[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 48 (Tuesday, March 25, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H2289-H2292]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER BASIN PROTECTION ACT

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass 
the bill (H.R. 961) to promote Department of the Interior efforts to 
provide a scientific basis for the management of sediment and nutrient 
loss in the Upper Mississippi River Basin, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                H.R. 961

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Upper 
     Mississippi River Basin Protection Act''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act 
     is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
Sec. 3. Reliance on sound science.

           TITLE I--SEDIMENT AND NUTRIENT MONITORING NETWORK

Sec. 101. Establishment of monitoring network.
Sec. 102. Data collection and storage responsibilities.
Sec. 103. Relationship to existing sediment and nutrient monitoring.
Sec. 104. Collaboration with other public and private monitoring 
              efforts.
Sec. 105. Reporting requirements.
Sec. 106. National Research Council assessment.

                TITLE II--COMPUTER MODELING AND RESEARCH

Sec. 201. Computer modeling and research of sediment and nutrient 
              sources.
Sec. 202. Use of electronic means to distribute information.
Sec. 203. Reporting requirements.

     TITLE III--AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS AND RELATED MATTERS

Sec. 301. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 302. Cost-sharing requirements.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) The terms ``Upper Mississippi River Basin'' and 
     ``Basin'' mean the watershed portion of the Upper Mississippi 
     River and Illinois River basins, from Cairo, Illinois, to the 
     headwaters of the Mississippi River, in the States of 
     Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri. The 
     designation includes the Kaskaskia watershed along the 
     Illinois River and the Meramec watershed along the Missouri 
     River.
       (2) The terms ``Upper Mississippi River Stewardship 
     Initiative'' and ``Initiative'' mean the activities 
     authorized or required by this Act to monitor nutrient and 
     sediment loss in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
       (3) The term ``sound science'' refers to the use of 
     accepted and documented scientific methods to identify and 
     quantify the sources, transport, and fate of nutrients and 
     sediment and to quantify the effect of various treatment 
     methods or conservation measures on nutrient and sediment 
     loss. Sound science requires the use of documented protocols 
     for data collection and data analysis, and peer review of the 
     data, results, and findings.

     SEC. 3. RELIANCE ON SOUND SCIENCE.

       It is the policy of Congress that Federal investments in 
     the Upper Mississippi River Basin must be guided by sound 
     science.

           TITLE I--SEDIMENT AND NUTRIENT MONITORING NETWORK

     SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF MONITORING NETWORK.

       (a) Establishment.--As part of the Upper Mississippi River 
     Stewardship Initiative, the Secretary of the Interior shall 
     establish a sediment and nutrient monitoring network for the 
     Upper Mississippi River Basin for the purposes of--
       (1) identifying and evaluating significant sources of 
     sediment and nutrients in the Upper Mississippi River Basin;
       (2) quantifying the processes affecting mobilization, 
     transport, and fate of those sediments and nutrients on land 
     and in water;
       (3) quantifying the transport of those sediments and 
     nutrients to and through the Upper Mississippi River Basin;
       (4) recording changes to sediment and nutrient loss over 
     time;
       (5) providing coordinated data to be used in computer 
     modeling of the Basin, pursuant to section 201; and
       (6) identifying major sources of sediment and nutrients 
     within the Basin for the purpose of targeting resources to 
     reduce sediment and nutrient loss.
       (b) Role of United States Geological Survey.--The Secretary 
     of the Interior shall carry out this title acting through the 
     office of the Director of the United States Geological 
     Survey.

     SEC. 102. DATA COLLECTION AND STORAGE RESPONSIBILITIES.

       (a) Guidelines for Data Collection and Storage.--The 
     Secretary of the Interior shall establish guidelines for the 
     effective design of data collection activities regarding 
     sediment and nutrient monitoring, for the use of suitable and 
     consistent methods for data collection, and for consistent 
     reporting, data storage, and archiving practices.
       (b) Release of Data.--Data resulting from sediment and 
     nutrient monitoring in the Upper Mississippi River Basin 
     shall be released to the public using generic station 
     identifiers and hydrologic unit codes. In the case of a 
     monitoring station located on private lands, information 
     regarding the location of the station shall not be 
     disseminated without the landowner's permission.
       (c) Protection of Privacy.--Data resulting from sediment 
     and nutrient monitoring in the Upper Mississippi River Basin 
     is not subject to the mandatory disclosure provisions of 
     section 552 of title 5, United States Code, but may be 
     released only as provided in subsection (b).

     SEC. 103. RELATIONSHIP TO EXISTING SEDIMENT AND NUTRIENT 
                   MONITORING.

       (a) Inventory.--To the maximum extent practicable, the 
     Secretary of the Interior shall inventory the sediment and 
     nutrient monitoring efforts, in existence as of the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, of Federal, State, local, and 
     nongovernmental entities for the purpose of creating a 
     baseline understanding of overlap, data gaps and 
     redundancies.
       (b) Integration.--On the basis of the inventory, the 
     Secretary of the Interior shall integrate the existing 
     sediment and nutrient monitoring efforts, to the maximum 
     extent practicable, into the sediment and nutrient monitoring 
     network required by section 101.
       (c) Consultation and Use of Existing Data.--In carrying out 
     this section, the Secretary of the Interior shall make 
     maximum

[[Page H2290]]

     use of data in existence as of the date of the enactment of 
     this Act and of ongoing programs and efforts of Federal, 
     State, tribal, local, and nongovernmental entities in 
     developing the sediment and nutrient monitoring network 
     required by section 101.
       (d) Coordination With Long-Term Estuary Assessment 
     Project.--The Secretary of the Interior shall carry out this 
     section in coordination with the long-term estuary assessment 
     project authorized by section 902 of the Estuaries and Clean 
     Waters Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-457; 33 U.S.C. 2901 note).

     SEC. 104. COLLABORATION WITH OTHER PUBLIC AND PRIVATE 
                   MONITORING EFFORTS.

       To establish the sediment and nutrient monitoring network, 
     the Secretary of the Interior shall collaborate, to the 
     maximum extent practicable, with other Federal, State, 
     tribal, local and private sediment and nutrient monitoring 
     programs that meet guidelines prescribed under section 
     102(a), as determined by the Secretary.

     SEC. 105. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

       The Secretary of the Interior shall report to Congress not 
     later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
     Act on the development of the sediment and nutrient 
     monitoring network.

     SEC. 106. NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL ASSESSMENT.

       The National Research Council of the National Academy of 
     Sciences shall conduct a comprehensive water resources 
     assessment of the Upper Mississippi River Basin.

                TITLE II--COMPUTER MODELING AND RESEARCH

     SEC. 201. COMPUTER MODELING AND RESEARCH OF SEDIMENT AND 
                   NUTRIENT SOURCES.

       (a) Modeling Program Required.--As part of the Upper 
     Mississippi River Stewardship Initiative, the Director of the 
     United States Geological Survey shall establish a modeling 
     program to identify significant sources of sediment and 
     nutrients in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
       (b) Role.--Computer modeling shall be used to identify 
     subwatersheds which are significant sources of sediment and 
     nutrient loss and shall be made available for the purposes of 
     targeting public and private sediment and nutrient reduction 
     efforts.
       (c) Components.--Sediment and nutrient models for the Upper 
     Mississippi River Basin shall include the following:
       (1) Models to relate nutrient loss to landscape, land use, 
     and land management practices.
       (2) Models to relate sediment loss to landscape, land use, 
     and land management practices.
       (3) Models to define river channel nutrient transformation 
     processes.
       (d) Collection of Ancillary Information.--Ancillary 
     information shall be collected in a GIS format to support 
     modeling and management use of modeling results, including 
     the following:
       (1) Land use data.
       (2) Soils data.
       (3) Elevation data.
       (4) Information on sediment and nutrient reduction 
     improvement actions.
       (5) Remotely sense data.

     SEC. 202. USE OF ELECTRONIC MEANS TO DISTRIBUTE INFORMATION.

       Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, the Director of the United States Geological Survey 
     shall establish a system that uses the telecommunications 
     medium known as the Internet to provide information regarding 
     the following:
       (1) Public and private programs designed to reduce sediment 
     and nutrient loss in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
       (2) Information on sediment and nutrient levels in the 
     Upper Mississippi River and its tributaries.
       (3) Successful sediment and nutrient reduction projects.

     SEC. 203. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

       (a) Monitoring Activities.--Commencing one year after the 
     date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the United 
     States Geological Survey shall provide to Congress and make 
     available to the public an annual report regarding monitoring 
     activities conducted in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
       (b) Modeling Activities.--Every three years, the Director 
     of the United States Geological Survey shall provide to 
     Congress and make available to the public a progress report 
     regarding modeling activities.

     TITLE III--AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS AND RELATED MATTERS

     SEC. 301. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

       (a) United States Geological Survey Activities.--There is 
     authorized to be appropriated to the United States Geological 
     Survey $6,250,000 each fiscal year to carry out this Act 
     (other than section 106). Of the amounts appropriated for a 
     fiscal year pursuant to this authorization of appropriations, 
     one-third shall be made available for the United States 
     Geological Survey Cooperative Water Program and the remainder 
     shall be made available for the United States Geological 
     Survey Hydrologic Networks and Analysis Program.
       (b) Water Resource and Water Quality Management 
     Assessment.--There is authorized to be appropriated $650,000 
     to allow the National Research Council to perform the 
     assessment required by section 106.

     SEC. 302. COST-SHARING REQUIREMENTS.

       Funds made available for the United States Geological 
     Survey Cooperative Water Program under section 301(a) shall 
     be subject to the same cost sharing requirements as specified 
     in the last proviso under the heading ``United States 
     Geological Survey-surveys, investigations, and research'' of 
     the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies 
     Appropriations Act, 2002 (Public Law 107-63; 115 Stat. 427; 
     43 U.S.C. 50).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Radanovich) and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich).
  Mr. RADANOVICH. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 961, the Upper Mississippi River Basin Protection 
Act, authored by the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind) provides for 
the U.S. Geological Survey under the Department of the Interior to 
supplement, coordinate, and manage data collection on sediments and 
nutrients in the Upper Mississippi River Basin. The data would be used 
to provide the baseline data and modeling tools needed to make 
scientifically sound and cost-effective river management decisions. The 
legislation includes a provision requiring landowner permission prior 
to disseminating information from monitoring stations located at 
private lands to protect the privacy of individual property owners.
  Finally, it provides for the National Research Council of the 
National Academy of Sciences to conduct a comprehensive water resources 
assessment of the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
  I urge adoption of this bill.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KIND. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. KIND asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. KIND. Madam Speaker, I want to, first of all, thank the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Pombo), the Chair of the Committee on Resources, 
and the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall), the ranking member, 
including their entire staff for the help and assistance that they 
provided in this legislation. It is a bill that has received wide 
bipartisan support. In fact, it passed the House last year. We were 
unable to get it on the unanimous consent calendar in the Senate; so we 
are back here today to move the process along. But it is a process that 
has been in the works for quite a few years, Madam Speaker.
  I have been fortunate enough to spend nearly my entire life alongside 
one of the greatest national treasures that exists in this great 
country, the Mississippi River Basin. Like so many others, I grew up 
enjoying the diverse recreational activities: swimming, boating, 
fishing, hunting along the river's shore. It was a true Tom Sawyer type 
of childhood. In fact, it is the background or context to a couple of 
the greatest American novels written in American literature by Mark 
Twain, ``The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' and ``The Adventures of 
Huckleberry Finn.''
  As a young boy, though, back in the 1960s growing up, I noticed some 
problems that the river basin was having. Going to some of my favorite 
swimming beaches, they would be closed from time to time because of 
high bacteria count; or going to some of my favorite fishing holes, 
there would be signs posted warning not to eat the fish that we were 
catching from the river because of high mercury count. And as a young 
boy growing up and seeing that, I knew something was not right.
  A lot of progress has, however, been made in regards to the health 
and sustainability of the Mississippi River Basin. With the passage of 
the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, significant progress has been 
made. But it is still an incredible national treasure and ecosystem 
that faces many challenges. In fact, if one were to consult with most 
river basin experts, they will tell them that the greatest challenge 
that the basin faces today is the amount of sediments and nutrients 
flowing into the river basin, affecting the quality of the water 
supply, destroying the natural habitat, filling in the back bays.
  Why is this important? It is, first and foremost, the primary 
drinking source for over 22 million Americans who rely on the river 
basin and the river's tributaries for their water needs. It is also

[[Page H2291]]

North America's largest migratory route with over 40 percent of water 
fowl species using the Mississippi River Basin as the main corridor 
during their migration route in the spring and fall every year. It also 
is a multifaceted, multiuse river system with incredible economic 
advantages, given the commercial navigation that takes place on the 
river, hundreds of millions of tons of product, a lot of it 
agricultural product, on barges being used to transport the product to 
market. It has just in the upper Mississippi River Basin alone a $1.2 
billion recreation impact for the communities within the basin, a $6.6 
billion tourism impact. This year we are going to be celebrating the 
100th anniversary of the National Refuge System.
  The Upper Mississippi River Wildlife Refuge is the largest refuge 
system in the entire country. In fact, most people are surprised to 
learn that we have more visitors to the Upper Mississippi Wildlife 
Refuge than they have in the entire Yellowstone National Park System 
every year.
  Farmers rely on the health and sustainability of the river basin. 
That is one of the reasons we have the fertile farmlands in middle 
America today. Yet every year our farmers are losing topsoil; they are 
losing over $300 million worth of applied nitrogen that ultimately 
flows into the river basin and has an ecosystem impact on it. That is 
what we are trying to correct with this legislation, Madam Speaker.
  H.R. 961 authorizes the U.S. Geological Survey to coordinate and 
integrate Federal, State, and local government agencies' efforts, 
develop guidelines for data collection and storage, and establish an 
electronic database system to store and disseminate the information. 
USGS would also establish a state-of-the-art computer modeling program 
to identify significant nutrient and sediment sources at the 
subwatershed level to better target reduction efforts. H.R. 961 
includes strong protections for the privacy of personal data collected 
and used in the monitoring and modeling of activities.

                              {time}  1445

  Input from farmers, the navigation industry, sporting groups, 
environmental organizations, government agencies, was solicited and 
used for this legislation.
  The legislation also fits with the recommendations of the Mississippi 
River Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force for reducing, 
mitigating and controlling the hypoxia problem in the Gulf of Mexico. 
It was a report that was formally submitted to the Congress for our 
consideration in January of 2001, and many of the recommendations and 
proposals contained in this legislation tracks those recommendations 
significantly with the task force and the work that they had done.
  Amazingly enough, in the course of our work and putting this 
legislation together, I discovered that there were also 77 nonpublic 
private entities doing some form of water quality testing along the 
Mississippi River Basin. Unfortunately, because the data was not 
standardized, it was not being collected and it was not being pooled in 
order to get the complete snapshot of what was happening throughout the 
river basin.
  What this legislation will do is try to coordinate those levels, from 
the public sector to the private sector, giving USGS the lead, given 
their expertise in doing a lot of the water quality and modeling and 
monitoring that they are already involved in, but to expand it, so we 
have a complete scientific picture of what is taking place in this 
valuable ecosystem, so we will know how better to direct the limited 
resources that we have to optimize the programs that exist, or perhaps 
create some new programs in order to accomplish the ultimate reduction 
in the flow of sediments and nutrients that affect the river system.
  In the Upper Mississippi alone, in order to maintain the navigable 
channels for commercial navigation, we are spending over $100 million a 
year just in dredging costs. So I think there is a significant 
budgetary impact by getting the science right and getting it in place 
so that we can reduce that sediment and, therefore, hopefully also have 
an opportunity of reducing the cost of dredging to maintain the 
important commercial navigation that exists along the river.
  We have worked very closely with the five States in the Upper 
Mississippi River Basin. In fact, the governors recently submitted a 
letter to the administration and the Congress basically calling for 
this type of scientific, comprehensive approach in dealing with the 
nutrient and sediment flows that affect their regions. That is what we 
are trying to accomplish here.
  Madam Speaker, obviously with this personal background and experience 
and the work I have done on the river basin, I feel a certain 
individual responsibility to try to provide some focus on this 
incredibly important national treasure that we have in the Mississippi 
River Basin, a treasure that I feel has gone neglected for too long.
  One of my first goals in coming to the United States Congress was to 
help form a bipartisan Mississippi River Caucus between the North and 
the South so we can get together from time to time and discuss the 
issues that affect our specific geographic areas, but also how we share 
this one continuous ecosystem and what we can do, working together, to 
better preserve and protect it and make sure it is sustainable, so not 
only can we use it, but our children and grandchildren will be able to 
benefit from its use.
  So I thank the members on the Mississippi River Caucus for the 
support that they gave to this legislation. All of them were original 
cosponsors of the bill.
  I want to especially thank the co-chairs of the Upper Mississippi 
River Caucus, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Costello), the gentleman 
from Iowa (Mr. Leach) and the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Gutknecht), 
who I have worked closely with on this legislation, for the help and 
support they have given, as well as the cochairs of the overall 
Mississippi River Caucus, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Hulshof) and 
the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Boswell). I thank them for their support 
of this legislation.
  In addition, I want to thank Holly Stoerker of the Upper Mississippi 
River Basin Association, Doug Daigle of the Mississippi River Basin 
Alliance, Dr. Jerry Schnoor of the University of Iowa, and especially 
Dr. Barry Drazkowski and the administration and staff at St. Mary's 
University in Minnesota. Their expertise and work was essential in 
crafting this legislation, and I am very thankful for their assistance.
  Also greatly appreciated is the tireless work of Allen Hance of the 
Northeast Midwest Institute and former Sea Grant fellows in my office, 
Jeff Stein, Ed Buckner, Laura Cimo and currently Melissa Woods, who 
consulted with stakeholders throughout the region. Their efforts were 
essential in shaping and reshaping this legislation into a focused, 
effective bill with broad support.
  I also want to especially pay particular thanks to some staff members 
who have given a couple quarts of their own blood in order to reach the 
consensus that we have established with this bill, namely Brad Pfaff, 
Ben Proctor and Darrin Schrader, with the countless hours they put in 
crafting this important piece of legislation. Finally, I want to thank 
the members of my Mississippi River Advisory Group back home for their 
help and input throughout the process.
  H.R. 961 represents a commonsense move toward building the scientific 
foundation necessary to remedy nutrient and sediment problems in the 
region. I believe this is a needed, cost-effective step in preserving 
the upper Mississippi River Basin and its multi-use heritage for future 
generations. I also believe it could provide a wonderful model for 
similar types of scientific modeling and monitoring efforts in other 
river basins and watershed areas throughout the entire country.
  So, I again thank my colleague for his support of the legislation. It 
has wide bipartisan support, and I would encourage its passage today.
  Mr. POMBO. Madam Speaker, I would like to enter the following letter 
into the Record.
                                                   March 24, 2003.
     Hon. Don Young,
     Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
         Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: H.R. 961, a bill to promote Department 
     of the Interior efforts to provide a scientific basis for the 
     management of sediment and nutrient loss in the Upper 
     Mississippi River Basin, and for other purposes, has been 
     initially referred to the Committee on Resources.
       To allow this bill to be considered by the House of 
     Representatives tomorrow, I ask

[[Page H2292]]

     that you forego a referral of the bill. Of course, by 
     allowing this to occur, the Committee on Transportation and 
     Infrastructure does not waive its jurisdiction over H.R. 961 
     or any other similar matter. If a conference on H.R. 961 or a 
     similar bill becomes necessary, I would support the Committee 
     on Transportation and Infrastructure's request to be named to 
     the conference. Finally, this action should not be seen as 
     precedent for any Committee on Resources bills which affect 
     the Committee on Transportation and Infrastruction's 
     jurisdiction. I would be pleased to enter this letter and 
     your response in the Congressional Record during debate on 
     this bill to document this agreement.
       Thank you for your cooperation in this matter, and I look 
     forward to working with you and your staff on other matters 
     of shared concern in the coming months.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Richard W. Pombo,
                                                         Chairman.
  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Madam Speaker, I would like to enter the 
following letter into the Record.
                                                   March 24, 2003.
     Hon. Richard W. Pombo,
     Chairman, Committee on Resources, Longworth House Office 
         Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairman Pombo: Thank you for your letter with regard 
     to H.R. 961, the Upper Mississippi River Basin Protection Act 
     which provides for sediment and nutrient monitoring of the 
     watershed.
       I recognize your desire to bring this bill before the House 
     in an expeditious manner and will not exercise my Committee's 
     right to a sequential referral of the legislation. By 
     agreeing to waive its consideration of the bill, however, the 
     Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure does not waive 
     its jurisdiction over H.R. 961. In addition, the 
     Transportation and Infrastructure Committee reserves its 
     authority to seek conferees on provisions of the bill that 
     are within its jurisdiction during any House-Senate 
     conference that may be convened on this legislation. I thank 
     you for your commitment in advance to support any request by 
     the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for conferees 
     on H.R. 961.
       Your cooperation in this matter is very much appreciated.
           Sincerely,
                                                        Don Young,
                                                         Chairman.
  Mr. GUTKNECHT. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 961, 
the Upper Mississippi River Basin Protection Act. This bipartisan bill 
is the result of efforts to bring farmers, sportsmen's groups, 
conservation organizations, and government agencies together to develop 
a strategy to monitor water quality in the Upper Mississippi River 
Basin. H.R. 961 provides a coordinated, public-private approach to 
reducing nutrient and sediment losses in the Upper Mississippi River 
Basin. Relying on existing federal, state and local programs, the bill 
establishes a water quality monitoring network and an integrated 
computer-modeling program. These monitoring and modeling efforts will 
provide the data needed to make scientifically and economically sound 
conservation decisions that will benefit southern Minnesota and the 
Nation.
  Mr. KIND. Madam Speaker, I yield back balance of my time.
  Mr. RADANOVICH. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Emerson). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich) that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 961.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. RADANOVICH. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

                          ____________________