disagree. They are 
concerned that passage of this bill will mean that CARA is dead.
  But I do not think that is the case. Certainly I will continue 
working for CARA's enactment this year--and, if that does not occur, 
and if I am reelected, I will resume the effort next year.
  But in the meantime, by passing this conference report we will take 
an important step toward one of CARA's key goals--that is, toward 
fulfilling the promise of one of the wisest and most far-sighted 
conservation measures ever--the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act.
  The promise of that Act was that as the federal government sold non-
renewable resources, particularly the oil and gas from the outer 
continental shelf, it would invest a major part of the proceeds in 
conserving our lands and waters and in helping our local communities to 
make similar investments.
  Unfortunately, because of the budget problems of the past, for too 
long the Congress fell short of fulfilling that promise. But now the 
budget situation is different and we have a chance to make up for some 
of the shortfalls of the past and in fact to expand the benefits for 
our country.
  By passing this bill, we can help our communities respond to the 
problems of growth and sprawl and to provide much-needed places for 
sports and outdoor recreation. We can help preserve our open spaces by 
acquiring inholdings in our parks and forests from people who want to 
sell. We can help protest threatened and endangered species, and the 
fish and wildlife resources that are so important to Colorado and the 
rest of the nation.
  By greatly increasing the resources of the Historic preservation Fund 
we can help preserve the irreplaceable historic legacy of Colorado and 
our nation--saving historic landmarks, attracting private investment, 
and helping bring economic vitality to historic sites in Gilpin, Clear 
Creek, Adams, and Jefferson Counties and to neighborhoods in Boulder, 
Arvada, and countless other communities in Colorado and across the 
continent.
  And by bolstering the PILT program, we can help the counties and 
other local governments in areas where the federal government is a 
major landowner--and we can do it the right way, by providing funds 
that aren't tied to timber sales or other uses of the federal lands and 
so without making the local communities hostages to the debates over 
timber harvests or other extractive uses.
  Mr. Speaker, of course this is not a perfect bill--but, all too often 
we are reminded that there is no perfect legislation.
  But, when you consider all that this conference report would do for 
our country I am convinced that we should approve it today--and, after 
that, keep on working for the further improvements that will come from 
enactment of CARA.

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