[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 126 (Wednesday, October 11, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H9804]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE RALPH REGULA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Nethercutt) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. NETHERCUTT. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the gentleman 
from Ohio (Mr. Regula), my good friend and colleague.
  The gentleman from Ohio has served with distinction for the past 6 
years as the chairman of the Subcommittee on Interior of the Committee 
on Appropriations. During that time, he has worked tirelessly to make 
Federal programs work better for the American public. From day one, the 
gentleman from Ohio (Chairman Regula) rolled up his sleeves and got to 
work identifying critical issues that needed to be addressed, has, 
throughout his chairmanship, asked tough questions on how the 
taxpayers' money is being used and how effectively the Federal 
bureaucracy is working.
  The Subcommittee on Interior of the Committee on Appropriations funds 
all the National Parks, the National Forests, Wildlife Refuges, and 
public lands in this country. Those lands comprise more than one-third 
of the land base in this country.
  The subcommittee also has funding responsibility for American Indian 
and Alaskan Native programs, critical energy research, and many 
cultural programs such as the Smithsonian Institution.
  When the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula) took over as chairman of 
the subcommittee in 1995, he immediately focused on targeting critical 
core programs for funding and eliminating programs that had outlived 
their usefulness or were duplicative of other efforts. As a result, 
five agencies were eliminated, and over 50 other programs were 
terminated.
  The gentleman from Ohio has stood by his philosophy that some 
programs must be done, others are important to do, and still others may 
be worthy for consideration to the extent that funds are available.
  The gentleman from Ohio's trademark ``must do,'' ``need to do'' and 
``nice to do'' categorization has continued throughout his tenure as 
chairman and has made the Interior appropriations bill a balanced and 
admirable product each year.
  The gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula) recognized 6 years ago that the 
agencies funded by the Interior bill were accumulating large 
maintenance backlogs and that efforts to start new programs and expand 
existing ones were exacerbating a $15 billion maintenance backlog 
program. New programs are politically very popular, and the gentleman 
from Ohio took a brave stand in holding the line on new programs in 
order to, in his words, ``take care of what we have.''
  In addition to the annual appropriations process, the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. Regula) has held an unprecedented 26 oversight hearings to 
identify long-standing critical program problems and needs and has 
taken action to fix those problems and those needs.
  The gentleman from Ohio (Chairman Regula) has never shied away from 
controversy. He highlighted major problems with the National Park 
Service construction program, including a $1 million rest room 
construction and a bloated centralized construction bureaucracy that 
discouraged cost containment and the use of local expertise. He put a 
stop to the excessive spending and dramatically pared back the Denver 
Service Center that controlled the construction program.
  He held two hearings on the South Florida Restoration Initiative, 
which deals with restoration of the Everglades, and identified major 
cost overruns. His efforts uncovered the lack of a strategic plan for 
this 20-year multi-billion dollar program.
  As a direct result of the gentleman from Ohio's scrutiny, this 
program is being managed more cost effectively, and individual projects 
are being integrated into a focused long-term strategy.
  To address the maintenance backlog on our public lands and in our 
Federal museums, art galleries and Indian lands, he instituted an 
aggressive maintenance funding effort and minimized new land 
acquisitions and new programs in order to pay for this long overdue 
maintenance initiative.
  One of the highlights of his tenure as chairman is his creation of a 
national recreation fee demonstration program for our parks, forests, 
wildlife refuges and other public lands. Under that program, the fees 
that are collected go right back into on-the-ground improvements to 
provide for visitor safety and enjoyment on our public lands.
  To date, over $500 million in fees have been collected to supplement 
the increased funding provided through appropriations. These fees have 
been used for services to benefit visitors to our public lands and to 
preserve the taxpayers' investment in these lands for generations to 
come.
  Other tough issues the gentleman from Ohio (Chairman Regula) has 
addressed include critical financial management reform in the Forest 
Service to correct financial mismanagement in the Forest Service; trust 
management reform in the Bureau of Indian Affairs; and the need for a 
coherent and responsive National Energy Strategy that includes 
cooperation among the Federal Government, industry and the States.
  He was ahead of his time on the energy issue. The need for a national 
energy strategy has been highlighted over the past year as fuel oil and 
natural gas prices have risen dramatically and certain parts of the 
country are experiencing electric power shortages.
  The staff members of the Subcommittee on Interior have asked me to 
convey their respect and heartfelt admiration for the gentleman from 
Ohio (Chairman Regula). They include Debbie Weatherly, Loretta 
Beaumont, Joel Kaplan, Chris Topik, Angie Perry, Andria Oliver and 
Steve Glomb. They join me in our beliefs that the gentleman from Ohio 
(Chairman Regula) is a truly great man who stands by his beliefs and 
has the courage to do the right thing.
  As the gentleman from Ohio concludes his 6th year as chairman, the 
people of this country have much to be grateful for as a direct result 
of his leadership and tireless efforts on their behalf. I join everyone 
in this Chamber in giving our great expression of support and 
admiration for the gentleman from Ohio (Chairman Regula).

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