[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 158 (Thursday, November 15, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S11916]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HOMESTAKE MINE CONVEYANCE ACT OF 2001

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Environment and Public Works Committee be discharged from further 
consideration of S. 1389, and the Senate proceed to its consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The clerk 
will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 1389) to provide for the conveyance of certain 
     real property in South Dakota to the State of South Dakota 
     with indemnification by the United States Government, and for 
     other purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.


                           Amendment No. 2161

              (Purpose: To provide a complete substitute)

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I have an amendment at the desk, and I 
ask unanimous consent that the amendment be considered and agreed to, 
and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 2161) was agreed to.
  (The text of the amendment is printed in today's Record under 
``Amendments Submitted.'')
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I am delighted that the Senate has 
approved a modified version of S. 1389, the Homestake Mine Conveyance 
Act of 2001.
  This important legislation will enable the construction of a new, 
world-class scientific research facility deep in the Homestake Mine in 
Lead, SD. Not only will this facility create an opportunity for 
critical breakthroughs in physics and other fields, it will provide 
unprecedented new economic and educational opportunities for South 
Dakota.
  Just over a year ago, the Homestake Mining Company announced that it 
intended to close its 125-year-old gold mine in Lead, SD, at the end of 
2001. This historic mine has been a central part of the economy of the 
Black Hills for over a century, and the closure of the mine was 
expected to present a significant economic blow to the community.
  In the wake of this announcement, you can imagine the surprise of 
South Dakotans to discover that a committee of prominent scientists 
viewed the closure of the mine as an unprecedented new opportunity to 
establish a National Underground Science Laboratory in the United 
States. Because of the extraordinary depth of the mine and its 
extensive existing infrastructure, they found that the mine would be an 
ideal location for research into neutrinos, tiny particles that can 
only be detected deep underground where thousands of feet of rock block 
out other cosmic radiation.
  Recently, I received a letter from Dr. John Bahcall. Dr. Bahcall is a 
scientist at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ. He was 
awarded the National Medal of Science in 1998, and is a widely 
recognized expert in neutrino science and an authority on the potential 
of an underground laboratory. In a recent letter to me, he explained, 
``There are pioneering experiments in the fields of physics, astronomy, 
biology, and geology that can only be carried out in an environment 
that is shielded from the many competing phenomena that occur on the 
surface of the earth. These experiments concern such fundamental and 
applied subjects as: How stable is ordinary matter? What is the dark 
matter of which most of our universe is composed? What new types of 
living organisms exist in deep underground environments from which 
sunlight is excluded? How are heat and water transported underground 
over long distances and long times?''
  This research, as well as other research that could be conducted in 
the mine, has the potential to answer fundamental questions about our 
universe. The National Science Foundation is already considering a $281 
million proposal for the construction of this laboratory.
  I want to thank all of those who have been involved in the 
development of this legislation. I particularly appreciate the hard 
work and support of Governor Bill Janklow of South Dakota and officials 
with the Homestake and Barrick mining companies, who helped us to reach 
agreement on this legislation. I also want to thank my colleague, 
Senator Johnson, a cosponsor of this bill, for all of his work. In 
particular, Senator Johnson's ability to secure the $10 million in 
transition funds that will bridge the gap between Homestake's closure 
and the establishment of the laboratory has been critical to this 
effort.
  I ask unanimous consent that the letter from Dr. John Bahcall be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                        Professor John N. Bachall,


                                 Institute for Advanced Study,

                                  Princeton, NJ, November 8, 2001.
     The Hon. Tom Daschle,
     U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Tom Daschle: I would like to summarize for you 
     the scientific importance of the National Underground Science 
     Laboratory to be located in the Homestake Gold Mine near 
     Lead, South Dakota.
       There are pioneering experiments in the fields of physics, 
     astronomy, biology, and geology that can only be carried out 
     in an environment that is shielded from the many competing 
     phenomena that occur on the surface of the earth. These 
     experiments concern such fundamental and applied subjects as: 
     How stable is ordinary matter? What is the dark matter of 
     which most of our universe is composed? What new types of 
     living organisms exist in deep environments from which 
     sunlight is excluded? How are heat and water transported 
     underground over long distances and long times?
       American scientists have been among the world leaders in 
     research in these underground studies. But we have had to 
     travel to Japan, to Italy, to Russia, to South Africa, to 
     Finland, to India and to other countries in order to carry 
     out our experiments. During the past year, I had the 
     privilege of chairing a national committee of distinguished 
     research scientists that was charged with the task of 
     recommending whether or not the United States should develop 
     its own national laboratory to support the underground 
     scientific work of physicists, astronomers, biologists, and 
     geologists. We were also asked to make a recommendation as to 
     whether the expenditure of funds for this purpose would, in a 
     highly constrained budgetary situation, be beneficial to the 
     scientific enterprise.
       The committee had many meetings in this country and in 
     other countries where major underground scientific facilities 
     are currently active. The committee reached two conclusions. 
     First, it is in the best interest of the United States to 
     develop a national underground science laboratory only if 
     this facility would be the best in the world. Secondly, the 
     Homestake Gold Mine could be converted into the premier 
     underground laboratory in the world. The recommendations of 
     the committee have been endorsed by panels of scientists 
     representing different disciplines.
       I hope that these remarks are useful to you and to your 
     colleagues.
           Sincerely yours,
                                                     John Bahcall,
                                  National Medal of Science, 1998.

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill, as 
amended, be read a third time, passed, and the motion to reconsider be 
laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any 
statements thereon be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The bill (S. 1389), as amended, was read the third time and passed.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, we have a number of other items to be 
taken up.

                          ____________________