[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 26 (Monday, February 11, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1152-S1155]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MAKING FURTHER CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019--MOTION TO PROCEED
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 6,
H.J. Res. 1.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the motion.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 6, H.J. Res. 1, a bill
making further continuing appropriations for the Department
of Homeland Security for fiscal year 2019, and for other
purposes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from West Virginia.
Mr. MANCHIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for no
more than 10 minutes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
S. 47
Mr. MANCHIN. Mr. President, Chairman Murkowski and I have been
working with the majority leader and minority leader to resolve the few
remaining issues on our bill, which is the land management bill we have
before us.
I would like to thank all Senators for their cooperation and for the
work they have put in to get this to this point. I believe we are
making good progress.
We will vote on the motion to invoke cloture at 5:30. I will be
joining Chairman Murkowski in voting yes on cloture, and I encourage
all of my colleagues to do the same.
I understand that Senator Lee, my dear friend from Utah, may want a
vote on his amendment to exempt Utah from the Antiquities Act. I have
talked to Senator Lee many times about his concerns with national
monuments in his State. While I respect his views, I will oppose any
amendment that threatens the success of this lands bill. At this point,
any amendment would threaten the success of the bill.
This bill is truly a great piece of legislation for our country. This
package includes numerous important provisions that will enhance
conservation, recreation, and hunting, fishing, and shooting
opportunities for sportsmen on Federal lands.
In my view, one of the most important provisions in the bill is the
permanent--I repeat, the permanent--reauthorization of the Land and
Water Conservation Fund. I have long supported the permanent
reauthorization of the LWCF, which has played a crucial role in making
my State all the more wild and wonderful. In fact, since 1965, $243
million of LWCF funds have been spent to enhance recreation and
conservation in West Virginia alone.
LWCF funds have been used to provide public access and protect many
of West Virginia's most popular recreation sites, including the Dolly
Sods Wilderness in the Monongahela National Forest, as well as every
access point on the Lower Gauley River in the Gauley River National
Recreation Area. As you can see on this chart, LWCF funds have
protected 57,000 acres in the Gauley River and the New River Gorge.
While LWCF funds are used to protect important Federal conservation
and recreation lands, the program also provides essential funding to
States to enhance State and local park and outdoor recreational
opportunities. These are not free giveaways to States but, rather, they
are matching grants that result in increased recreational opportunities
at the State and local levels.
This is Ritter Park in Huntington, WV. Ritter Park offers miles of
walking trails along an area called Fourpole Creek. Ritter Park also
has numerous tennis courts, playground facilities, and an amphitheater
that is used by the community for small events, such as concerts and
plays. The rose garden, which you can see here, is a wonderful place to
spend some time, and in 2012, Ritter Park was named as one of the
``Great Public Spaces'' by the American Planning Association. Over the
years, more than $625,000 in State Land and Water Conservation funds
has been spent on improvements at Ritter Park.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund also provides other important
financial assistance to States, including funding for the Forest Legacy
Program, which helps to protect working forests on private lands; the
American Battlefield Protection Program, which helps to protect Civil
War and Revolutionary War battlefield sites on State and private lands;
and grants to protect endangered species' habitats on non-Federal
lands.
On the Federal side, LWCF funds have been used to safeguard some of
our Nation's iconic public lands. Here you can see just a few examples
of areas where LWCF funds have been used to ensure that we can set
aside these areas for future generations and help our land management
Agencies follow their conservation missions as directed by Congress.
LWCF funds help to complete the protection of and provide important
public access to areas set aside by Congress in recognition of their
national significance, including lands managed by the National Park
Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land
Management, and the Forest Service.
In West Virginia, we have the Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge,
which is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Canaan was
established in 1994 and was the 500th wildlife refuge to be
established. Since 1994, every single acre of the 16,613-acre area was
acquired using LWCF funds. As one can see here, the Canaan Valley
National Wildlife Refuge is a truly beautiful place that would not have
been possible had we not had the LWCF. Permanent reauthorization of the
LWCF will ensure States and Federal land management Agencies will
continue to protect and conserve nationally significant lands for
future generations--all without relying on taxpayer dollars. It is past
time for Congress to permanently reauthorize the LWCF.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund is one of the many pieces of
legislation in this package. It is another reason we need to pass this
bill without
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amendments and send it over to the House and then to the President for
his signature. I am pleased that we are making good progress, and I
hope we will be able to move to its final passage without additional
delays.
I thank the Presiding Officer.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, we are here this Monday afternoon to
continue debate on S. 47, which is our Natural Resources Management
Act, which we introduced just last month with Senator Cantwell. We have
been working on this bill with not only Senator Cantwell and Senator
Manchin but with the chairman and ranking member of the House Natural
Resources Committee. We did that last fall when the composition of that
committee on the House side was a little bit different and now in this
new year. We have been working forward with the commitment from our
respective leaderships to bring this measure to the floor early in this
Congress, and here we are.
I am very thankful and appreciative to Leader McConnell and Senator
Schumer for keeping their word to allow us a few days of debate on this
very important natural resources and lands package. We have a great
partnership going on in working with my new ranking member on the
committee, Senator Manchin, in working with his team in conjunction
with ours, and, again, in building on the great, great work that we
have had with my friend and colleague from the State of Washington,
Senator Cantwell, and her team. There have been so many who have really
come together in a very collaborative way and in a very dedicated way
to help make this happen.
I make mention of the contributions of a few Members on our side and
a few Members on the Democratic side who have really been engaged with
us throughout this process--Senator Gardner, Senator Daines, Senator
Wyden, Senator Heinrich--and of the dozens of Members who are on this
measure as cosponsors. We truly appreciate it.
We made some good progress last week. We reached agreement to enter
into debate on our bill. We considered two amendments. Both of those
amendments were tabled in order to preserve what we would refer to as
the spirit of the bicameral-bipartisan agreement. We anticipate one
more amendment to process today before we move to a cloture vote. I am
pleased that we are at this point as we near the end of the floor
debate on this measure, and I would like to spend just a few moments
this afternoon, if I may, speaking to the really extensive process that
has gone into this bill.
It is a substantive bill. There is no doubt about it. It is
substantive because of the many, many different, discrete, small
provisions that have been incorporated into it. Reaching this point has
been no small task. I mentioned last week the way that we handle many
of these lands matters before the U.S. Senate. It is an imperfect
process--that is certainly for sure--but so many of these issues are so
parochial that they just do not command the floor time that is
available here. Invariably, what we effort to do is to put together a
package of these measures. We really haven't seen a lands package
before the Congress that has been ready to move out or, actually, be
signed into law--that is, I guess, the best way to say it--since 2014.
So that is 5 years of really pent-up demand, if you will, to address
these matters.
So over the course of several years and multiple Congresses, both the
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the House Natural
Resources Committee have held dozens of hearings and business meetings
to prepare the more than 100 bills we have now incorporated into S. 47.
So when you think about, again, the process that goes into it--this is
endless hours, countless hours of Member time, of staff time that go
into these meetings as we work on very local priorities and then
drafting the legislative text and refining it to make it right and
refining it yet again to make it right.
We have also worked for months on a bipartisan, bicameral basis to
truly negotiate every word in this bill, literally down to one-tenth of
a mile for a certain designation on a specific conveyance there, so
really taking a very sharp eye and a sharp pencil to all of the
provisions that are in here.
We have really worked to try to incorporate as many local, State, and
Member priorities as possible. The process these matters went through
in order to get where we are today--the regular order process in the
House, in the Senate, and in many cases, in both--is really quite
impressive. I mentioned some of the Member priorities last week.
Members have come to the floor. I indicated that we have included
provisions sponsored by at least 50 different Senators within this
bill. That number rises to about 90 Senators when we count the
cosponsorship of various Members. So, again, it was very collaborative
in terms of how we reached out to everyone to ensure their priorities
are heard.
We have heard a lot on the floor about the contributions contained
within the sportsmen's provision--something I have worked on with
Members over the course of years, with different partners on the other
side, whether it was Senator Tester or Senator Heinrich. It has been
three Congresses running that we have tried to advance a bipartisan
sportsmen's bill. So there are so many who are looking with great
interest into finally passing these sportsmen's provisions.
There is a provision in here that helps the folks in Tennessee. One
of Senator Alexander's priority projects is a special resource study
for the James K. Polk Presidential home in Columbia, TN. It was built
in 1916. It is the only surviving private residence of our 11th
President. What we do within this bill is we take that first step to
make a determination, to ask the question of whether this special place
should be designated as a national park unit at some point in the
future. So pretty parochial, pretty small, but it is important to those
in Columbia, TN.
I mentioned some of the Arizona provisions. Udall Park in Tucson, AZ,
is a priority for the Arizona delegation. This is one of those issues
where they have a pretty popular local community park in the city, and
there are all kinds of activities one would anticipate taking place in
a small park--baseball, swimming, farmers market. Up until just a
couple years ago, the city of Tucson was actually unaware that the
Federal Government even owned this local park. So what we do in this
bill is we clean up the ownership issue, which allows the city to move
forward with the day-to-day activities without facing these Federal
bureaucratic hurdles that happen back here. So when they want to do
something that would be good for that community, such as expanding a
farmers market or improving cell service on the softball fields, they
don't have to come to us to ask for permission--pretty common sense.
I mentioned some of the priorities coming out of the State of
Louisiana and a measure that Senator Cassidy has been working on, the
Lake Bistineau Land Title Stability Act. I shared the story of some
homeowners who had been on a parcel for 13 years, built their home,
wanted to sell, and then they found out they couldn't because they
didn't have clear title to their land due to an issue with the BLM
management survey. So we worked with BLM and the State of Louisiana--
all this bipartisan work--to clear up the title. Again, this is
something that you wouldn't think you would need an act of Congress to
do, but we do that.
Up in the State of Minnesota, we worked with their delegation to
modify the boundaries of the Voyageurs National Park.
In Georgia, we are expanding the Ocmulgee National Monument--this is
a prehistoric American Indian site--and we are doing this at the
request of the local communities and the Tribes. It has strong support
from the Creek Indian Tribe and the local community. It is a
designation that will help preserve the historic and cultural values of
the area as well provide economic benefit by giving greater
opportunities for visitors.
So these are some of the various priorities we have included in this
very
[[Page S1154]]
comprehensive package. These are not things that are going to make the
front page of the Washington Post or the New York Times. These are very
local. But I can pretty much guarantee that they will be on the front
page of the Ocmulgee--I still don't know if I am pronouncing that
correctly--within the Creek Indian Tribe. They are going to make sure
people know that this is something we have been working on for a long
period of time and that it has finally been addressed in Congress.
Working over the years to help address these priorities is very, very
important. We have received the support of not only so many colleagues
in the Senate and in the House, Republicans and Democrats, but we have
heard it from organizations and communities around the country. Some of
these names are pretty well known to us: Ducks Unlimited, the Boone and
Crockett Club, Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, the National
Wildlife Federation, the U.S. Travel Association, the Nature
Conservancy.
That is just a few of the many that have weighed in. I want to give a
couple more examples of groups that have written in to share their
support.
The Southeast Tourism Society wrote that ``S. 47 has earned the
enthusiastic support of the travel and tourism industry.''
I mentioned last week that so many of the provisions contained in
this bill really help these little local economies or the broader
economies within the region, so you can see where the travel and
tourism industry would be appreciative.
The Outdoor Recreation Roundtable--this is a consortium made up of a
number of recreation associations--wrote that our bill should be passed
to ``guarantee American's great outdoors receive the attention and
resources they so richly deserve and to ensure the outdoor recreation
economy continues to grow.''
We are also hearing from communities that have been waiting for
congressional action to resolve longstanding Federal land management
issues. I mentioned the one in Louisiana. I also mentioned the
situation in Tucson, AZ. We did receive a letter from the mayor of
Tucson in support of our package because of the provision we have
included that he says ``will bring closure to a historic agreement made
between the city of Tucson and Bureau of Land Management at a popular
urban park in Tucson's northeast business and residential areas.'' That
mayor knows this is going to allow the local community to do some of
the more simple tasks, such as operating a farmers market, without
going through these bureaucratic hoops and hurdles.
Another provision in the bill will convey a parcel of land on the
shores of Lake Fannin to Fannin County in Texas. The county
commissioner shared that with the conveyance of this land, they will be
able to ``continue the process to restore, preserve, and protect the
historical significance and beauty this lake has to offer for years to
come.''
So, again, there is the encouragement we are getting from the
communities and from the organizations. I have certainly heard from a
lot of Alaskans who are very pleased about where we are with this lands
package.
We heard from Sheri Buretta. Sheri is the chair of Chugach Alaska
Corporation, and she wrote that ``Section 1113 of S. 47, while long
overdue from our perspective, provides a welcome and extremely helpful
mechanism for addressing serious inequities relative to our land
settlement.''
Again, the land settlement in Alaska is decades old, and we are still
attempting to address some of those inequities, and this legislation
allows us to do that.
David Fee, who is the coordinating scientist at the Alaska Volcano
Observatory, noted that ``current volcano monitoring capacity in the
United States is deficient, and we are unable to accurately forecast
and detect eruptions at an adequate level. . . . Passing and funding
[this measure will provide] for a safer and more resilient United
States.''
The benefits we provide for so many around the country--these are
just a few of the examples of the many communities and organizations
that support the passage of the bill. We have a full list of our
supporters that is available on the committee's website--it runs almost
7 pages long--that I am going to be submitting for the record--not only
that consolidated list but also the many, many letters of support we
have received. These folks--these individuals, these groups, these
communities--are writing in to make their support known because there
is good policy in this package. It is policy that fosters economic
development in rural America. It is policy that ensures that incredible
landscapes are conserved for future generations to enjoy. It is policy
that ensures access for sports men and women. It also allows for
greater access for some of our off-highway vehicles. It is policy that
enhances our volcano-monitoring systems. It empowers local water
managers to make decisions on how to conserve water and endangered
species.
I want to just kind of segue off of that because there hasn't been a
lot of discussion about the water provisions within this bill. I keep
referring to S. 47 as the lands package, but the truth is, it is not
just about land; it is about water as well, and it includes a number of
important western water provisions.
We improve water management by taking important steps to provide
greater local control over water resources and promote management that
balances the needs of water users with fish and wildlife protection. As
an example of this, we create a new Bureau of Reclamation title
transfer program. This is going to facilitate conveyance of water
facilities to the local agencies that have been managing them for
decades and in some cases longer than decades--almost over a century--
and that have fully repaid the government for the cost. So effectively
what we are talking about here is we are simplifying the process for
local utilities, States, and Tribes to pursue title transfers for
reclamation projects, not by requiring an act of Congress to do it. So
it is simplification. It is common sense. It is making things work. It
is a straightforward change in the law that will make a huge difference
for the entities in 17 of our Western States that manage water
projects, canals, and other water infrastructure that irrigate more
than 11 million acres of land--land that provides fresh fruits and
vegetables for millions of Americans every day.
In the bill, we also authorize individual title transfers to
California and Oklahoma. These provisions will greatly improve water
management and incentivize capital investment in water infrastructure
while conserving water resources and protecting public safety.
The reauthorization of the Upper Colorado and the San Juan River fish
recovery program and phase 3 of the Yakima Basin Water Enhancement
Project are both included in this bill. I think both of these are great
examples of how a collaborative approach to water challenges, rather
than litigation and conflict, results in solutions that benefit water
users and the environment. We have certainly heard from Senator
Cantwell on this as it relates to the Yakima Basin project and the very
collaborative effort that was involved with that. The Colorado River
project involves bringing four species of endangered fish back from the
brink of extinction while water development projects move forward.
There are other important water provisions that didn't make it into
the bill for various reasons. I think many of us were disappointed, it
is fair to say. It is clear to me that there is a lot more that we have
to do to address these major challenges with western management of
water and drought resilience. We have some issues to work through on
that, certainly not the least of which is the Colorado River drought
contingency plan. This involves an interstate agreement to keep Lake
Mead from dropping to critical levels. It has taken years of
negotiation with cities, Tribes, farmers, and elected officials.
I clearly understand that this is a time-sensitive issue. I had hoped
we might be able to finalize it for this package, but I am looking
forward to working with both Senator McSally, who is the new chairman
of the Water and Power Subcommittee of the Energy Committee, and
Senator Cortez Masto, who is the ranking member, so we can get this
over the finish line as quickly as we can.
We also need to complete our work to reauthorize the Bureau of
Reclamation's infrastructure funding programs
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to better utilize Federal lands and water facilities for aquifer
recharge and eliminate duplication in the permitting of reclamation
pump storage projects.
We are making good strides on the water side with this measure as
well. I think it is important to remind folks that it is a lands
package; it addresses many of the issues related to water; it is a
sportsmen's package; and it is truly a conservation package as we look
to what we have included and incorporated as the permanent
authorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
This is a good bill we have in front of us. We have been able to make
it even a little better through our substitute amendment. I do know
that we have many colleagues who, if we had more time, would say that
they have more amendments they would like to offer for the package. We
are not going to have the time or the ability to come to an agreement
to add them here, but it is not without a great deal of work that we
have gotten to this place. Again, the fact that we have been working
for years--literally, years--to put this together is demonstration of
our good faith to try to incorporate as much as we possibly can.
I do want to repeat, and I know Senator Manchin has, as well, that
this is not going to be our last chance to pass natural resources
legislation in this Congress. As soon as we get done here--hopefully,
no later than early tomorrow--we are going to be right back at work.
The Energy and Natural Resources Committee is going back to work,
holding hearings, moving lands legislation. This is our effort, what we
are dealing with right now, to clear the deck, and then move on to some
new issues. We will be back again to move many of the provisions that
perhaps weren't quite ready for this particular package.
Later this afternoon, we are going to vote on motions to end debate
on S. 47. I strongly, strongly encourage all Members to support that
motion and to allow us to take final steps to move this important
package with good, strong, robust bipartisan support, and send it over
to the House of Representatives so that we can finally get this enacted
into law.
I see my friend from Nebraska is here.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nebraska.
LEAD Program Students
Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, I offer my thanks and appreciation to
the chairman of the committee, Senator Murkowski, and the ranking
member, Senator Manchin, for the work they have done on this lands
package. They have tried their best to bring to the forefront a number
of different viewpoints and, obviously, a wide variety of issues that
are included in this package. They have worked hard to meet many
demands on all sides, and I thank them for getting that done.
I am going to be installed this week as one of the chairmen of the
sportsmen's caucus, and we are thrilled to be able to have the
sportsmen's bill included in this package so that we can continue to
see this great American tradition of families and friends enjoying the
outdoors, hunting, fishing, and recreating in this beautiful land that
we have here in the United States of America.
I am very fortunate today to welcome a number of conservationists
from Nebraska to Washington, DC. This is a group of bright, young
people who are taking part in Nebraska's Leadership Education/Action
Development Program, true conservationists who are ag producers, ag
business people, and are here visiting us. This is known as the LEAD
Program. They are individuals from various backgrounds who participate
in this premier agriculture leadership program.
Over the course of 2 years, Nebraska LEAD fellows engage in monthly
seminars all across the State; they visit our Nation's Capital; and
they even have the opportunity to study agriculture systems overseas.
The goal of the LEAD Program is to develop the next generation of
innovative thinkers, problem solvers, and decision makers who will work
to provide food and fuel to our world.
As a proud LEAD alum myself, I can tell you that it has helped to
shape who I am today. This program continues to be near and dear to my
heart. Through the LEAD Program, I learned valuable leadership skills
that I have carried with me in serving my community in the Nebraska
Legislature and right here in the U.S. Senate.
Many may not know this statistic, but by the year 2050, there will be
an additional 2 billion people to feed in this world. It is important
that the future generations of agricultural leaders are motivated and
prepared to deal with unforeseen challenges on the road ahead. The LEAD
Program is an extraordinary opportunity for Nebraskans to learn more
about international trade, about foreign policy, and the unique
agricultural systems that we have in our State, in our country, and in
our world. Participants in the program will gain firsthand experience
in what it means to be an agricultural leader here at home.
Agriculture is the beating heart of my State's economy. The hard work
of our farmers and ranchers in Nebraska produces abundant bounties
every year. We feed the world. We are privileged to do this and proud
of this responsibility, and we pass it on to the next generation.
We also know that putting food on family dinner tables around the
world does not come easy. It is the result of calloused hands and long
days. It is chopping ice in the tank for thirsty cattle when it is 20
below, and moving irrigation pipes for thirsty crops when it is 110. It
is the product of bright innovations, new technology, critical
thinking, and fresh solutions in addressing some of our world's most
pressing challenges. Now it is in the hands of the next generation of
leaders.
Nebraska's LEAD Class 38 understands this. They know that our future
is filled with promise. So I am expecting great things from each and
every one of them, and I look forward to meeting with them this
afternoon after I leave the floor.
LEAD Class 38, we are grateful for the work that you are doing now
and the good work that you will do to help build a stronger Nebraska
and a stronger world. I want to again extend a formal, warm welcome to
all members of LEAD 38, and I hope you will enjoy your time in our
Nation's Capital.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. ERNST). The majority leader.
Cloture Motion
Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I send a cloture motion to the desk
for the motion to proceed.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented under
rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion.
The bill clerk read as follows:
Cloture Motion
We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the
provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate,
do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the pending
motion to proceed to Calendar No. 6, H.J. Res. 1, making
further continuing appropriations for the Department of
Homeland Security for fiscal year 2019, and for other
purposes.
Pat Roberts, Susan M. Collins, Michael B. Enzi, Roger F.
Wicker, Lisa Murkowski, Marco Rubio, James M. Inhofe,
Deb Fischer, Mike Crapo, Chuck Grassley, Mike Rounds,
Lamar Alexander, John Boozman, Richard C. Shelby, John
Thune, Joni Ernst, Mitch McConnell
Mr. McCONNELL. I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum
calls be waived.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. McCONNELL. I withdraw the motion to proceed to H.J. Res. 1.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has that right.
The motion is withdrawn.
____________________