[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 140 (Wednesday, October 17, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10783-S10786]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT,
2002--CONFERENCE REPORT
Mr. BYRD. Madam President, it is a pleasure to join my colleague from
Montana, the distinguished Ranking Member of our Interior
appropriations subcommittee, in bringing before the Senate the
conference report on H.R. 2217, the Fiscal Year 2002 Interior and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act.
This is the first of the thirteen annual appropriations bills to have
reached this stage of the process. Let me say parenthetically, however,
that the Committee on Appropriations reported the bill on July 12--3
months and 5 days ago. So it has been a long time in ripening to this
point. This conference report is, in my opinion, a well-crafted bill.
It is never an easy task to work out the many disagreements between
House and Senate versions of an appropriations bill, and this year was
no exception. But each and every one of the 1,330 items before the
conferees was worked out in a way that balanced the views of each
chamber and the resources available to the conferees.
I will not go into great detail with respect to all the particulars
of the conference agreement, but shall point out a few highlights.
First, to those who have a special interest in natural resource
conservation, this conference report lives up to our previous
commitment by fully funding the conservation spending category
established in Title VIII of last year's Interior Appropriations bill.
Through this spending category, the managers were able to fund key
conservation activities including $428 million for Federal land
acquisition; $229 million for State programs such as wildlife and
wetland conservation programs; and $184 million for Federal
infrastructure improvements in our national parks, forests, refuges,
and on other public lands. In addition,
[[Page S10784]]
the conference report devotes $11 million to Civil War battlefields
preservation, an important commitment to honoring our national heritage
and understanding the history of this great country.
The conference report also restores the $36 million in environmental
clean-up work conducted through the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund
which the administration had unwisely proposed to cut. These funds will
be used for high priority abandoned mine clean-up projects which
address serious health and safety concerns.
For our colleagues from the West, I am pleased to report that the
conference agreement continues the Congressional commitment to protect
the public and our natural resources from fire danger by providing $2.2
billion to the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior for
wildland firefighting. This is an increase of $300 million above the
President's request.
The bill also includes $2.8 billion for critically needed Indian
health care and $2.2 billion for Indian education and economic
development. Within these amounts, $86 million is targeted specifically
for the construction of new hospitals and health clinics, while more
than $290 million is to be used for school construction and repair.
The conference report includes over $930 million for cultural
institutions and programs funded through the Interior subcommittee,
including the Smithsonian Institution, the National Gallery of Art, the
Kennedy Center, and the National Endowment for the Arts and Humanities.
The conference committee paid special attention to the needs of the
National Park Service, providing an increase of $85 million over the
fiscal year 2001 appropriation for basic operations of the national
park system. In addition, the conference report contains $366 million
for Park Service construction, with the vast majority of these projects
representing backlogged maintenance and infrastructure improvements in
the National Parks.
Finally, I would like to point out that this conference report
contains much needed funding for the important energy research programs
overseen by the Department of Energy, specifically in the area of
fossil energy research and development. I am very proud of the fact
that the conferees provided $150 million for continuation of the Clean
Coal Technology program, which I first started in 1985 and which has
proven to be one of the most successful public/private partnerships
ever undertaken by the Federal Government. I am pleased we were able to
restore the nearly $100 million in basic energy research funding that
the administration had proposed to cut. I told the Secretary of Energy
that I believed those cuts to be unwise--and I earlier urged the
President not to make those cuts--and that if I had anything to do with
it--and I did, of course--they would not stand. For the good of the
Nation and our energy security, I am glad that I was able to keep my
word.
Before yielding the floor to my distinguished colleague from Montana
for any comments he may wish to make, let me say again publicly what a
pleasure it was to have Conrad Burns as the Ranking member of the
Interior subcommittee and to work with him and his able staff
throughout this year. This has been a journey of hope and pleasure for
me as we have developed this bill during the several months of working
with Senator Burns. The dedication to duty displayed by Senator Burns,
the willingness to cooperate in a bipartisan fashion, and his always
gracious manner have made my work infinitely easier, and I thank him
for his support in crafting this bill.
I thank his staff and I thank my own staff, along with Peter
Kiefhafer, for their excellent work.
I urge my colleagues to support this conference report.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Montana.
Mr. BURNS. I join my friend from West Virginia in asking the Senate
to support the Interior and related agencies conference report. This
has been sort of a labor of love. It has been 3 months of putting this
piece of legislation together and many hours of off-the-floor
negotiations not only between my chairman and everybody who serves on
this subcommittee but also in the conference with the House.
This conference agreement fits within the broader fiscal limitations
with which the Congress and the President have agreed. To remain within
these limits, we had to reduce many projects and programs below levels
provided by the Senate bill. Likewise, many priorities established in
the House were reduced so the conference agreement would conform to the
subcommittee's conference allocation.
The final product does not contain 100 percent of what everybody
wanted; nor does it have 100 percent for one individual. I assure my
colleagues Senator Byrd has included me and my staff in all
negotiations and that the Senate's interests have been treated fairly.
There are two specific items I will address before proceeding. I am
pleased that the conference report provided a $10 million increase in
payments in lieu of taxes, PILT. These funds are a vital source of
funding for schools and other basic Government services in rural
communities that have large public land acreage. While I hoped we would
preserve the entire increase provided in the Senate bill, the amount
provided in the conference agreement is a significant step forward and
moves us closer reaching the authorizing funding level of the PILT
program.
With regard to the funds for the wildland firefighting and related
programs, the conference agreement contains just over $2.23 billion.
The year before last and last year were terrible years for fires, as
was this past summer, although it was not as devastating as the year
before. Congress has still made a commitment to the national fire plan.
We were unable to fully fund all the needs of the national fire plan,
but nonetheless the commitment is there. We had to make extremely tough
choices, balancing the need for rehabilitation and restoration of lands
already burned and the need to prevent and suppress future fires.
We have also taken the opportunity to direct the Department of
Agriculture and the Interior to work more closely together in
implementing the national fire plan, while giving us a better
understanding of the land's long-term funding and what it needs. I
believe this will move us much closer toward having a fire plan that
can be fully implemented.
Finally, I thank Senator Byrd for his courtesy shown throughout the
process. There are 3 C's in committee work: cooperation, courtesy, and
consideration. Usually we get our work done pretty expeditiously. It
has been a difficult year on many fronts, but from the Senate
transition to the events of last month, Senator Byrd and I have worked
well together to produce a final bill that deserves the Senate support.
I thank his staff and my own. Ryan Thomas and Bruce Evans have done
yeoman's work on this bill as it has moved its way not only through the
Senate but also through the conference.
It is strange indeed to have an Interior and related agencies bill to
be the first appropriations bill to be sent to the President. I can
remember when this bill was unbelievably contentious. It is the off-
the-floor agreements and negotiations made that help bring a product to
the floor. It just about has the approval of the total Senate. That is
a testament to Senator Byrd's leadership as chairman of this
subcommittee. Again, I urge my colleagues to support this conference
agreement.
Mr. BYRD. We are told in the Scripture: A word fitly spoken is like
apples of gold in pictures of silver.
The words by Conrad Burns, my distinguished colleague, have been
fitly spoken. Again, I thank him.
Mr. REID. Madam President, on behalf of Senator Daschle and this
Senator from Nevada, I express our appreciation to the chairman of the
Appropriations Committee not only for bringing the bill to the floor
today but for your persistence, your wisdom, and your legislative
abilities. You have worked very hard on all appropriations bills, this
one in particular. We extend our appreciation to you for that.
More generally, this is the first appropriations bill. There couldn't
be one more timely and one that should be recognized than the one these
two Senators put together. Senator Burns said he can remember when the
bill was contentious. It is still contentious. But this is what
legislation is all about. I was so happy to go to that conference
[[Page S10785]]
committee. We spent just a little bit of time there. It was resolved
quickly. That is what good legislation is all about.
The example that was set I hope I can follow. Senator Domenici and I
are working on energy and water and hope to have a conference that is
even shorter than the one on the Interior bill. We hope to be able to
do that. We were going to do it tomorrow but the House is going out
today and we will not be able to do that. Hopefully, it will be Monday
or Tuesday.
I have a great feeling for this bill. The Senator from West Virginia
will remember when I first came here I had the honor, when you were so
heavily involved in your duties being the Democratic leader, of
conducting the subcommittee hearings on this bill. I learned a lot
about this subcommittee as a result of sitting there for those hours of
hearings to arrive at a point where we had a bill that could be brought
to the Senate floor. Conducting those hearing was one of the biggest
learning processes I ever went through. It was a great honor.
I will not belabor the point other than to say if someone picked up a
dictionary and looked at the word ``wisdom,'' Senator Byrd's name would
be right there. And of course it would be there with ``legislator.''
But in capital letters, if you flipped open the dictionary and came to
the word ``Senator,'' Robert Byrd of West Virginia would be right
there.
So it is appropriate that the first bill that we have worked so hard
to get out of the appropriations process is one that has been
engineered by the Senator from West Virginia.
I also extend my appreciation to the Senator from Montana, with whom
it has been easy to work. He understands the legislative process and
has really been a pleasure to work with.
I ask unanimous consent the Senate now proceed to the conference
report accompanying H.R. 2217, the Department of the Interior
appropriations bill; that the Senate vote immediately on adoption of
the conference report with no intervening action; and that upon
adoption of the conference report, the Senate proceed to a period of
morning business with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes
each.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Mr. BYRD. Madam President, I reserve the right to object just for the
purpose of responding to the distinguished majority whip and his
glowing references to my work.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.
Mr. BYRD. May I say this. Darius the Great was once having lunch.
Someone presented Darius the Great with a huge pomegranate at this
luncheon. And it was opened. There were quite a number of seeds in it.
Darius said, ``Had I as many men like Megabazus as there are seeds in
this pomegranate, it would please me better than to be lord of
Greece.''
So let me just say, using those words by Darius, I have been around
the Senate here quite a while and I have seen several whips. I have had
the pleasure--or perhaps the misfortune, I should say--of being whip
myself here for several years beginning in 1971. But I was not as good
a whip as Senator Reid. I won't say anything about the other whips, but
I will just use myself. Senator Reid is an excellent assistant majority
leader. He is always on the floor. That is how I gained my fame as
whip--I stayed on the floor, watched the floor. There is where I
learned the rules, where I learned the precedents.
This man is a man who, if I may do a little bragging, was cut in my
own image in that he stays on the floor. He works this floor. He is
always to be counted upon. He is here to help every Senator. Many are
the time agreements that are made possible by his assiduous attention
to his duties on the floor.
Majority Leader Daschle can be very grateful for the fact that he has
been given this very excellent man, Harry Reid of Nevada, to work and
to assist him, Mr. Daschle, as the whip.
I pay my compliments to Mr. Reid. I thank him for his great work.
Let me just now end my remarks by saying we hope that next week we
can complete the work on this floor on the energy and water
appropriation bill, the legislative branch appropriation bill, the VA-
HUD appropriation bill, and the Treasury appropriations bill. We are
finally making some headway.
I thank my colleagues, and of course the good Lord most of all, and
our staff for the fact that we have been able to begin making some
progress on the action and passage of the Appropriations conference
reports.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the request?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will report.
The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the
two Houses on the amendment of the Senate to the bill (H.R.
2217), ``making appropriations for the Department of the
Interior and related agencies for the fiscal year ending
September 30, 2000, and for other purposes,'' having met,
have agreed that the House recede from its disagreement to
the amendment of the Senate, and agree to the same with an
amendment, and the Senate agree to the same, signed by all of
the conferees on the part of both Houses.
(The report is printed in the House proceedings of the Record of
October 11, 2001.)
Mr. CONRAD. Madam President, I rise to offer the Budget Committee's
official scoring for the conference report for H.R. 2217, the Interior
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal year 2002.
The conference bill provides $19.12 billion in nonemergency
discretionary budget authority, which will result in new outlays in
2002 of $11.908 billion. When outlays from prior-year budget authority
are taken into account, discretionary outlays for the Senate bill total
$18.017 billion in 2002. Of that total, $1.32 billion in budget
authority and $1.029 billion in outlays falls under the new cap for
conservation spending. The remaining amount counts against the general
purpose cap for discretionary spending. The conference report is within
the Appropriations Committee's 302(b) allocations for budget authority
and outlays for both general purpose and conservation spending.
In addition, the Senate bill provides new emergency spending
authority of $400 million in 2002 for federal firefighting activities,
which will result in new outlays of $289 million. Per section 314 of
the Congressional Budget Act, as amended, I have adjusted the
committee's 302(a) allocation by the amount of this designated
emergency funding. The amount of emergency funding included in the
report is consistent with the bipartisan agreement reached earlier this
month between the President and congressional appropriators.
H.R. 2217 is the first conference report to reach the Senate floor.
Twelve more remain after its adoption. It is important that the Senate
act quickly and pass this important legislation that will provide vital
funding for managing our nation's natural resources, supporting better
and more efficient use of our energy supplies, and meeting our
commitments to Native American tribes.
I ask for unanimous consent that a table displaying the budget
committee scoring of this bill be inserted in the Record at this point.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
H.R. 2217, INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2002
[Spending comparisons--Conference Report (in millions of dollars)]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
General
purpose Conservation Mandatory Total
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conference report:
Budget Authority........... 17,800 1,320 59 19,179
Outlays.................... 16,988 1,029 77 18,094
Senate 302(b) allocation: \1\
Budget Authority........... 17,800 1,376 59 19,235
Outlays.................... 16,988 1,030 77 18,095
President's request:
Budget Authority........... 16,827 1,256 59 18,142
Outlays.................... 16,425 832 77 17,334
House-passed:
Budget Authority........... 17,621 1,320 59 19,000
Outlays.................... 16,789 1,031 77 17,897
Senate-passed:
Budget Authority........... 17,386 1,320 59 18,765
Outlays.................... 16,736 1,029 77 17,842
SENATE-REPORTED BILL COMPARED
TO--
Senate 302(b) allocation: \1\
Budget Authority........... ....... -56 ......... -56
Outlays.................... ....... -1 ......... -1
President's request:
Budget Authority........... 973 64 ......... 1,037
Outlays.................... 563 197 ......... 760
House-passed:
Budget Authority........... 179 ............ ......... 179
Outlays.................... 199 -2 ......... 197
Senate-passed:
Budget Authority........... 414 ............ ......... 414
Outlays.................... 252 ............ ......... 252
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ For enforcement purposes, the budget committee compares the
conference report to the Senate 302(b) allocation.
Notes: Details may not add to totals due to rounding. Totals adjusted
for consistency with scorekeeping conventions. The conference report
includes $400 million in general purpose emergency funding for federal
firefighting activities. Prepared by SBC Majority Staff, 10-17-01.
[[Page S10786]]
Mr. McCain. Mr. President, I thank the managers for their work in
completing this important appropriations bill which funds the Federal
agencies governing land management, energy, forestry and Native
American programs, In this time of extraordinary national, and fiscal,
urgency to respond to domestic threats, I appreciate that their jobs
have not been easy and I am thankful for their work.
This Interior appropriations bill funds many important programs that
help to protect the nation's natural resources, national parks,
endangered animals and forest lands, as well as health and education
programs for Native Americans. A portion of energy conservation funding
for the Department of Energy is also included in this bill. I am
supportive of these programs and their important part to preserve the
character and quality of America's most special places.
What I find disturbing is that many of these programs, such as the
National Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service, still
experience enormous backlogs of maintenance and repair work because
these agencies are not able to spend important Federal funding on the
Nation's highest priorities. Instead, the appropriators have earmarked
this funding for their own priorities, without a fair and merit-based
review.
This year's final Interior appropriations bill includes $343 million
in earmarks, much of which is either unrequested or unauthorized
spending. While this amount is less than the bill passed earlier this
year in the Senate, it is still an extraordinarily high amount of
Federal spending that should be directed toward the most urgent
priorities for the agencies included in this bill. It is a critical
time for our nation, and we should expend Federal dollars prudently to
allow Federal agencies to carry out their management responsibilities.
I will support the passage of this year's Interior bill, despite my
objections to the extraneous porkbarrel spending that is included. I
believe, especially in this heightened time of American resolve to
protect our homelands, that it is our highest obligation to ensure that
we spend taxpayer dollars wisely. Unfortunately, as evidenced by the
$343 million in porkbarrel spending in this bill, we are clearly
failing In fully upholding our obligations to protect natural resources
and meet trust obligations to Native Americans. As we consider the
remaining appropriations bills for this fiscal year, I hope that my
colleagues will exercise fiscal constraint in porkbarrel spending.
The list of objectionable provisions I identified in H.R. 2217 is
available on my Senate web site.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Madam President, I would like to speak for a moment
about Section 128 of the Interior Appropriations conference report.
In its original form, Section 128 repealed language from last year's
Omnibus Indian Advancement Act, language that circumvented the Indian
Gaming Regulatory Act's commonsense protections and regulatory
safeguards against the inappropriate siting of Class III, Nevada-style
casinos.
Late last year, a one-paragraph provision was attached to the Omnibus
Indian Advancement Act granting land in trust to a single Indian tribe,
the Lytton band, and permitting them to move forward on plans to
establish a Nevada-style gaming establishment in San Pablo, CA, on a
site that is not part of and is not adjacent to land traditionally held
by the Lytton band of Indians. In fact, this site is in a major urban
area just outside of San Francisco, neither in nor near the Lytton
band's reservation. This was done without regard to Federal laws
currently in place to regulate the siting of such a casino. Now,
language that would have originally repealed that granting of land in
trust merely states that the Lytton band must follow the Code of
Federal Regulations for Class III gaming, which they would have had to
follow anyway.
I have serious reservations about the expansion of Class III gaming
in urban areas, and I am particularly against off-reservation gambling.
These off-reservation casinos cause counties additional costs in public
and local services, often intrude in residential areas, and are
increasingly causing local concerns ranging from traffic congestion to
additional crime.
Currently, California has 109 separate and independent tribal
governments, of which 46 have operational casinos. Three more casinos
are currently under construction. Additionally, 20 tribes have compacts
with the state and are proposing casinos, and 10 more are in
negotiations with the Governor for a tribal state compact for Class III
gaming. Finally, 54 more tribes are petitioning or involved in
congressional acts to be federally recognized to promote a casino.
Circumventing the processes for Federal recognition of tribal
governments and for granting land into trust presents a variety of
serious and critical multi-jurisdictional issues--issues which can
negatively affect the lives of ordinary citizens and deprive local
government of their political power to protect those whom they govern.
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act has provided this Nation with a fair
and balanced approach to Indian casinos by facilitating tribal plans
for economic recovery without compromising a multitude of factors that
should be taken into account when deciding on the siting of such a
large, Nevada-style casino. IGRA works. It is a fair process that
should be followed.
Mr. REID. Madam President, 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 conference report.
The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from Connecticut (Mr.
Lieberman) is necessarily absent.
Mr. NICKLES. I announce that the Senator from Nebraska (Mr. Hagel) is
necessarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 95, nays 3, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 304 Leg.]
YEAS--95
Akaka
Allard
Allen
Baucus
Bennett
Biden
Bingaman
Bond
Boxer
Breaux
Bunning
Burns
Byrd
Campbell
Cantwell
Carnahan
Carper
Chafee
Cleland
Clinton
Cochran
Collins
Conrad
Corzine
Craig
Crapo
Daschle
Dayton
DeWine
Dodd
Domenici
Dorgan
Durbin
Edwards
Ensign
Enzi
Feingold
Feinstein
Fitzgerald
Frist
Graham
Gramm
Grassley
Gregg
Harkin
Hatch
Helms
Hollings
Hutchinson
Hutchison
Inhofe
Inouye
Jeffords
Johnson
Kennedy
Kerry
Kohl
Kyl
Landrieu
Leahy
Levin
Lincoln
Lott
Lugar
McCain
McConnell
Mikulski
Miller
Murkowski
Murray
Nelson (FL)
Nelson (NE)
Nickles
Reed
Reid
Rockefeller
Santorum
Sarbanes
Schumer
Sessions
Shelby
Smith (NH)
Smith (OR)
Snowe
Specter
Stabenow
Stevens
Thomas
Thompson
Thurmond
Torricelli
Voinovich
Warner
Wellstone
Wyden
NAYS--3
Bayh
Brownback
Roberts
NOT VOTING--2
Hagel
Lieberman
The conference report was agreed to.
vote explanation
Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, at the time of the vote on the
Interior appropriations conference report on October 17, 2001, I was
unable to vote because I was attending the funeral of Mrs. Margaret Ann
Aitcheson, mother of Mrs. Tipper Gore. If I was present, I would have
voted in favor of the conference report. I note that because that
report passed by a vote of 95-3, my absence had no effect on the
outcome of the vote.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
Mr. LEAHY. I move to lay that motion on the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
____________________