[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 106 (Friday, July 29, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9331-S9333]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES
APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2006--CONFERENCE REPORT--Continued
Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I would inquire of the Chair the order of
business now is the Interior conference report; is that correct?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator is correct.
Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I am pleased to bring before the Senate the
conference report of Interior, Environment and Related Agencies for
fiscal year 2006 . This bill provides more than $26 billion for the
Department of Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S.
Forest Service, the Indian Health Service, and a number of other
agencies that play vital roles in protecting our Nation's natural and
cultural heritage.
Conferencing this bill with the House was not an easy matter, to say
the least. The bill, as a whole, is close to $600 million below the
fiscal year 2005 level. Our conference allocation was $50 million below
the Senate's original allocation, and we have had to shoehorn both
House and Senate priorities into that reduced amount. To hit our
number, we had to eliminate or reduce a number of items in the Senate
bill that I would have preferred that we had kept. I suspect the House
has similar feelings about some of their priorities, but we made these
choices in as fair a manner as possible, both from the House and Senate
perspective and the majority and minority perspective.
Lest I sound too negative, let me be clear that there are some good
things and important things in this bill. We improved upon the budget
request in a number of places, such as tribally controlled schools and
Indian schools and hospitals and the community colleges that are
located on our several reservations across the country. We have
increased funding for our national parks. We preserved funding for
local park programs. As my colleagues know, that was zeroed out. We
have boosted funding for a number of Forest Service programs that
received pretty rough treatment from the White House in their budget
request.
This bill also provides an additional $1.5 billion for veterans
health care, funding that is sorely needed to ensure that our veterans
receive the kind of care they so richly deserve. Given the continued
sacrifices being made by our men and women fighting in Afghanistan and
Iraq, it is an honor to have the Interior bill serve as the vehicle for
this critically important funding.
Finally, I want to thank my ranking member, Senator Dorgan from North
Dakota. Not only are we neighbors in our home States, but we are
neighbors here also and work in cooperation. Without his leadership, we
could not have completed this bill. He has been a tireless champion for
the tribally controlled community colleges and Indian health care and a
number of other programs in this bill. Throughout the conference
report, there is ample evidence of his hard work and his advocacy.
Let me also thank the majority and minority staffs of the
subcommittees. I do not think we thank our staffs enough. They work
long hours, crunching numbers, getting them to balance, and working to
figure out where do we take what and put it where. They have been
working for weeks producing this bill and then just several hours to
produce this conference report. Conferencing with the other body is no
easy matter, and I appreciate the staffs' work to get us to this point.
I urge my colleagues to support the conference report so we can
devote our attention to other spending bills that await us. We have a
great deal of work yet to do on appropriations bills, so I am quite
happy to get this one out of the way.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota is recognized.
Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Montana.
Dru's Law
Before I comment on this piece of legislation, let me mention that
last evening we passed a piece of legislation called Dru's Law, that
deals with sexual predators. I did not say, and I should have last
evening, that Senator Dayton, Senator Coleman, Senator Conrad, and
others were cosponsors. But especially, although I mentioned Senator
Specter, I did not say that Arlen Specter from Pennsylvania played a
very significant role. I want to make sure the Senate and the American
people understand that Senator Specter played a very significant role,
not only being an original cosponsor with me of Dru's Law, but also
allowing it to pass the Senate last evening. I thank him for his
wonderful leadership.
This Interior appropriations bill was a hard bill to get done because
we have
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over one half billion dollars less in spending than the previous year.
If anybody asks is anybody cutting any spending any place, you don't
have to ask beyond this bill. This bill cuts one half billion dollars
plus out of what we are spending in the current fiscal year. That means
we will spend half a billion dollars less in the next fiscal year. It
is not easy to put a bill together under those restraints, but we did
it. It is not a perfect bill. Some things in it I feel good about, some
I feel not so good about. I will talk about that in a moment. This bill
carries the $1.5 billion appropriation for veterans health care. That
is very important. We need to keep our promise to America's veterans.
This country cannot fight wars and ask young men and women to serve
their country if we do not demonstrate we are going to keep our
promises. One of those promises is providing veterans health care to
those who served.
No one has been more tireless, no one, perhaps, has offered more
amendments on the floor of the Senate on this subject--relentlessly,
over time--than my colleague from Washington, Senator Murray.
I yield 4 minutes to Senator Murray.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington is recognized.
Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I thank the Senator, the ranking member,
and chairman of the Interior appropriations bill for their
accommodation on this.
The Senate has done the right thing now for American veterans. I
stand in support of this bill because it does represent a step in the
right direction for our veterans. Today when we pass the Interior
appropriations bill, it will include my amendment to fix the VA's
funding shortfall by providing $1.5 billion for fiscal year 2005. This
victory is long overdue and I thank Senator Craig, Senator Hutchison,
Senator Akaka, Senator Feinstein, Senator Burns, and Senator Dorgan for
their work on this critical issue within this bill.
I want to make sure, however, that the VA uses this money in the way
Congress intended. As the author of this amendment, I can tell you
these dollars have to go to helping our veterans. They cannot be used
for budget shell games to make the VA look solvent and they should not
be used for red tape or accounting tricks and they should not be used
as a rainy day fund. The money we have put in this bill is there to
help veterans get the medical care they need. It should be used to end
the hiring freeze, to provide mental health services for our veterans,
and expand the VA's outpatient clinic initiative.
I want my colleagues to know I am going to be watching to make sure
this money is used in the way we have all voted for it to be used. Now
that we have taken care of the shortfall for fiscal year 2005, we have
to turn our attention to fiscal year 2006. I want to make sure we do
not make the same mistakes that left our veterans so vulnerable this
year.
I have to say I am very troubled by what I hear coming out of the
administration so far. With all of our new veterans returning from Iraq
and Afghanistan every day, this problem is only going to get more
severe. Veterans funding has not kept up with medical costs. When
adjusted for inflation, the VA is spending 25 percent less per patient
than it did in fiscal 2000. That is having a huge impact on our
patients and on VA health care personnel. In my home State of
Washington, at the VA's American Lake facility, you can only get an
appointment now if you are 50 percent or more service-connected
disabled. In Puget Sound, as of January there was an $11 million
deficit, forcing our VA hospital to leave positions vacant. The VA has
dedicated, highly professional employees and they work very hard every
day to help our veterans. We have to make sure the VA system helps them
do that and not get in their way.
Now as we look toward fiscal year 2006, I want to be clear that
veterans need real funding, not budget games. Congress cannot accept
gimmicks such as forcing higher fees and copayments on our veterans and
calling that new revenue. Any plan that increases the burden on our
veterans is a nonstarter in my book.
What is needed now is for us to step up and meet our responsibility
to our men and women in uniform and that requires an infusion of cash
to stop the bleeding at the VA, and a real investment toward assisting
our veterans. Now is the time we have to come together and provide the
needed dollars so our veterans have the quality accessible care they
need and they deserve.
The security and integrity of our Nation depends on our willingness
to keep our promise to our veterans. We have all heard of the military
reports that recruiting is not meeting its goal, and each day we limit
veterans' access to care, we are sending the wrong message to the
troops of tomorrow.
As I have done before, I want to quote President George Washington,
who knew that helping veterans helps America's security when he said:
The willingness with which our young people are likely to
serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly
proportional as to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier
wars were treated and appreciated by their country.
I call on my colleagues to support this bill and work with me to keep
the full $1.977 billion in emergency supplemental funding for the
Veterans' Administration for fiscal year 2006. We have to do everything
to assist the VA with this funding now so we do not face future
shortfalls. I hope everyone will continue to support that funding in
the coming year as well.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator yields.
Who seeks time? The Senator from Montana.
Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I yield 5 minutes, and more if needed, to
the Senator from Texas, who has been a real champion for veterans
benefits.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas is recognized.
Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I ask that I be notified in 5 minutes,
in case the distinguished chairman of the Interior subcommittee needs
any extra time.
First, let me thank the distinguished chairman and ranking member of
the Interior subcommittee for assuring that their conference report
came out in a timely way, not only for the Interior funding but
especially for this veterans' funding which is fiscal year 2005 money,
meaning it can be spent right away.
We know there is a deficit at the VA because Secretary Nicholson told
us there is a deficit. So I do thank Senator Burns and Senator Dorgan
for coming forward and helping us with this extraordinary measure so
the Veterans Administration will be able to have full flexibility to
fill the coffers from which they have been borrowing, and also to go
forward.
I also thank those who have worked so hard to get the Veterans
Administration the money they need. That would certainly be Senator
Murray, who has just spoken, Senator Feinstein, my ranking member on
the Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee, and Senator Craig,
who is the chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee. We have all
worked together in a bipartisan way because, frankly, Secretary
Nicholson came forward in a most forthright manner to tell us of the
problems we had at the Veterans Administration.
When we first started working on the supplemental appropriation,
Secretary Nicholson thought there was not a deficit in the Veterans
Administration, that with the model they had always used they had
plenty to cover until October 1. But in June when Secretary Nicholson
learned that in fact they did not have enough to fully treat the new
veterans coming into the system, he stepped right up and said we have a
deficit and we need to fix it. He came to Congress to ask for the help
to do that. I think it is admirable that Secretary Nicholson didn't try
to fudge, he didn't try to sweep it under the rug. He came out.
He took some heat for it. I saw some Members criticizing him, but I
have to say I admire him. I think what he did was exactly the right
thing to do. He is a veteran. He is a decorated veteran. And he is not
ever going to sweep under the rug a deficit in the Veterans
Administration. He also is going to spend the money wisely.
So I thank everyone who helped bring this to the forefront. I have to
say that OMB Director Josh Bolton also tried to be very helpful, giving
us an amendment that would raise the limit we could spend on veterans.
The total for both fiscal years will be approximately $3 billion. The
total for
[[Page S9333]]
getting through this problem we have for the fiscal year we are in is
going to cost about $900 million, they estimate, to get to October 1 to
finish this fiscal year--almost $1 billion, which we are giving them
when we vote on this bill today and send it to the President.
But in the 2006 budget, which we are now going to pass in the Senate,
probably in September--this is the committee I chair--we have what will
be another $1.5 billion, depending on how much is left of what we are
passing today that can go into 2006. We believe it will be about half a
billion dollars, so that the total would be the $1.977 that was
mentioned earlier for fiscal year 2006. We will monitor this as we go
into the new fiscal year to assure that the Veterans Administration for
2006 has the full amount they need.
I also thank the distinguished chairman and ranking member of the
full Appropriations Committee. When Senator Feinstein and I went to
Chairman Cochran and asked him for more money in our original 2006
budget for the veterans part of the appropriations bill, he immediately
agreed. He immediately agreed that we would get the money we need.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has used 5 minutes.
Mrs. HUTCHISON. Thank you, Mr. President. I will take the rest of the
time.
Senator Cochran and Senator Byrd stepped right up to the plate to
assure that the veterans had their first boost of $1.2 billion. Then
working with Secretary Nicholson and OMB Director Bolton, we now have a
total of almost $3 billion more in additional funding for the veterans
in both fiscal years.
We are going to do right by our veterans. We appreciate that we have
people with boots on the ground, fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan
today. They are fighting for our freedom. We will never let them down.
The bill we are passing today, in addition to the Interior part of this
appropriation, is going to fully fund Veterans for the fiscal year we
are in and take us with a cushion into the next fiscal year so every
veterans' clinic that is being built continues to be built, so that
every veteran who walks in the door is going to get the care to which
he or she is entitled, to assure that nothing falls through the cracks
for our veterans. Our President would do nothing less. Our Secretary,
Secretary Nicholson, will do nothing less. I assure you the Senate will
do nothing less. We are going to do right by our veterans and the bill
we are passing today is a start.
Mr. President, I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.
Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, first let me say a special thank you to my
colleagues from the State of Washington and the State of Texas. They
have said it well. Again, I am enormously proud our bill has carried
this $1.5 billion for veterans health care. There is a verse that goes:
When the night is full of knives, and the lightning is
seen, and the drums are heard, the patriots are always there,
ready to fight and ready to die, if necessary, for freedom.
Our soldiers are our patriots and when they come back from duty, duty
our country called them for, we must keep our promise for veterans
health care and that is what this $1.5 billion helps to do.
Let me for a moment talk about the underlying bill again. There are
some good things and some things I wish were better in this bill. I
compliment my colleague, Senator Burns from Montana and his staff:
Bruce Evans, Virginia James, Leif Fonnesbeck, Ryan Thomas, Rebecca
Benn; and also on this side, Peter Kiefhaber and Rachel Taylor.
We worked very hard to put a bill together with over $500 million
less money than in the past year. That was not easy.
Indian Health Service--I regret to say, we are still underfunded. I
am told we are funding about 60 percent of the need in Indian Health
Service. We just must do better in the years ahead. We have
responsibility for Federal prisoners' health care. We also have trust
responsibility for the health of American Indians. We spend twice as
much per person on Federal prisoners' health care than we do in per
capita spending for American Indians for whom we have trust
responsibility for health care.
My colleague described the tribal colleges, and we have together been
able to increase that funding for tribal colleges. That is a good
feature in this bill. The reason we have done this is that it is a
priority to help people step out of poverty and toward opportunity, and
that comes from the tribal colleges. There are so many stories of
people whose lives have improved by the ability to access tribal
colleges.
We have some other areas in the bill that I wish were better.
BIA school construction, we need funding increases, not funding cuts,
and yet the President's budget proposed very significant cuts and we
were not able to add all of that back. Also building for new hospitals
and health clinics is down. My hope is that in the next year, we can
find a way to add back some funding in these critical Indian health
areas.
Having said all that, this is a big bill, dealing with so many other
areas of the Government--EPA, the Forest Service, and so many other
areas of Government. We have worked in a bipartisan way.
Let me also say that Senator Byrd wishes consent to speak for 5
minutes prior to vote on Interior at some point later this morning. I
talked to the ranking member and also the chairman of the full
committee.
Finally, let me say the chairman of the full committee should
understand that this is the first time in 17 years that we have gotten
to the Senate floor this early with an Interior appropriations bill.
The last time Congress passed an Interior appropriations bill this
early, those pages who serve in the Chamber were not yet born. So I
think that says something about the leadership of Senator Cochran and
Senator Byrd, who are the two leaders on the Appropriations Committee,
and I for one like the notion that we are going to make the trains run
on time in the appropriations process. It is the right thing to do and
the right way to do it, and I am very blessed that in the month of
July, we are in the Chamber passing this conference report. So hats off
to Senator Cochran and Senator Byrd as well.
Mr. President, with that, I yield the floor and yield back the
remainder of my time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Montana.
Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I do not know whether we have any more time
remaining. The time has been set aside for Senator Byrd. Seeing no one
to speak on this bill, I will yield back the remainder of my time also.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator want to make a formal
unanimous consent request for the Senator from West Virginia?
Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I thought I had done that, but if I have
not asked that consent, I so ask.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. BURNS. I yield back my time and I suggest the absence of a
quorum.
Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, will the Senator withhold?
Mr. BURNS. Yes.
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