[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 135 (Wednesday, October 25, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10984-S10986]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             COLORADO UTE SETTLEMENT ACT AMENDMENTS OF 2000

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
resume consideration of S. 2508.
  Pending:

       Campbell Amendment No. 4303, in the nature of a substitute.
       Feingold Amendment No. 4326 (to Amendment No. 4303), to 
     improve certain provisions of the bill.

  Mr. CAMPBELL. I ask unanimous consent that Senator Feingold and I 
have 2 minutes to address the Senate before the vote on the motion to 
table Feingold amendment No. 4326.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The 
Senator from Wisconsin.


                           Amendment No. 4326

  Mr. FEINGOLD. My amendment is supported by the administration because 
it improves the bill. It actually makes the bill comply with Federal 
reclamation and environmental laws. It makes it clear that only the 
features of the latest version of the Animas-La Plata Project will be 
constructed, and the result of that, my colleagues, will be a better 
return for the taxpayers than the underlying measure. This is 
important.
  The Ute and Navajo tribes will have their claims settled and paid 
for, even under my substitute, 100 percent by the Federal Government, 
but the nontribal water recipients will have to repay their share of 
the construction, fish and wildlife mitigation, and recreation costs. 
That kind of repayment is only fair. It is what other water users and 
other projects such as the California central valley and central Utah 
have to pay.
  If my colleagues will look at the fact, this is not unprecedented. 
This is actually the way other water projects are handled now. The 
water users have to pay these fair costs. This amendment not only does 
not kill the bill, it just makes sure there is a fair opportunity for 
court review. The bill does not undercut; the non-Native American users 
actually pay their fair share.

  Most importantly, this greatly expanded project that has now been 
scaled down to a reasonable level does not somehow get put back into 
this large wasteful project. It is both strong in terms of 
environmental concern and very strong in terms of the taxpayers.
  I hope by supporting this, my colleagues, the Senator from Colorado 
could have this water project that he has worked on for so long, but 
that it be done in a responsible way which the administration supports.
  Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, I am joined by Senator Bingaman, Senator 
Domenici, and Senator Allard in asking the Senate to support our 
version of the Animas-La Plata water project by voting to table the 
Feingold amendment. In 2 minutes they will not have time to speak, but 
I believe I am speaking for them.
  Our version of S. 2508 is truly bipartisan. By the way, it is not an 
expanded project. This is a much more reduced project. The Republican 
Governor and the Democratic attorney general of Colorado strongly 
oppose the Feingold amendment. By voting to table the Feingold 
amendment, we will leave intact a bipartisan version of S. 2508, 
supported by the administration, the States of Colorado and New Mexico, 
the Ute tribes of Colorado, the Navajo nation, and rural and municipal 
water users of southwest Colorado and northwest New Mexico.
  In doing so, we will be saving the taxpayers over $400 million by 
downsizing the currently planned Animas-La Plata water project. If the 
Feingold amendment is not tabled, most of those entities will withdraw 
their crucial support

[[Page S10985]]

for the historic compromise and it will be dead.
  If the Feingold amendment is adopted and the compromise collapses, 
then our only option for satisfying the tribal water right claims will 
be to build the entire huge Animas-La Plata water project as authorized 
in 1968.
  In addition to killing our bipartisan solution to a regional water 
conflict, the Feingold amendment unfairly singles out rural water users 
and small municipalities in both of our States to pay higher costs for 
their domestic water supplies than the residents of big cities such as 
Phoenix and Tucson that are served by the central Arizona and central 
Utah projects, which were also authorized in 1968 at the same time the 
Animas-La Plata Project was authorized.
  As chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs, the Feingold 
amendment sends the wrong message by penalizing a region for 
participating in historic water rights settlement. If the Feingold 
amendment is not tabled, there will only be losers because the Indians 
and non-Indians will be locked into needless and expensive litigation 
and taxpayers will have to pay the costs of litigation on both sides. 
Therefore, I ask my colleagues to join with me, along with Senators 
Bingaman, Domenici, and Allard, to support our bipartisan effort in 
voting to table the Feingold amendment.
  I ask unanimous consent that the next votes in the series be limited 
to 10 minutes each.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. CAMPBELL. I move to table the amendment of the Senator from 
Wisconsin, and I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There is a sufficient second.
  The question is on agreeing to the motion to table amendment No. 
4326. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Missouri (Mr. 
Ashcroft), the Senator from Montana (Mr. Burns), the Senator from 
Tennessee (Mr. Frist), the Senator from Washington (Mr. Gorton), the 
Senator from Minnesota (Mr. Grams), the Senator from North Carolina 
(Mr. Helms), and the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Roth) are necessarily 
absent.
  I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from 
Washington (Mr. Gorton) and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Helms) 
would each vote ``yea.''
  Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Akaka), the 
Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein), and the Senator from 
Connecticut (Mr. Lieberman) are necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 56, nays 34, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 281 Leg.]

                                YEAS--56

     Abraham
     Allard
     Baucus
     Bennett
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Breaux
     Brownback
     Bunning
     Campbell
     Cochran
     Conrad
     Craig
     Crapo
     Daschle
     DeWine
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Enzi
     Gramm
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Hatch
     Hollings
     Hutchinson
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Johnson
     Kerrey
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     Mack
     McConnell
     Miller
     Moynihan
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nickles
     Roberts
     Santorum
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith (NH)
     Smith (OR)
     Stevens
     Thomas
     Thompson
     Thurmond
     Torricelli
     Voinovich
     Warner

                                NAYS--34

     Bayh
     Biden
     Boxer
     Bryan
     Byrd
     Chafee, L.
     Cleland
     Collins
     Dodd
     Durbin
     Edwards
     Feingold
     Fitzgerald
     Graham
     Harkin
     Jeffords
     Kennedy
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Lautenberg
     Leahy
     Levin
     McCain
     Mikulski
     Reed
     Reid
     Robb
     Rockefeller
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Snowe
     Specter
     Wellstone
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--10

     Akaka
     Ashcroft
     Burns
     Feinstein
     Frist
     Gorton
     Grams
     Helms
     Lieberman
     Roth
  The motion was agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the Campbell 
substitute.
  Without objection, the Campbell substitute is agreed to.
  The amendment (No. 4303) was agreed to.
  Mr. HATCH. I move to reconsider the vote, and I move to lay that 
motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on the engrossment and third 
reading of the bill.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading and was read 
the third time.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The bill having been read the third time, the 
question is, Shall the bill pass?
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
  Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Missouri (Mr. 
Ashcroft), the Senator from Montana (Mr. Burns), the Senator from 
Tennessee (Mr. Frist), the Senator from Washington (Mr. Gorton), the 
Senator from Minnesota (Mr. Grams), the Senator from North Carolina 
(Mr. Helms), and the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Roth) are necessarily 
absent.
  I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from 
Washington (Mr. Gorton) and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Helms) 
would each vote ``yea.''
  Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from Hawaii (Mr. Akaka), the 
Senator from California (Mrs. Feinstein), and the Senator from 
Connecticut (Mr. Lieberman) are necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Smith of Oregon). Are there any other 
Senators in the Chamber desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 85, nays 5, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 282 Leg.]

                                YEAS--85

     Abraham
     Allard
     Baucus
     Bayh
     Bennett
     Biden
     Bingaman
     Bond
     Breaux
     Brownback
     Bryan
     Bunning
     Byrd
     Campbell
     Cleland
     Cochran
     Collins
     Conrad
     Craig
     Crapo
     Daschle
     DeWine
     Dodd
     Domenici
     Dorgan
     Edwards
     Enzi
     Fitzgerald
     Graham
     Gramm
     Grassley
     Gregg
     Hagel
     Harkin
     Hatch
     Hollings
     Hutchinson
     Hutchison
     Inhofe
     Inouye
     Jeffords
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     Kerrey
     Kerry
     Kohl
     Kyl
     Landrieu
     Leahy
     Levin
     Lincoln
     Lott
     Lugar
     Mack
     McCain
     McConnell
     Mikulski
     Miller
     Moynihan
     Murkowski
     Murray
     Nickles
     Reed
     Reid
     Robb
     Roberts
     Rockefeller
     Santorum
     Sarbanes
     Schumer
     Sessions
     Shelby
     Smith (NH)
     Smith (OR)
     Snowe
     Specter
     Stevens
     Thomas
     Thompson
     Thurmond
     Torricelli
     Voinovich
     Warner
     Wellstone
     Wyden

                                NAYS--5

     Boxer
     Chafee, L.
     Durbin
     Feingold
     Lautenberg

                             NOT VOTING--10

     Akaka
     Ashcroft
     Burns
     Feinstein
     Frist
     Gorton
     Grams
     Helms
     Lieberman
     Roth
  Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. ALLARD. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President. I rise today to congratulate my 
colleague from Colorado, Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, on the 
passage of S. 2508, the Colorado Ute Settlement Act Amendments of 2000. 
This important Indian water rights settlement would never have gotten 
as far as it has in the Senate without the hard work and dilligence of 
Senator Campbell. As chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural 
Resources Committee and a member of the Senate Indian Affairs 
Committee, I know how difficult it is to reach consensus on Indian 
water rights settlements. It takes a great deal of knowledge, 
dedication and downright hard work to get these kinds of bills through 
committee and onto the Senate floor and while the work can be 
frustrating, the rewards of a job well done are the appreciation of the 
Tribe and the water users. Senator Campbell should reap those rewards. 
This settlement has been a long time coming and I hope the House of 
Representatives will look favorably on the hard work that has been done 
here and

[[Page S10986]]

pass this bill expeditiously so that it will make it to the White House 
and be signed into law.
  My only regret is that this bill has taken so long to pass the 
Senate. Fulfilling this commitment to the Colorado Ute Indian Tribes 
and the Colorado water users never should have taken this long. The 
settlement agreement was signed in 1986 and now--finally--after 15 
years of foot dragging and outright obstruction by outside groups, a 
bill to implement the agreement passes the Senate. The history of this 
unfulfilled promise is not a good one. For the past 15 years, numerous, 
and duplicative studies have been required, each of which resulted in 
substantial reductions in water to be diverted and stored in the 
Animas-La Plata project. The tribes, in order to get a project, have 
agreed to substantial modification of their rights under the 1986 
agreement and 1988 Settlement Act to make this proposal work. The cost 
of the project has been cut by almost two thirds, yet opponents of the 
project are still unhappy. I wonder what would make them happy--
complete and total derogation of the Federal Government's obligation to 
the tribes? I know Senator Campbell would not let that happen and I 
would certainly support him in his efforts.
  This bill, as passed today, represents the best hope for the United 
States to do right by the Colorado Ute Indian Tribes at this point and 
I am pleased to vote for it. I again congratulate Senator Campbell.

                          ____________________