[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 109 (Friday, June 12, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2949-S2956]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
______
TAXPAYER FIRST ACT OF 2019--Resumed
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, the
Senate will resume consideration of H.R. 1957, which the clerk will
report. The legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (H.R. 1957) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 to modernize and improve the Internal Revenue Service,
and for other purposes.
Pending:
McConnell (for Gardner) amendment No. 1617, in the nature
of a substitute.
McConnell amendment No. 1626 (to amendment No. 1617), to
change the enactment date.
McConnell amendment No. 1627 (to amendment No. 1626), of a
perfecting nature.
McConnell amendment No. 1628 (to the language proposed to
be stricken by amendment No. 1617), to change the enactment
date.
McConnell amendment No. 1629 (to amendment No. 1628), of a
perfecting nature.
McConnell motion to commit the bill to the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources, with instructions, McConnell
amendment No. 1630, to change the enactment date.
McConnell amendment No. 1631 (to (the instructions)
amendment No. 1630), of a perfecting nature.
McConnell amendment No. 1632 (to amendment No. 1631), of a
perfecting nature.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Loeffler). The Senator from Colorado is
recognized.
Mr. GARDNER. Madam President, thank you for your willingness to
preside over the Chamber at this late hour, at least in the Nation's
capital, midnight, here, or 10 o'clock in the great States of Colorado
and Montana.
My colleague and one of the lead sponsors of this legislation has
been doing a lot of work this past week on the Great American Outdoors
Act to make sure that we can get this across the finish line. The truly
bipartisan spirit of this bill has been remarkable. I think that is
kind of what I wanted to start off with my comments tonight, is really
the coast-to-coast nature of this legislation, the Great American
Outdoors Act, because so many people
[[Page S2950]]
have put in not just a couple of weeks of work or a couple of months of
work or a couple of years of work but decades of work on the
legislation that we have before us.
The Great American Outdoors Act combines two pieces of legislation:
the crown jewel of our conservation programs across the Nation, the
Land and Water Conservation Fund, and the Restore Our Parks Act. The
Restore Our Parks Act focuses on the catching up with the maintenance
backlog in our national park systems.
About 70 percent of the funding, $1.9 billion a year, will go towards
our national parks. Additional dollars will go towards the Bureau of
Land Management, the Bureau of Land Management now headquartered in the
great State of Colorado. A portion will go to the U.S. Forest Service.
A portion will go to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and a portion
will go to the Bureau of Indian Education.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund, of course, goes toward the
efforts to protect some of the greatest spaces in our Nation. I wanted
to thank the people who have been working on this--and we have more
work to do, to be clear--Senator Manchin, Senator Heinrich, Senator
Cantwell, Senator King, Senator Warner, Senators Portman and Alexander,
and Senator Daines, all have been working very diligently to make sure
that we can pass this. I am sure I missed a few people, as we have
talked about them tonight and will be talking about this over the next
several days.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund has benefited every State in the
country. There are a few things that have been said on the floor today
that I thought I would clear up and address because they need to be. I
am going to show a chart here that talks about the States that will
receive the benefit under the Great American Outdoors Act and the
States that do not benefit from the Great American Outdoors Act.
The States that do not benefit from the Great American Outdoors Act
are highlighted in orange, and the States that benefit from the Great
American Outdoors Act are highlighted in green. As you can see from
this map, there are no orange States. This is an entire country--
Alaska, Hawaii--48 States that have benefited from the Land and Water
Conservation Fund, who will benefit from the Restore Our Parks Act.
All 50 States across the country have already benefited from these
programs. The March 9 letter begins: ``The Land and Water Conservation
Fund has been our nation's most successful conservation and recreation
program for 55 years, now permanently reauthorized by Congress after a
nationwide advocacy effort.''
That was a bill that came forward in the John D. Dingell conservation
bill, the public land bill we passed last Congress. It passed this
Chamber 92 to 8, another extremely bipartisan provision.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund isn't just about the coast. It
is not just about the interior. It is about all of our States. Half the
money goes to the East; half the money goes to the West. It is
distributed across the Nation. It is not a Federal land grab. I think
it is important that some people want to talk about this being a
Federal land grab.
Ninety-nine percent of the funding from the Land and Water
Conservation Fund actually goes to inholdings within existing public
lands, meaning if you have a place like Rocky Mountain National Park in
Colorado--and there is a little bit of land somehow in the middle of
that--Land and Water Conversation Fund--99 percent of the funds from
that have been used to purchase those inholdings.
You have a significant portion of the Land and Water Conservation
Fund that is not managed by the Federal Government at all. It is
actually handled by the States. It is an important thing. It is
baseball fields, soccer fields, and other programs the States can
handle. So a huge chunk of funding from the Land and Water Conservation
Fund goes back to the States and out of the hands of the Federal
Government.
If you go to another letter we talked about before, the six previous
Secretaries of the Interior sending a letter, June 3, 2020, talking
about the privilege and responsibility of stewarding some of America's
most scenic landscapes--incredible landscapes and natural and cultural
treasures.
It talked about how they are all cognizant of the critical role our
public lands play in our lives, with places to recreate, recharge, and
to seek solace in the midst of great uncertainty and also to create
jobs. This was signed by both Republican and Democrat Secretaries of
the Interior, most recently Secretary Zinke and Secretary Jewell and
Ken Salazar from Colorado; Secretary Dirk Kempthorne; Secretary Gale
Norton, another Coloradan; Secretary Bruce Babbitt, from Arizona, under
President Clinton. This talks about the importance of the Great
American Outdoors Act with how it will help ensure a better, brighter
future for nature and for all of us.
Speaking of sort of bright futures, some people have said on the
floor that this legislation was crafted in secret. That couldn't be
further from the truth. The Land and Water Conservation Fund has been
around since 1965, 1964, in this Chamber. It was approved by the
committee just a couple of months ago. The Restore Our Parks Act
cleared the Energy and Natural Resources Committee just a couple of
months ago. It was debated. There were amendments offered; they failed.
We combined these two pieces that came out of committee, and we put
them into the Great American Outdoors Act. That is what we are being
asked to vote on tonight. Of course, the Secretary's letter talks about
the dollars that will be going to our communities, the opportunities
for more conservation. We talked about the letter here from the
coalition.
Let's talk about the jobs, too, though. It is important as we start
voting tonight that we recognize that this is a jobs bill and an
economic opportunity for our country. It is estimated that the Great
American Outdoors Act will create over 100,000 jobs across the country.
As we get our feet underneath us again, as we get back on our feet from
the health pandemic, COVID-19 emergency, we have a chance to create new
jobs and new students.
Remember where these jobs are going to be created; they are going to
be created around the country because Land and Water Conservation Fund
is in nearly every county across the country. For every $1 million we
spend on the Land and Water Conservation Fund, we support between 16
and 30 jobs. The national parks supports over 100,000 jobs through the
Great American Outdoors Act; the Land and Water Conservation Fund,
every $ 1 million, between 16 and 30 jobs. Those communities that have
been impacted because of job loss--maybe their tourism season ended
earlier, maybe it started late, maybe a combination of both as we faced
in Colorado--those communities that have 20 percent, 22 percent, 23
percent unemployment are going to be able to gain significant
economically across the country thanks to this legislation.
We also have a letter here from the Archery Trade Association, the
Association of Fish and Wildlife, the Boone and Crockett Club,
California Waterfowl Association, Catch-A-Dream Foundation. You name
it--Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation--from a March 11, 2020, letter
in support of the Great American Outdoors Act.
The jobs aspect of the Great American Outdoors Act, of course, is
recognized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. On June 4, 2020, they sent
a letter to Members of the U.S. Senate. ``The U.S. Chamber of Commerce
strongly supports [S. 3422], the `Great American Outdoors Act,'--an
important, bipartisan bill that would provide certainty for the Land
and Water Conservation Fund [LWCF] and address the pressing maintenance
and construction backlog on public lands.''
It addresses long overdue infrastructure modernization challenges,
international park system, and other Federal and agricultural lands. It
would also permanently authorize the LWCF, providing an important tool
for smart development of open spaces in communities across the Nation.
Enactment of this bill would also provide much needed funding to
support and sustain funding Bureau of Indian Education schools. By
setting aside 5 percent of the funds created in this act, as much as
$475 million could flow to Bureau of Indian Education schools over the
next 5 years.
[[Page S2951]]
API, the American Petroleum Institute, writes in support of the Great
American Outdoors Act. They start with: ``Practical, safe, and
responsible offshore energy development doesn't just create jobs and
power our lives--it also funds America's largest federal conservation
program.''
Senators will soon vote on the Great American Outdoors Act, and they
hope that we would support this legislation.
Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the
Record letters from the Chamber of Commerce and API
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
June 4, 2020.
To the Members of the United States Senate: The U.S.
Chamber of Commerce strongly supports S. 3422, the ``Great
American Outdoors Act,'' an important, bipartisan bill that
would provide funding certainty for the Land and Water
Conservation Fund (LWCF) and address the pressing maintenance
and construction backlog on public lands. The Chamber will
consider including votes related to this legislation in our
``How They Voted'' congressional scorecard.
This bill would address long overdue infrastructure
modernization challenges in the national parks system and on
other federal and agricultural lands. It also would
permanently authorize the LWCF, which provides important
tools for smart development of open spaces in communities
across our nation.
Local LWCF projects have the potential to put many
thousands of Americans back to work as the American economy
recovers from the pandemic. Such projects can also help
companies and communities promote open spaces, build
resilience, reduce risks from future disasters, and better
manage stormwater.
Enactment of this bill would also provide much needed
funding to support and sustain Bureau of Indian Education
(BIE) schools. By setting aside 5% of the fund created in
this Act, as much as $475 million could flow to BIE schools
over the next five years.
The Chamber opposes any poison pill amendments that would
undo the carefully balanced components of this legislation.
In particular, the Chamber opposes any efforts to establish
moratoria on energy production, which is not only crucial to
America's economic growth and energy security, but also
provides the underlying funding for the LWCF.
We applaud the bipartisan leadership of Sens. Gardner,
Manchin and Daines, who crafted this legislation. The Chamber
urges passage of the Great American Outdoors Act.
Sincerely,
Jack Howard,
Senior Vice President, Congressional and Public Affairs,
U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
____
June 10, 2020.
Dear Jennifer: Practical, safe, and responsible offshore
energy development doesn't just create jobs and power our
lives--it also funds America's largest federal conservation
program. For decades, the natural gas and oil industry has
directly contributed to outdoor recreation and environmental
conservation, thanks to a long-standing law that would be
strengthened by legislation that is up for a vote in the U.S.
Senate.
Senators will soon vote on S. 3422, the Great American
Outdoors Act, a bipartisan bill that would codify a permanent
funding stream for the Land and Water Conservation Fund
(LWCF) and address a considerable maintenance and
construction backlog on public lands.
Since 1965, LWCF grants have provided more than $4.4
billion for over 40,000 projects, supporting resource
management, habitat restoration, and outdoor recreation such
as hiking, hunting, and fishing. Offshore natural gas and oil
royalties provide the primary source of funding for all LWCF
projects, from the Grand Canyon National Park to community
basketball courts.
As summer starts and the coronavirus limits the nation's
ability to convene inside, outdoor activities are more
important than ever. Last month, API was happy to see the
Interior Department announce a $227 million LWCF distribution
to all 50 states, five U.S. territories, and the District of
Columbia for specified park and outdoor recreation and
conservation.
But we won't stop there. Energy producers are proud to grow
the economy, create good-paying jobs, and invest in projects
that enhance America's natural beauty. Offshore energy
revenues are essential to conserving the LWCF itself.
Sincerely,
Mike Sommers,
President & CEO, API.
Mr. GARDNER. Madam President, furthermore, to highlight the economic
importance of this legislation, the outdoor recreation industry--these
have some of the most notable names in outdoor recreation, which I
think everybody would recognize: Polaris, Bass Pro, Cabela's--you name
it--North Face, Patagonia. They are all on here, in support of the
Great American Outdoors Act.
The outdoor recreation industry is extremely encouraged by
recent announcements that the Senate plans to hold a vote on
the Great American Outdoors Act. As outdoor recreation
business leaders, we know investments and recreation access
and infrastructure are vital to the outdoor recreation
industry and economies across the country.
Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that this letter be printed
in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
Dear Leader McConnell and Leader Schumer: The outdoor
recreation industry is extremely encouraged by recent
announcements that the Senate plans to hold a vote on the
Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) in June. As outdoor
recreation business leaders, we know investments in
recreation access and infrastructure are vital to the outdoor
recreation industry and economies across the country.
Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, the outdoor recreation
industry contributed $778 billion in economic output,
accounted for 2.2 percent of United States Gross Domestic
Product, supported 5.2 million jobs and was growing faster
than the economy as a whole in every indicator.
Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdowns
necessary to slow its progression, America's outdoor
recreation economy was hindered when we needed the outdoors
more than ever. Outdoor Recreation Roundtable's April survey
of the sector shows that 79 percent of outdoor businesses
have had to lay off or furlough employees, and 89 percent are
seeing decreased revenue. However, we know there is a bright
future for outdoor recreation ahead, as several sectors of
the industry are already experiencing rapidly increasing
demand.
These outdoor businesses are the backbone of our industry
and range from specialty retailers, apparel, gear and vehicle
manufacturers, outfitters and guides to campground and marina
operators. They are often foundational to a community's
economy. With rising unemployment and Americans eager to
experience the outdoors, investment in our industry's core
infrastructure--public lands and waters--will allow our
businesses to get back to what we do best: stimulate local
economies, put people back to work, and allow Americans to
benefit from time spent outside.
This is why we respectfully ask you to pass the Great
American Outdoors Act as soon as possible.
GAOA will fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund
(LWCF) at $900 million annually, providing more recreation
access for communities across the country and fueling more
outdoor recreation economic activity. In a nutshell, if
Congress invests the intended amount of $900 million into
LWCF recreation access projects on local, state and federal
lands, it will create much-needed close-to-home recreation
opportunities while revitalizing the outdoor recreation
economy.
Additionally, GAOA dedicates up to $9.5 billion over the
next five years to maintenance backlog projects that have
been devastating our public lands and waters. Investing in
these projects will improve outdoor recreation-related
facilities such as docks, restrooms, campgrounds, trails,
roads and more that have deteriorated significantly from
decades of underfunded maintenance. As business leaders, we
understand the need to make sure customers have good
experiences when they visit stores or facilities, it ensures
they come back again. Funding the maintenance backlog will
also ensure that adequate infrastructure for all types of
recreation on our public lands and waters exists so more
people who are seeking the benefits the outdoors has to offer
can get outside safely and grow our industry sustainably.
Passing GAOA now would stimulate the outdoor recreation
industry made up of thousands of businesses that support
communities in all SO states, support rural economies, create
jobs to carry out essential work, and provide opportunities
for millions of Americans to recreate on our public lands and
waters for generations to come. We know this vital
legislation is slated for a vote in the coming weeks and we
urge you to move as quickly as possible to get this
legislation across the finish line. Your support of GAOA is a
vote for American jobs and health, community resiliency and
the outdoor recreation economy. Thank you for your
leadership.
Sincerely,
Airstream, Inc., Alta Planning + Design, Inc., Arc'teryx
Equipment Inc., Arete Structures, LLC, Bass Pro Shops, Bell
Helmets, Blackburn Design, Blue Springs Marine, Boat Owners
Association of the United States, Boat Owners Warehouse,
Boats Incorporated, Brunswick Corporation, Cabela's,
CamelBak, Camperland of Oklahoma, Chaparral Boats, Inc., CHM
Government Services, Chris-Craft, Clark Marine.
Cleveland Boat Center, Correct Craft, Creative Pultrusions,
Crestview RV, Dee Zee, Inc., Delaware North Parks and
Resorts, Eagle Claw Fishing Tackle, FERA, Forest River, Inc.,
Forever Resorts, Formula Boats, Fort Sumter Tours, Freedom
Boat Club, Galati Yacht Sales, Giro Sport Design, Glacier
Guides & Montana Raft, Grand Design RV, Guest Services, Inc.,
Hagadone Marine Group, Handout Gloves.
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Head USA, Hellwig Products Company Inc., Hemlock Hill RV
Sales, Hipcamp, Hornblower Cruises and Events, Indian Lake
Marina, Inc, Indmar Products, K2 Sports, Kampgrounds of
America, Inc., Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A., Lakeview
Marine, Inc., LKQ Corporation, Magic Tilt Trailers, Malibu
Boats, Inc., Marina Holdings, Marine Center of Indiana,
Maverick Boat Group, Inc. Mount Dora Boating Center, N3
Boatworks, Nantahala Outdoor Center.
National Outdoor Leadership School, Newmar Corporation,
Patagonia, Petzl America, Plano Synergy, Polaris, Inc., Port
Harbor Marine, Priority RV Network, Pure Fishing, Quality
Bicycle Products, Rapala USA, Reed's Marine, Inc., Regulator
Marine, Inc.. REI, Rendezvous River Sports, Rhino Marking &
Protection Systems, Santa Barbara Adventure Company, Seirus
Innovative Accessories, Inc., Shimano North America Fishing,
Simms Fishing.
Skyjacker Suspensions, Smoker Craft, Spiritline Cruises,
SRAM LLC, St. Croix Rods, Sun RV Resorts, Suzuki Motor of
America, Inc., The North Face, Tiara Yachts & Tiara Sport,
Trek Bikes, Turn 14 Distribution Inc., VF Corporation, Vista
Outdoor, Volvo Penta of the Americas, WARN Industries,
Westrec Marinas, WET River Trips, Wildwater River Guides,
Winnebago Industries, Xanterra Travel Collection, Yamaha
Rightwaters, Yogi Bear's Jellystone Parks, Zebco Brands.
Mr. GARDNER. Madam President, REI--a place that Secretary Jewell
knows very well--REI Co-op writes in support of the Great American
Outdoors Act, talking about the impressive process that this bill came
together with, the bipartisan nature of this legislation.
My colleague, Senator Heinrich, from New Mexico, is on the floor. I
can't thank him enough for the work we have done together and for
making sure that we can get to these votes, as we approach very late
hours in Washington.
Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the
Record a letter from REI Co-op, dated June 9, 2020
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
June 9, 2020.
Dear Majority Leader McConnell and Minority Leader Schumer:
On behalf of REI Co-op, I want to express our strong support
for the Great American Outdoors Act. This bipartisan
legislation represents a historic opportunity to reduce the
chronic maintenance backlogs that have been diminishing our
federal lands and waters. The bill also will make permanent
Congress's financial support for the Land and Water
Conservation Fund, ending decades of erratic support.
As you know, our public lands and waters are places for
recreation, connecting to others and even healing. This is
true for Americans across the country, irrespective of
geography, and has proven especially true over the last
several months during the COVID-19 pandemic. The connection
between outdoor recreation and public health may have never
been so evident as it is today. I strongly believe that these
trends are part of a broader shift in our society and will
remain in place well beyond the end of the pandemic, so long
as we put healthy investment into this portion of our public
infrastructure.
It's also important to note how much the outdoor recreation
economy has suffered during this economic downturn, in
particular those small, main street businesses that rely on
the public lands to be open and accessible. Most in our
industry have not yet been deemed ``essential businesses''
and, therefore, have faced significant financial pressures as
store hours are cut and guided trips, cancelled. As of last
fall, the U.S. Commerce Department had found the outdoor
recreation economy to account for 2.2.% of GDP and 5.2
million jobs. The recreation sector is not nearly so robust
today. It will benefit greatly--both near and long term--from
investments that better conserve our public lands and waters,
and provide access to more outdoor recreation opportunities.
Equally impressive is the process by which this bill has
come together. Not long after last year's passage of the
landmark John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and
Recreation Act, Republicans and Democrats in your chamber
came together to advance concepts that previously seemed
impossible to move through Congress. Now, another historic
opportunity for bipartisanship is on the docket. In an era
when divisive politics and disagreement regularly frustrate
the legislative process, Congress's commitment to the
outdoors demonstrates our capacity to find common ground.
As you continue to work through the important legislative
agenda that is before the Senate, I urge you to pass the
Great American Outdoors Act and look forward to this vital
legislation becoming law.
Sincerely,
Eric Artz,
President & CEO, REI Co-op.
Mr. GARDNER. Madam President, this is about national treasures, the
great American outdoors. It is about national treasures. It is about
protecting these incredible places that our own biologists--not just
the people of Colorado or New Mexico or the great State of Georgia--
owned by all of us.
It is about some of the most scenic and majestic landscapes, unique
ecosystems that they create. But it is also about a national treasure
and the American people. That national treasure has been hit pretty
hard over the last several months, with pandemics, conflict in our
society, and racial injustice. It is this national treasure, the
American people, that this legislation is focused on, the national
treasure that will help create jobs and opportunity and empower
people's lives, get their communities back on track, and maybe--just
maybe--provide a little bit of respite to somebody who is seeking that
opportunity to get outside, to get away, to find time to think.
As Enos Mills said, to make them a little bit more reflective and
kind during difficult times. We have a long ways to go in this
legislation. We will have more debates later tonight and a vote later
tonight. I hope my colleagues will support me in this legislation. It
is tremendously bipartisan in nature. It has significant support of the
American people. It benefits our country from sea to shining sea.
We are going to have some votes next week, on Monday, as well, and
perhaps Tuesday, maybe even more. But one thing this bill is not is a
surprise. This bill is a collection of debates and arguments and
passion and advocacy for decades. I think the argument has been won. We
want to protect our country's most treasured places. Now, we just have
to win the debate and make sure we can do that with the bill tonight.
I encourage my colleagues to vote yes tonight and through the
remaining votes that we have either today or next week to move on to
passage of this legislation and the good it can do. I thank the
President and I thank my colleagues.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico.
Mr. HEINRICH. Madam President, I rise today with my colleagues from
Colorado and Montana to talk about the incredible coalition that has
come together to support the Great American Outdoors Act and why we
have been able to build a group of folks ranging far beyond this body
who have come together from very disparate parts of the political
spectrum and very disparate parts of our incredible geographic country
to support this piece of legislation.
I think part of what has made this legislation so timely is what we
have all been through in the last 3 months. Many of us were cooped up
in our homes for weeks at a time, and it really drove home for all of
us how incredibly important the time that we get to spend outside is. I
know some of my colleagues, particularly from the West, have been very
articulate about that.
I had a chance to travel around my State at a time when many people
were still cooped up in their homes. Our State Governor was very
thoughtful about the rules to make sure that even as people sought to
socially distance themselves for weeks at a time, they were able to get
access to their local parks, able to get access to open space, able to
get access to our national forests and BLM lands--anyplace, basically,
where people could come together without coming together. There is no
place like the great outdoors to do that.
I would just ask my colleagues--I start with my colleague from
Colorado--if he would care to share some stories about the importance
that we all learned about what we already have--and in many cases have
because of the Land and Water Conservation Fund--in our own backyards
and how important that was in the course of the greatest illness, the
greatest pandemic of our generation's time.
I yield my time to the Senator from Colorado.
Mr. GARDNER. I thank the Senator from New Mexico for his work on this
legislation and the opportunity to continue to work together on the
Great American Outdoors Act. We adjusted to the Zoom conference
meetings and the Skypes and the FaceTimes. We all figured out our best
way to do that.
Millions of Americans were still at work each and every day at the
gas station, at the grocery store, the clerks and the people stocking
shelves and providing restaurant work across the country.
[[Page S2953]]
There is a lot of stress, and this is a tense time for this country.
You can see it and hear it and still feel that strain on the American
people. That sort of relief valve we have as a country is our system of
parks and recreation opportunities.
It is about jobs. It is about the dollars they spend in communities,
the gateway communities, when they go to a place like Rocky Mountain
National Park. Yet it is also about that opportunity for people to get
away and to find that time to think, that time to be themselves, to
focus, to get into an area where they can exercise, recreate, and enjoy
the environment and the resources around them.
I make a joke; I don't know if anyone else laughs at it. I talk about
the last several months being spent in the great indoors. It is time
for the great outdoors. I think that is what we talked about.
As a kid growing up, we had these road trips. We didn't fly very
often, at least. It was expensive. You would drive and drive great
distances. You would drive to the Grand Canyon National Park if you
could or certainly drive up to Rocky Mountain National Park with the
family.
Maybe the great American road trip is going to come back as people
adjust to what we have to do to protect ourselves from the pandemic, as
economic concerns grow in this country. This provides an opportunity
for all of it.
Mr. HEINRICH. Senator, if you would yield for a moment.
To the Senator from Montana, I notice a very similar dynamic emerging
from Montana as it was from New Mexico of being very thoughtful about a
response to the virus but also making sure that people could get out
and just get that time for their physical well-being and their mental
well-being even in the height of the pandemic. In doing that
responsibly--and I think it certainly impressed upon everyone I talked
to just how important these places have always been. Maybe sometimes we
took them for granted, but I think the last 3 months have helped us not
take the great American outdoors for granted.
Mr. DAINES. I think that is exactly right, Senator Heinrich. It is
one of these unique moments tonight in the Senate where this body is
coming together.
Here we are--as Senator Heinrich mentioned and Senator Gardner has
mentioned--we may disagree on various issues, but we are coming
together tonight at a time when the Nation needs to come together to
move this very important legislation forward
In Montana, we had cabin fever, as I am sure folks in New Mexico and
Colorado had as well. There were too many times on Zoom and not enough
time outside. It has been good to see, as we have been through a phased
opening in our State, like other States, people are getting back
outside again and back into our national parks.
I think about being a kid growing up in Montana. My earliest memories
were literally when Mom and Dad would load us up in a pickup. Those
were the days when you laid down in the back of a pickup. Kids rode in
the back of the pickup. Nobody was strapped in. I am not suggesting
this become the normal practice, but back in the day, we just rode in
the back of the pickup. Mom and Dad would take us up to Cooke City, MT.
Sometimes we would do day hikes out of there. Sometimes there were
overnights on our public lands.
You don't realize how special that is when you are growing up until
you realize not everybody around the country has that kind of direct
accessibility to our public lands. That is why more and more Americans
are actually coming out West and why they want to be closer to these
amazing public lands that we are so grateful we have in places like New
Mexico, Colorado, and Montana.
We say in Montana that we get to work, but we also like to play. We
work hard during the week, and I think we work hard so we can get out
on the weekends, where there is hiking, fishing, hunting, and
backpacking. This is our life.
These are pictures I have taken with my phone. The picture right
here--we have three Mini Australian Shepherds. These are two of them.
Our older dog, Jessie, has a hard time getting down the trails and
mountains now, but the younger ones still can.
We think about our fondest memories spending time outside on our
public lands. It is why we continue to preserve, protect, and expand
that access to this incredible treasure we have in America.
Mr. HEINRICH. I really think that our public lands are one of
America's greatest democratic accomplishments. You think about the fact
of how we became a nation. When you look at the history in Europe,
people were locked out of the great lands of Europe. You look at all of
the futile history that Europe had in wildlife and public lands. Lands
and wildlife belonged to the King; they belonged to the Crown. If you
were caught hunting on those lands, you could be put to death. You
didn't have access to those lands later in European history unless you
could pay for them.
Our forefathers were very thoughtful about not wanting that to be the
same approach in the United States of America and making sure that our
wildlife was held in trust for all of us and that these lands would be
held in trust for all of us.
One of the greatest things about the Land and Water Conservation
Fund, from my perspective, is that it really increased access to the
national forests, parks, and other places that had already been
created.
I would be curious if my colleagues have stories about particular
places that didn't have public access; that maybe for somebody just
working in a small town, if there was an incredible mountain range or
place you could hunt or fish or camp that was off limits, and because
of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, an easement or a trail or some
other means of access was provided that opened it up to the working-
class families of their constituencies. We certainly have those stories
in New Mexico.
I would ask my colleagues if they have particular places in Colorado
or Montana where that has been the case because of this incredibly
important fund.
Mr. DAINES. Senator Heinrich, the Land and Water Conservation Fund
has been such an important tool for us to provide access to the type of
situation you just described. We have about 1.5 million acres of
Federal lands in Montana that are not accessible because they are
landlocked. They are inholdings because of the complex nature of the
checkerboard ownership infrastructure that we oftentimes see out West--
a section, 640 acres, a square mile. You have a State section, you have
a Federal section, and you have a private land owner. This is working
with willing landowners who want to work and find a way to consolidate
some of these sections to provide better access to the public lands.
We have had some great projects, like the Tenderfoot project, we call
it, over by the Smith River, which is a treasure in Montana. It is kind
of the Montana bucket list, to float the Smith. It is an amazing
several overnights from one point to the next, an over 50-mile kind of
float. I did that once, and I would love to do it again. We had the
Falls Creek acquisition that is outside of Augusta. By being able to
provide access through a few hundred acres or a couple thousand acres,
it gets the public into tens of thousands of acres of some prime elk
habitat.
This is where we bring together some of these great wildlife
conservations, like the Rocky Mountain elk conservation, that see these
tools as critical to, one, help protect and expand elk habitat, but
importantly, Montana is still one of those States where a mom or a dad,
grandma or grandpa, aunt or uncle can take a son or a daughter, a niece
or a nephew or a cousin down to Walmart and buy an elk tag or a deer
tag over the counter and jump back in the pickup and go to our public
lands within an hour, sometimes even a shorter time than that.
That is something, as you mentioned, Senator Heinrich--
Mr. HEINRICH. You are saying you don't have to hire a guide; you
don't have to spend $10,000 on a private land tag? You can just buy an
elk tag over the counter and go out and pursue elk on your public
lands?
Mr. DAINES. It is--every State has its own philosophy and ways they
are going to manage wildlife, but in Montana, in many cases, it is an
over-the-
[[Page S2954]]
counter tag. We have special draws. Antelope is still a draw. There are
some places for elk and deer that are a draw, but in most cases, for
elk and deer or a bear, you can go and buy that tag over the counter.
That is very unique.
As you mentioned, Senator Heinrich, it is so different from Europe.
What sets our country apart--while Europe may have beautiful castles
and chateaux and chefs and so forth, what we have are national parks
and our public lands. As you mentioned, it is something our forefathers
had the vision for. They went before us and set that aside. Had they
not done that--you never get that back. Had that not been put in the
hands of the public, we wouldn't have Yellowstone National Park or
Glacier National Park. They are such beautiful places. They would have
been subdivided. They would have been privately held, and the public
couldn't enjoy these treasures. I am grateful for that legacy. We get
to work on it here tonight, to continue to maintain it well and be
better stewards of these public lands.
Mr. HEINRICH. You mention Yellowstone. We have a place in northern
New Mexico that many people refer to as New Mexico's Yellowstone,
because, like Yellowstone, it is a high elevation caldera. It is a
place where there was a supervolcano, and that supervolcano collapsed
in on itself. When it did, it created what they call a reverse
treeline, a series of very high elevation meadows connected to each
other with a ring of mountains around them. Near the caldera there is a
huge elk herd, hot springs, and wild trout.
That place is called the Valles Caldera National Preserve today. It
was actually first proposed as a national park, I think, in about 1916,
if you can believe that.
Almost to the month, 100 years later, we were able to make this a
national preserve, which is like a National Park Service property that
also allows for hunting and fishing. We did that because the family who
had been a great steward of that land for decades had decided that they
needed to sell it, but they wanted to see it preserved. What came to
the rescue in that case was the Land and Water Conservation Fund, in
one of the largest acquisitions of private land from a willing private
seller--an enthusiastic private seller to the public trust.
Today this is an 89,000-acre national preserve that anyone in the
United States can visit. Once again, anyone with a hunting license can
apply for an elk tag there, can go fishing there. It is just a
remarkable, remarkable place.
It would never have happened and this would be covered in vacation
homes if it were not for that tool.
Mr. GARDNER. In Colorado, I think I mentioned before, we have an area
the size of Rocky Mountain National Park that is held by the public
across the State of Colorado, but it is inaccessible. You can't get to
it. The Land and Water Conservation Fund provides this opportunity to
get to that, to access land.
I heard my colleague Senator Daines talk about how a significant
portion of the fishing access in Montana--he just talked about it--is
through the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
We have projects in the Rio Grande National Forest through portions
of Colorado and into Texas, where the Lower Rio Grande Valley National
Wildlife Refuge has benefited. I think it was Will Rogers who once said
that the Rio Grande was the only river he ever saw that was in need of
irrigation.
I think if you look at the Land and Water Conservation Fund, that is
something we can all benefit from.
Of course, while we don't directly border Montana, we do border New
Mexico. There was an article recently featured, I think, by the Nature
Conservancy, about Colorado's newest State park. It is in southern
Colorado, right outside a little town called Trinidad, and it will
encompass a local landmark known as Fisher's Peak.
Trinidad has a great and amazing history in the West, from mining to
agriculture and the challenges that mining and agriculture have posed
over the years, and forestry and other things. But what they are hoping
for now is that this newest State park can provide an opportunity for
economic revitalization of this rural town and area. It is actually
going to border right up against New Mexico, and part of that special
land goes into New Mexico. Maybe someday the Land and Water
Conservation Fund will be able to benefit that project. In fact, I know
they are working on it, and they have received it by now. It is an
opportunity for us to save rural communities.
This Land and Water Conservation Fund is not all out of Washington.
It is coming through the States as well, and that is an opportunity for
both of our areas to prosper, particularly our rural communities.
Mr. HEINRICH. As my colleague from Montana said--let me back up just
a moment. The folks in Raton are also very excited about what is going
on at Fisher's Peak and looking at different possibilities for their
community just over the divide from Trinidad.
One of the places, as my colleague from Montana described them, is
taking public lands that literally are held in trust for all of us, but
some of them you just can't get to anymore, because of lands changing
hands over the years, private land acquisitions and county road
closures at times. Sometimes you can find yourself in these positions
where something as large as 10,000 acres or 15,000 acres of public land
can find itself cut off from any legal access to the public.
In New Mexico, we actually had the country's only designated
wilderness area where, simply, there was no legal public access. There
was not a trail, not a road. There was no way to get there. In recent
years, we were able to work with the Secretaries of the Interior, and
using the Land and Water Conservation Fund, we were able to open up and
expand that. Today people are able to hike, camp, and hunt. It has a
little water in it, but I don't know anybody who has actually fished
there. But it is a labyrinth of canyons and rim rock country similar to
what most people would associate with Utah. I can tell you that the
community in Las Vegas nearby and in other smaller communities are
really just very excited about the opportunities for tourism and for
access for sportsmen to a place that had been completely inaccessible.
I see we have been joined by our colleague from West Virginia, whom I
know has some really strong feelings about the potential of outdoor
recreation in his State. I didn't realize how many--13,000 peaks in
West Virginia--but I looked in his office today, and there is a whole
mountain chain in West Virginia.
To our colleague, Senator Manchin of West Virginia, do you want to
join us and talk a little bit about the importance of outdoor
recreation and what this legislation might mean in your State?
Mr. MANCHIN. Thank you, Senator, and to all my colleagues, I want to
thank you. I appreciate very much the job that has been done here. By
working in a bipartisan spirit, every one of us benefits from this.
This is a legacy piece of legislation that, hopefully, our children and
generations to come will say that it was my grandfather, my father, my
uncle, my aunt who was involved in giving me an opportunity to enjoy
part of the America that maybe I may not have had. We have access to
it.
In West Virginia, when you get access to New River or the Gauley, it
has been provided by LWCF money. The Park System that we have--and we
have hundreds of thousands of visitors every year--is done because of
the Restore Our Parks Act, and people are now able to come.
Just about 4 or 5 months ago, I took my family, and we were in
Hawaii. When Senators and Congress people go into Hawaii on a codel, we
usually don't see what the visitors see down there. They don't take us
to the visitors' center. This time I had gone as a normal visitor, and
when I walked in, I was appalled at what I saw
The maps were falling off the wall. The lights weren't working. It
was atrocious.
I had a meeting with the staff right there. I came back, and at that
time, David Bernhardt, Rob Walls, and I started talking, and I said:
Gentlemen, that is the birthplace, basically, defining who we are as a
superpower and the hope of the world, and for our veterans to have to
come and see that and say this is where it began, something had to be
done. We started right then renovating and fixing it up, and I think we
spent $10 million out of the contingency fund. So I know what it takes
for
[[Page S2955]]
Senator Alexander, who has led this fight, and Senator Warner and
others as well on Restore Our Parks.
Teddy Roosevelt would be proud of Senator Alexander leading this
charge and all of us working together. Putting these two bills together
was a master stroke, I believe, and how we could come together. It has
brought us all together. There is not one person I believe--we have a
few of our friends that have some challenges, and we are going to help
them through as soon as we get this bill passed. But in West Virginia,
this means the world for us. It has benefited our State since 1965, and
54 out of 55 counties have benefited by it. Now, I tell them that
whatever you think we have been able to do and however happy you are
with what has happened, we can do twice as much. We can do twice as
much on a regular basis.
I am proud to be a part of this. Senator Heinrich and I have worked
tonight, and our staffs have worked closely, and Senator Daines and
Gardner and everybody is working very close on this. It pulled us
together, and I hope we can stay together and keep this spirit of
bipartisanship in many pieces of legislation.
So thank you. Thank you for letting me be involved, and thank you for
what you have done.
Mr. HEINRICH. I think what we have all learned is what a great team
this has been and, obviously, it is a land fund--the Land and Water
Conservation Fund. It means boat ramps and access and many other
things. We will continue to work together to make sure that all of our
States benefit from this program, not just a few, and I know my
colleague from Montana wants to add a few more points to this
conversation.
Mr. DAINES. Thanks, Senator Heinrich.
I am going to hand this over to the Senator from Ohio, as well as our
Senator from Tennessee, where it is so important to the Restore Our
Parks Act. I know we have a lot to talk about in our national parks.
I want to add one point, Senator Heinrich, about what you mentioned
around the economic benefits. Seventy percent of the fishing access
that is in Montana has been funded by the Land and Water Conservation
Fund--70 percent. As a kid growing up, I had a fly rod in my hand back
in the early 1970s before fly fishing became very popular. My grandpa
and my dad would take me out, not unlike in ``The River Runs Through
It.''
That is a classic movie. When Robert Redford and Brad Pitt came out
to Montana and filmed this amazing movie, it was filmed on the Gallatin
River, where I grew up fishing as a kid, in Bozeman. Little did we know
what a movie like that and fishing access might do to spur our fly
fishing industry in Montana. Now our outdoor recreation economy is $7
billion in Montana. What started out as access for the public and
primarily Montanans has turned into something that is an economic
driver, as others want to share the amazing experiences we have in
places like Montana, on our rivers and seeing a trout on a fly line. It
is an important economic driver.
Mr. HEINRICH. This has been a spontaneous colloquy, but I think the
time has come for us to give back our time. But I want to thank my
colleagues for their incredible support, and I think folks are going to
take over the floor as we move in to the next phase here.
Mr. DAINES. I want Senator Portman from Ohio to speak.
Mr. HEINRICH. Senator Portman from Ohio.
Mr. PORTMAN. Thank you, Senator Heinrich. Thanks to my colleagues for
being here. This is an opportunity to do the Land and Water
Conservation Fund expansion and provide fishing access through our
States and local communities and the parks that they need and want, but
it is also an opportunity to fix our parks, and this is desperately
needed.
Our national parks are in trouble, just as more and more people are
returning to our parks for recreation and fishing and all the other
access we have. There are 84 million acres of true treasures in
America, thanks to Teddy Roosevelt and many others who followed in his
footsteps. We preserved this land and protected our history, but there
is a $12.5 billion maintenance backlog in our parks.
As visitors go to our parks as they reopen this summer, they will
find that the trail is closed or the toilet doesn't work or the lodge
has a leak in the roof, and therefore they can't use it. When you get a
leak in the roof and you get the mold in the walls and the floor, that
is what is happening, and we haven't funded it.
Part of the reason is it is so expensive. These are infrastructure
expenditures that require significant funds. So part of what this
legislation does is finally allow us to catch up here in the U.S.
Congress. It is a debt unpaid. In other words, we should have been
paying all over these many years to ensure this wouldn't happen but,
unfortunately, for decades it has.
So some of the funds we use here go directly into these parks and
also to our Forest Service and wildlife refuges and our lands and our
Native American lands. This is to simply stop the erosion, really, of
the beauty of our parks and to eliminate this historic level of backlog
of maintenance projects. So we appreciate the fact that tonight we have
an opportunity to finally begin to change our approach and to switch
gears.
I want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for helping
us to get to this point. It has been through our committee twice, with
lots of amendments that have been amended and debated, and lots of
discussion. We now have an opportunity to make good on the promise we
have made to our children and grandchildren that these parks will be
preserved for future generations.
My colleagues with whom I worked include Senator Warner, who came up
with this idea saying some of funds coming from offshore oil and gas
and other energy projects could be diverted to these national parks to
provide adequate resources to do this. We will see him on the floor
this evening, and possibly Senator Alexander, who has been at this as
well and is a key player, and also Senator Angus King. The four of us
stuck together through thick and thin. I hope tonight will be the thin
part and we can get this done over the next several days so that we can
indeed keep the promise that we have made that these national treasures
can be preserved.
Senator Alexander, do you have something you would like to say?
Mr. ALEXANDER. Madam President, in the middle of the Great
Depression, the people in Tennessee and North Carolina looked around
and said: Why are all the national parks out West?
So Tennessee contributed $2 million, and North Carolina contributed
$2 million, and John D. Rockefeller Jr. said: I will give $5 million in
honor of my mother if you can match it. The children of North Carolina
and Tennessee in schools raised another million dollars in community
efforts, and the Great Smokey Mountain National Park was created and
given to the people of the United States.
So the people of Tennessee and North Carolina gave that to the United
States and, today, more than 12 million Americans visit it. There are a
lot more people who visit it than live in Tennessee and North Carolina,
and part of the deal was that there would be no entrance fee. The one
thing that we wanted or our grandparents wanted at the time was that
the American people be good stewards of what we gave to the American
people.
Today, thanks to the leadership of Senators Warner, Portman, King,
Manchin, Heinrich, Daines, and Gardner on the Land and Water
Conservation Fund, that has happened. I am proud to be a part of it.
This is the most significant piece of conservation legislation in at
least a half century, and it represents a recognition by the American
people that we can be good stewards of what Ken Burns has called ``our
greatest idea,'' our national parks and our remaining public lands.
Mr. HEINRICH. When we pass this legislation, I think we are going to
show them that we are going to be good stewards of the Great Smokey
Mountain National Park, as well as parks across our country.
I know that the Nation's newest national park is in New Mexico, and
it is White Sands. Yet we have a set of restrooms that sit on top of a
sinkhole and for far too long have needed repair. That is the kind of
thing I think we will be able to repair all across our country.
[[Page S2956]]
I don't see our colleague Senator King of Maine yet, but he
oftentimes speaks to the fact that what Senator Alexander and Senator
Portman describe in our deferred maintenance is truly debt. Deferred
maintenance is debt, and we are going to take responsibility for that
and really treat our parks the way they deserve and work to extend the
Land and Water Conservation Fund at the same time.
Mr. Chair, with that I think I will give back the rest of our time,
and I want to thank all of my colleagues for joining me in the
colloquy.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.
Mr. CASSIDY. We have a few minutes left to go. I didn't realize the
colloquy was going on. I would like to give an opposing viewpoint.
In this legislation, we put parks over people. We spend billions of
dollars taking care of parks and don't spend a dime taking care of
those folks who live in those parishes and counties next to a
coastline. It turns out that 42 percent of Americans live in a parish
or county next to a coastline, and if you haven't noticed, we
increasingly have flood events. We increasingly have spent billions of
dollars rescuing people from floods, repairing their homes afterwards,
and trying to make them whole.
Now, we could have put legislation in this legislation that would
allow those people's needs to be met, but we are putting parks before
people, and that is a tragedy. We are going to spend billions on places
where we go on vacation, but we will not spend a dime where we live--
where we live--where we raise our children, where we help other people
make a living.
In this--particularly since we know that sea levels are rising--we
are going to increasingly have these events. We are, if you will,
being--I don't know how to put it--blind to the reality that is before
us.
And someone mentioned outhouses on top of a sinkhole--what a tragedy.
Do you know what really a tragedy is? When someone--no, when many
people--when whole swaths of a city are flooded out--that is a tragedy.
And we are out of time, but I will finish by this: I will feel a lot
better about this Senate at the point in which we begin to put people
over parks and spend at least something where people live as opposed to
where people vacation--not to take any money away from the parks but to
just put some money to where people live.
I yield the floor.
Cloture Motion
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Perdue). Pursuant to rule XXII, the Chair
lays before the Senate the pending cloture motion, which the clerk will
state.
The legislative 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 amendment No.
1617 to Calendar Number 75, H.R. 1957, a bill to amend the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modernize and improve the
Internal Revenue Service, and for other purposes.
Mitch McConnell, John Hoeven, John Thune, Cory Gardner,
Pat Roberts, Lindsey Graham, Susan M. Collins, John
Boozman, Kevin Cramer, Thom Tillis, Rob Portman, Roy
Blunt, Lamar Alexander, Todd Young, Steve Daines,
Shelley Moore Capito, David Perdue.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum
call has been waived.
The question is, Is it the sense of the Senate that debate on
amendment No. 1617, offered by the Senator from Kentucky, Mr.
McConnell, to H.R. 1957, a bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 to modernize and improve the Internal Revenue Service, and for
other purposes, shall be brought to a close?
The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator
from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn), the Senator from Indiana (Mr. Braun),
the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr), the Senator from Texas (Mr.
Cornyn), the Senator from Mississippi (Mrs. Hyde-Smith), the Senator
from Oklahoma (Mr. Inhofe), the Senator from Arizona (Ms. McSally), the
Senator from Kansas (Mr. Moran), the Senator from Nebraska (Mr. Sasse),
and the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Shelby).
Mr. SCHUMER. I announce that the Senator from Illinois (Mr. Durbin),
the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Jones), the Senator from Massachusetts
(Mr, Markey), the Senator from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez), the Senator
from Arizona (Ms. Sinema), and the Senator from Rhode Island (Mr.
Whitehouse) are necessarily absent.
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 65, nays 19, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 117 Leg.]
YEAS--65
Alexander
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Blunt
Booker
Boozman
Brown
Cantwell
Capito
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Collins
Coons
Cortez Masto
Cotton
Cramer
Daines
Duckworth
Feinstein
Fischer
Gardner
Gillibrand
Graham
Harris
Hassan
Heinrich
Hirono
Hoeven
Kaine
King
Klobuchar
Leahy
Loeffler
Manchin
McConnell
Merkley
Murphy
Murray
Perdue
Peters
Portman
Reed
Roberts
Rosen
Rubio
Sanders
Schatz
Schumer
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Shaheen
Smith
Stabenow
Tester
Thune
Tillis
Udall
Van Hollen
Warner
Warren
Wicker
Wyden
Young
NAYS--19
Barrasso
Cassidy
Crapo
Cruz
Enzi
Ernst
Grassley
Hawley
Johnson
Kennedy
Lankford
Lee
Murkowski
Paul
Risch
Romney
Rounds
Sullivan
Toomey
NOT VOTING--16
Blackburn
Braun
Burr
Cornyn
Durbin
Hyde-Smith
Inhofe
Jones
Markey
McSally
Menendez
Moran
Sasse
Shelby
Sinema
Whitehouse
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 65, and the nays
are 19.
Three-fifths of the Senators being duly chosen and sworn having voted
in the affirmative, the motion is agreed to
____________________