[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 127 (Thursday, October 12, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S10402]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                        VICTIMS OF GUN VIOLENCE

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, it has been more than a year since the 
Columbine tragedy, but still this Republican Congress refuses to act on 
sensible gun legislation.
  Since Columbine, thousands of Americans have been killed by gunfire. 
Until we act, Democrats in the Senate will read the names of some of 
those who have lost their lives to gun violence in the past year, and 
we will continue to do so every day that the Senate is in session.
  In the name of those who died, we will continue this fight. Following 
are the names of some of the people who were killed by gunfire one year 
ago today.
  October 12, 1999:
  Michael S. Chambers, 43, Seattle, WA;
  Rueben M. Clark, 22, Memphis, TN;
  Kenneth Ditter, 30, Philadelphia, PA;
  Charles Guerra, 28, Houston, TX;
  Joel Holbrook, 33, Kansas City, MO;
  Walton Jerry Holmes, 68, Euless, TX;
  J.C. Jones, 48, Miami-Dade County, FL;
  Gregory Mabrey, 27, Baltimore, MD;
  Khidetra S. McBride, 22, Memphis, TN;
  Jorge Millan, 40, Miami-Dade County, FL;
  John Ray, 23, Fort Wayne, IN;
  Michael Shelby, 34, Detroit, MI;
  Nicholas Singleton, 19, New Orleans, LA;
  Honore Sissoko, 46, Philadelphia, PA;
  George Thomas, 19, St. Louis, MO; and
  Duane G. Weigelt, 69, St. Paul, MN.
  One of the victims of gun violence I mentioned, 19-year-old Nicholas 
Singleton of New Orleans, was shot and killed one year ago today by a 
19-year-old friend while the two were having an argument.
  We cannot sit back and allow such senseless gun violence to continue. 
The deaths of these people are a reminder to all of us that we need to 
enact sensible gun legislation now.
  Mr. KYL. Mr. President, the final version of the fiscal year 2001 
Energy and Water Development appropriations provides $1 million for the 
Bureau of Reclamation to initiate a comprehensive Hopi/Western Navajo 
water development study. This funding was added to the bill at my 
request, and I would like to take this opportunity to detail the reason 
why I consider this to be a very important undertaking.
  Efforts have been ongoing for several years to settle the various 
water rights claims of the Navajo and Hopi Indian tribes and other 
water users in the Little Colorado River watershed of Northern Arizona. 
Numerous proposals have been advanced in an effort to settle these 
water-rights claims, including identifying alternative sources of 
water, means of delivery and points of usage to help provide a reliable 
source of good-quality water to satisfy the present and future demands 
of Indian communities on those reservations. Cost estimates for the 
various existing proposals run into the hundreds of millions of 
dollars, the majority of which would likely be borne by the federal 
government. This study is needed to identify the most cost-effective 
projects that will serve to meet these objectives.
  I have asked the Bureau to hire an outside contractor to complete 
this study to ensure that a fresh and objective analysis of existing 
studies and data is conducted. In addition, using a private contractor 
will enable the Bureau to complete the study in a timely manner without 
requiring the Bureau to divert personnel needed to accomplish other 
vital priorities. The study should be complete and submitted to the 
Senate Appropriations Committee as soon as possible, but no later than 
April 1, 2002.
  I also want to assure the parties that this study is intended to be 
used to facilitate this settlement, and cannot be used for any other 
purpose in any administrative or judicial proceeding.

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