[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.

                          ____________________