[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 110 (Wednesday, September 4, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8141-S8144]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2003

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the 
Senate will now proceed to the consideration of H.R. 5093. The clerk 
will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 5093) making appropriations for the Department 
     of the Interior and related agencies for the fiscal year 
     ending September 30, 2003, and for other purposes.

  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from West Virginia.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, the leadership has been invited to the White 
House this morning, and therefore this matter will be somewhat delayed 
until their return.
  My distinguished ranking member, Mr. Burns, is with me, and we are 
going to proceed with statements on the bill, after which I have two or 
three technical amendments which make corrections, and with the 
approval of my ranking member on the other side of the aisle, I shall 
propose those, and perhaps the Senate can move them, accept them, and 
get them out of the way.
  The first amendment I intend to offer will not be offered until the 
majority leader and the majority whip return.
  I am pleased to be joined by my distinguished colleague, the ranking 
member of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, as we bring before 
the Senate the Interior appropriations bill for fiscal year 2003. I am 
very proud of our work on this legislation.
  Although this bill is not, in terms of total dollars appropriated, 
the largest of the 13 annual appropriations bills, it is an exceedingly 
important bill. It is in this legislation that we support and protect 
the crown jewels of this Nation, our national parks. The four land 
management agencies funded through this bill, the National Parks 
Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Forest Service, and the 
Bureau of Land Management, are responsible for overseeing 628 million 
acres of land or about one-fourth of the total area of the United 
States.
  The Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service provide 
educational opportunities and critical health care to more than 1.4 
million American Indians. The Department of Energy is charged with 
developing cutting-edge technology in the areas of fossil energy and 
energy conservation, and the Smithsonian Institution, along with the 
arts and humanities endowments, protects and promotes some of our 
Nation's most enduring cultural resources.
  Because the bill and the report have been available for review since 
June 28, I will not go through each and every account line by line. I 
will, however, reiterate some of the highlights of the legislation.

[[Page S8142]]

  As it now stands, the bill provides the full $2 billion requested by 
the President for fiscal year 2003 firefighting activities. It provides 
the full $1.4 billion allowed for under the conservation spending 
category.
  It provides a $35 million increase for basic operations at our 385 
national parks, including $6.1 million for enhanced security, and a 
total of $702 million to attack the maintenance backlog at those parks.
  Our parks and wilderness areas reflect the pristine beauty, the 
unmatched beauty of this country. They are important to our sense of 
national pride, and they showcase this Nation to approximately 33 
million foreign visitors every year.
  The bill also provides the Fish and Wildlife Service with $460 
million for refuges and wildlife. It provides $641 million for fossil 
energy research and development, including $150 million for the Clean 
Coal Technology Program, and $922 million for energy conservation 
programs, including $286 million for the weatherization and State 
energy programs.
  This bill, which has been crafted by my colleague, Mr. Burns, and the 
Republican and Democratic members of the subcommittee, also promotes 
culture and history by providing $538 million for the important work of 
the Smithsonian Institution, and $246 million for the arts and 
humanities endowments.
  The funding levels contained in this bill are fully consistent with 
the subcommittee's allocation as agreed to unanimously by the 
Appropriations Committee on June 27, and as published in the 
Congressional Record on June 28.
  We have used scarce resources. I emphasize, resources are scarce, and 
we have used scarce resources to fund all of the important missions of 
the Department of Interior. But our fiscal situation and the times in 
which we live demand discretion and frugality. Consequently, Senator 
Burns and I, as managers of this bill, stand ready to oppose amendments 
that would increase the fiscal year 2003 spending beyond the current 
level in the bill. We will also discourage amendments using offsets 
which rely on across-the-board cuts, undefined reductions in 
administrative or travel expenses, or any other amorphous proposal that 
relies on savings that may not be real.
  Finally, Mr. President, before yielding the floor, I acknowledge the 
efforts of several people. First, I publicly thank the subcommittee's 
distinguished ranking member for his help in drafting this legislation. 
As a westerner, Senator Conrad Burns brings a wealth of experience and 
knowledge and an important perspective to the diverse and difficult 
issues that always seem to come up in the Interior appropriations bill.
  I applaud the dedication to duty that he exudes, and I applaud his 
willingness to work in a bipartisan fashion. It is a pleasure to work 
and to serve with Senator Conrad Burns on this subcommittee.
  I wish to thank Senator Ted Stevens, the ranking member of the full 
committee. Senator Stevens has provided invaluable advice and counsel 
with respect to the Interior bill. His efforts are one of the reasons 
this bill was unanimously reported out of the Appropriations Committee. 
Ted Stevens has a marvelous ability, based on a great wealth of 
experience, to craft workable solutions to tough problems, and I rely 
heavily on his sage advice and his unique and thorough, meticulous 
grasp of detail.
  Let me thank our subcommittee staff. These are the men and women who 
work for Senator Burns and for me on this important Interior bill. They 
are a highly dedicated group of individuals who spend a tremendous 
amount of time, who ensure that all members of the subcommittee have 
the information we need to accomplish our work. Senator Burns and I 
appreciate their efforts.
  I especially want to thank Peter Kiefhaber, my clerk on the Interior 
bill, for his conscientious approach to funding this bill and to his 
never-failing pleasant demeanor, for his characteristic cooperation and 
courtesy always, not just to me but to all other Senators as well.
  I also thank the staff person on the other side, the ranking member 
of this committee's staff. Bruce Evans never fails to add to the near 
perfection, as near as we can make it, of the bill that we present to 
our colleagues for their study and counsel and decision. So as chairman 
of the subcommittee, I thank him, as well as I thank my own clerk. We 
have to work together. We have to get along together, and we do that. 
We do these things together on this subcommittee.
  I urge now my colleagues to adopt this measure in a timely manner so 
that we can proceed to conference with the House. We need to get this 
work done. Senator Burns and I stand ready, as we also stand ready with 
Senator Stevens, to go forward with this bill. We will be glad to 
discuss amendments as we proceed.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when Mr. Burns has 
completed his statement, if he has one, and gets recognition, as I 
assume he will, that I be recognized to offer some technical 
amendments.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The Senator from Montana.
  Mr. BURNS. I thank the Chair. Mr. President, I am very happy this 
morning to join the Senator from West Virginia in support of the 
Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2003. 
Needless to say, this is a very important piece of legislation, 
especially for me and my colleagues in the West, particularly those in 
the intermountain region. This bill funds the agencies that manage the 
majority of our public lands.
  It funds health care, education, and other services for Native 
Americans. It supports research and development and allows us to 
develop and use our domestic energy resources in a responsible manner.
  Although Senator Byrd does not hail from a Western State, we are 
about to adopt him as a westerner. He has done a great job in putting 
this bill together. The bill accurately reflects the priorities of the 
Senate as a whole, as it remains within the subcommittee's fairly 
modest allocation. The bill as a whole is a mere 2 percent above the 
President's request and it is well below the allocation approved by the 
House of Representatives.
  Senator Byrd has worked with me and my staff to see the specific 
interests of Republican Members have been fairly treated. Did everybody 
get everything they asked for? No, of course not. I, as ranking member, 
did not get everything I asked for, but neither did the chairman. I can 
assure my colleagues that the chairman has taken an evenhanded approach 
in dealing with more than 2,000 individual requests which we received.
  Since the chairman of the subcommittee has already outlined the 
principal features of this bill, I take this opportunity to speak about 
a few specific items. First, I note that this bill increases funding 
for payment in lieu of taxes by $10 million over the current level. 
While the funding provided for PILT still leaves us a long way from the 
fully authorized amount, it is a dramatic improvement over the $45 
million cut proposed by the President's budget request. These funds are 
vital. They are vital to all the counties where public lands have a 
presence, especially in the West where most of the public lands are 
located. Those counties struggle to provide education, law enforcement, 
and other services without an adequate tax base. I hope the 
administration will give greater consideration to the importance of 
this program as it assembles its fiscal year 2004 budget request. I 
make a footnote, saying as long as the American people have told us as 
policymakers that they want to retain those Federal lands everywhere 
across the country, then we must maintain and pay the taxes to support 
local services.
  I will highlight the efforts Senator Byrd and I have made to increase 
funding for the operation of our National Parks. While the Americans 
for National Parks Campaign has turned a spotlight on the issue over 
the last several months, those who have served on the subcommittee for 
years know it is not a new problem. I view the increase of $35 million 
provided in this bill for park operations, an increase of $20 million 
over the budget request, as a continuation of this subcommittee's 
ongoing effort to provide adequate funds for our National Parks.

[[Page S8143]]

  Finally, I will talk about forest fires. It has been odd to see the 
nightly newscasts and they are not reporting on a wildfire somewhere in 
the country. By now my colleagues are well aware that the 2002 fire 
season is on its way to being as costly and as damaging as the record-
setting year 2000. The fact this is happening should come as no 
surprise. We knew the conditions in many areas of the West were the 
driest in recent memory. We knew that years of misguided forest 
management have left our forests with intolerably high fuel loads. The 
inevitable has happened. And it will continue to happen as the fire 
season progresses and as we meet the years ahead. The question is, what 
to do about it.
  This bill fully funds the President's request for fire suppression, 
which is based on a 10-year average cost of firefighting. 
Unfortunately, using the 10-year average as a basis for budget requests 
no longer appears to be adequate. The 10-year average does not reflect 
the impact of inflation. It does not reflect the recent changes in 
firefighting practices associated with the national fire plan. And it 
does not reflect the impact of fire suppression costs of rapidly 
increasing housing development in the wildland urban interface.

  We need to be working on a better model for projecting fire 
suppression budgets. Certainly, we need to do everything possible to 
control suppression costs through effective management and aggressive 
oversight, but at the end of the day we are going to have fires and we 
are going to have to fight them in many cases.
  If our suppression budgets are consistently below the actual need, 
the Forest Service and the Department of the Interior will continually 
have to use their borrowing authority to cover fire costs. While this 
borrowing enables us to get the job done in terms of firefighting, 
repeated and extensive borrowing makes it difficult to plan and conduct 
regular programs that are funded from the accounts subject to the 
borrowing. Such programs include facility construction and maintenance, 
land acquisition, and research activities.
  Ironically, repeated borrowing also makes it more difficult for the 
Forest Service and the Department of the Interior to execute their 
salvage and hazardous fuels reduction programs--the very programs that 
will help reduce fire suppression costs over the long term.
  The Forest Service has already exhausted its fiscal year 2002 
firefighting funds and has commenced borrowing from other programs. 
Current estimates indicate that the Forest Service may have to borrow 
more than $1 billion by the end of the fiscal year. The Department of 
the Interior may have to borrow $220 million. While I appreciate 
Senator Stevens' and Senator Byrd's efforts to include $50 million for 
firefighting in the supplemental over OMB's objections--by the way, 
that amount does very little to address the problem; as such, I expect 
we will have an amendment to this bill to provide the emergency funds 
needed to pay for this year's firefighting costs. I certainly hope all 
my colleagues will support the amendment.
  On a final note, I wish to echo Senator Byrd's comments regarding the 
overall funding levels in this bill. Due to the failure of the Senate 
to take up and pass a budget resolution, as it is supposed to do, we 
have no formal subcommittee allocation that is enforceable by a 
supermajority vote. Nevertheless, I concur with my chairman, Senator 
Byrd, and also with the ranking member of the full committee that we 
must enforce fiscal discipline as we go through this appropriations 
process.
  I will join Senator Byrd in opposing amendments that propose to add 
nonemergency spending to this bill without being fully offset. And in 
considering such offsets, I do not believe either of the managers would 
look favorably on amendments that would duck the question of tradeoffs 
by using across-the-board cuts, reductions in travel, and other 
gimmicks. Agencies in this bill are already being asked to reduce their 
travel costs and absorb a portion of mandated pay increases. I expect 
Senator Byrd and I will oppose proposals to further squeeze agencies in 
such an indirect manner.
  With that, I conclude by once again thanking Senator Byrd, my 
chairman, for his efforts in putting this bill together. I also thank 
his staff, led by Peter Kiefhaber, for their hard work and their 
willingness to work with my staff in assembling this bill.
  I know they have worked long hours to get the bill to this stage. 
Even though we were on August break, and most of us in our home States, 
staff stayed here and worked on this legislation. I want to show that 
we appreciate their efforts.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.


                           Amendment No. 4472

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I have some technical amendments which have 
been cleared by the distinguished Senator, who is the ranking member. 
And they are technical. I do not plan to call up any amendment at this 
moment that is not purely technical.
  The first thing I will do is to call up the substitute amendment, 
which is the work of our committee. The House bill is before the 
Senate. So what I seek to do now is call up the Senate bill as a 
substitute.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from West Virginia [Mr. Byrd], proposes an 
     amendment numbered 4472.

  Mr. BYRD. I ask unanimous consent the reading of the amendment be 
dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Corzine). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  (The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of 
Amendments.'')


                Amendment No. 4473 To Amendment No. 4472

   (Purpose: To make permanent a provision relating to the National 
                            Business Center)

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, the purpose of this amendment will be to 
make permanent a provision previously carried in the Interior 
appropriations bill relating to the Interior Department's National 
Business Center. I am not talking about the substitute amendment which 
I just offered. I am talking about an amendment which I will shortly 
send to the desk, that, as I say, makes permanent a provision 
previously carried in the Interior appropriations bill relating to the 
Interior Department's National Business Center.
  In January 2001, the National Business Center expanded its 
acquisition services capability. As part of its expanded mission, the 
Center now provides contracting support to the Defense Advanced 
Research Projects Agency. The language that is being proposed by Mr. 
Burns and myself allows the Center to continue to support the Defense 
Department's need for grants, cooperative agreements, and other 
transactions as authorized in the Defense Conversion, Reinvestment, and 
Transition Assistance Act of 1992.
  This amendment will secure efficiencies in the area of procurement 
services and should be agreed to by the Senate.
  I send to the desk an amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Byrd) for himself and 
     Mr. Burns, proposes an amendment numbered 4473 to amendment 
     No. 4472:
       At the end of Title I, add the following new section:
       ``Sec.   . Hereafter the Department of the Interior 
     National Business Center may continue to enter into grants, 
     cooperative agreements, and other transactions, under the 
     Defense Conversion, Reinvestment, and Transition Assistance 
     Act of 1992, and other related legislation.''

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I have nothing further to say on the 
amendment.
  Mr. BURNS. It is all clear on this side. We are supporting it.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. If there is no further debate, without 
objection the amendment is agreed to.
  The amendment (No. 4473) was agreed to.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which the 
amendment was agreed to.
  Mr. BURNS. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.


                Amendment No. 4474 To Amendment No. 4472

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I send a technical amendment to the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the amendment.

[[Page S8144]]

  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Byrd), for himself and 
     Mr. Burns, proposes an amendment numbered 4474 to amendment 
     No. 4472:
       On page 83, line 13, strike ``$650,965,000'' and insert in 
     lieu thereof ``$640,965,000''.

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, this amendment corrects an error with 
respect to the appropriation for the fossil energy account. On page 83, 
line 13, as the clerk has stated, the figure of $650,965,000 should 
read $640,965,000. The amendment that I sent to the desk on behalf of 
Mr. Burns and myself makes this correction. I yield the floor so my 
distinguished counterpart may comment if he wishes.
  Mr. BURNS. No comment here. We support it.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. If there is no further debate, without 
objection the amendment is agreed to.
  The amendment (No. 4474) was agreed to.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which the 
amendment was agreed to.
  Mr. BURNS. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.


                Amendment No. 4475 To Amendment No. 4472

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, a final technical amendment which I shall 
offer at this moment corrects a typographical error in the bill. I send 
the amendment to the desk.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from West Virginia (Mr. Byrd), proposes an 
     amendment numbered 4475 to amendment No. 4472:
       On page 26, line 15, strike ``315'' and insert in lieu 
     thereof ``301''.

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, this amendment, which is supported by my 
colleague, Mr. Burns, as I say, corrects a typographical error in the 
bill. On page 26 of the Senate bill, under the section titled 
``Administrative Provisions,'' the National Park Service is authorized 
to purchase 315 passenger vehicles. That number should be 301.
  The amendment makes that correction. And as I stated, I know that the 
distinguished ranking member is supportive of the proposal. I urge its 
adoption.
  I yield the floor before the Senate votes on this amendment so that 
the distinguished Senator, who is the ranking member, may be recognized 
if he wishes to be recognized.
  Mr. BURNS. We have no objection to this amendment, Mr. President. We 
fully support it.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. If there is no further debate, without 
objection, the amendment is agreed to.
  The amendment (No. 4475) was agreed to.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I move that the Senate reconsider the vote 
by which the amendment was agreed to.
  Mr. BURNS. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I have no further technical amendments at 
this time. I do have an amendment, which I will not offer at this time, 
to provide funds to repay accounts from which funds were borrowed for 
emergency wildfire suppression. I will not offer that amendment at this 
point. I am sure there is going to be an amendment or amendments to the 
amendment. I shall withhold offering the amendment until the majority 
leader, majority whip, and other interested Senators--on both sides of 
the aisle--are back from their visit to the White House and at their 
desks.
  Mr. President, does my colleague have something he wishes to say? If 
he does, I will sit down.
  Mr. BURNS. I will say to my chairman that there will be some 
discussion. There is no doubt. It is only fair that the leadership be 
on the Hill whenever we take this up because it has high interest. Many 
of those funds that were borrowed for fire suppression are impacting 
other programs within the Department of Interior and the Forest 
Service. So we think it is a very important amendment. We are 
supportive and would hope the rest of the Senate would approve of it, 
too.
  I think this is an area that warrants debate in the Senate so we know 
what we are spending the money for and how it impacts those lands where 
the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Interior have a high 
presence.
  Mr. President, I see no one else seeking the floor. I suggest the 
absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________