[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 8, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S68-S70]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. McCONNELL:
S. 32. A bill to establish the Mill Springs Battlefield National
Monument in the State of Kentucky as a unit of the National Park
System, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources.
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text
of the bill be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 32
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Mill Springs Battlefield
National Monument Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Map.--The term ``Map'' means the map entitled ``Mill
Springs Battlefield National Monument, Nancy, Kentucky'',
numbered 297/145513, and dated June 2018.
(2) Monument.--The term ``Monument'' means the Mill Springs
Battlefield National Monument established by section 3(a)(1).
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National
Park Service.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF MILL SPRINGS BATTLEFIELD NATIONAL
MONUMENT.
(a) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), there is
established as a unit of the National Park System, the Mill
Springs Battlefield National Monument in the State of
Kentucky, to preserve, protect, and interpret for the benefit
of present and future generations--
(A) the nationally significant historic resources of the
Mill Springs Battlefield; and
(B) the role of the Mill Springs Battlefield in the Civil
War.
(2) Determination by the secretary.--The Monument shall not
be established until the date on which the Secretary
determines that a sufficient quantity of land or interests in
land has been acquired to constitute a manageable park unit.
(3) Notice.--Not later than 30 days after the date on which
the Secretary makes a determination under paragraph (2), the
Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register notice of the
establishment of the Monument.
(4) Boundary.--The boundary of the Monument shall be as
generally depicted on the Map.
(5) Availability of map.--The Map shall be on file and
available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of
the National Park Service.
(6) Acquisition authority.--The Secretary may only acquire
land or an interest in land located within the boundary of
the Monument by--
[[Page S69]]
(A) donation;
(B) purchase from a willing seller with donated or
appropriated funds; or
(C) exchange.
(b) Administration.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall administer the
Monument in accordance with--
(A) this Act; and
(B) the laws generally applicable to units of the National
Park System, including--
(i) section 100101(a), chapter 1003, and sections
100751(a), 100752, 100753, and 102101 of title 54, United
States Code; and
(ii) chapter 3201 of title 54, United States Code.
(2) Management plan.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the date on
which funds are first made available to prepare a general
management plan for the Monument, the Secretary shall prepare
the general management plan in accordance with section 100502
of title 54, United States Code.
(B) Submission to congress.--On completion of the general
management plan, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee
on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate the
general management plan.
(c) Private Property Protection.--Nothing in this Act
affects the land use rights of private property owners within
or adjacent to the Monument.
(d) No Buffer Zones.--
(1) In general.--Nothing in this Act, the establishment of
the Monument, or the management of the Monument creates a
buffer zone outside the Monument.
(2) Activity or use outside monument.--The fact that an
activity or use can be seen, heard, or detected from within
the Monument shall not preclude the conduct of the activity
or use outside the Monument.
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By Mr. DAINES:
S. 44. A bill to reduce a portion of the annual pay of Members of
Congress for the failure to adopt a concurrent resolution on the budget
which does not provide for a balanced budget, and for other purposes;
to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of
the bill be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 44
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Balanced
Budget Accountability Act''.
(b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The Federal debt exceeds $21,000,000,000,000, continues
to grow rapidly, and is larger than the size of the United
States economy.
(2) The Federal budget has shown an annual deficit in 49 of
the last 54 years.
(3) Deficits and the Federal debt threaten to shatter
confidence in the Nation's economy, suppress job creation and
economic growth, and leave future generations of Americans
with a lower standard of living and fewer opportunities.
(4) It is the duty of Members of Congress to develop and
implement policies, including balancing the Federal budget,
that encourage robust job creation and economic growth in the
United States.
(5) Members of Congress should be held accountable for
failing to pass annual budgets that result in a balanced
budget.
SEC. 2. EFFECT OF FAILURE TO ADOPT RESOLUTION PROVIDING FOR
BALANCED BUDGETS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) the term ``balanced budget'' means a concurrent
resolution on the budget which provides that for fiscal year
2029, and each fiscal year thereafter to which the concurrent
resolution on the budget applies--
(A) total outlays do not exceed total receipts; and
(B) total outlays are not more than 18 percent of the
projected gross domestic product of the United States (as
determined by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the
Department of Commerce) for such fiscal year;
(2) the term ``Director'' means the Director of the Office
of Management and Budget; and
(3) the term ``Member'' includes a Delegate or Resident
Commissioner to Congress.
(b) Determination by the Office of Management and Budget.--
Upon adoption by a House of Congress of a concurrent
resolution on the budget for a fiscal year, the Director
shall--
(1) determine whether the concurrent resolution on the
budget is a balanced budget; and
(2) submit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives
or the President pro tempore of the Senate (as the case may
be) a certification as to whether or not that House of
Congress has adopted a balanced budget.
(c) Rule for Fiscal Years 2020 and 2021.--
(1) Fiscal year 2020.--
(A) Holding salaries in escrow.--If the Director does not
certify that a House of Congress has adopted a balanced
budget with respect to fiscal year 2020 before April 16,
2019, during the period described in subparagraph (B) the
payroll administrator of that House of Congress shall deposit
in an escrow account all payments otherwise required to be
made during such period for the compensation of Members of
Congress who serve in that House of Congress, and shall
release such payments to such Members only upon the
expiration of such period.
(B) Period described.--With respect to a House of Congress,
the period described in this subparagraph is the period that
begins on April 16, 2019, and ends on the earlier of--
(i) the date on which the Director certifies that the House
of Congress has adopted a balanced budget with respect to
fiscal year 2020; or
(ii) the last day of the One Hundred Sixteenth Congress.
(2) Fiscal year 2021.--
(A) Holding salaries in escrow.--If the Director does not
certify that a House of Congress has adopted a balanced
budget with respect to fiscal year 2021 before April 16,
2020, during the period described in subparagraph (B) the
payroll administrator of that House of Congress shall deposit
in an escrow account all payments otherwise required to be
made during such period for the compensation of Members of
Congress who serve in that House of Congress, and shall
release such payments to such Members only upon the
expiration of such period.
(B) Period described.--With respect to a House of Congress,
the period described in this subparagraph is the period that
begins on April 16, 2020, and ends on the earlier of--
(i) the date on which the Director certifies that the House
of Congress has adopted a balanced budget with respect to
fiscal year 2021; or
(ii) the last day of the One Hundred Sixteenth Congress.
(3) Withholding and remittance of amounts from payments
held in escrow.--The payroll administrator shall provide for
the same withholding and remittance with respect to a payment
deposited in an escrow account under paragraph (1) or (2)
that would apply to the payment if the payment were not
subject to paragraph (1) or (2).
(4) Release of amounts at end of the congress.--In order to
ensure that this subsection is carried out in a manner that
shall not vary the compensation of Senators or
Representatives in violation of the twenty-seventh amendment
to the Constitution of the United States, the payroll
administrator of a House of Congress shall release for
payments to Members of that House of Congress any amounts
remaining in any escrow account under this section on the
last day of the One Hundred Sixteenth Congress.
(5) Role of secretary of the treasury.--The Secretary of
the Treasury shall provide the payroll administrators of the
Houses of Congress with such assistance as may be necessary
to enable the payroll administrators to carry out this
subsection.
(6) Payroll administrator defined.--In this subsection, the
``payroll administrator'' of a House of Congress means--
(A) in the case of the House of Representatives, the Chief
Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives, or an
employee of the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer
who is designated by the Chief Administrative Officer to
carry out this section; and
(B) in the case of the Senate, the Secretary of the Senate,
or an employee of the Office of the Secretary of the Senate
who is designated by the Secretary to carry out this section.
(d) Rule for Fiscal Year 2022 and Subsequent Fiscal
Years.--If the Director does not certify that a House of
Congress has adopted a balanced budget with respect to fiscal
year 2022, or any fiscal year thereafter, before April 16 of
the fiscal year before such fiscal year, during pay periods
which occur in the same calendar year after that date each
Member of that House shall be paid at an annual rate of pay
equal to $1.
SEC. 3. SUPERMAJORITY REQUIREMENT FOR INCREASING REVENUE.
(a) In General.--In the Senate and the House of
Representatives, a bill, joint resolution, amendment,
conference report, or amendment between the Houses that
increases revenue shall only be agreed to upon an affirmative
vote of three-fifths of the Members of that House of Congress
duly chosen and sworn.
(b) Rules of Senate and the House of Representatives.--
Subsection (a) is enacted by Congress--
(1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate
and House of Representatives, respectively, and as such it is
deemed a part of the rules of each House, respectively, but
applicable only with respect to the procedure to be followed
in that House in the case of a bill, joint resolution,
amendment, conference report, or amendment between the Houses
that increases revenue, and it supersedes other rules only to
the extent that it is inconsistent with such rules; and
(2) with full recognition of the constitutional right of
either House to change the rules (so far as relating to the
procedure of that House) at any time, in the same manner, and
to the same extent as in the case of any other rule of that
House.
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By Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Blumenthal, and Mr.
Murphy):
S. 45. A bill to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate
certain river segments within the Wood-Pawcatuck watershed as
components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and for other
purposes; to the
[[Page S70]]
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Mr. REED. Mr. President, today I am once again introducing, along
with my colleagues Senator Whitehouse, Senator Blumenthal, and Senator
Murphy, legislation to designate river segments within the Wood-
Pawcatuck watershed as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers
System.
Following more than three years of intense study, this legislation
would formally recognize the recreational, natural, and historical
qualities of portions of the Beaver, Chipuxet, Green Fall-Ashaway,
Pawcatuck, Queen-Usquepaugh, Shunock, and Wood Rivers that flow through
Rhode Island and Connecticut while providing access to Federal
resources and promoting strong partnerships for their restoration and
protection.
The Wood-Pawcatuck watershed is a National treasure that not only
holds natural and scenic value, but also is an important economic
driver for the area. Indeed, the 12 local river communities experience
direct economic benefits from their proximity to these rivers through
increased recreation and tourism. The watershed provides many
opportunities for visitors to explore history and experience nature,
including viewing early industrial mill ruins, trout fishing, bird
watching, and kayaking.
I have long been a supporter of protecting and restoring these
special rivers, which is why I sponsored the Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed
Protection Act in 2013. The process that was initiated by that law has
been a critical tool for bringing together stakeholders from Rhode
Island and Connecticut including representatives from State agencies,
local governments, and conservation groups in order to develop a
collaborative path forward. The resulting Stewardship Plan, which has
been formally adopted by the study committee and is supported by all
twelve local river communities, builds upon currently existing efforts
to preserve and manage the river ecosystems while also considering what
steps will need to be taken collectively in the future in order to
protect them.
I would like to commend Representatives Langevin, Cicilline, and
Courtney for again introducing companion legislation. In October 2018
we commemorated the 50th anniversary of the landmark Wild and Scenic
Rivers Act, and I am proud that after all these years we are continuing
our work to protect such extraordinary places. I look forward to
working with all of my colleagues to pass this legislation so that we
can preserve the rivers of the Wood-Pawcatuck watershed for the
enjoyment of current and future generations.
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