[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 36 (Monday, February 28, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S838-S839]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. THUNE (for himself and Mr. Barrasso):
  S. 3709. A bill to require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out 
vegetation management projects and timber production projects on 
certain National Forest System land in the States of Montana, South 
Dakota, and Wyoming, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources.
  Mr. THUNE. 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. 3709

       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 ``Black Hills Forest 
     Protection and Jobs Preservation Act of 2022''.

     SEC. 2. VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PROJECTS ON BLACK HILLS 
                   NATIONAL FOREST USING EXPEDITED NEPA 
                   AUTHORITIES.

       The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of 
     the Forest Service (referred to in this Act as the 
     ``Secretary''), shall issue 1 or more decisions using 
     expedited authorities for compliance with the National 
     Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), 
     including sections 603 and 605 of the Healthy Forests 
     Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591b, 6591d) and a 
     determination of NEPA adequacy described in section 220.4(j) 
     of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor 
     regulations), to carry out vegetation management projects on 
     land in the Black Hills National Forest.

     SEC. 3. FUNDING FOR TIMBER PRODUCTION PROJECTS.

       (a) In General.--Of the amounts made available to the 
     Secretary by section 40803(c)(11) of the Infrastructure 
     Investment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 6592(c)(11)), the 
     Secretary shall use $40,000,000 for the period of fiscal 
     years 2022 through 2026 to carry out projects on the Bighorn 
     National Forest, the Custer Gallatin National Forest, and the 
     Black Hills National Forest that will result in timber 
     production.
       (b) Use of Categorical Exclusion and Emergency Action 
     Authorities.--In carrying out projects under subsection (a), 
     the Secretary shall use, to the extent practicable--
       (1) the categorical exclusion established by section 
     40806(b) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (16 
     U.S.C. 6592b(b)); and
       (2) the emergency action authority under section 40807 of 
     that Act (16 U.S.C. 6592c).
       (c) Excess Amounts.--If any amounts made available under 
     subsection (a) are not used by the Secretary by September 30, 
     2026, and the Secretary has exhausted all reasonable means to 
     use those amounts for the purposes described in that 
     subsection, those amounts shall remain available to the 
     Secretary until expended to carry out projects described in 
     section 40803(c)(11) of the Infrastructure Investment and 
     Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 6592(c)(11)).

     SEC. 4. WOOD PRODUCTS INFRASTRUCTURE.

       In the ranking system developed under section 40804(d)(1) 
     of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 
     6592a(d)(1)), the Secretary shall categorize the Black Hills 
     National Forest and the Bighorn National Forest as being very 
     high priority for ecological restoration involving vegetation 
     removal.

     SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION.

       (a) Judicial Review.--A project carried out under section 2 
     or 3 shall not be subject to judicial review.
       (b) Excluded Land.--A project carried out under section 2 
     or 3 may not be carried out on--
       (1) a component of the National Wilderness Preservation 
     System; or
       (2) an inventoried roadless area.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. KAINE:
  S. 3712. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the 
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide for periodic 
automatic reenrollment under qualified automatic contribution 
arrangements, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. KAINE. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Auto Reenroll 
Act of 2022, alongside Representative Kathy Manning, who has introduced 
companion legislation in the House of Representatives. Enacting this 
bill would improve financial security for Americans by strengthening 
their private retirement savings.
  Nearly 7 in 10 Americans working in the private sector have access to 
employer-sponsored retirement plans, but a quarter of those with access 
do not participate in those plans. This means less money saved for 
retirement. Often, it means leaving money on the table, in the form of 
employer-matching contributions. Encouraging more employees to 
participate in their workplace plans would increase their overall 
compensation and improve their financial security and retirement 
outlook.
  The Auto Reenroll Act of 2022 would boost participation through a 
simple change to the automatic enrollment safe harbor. Automatic 
enrollment plans have been tremendously successful at encouraging 
workers to participate in employer-sponsored plans, but employees who 
opt out of participating at the beginning of their tenure will likely 
never reconsider that decision. This bill would build on the success of 
auto enrollment by having employers reenroll nonparticipants once every 
3 years, providing them another opportunity to consider participation. 
This would encourage those employees to reassess their nonparticipation 
as their financial situation evolves.
  I encourage my colleagues to support this commonsense legislation to 
bolster private retirement savings.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Ms. Murkowski):
  S. 3713. A bill to codify the essential holdings of Roe v. Wade (410 
U.S. 113 (1973)) and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. 
Casey (505 U.S. 833 (1992)); to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the 
Reproductive Choice Act with my colleague and friend Senator Lisa 
Murkowski, which would codify the protections for reproductive rights 
established by the Supreme Court's decisions in Roe v. Wade in 1973 and 
affirmed by Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992. We are introducing the 
Reproductive Choice Act as a substitute amendment to the Women's Health 
Protection Act before us today and as a standalone bill for future 
consideration.
  Unfortunately, the Women's Health Protection Act goes far beyond 
codifying Roe and Casey. Among other issues, this legislation would 
severely weaken protections afforded to healthcare providers who refuse 
to perform abortions on religious grounds. Rather than just codifying 
Roe's protections, the bill would undercut Federal and State laws that 
have been in place for decades and call into question basic conscience 
protections.
  The Reproductive Choice Act that Senator Murkowski and I are 
introducing today would simply codify the essential holdings of the 
U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade and 1992 decision in 
Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey. Our bill 
carefully tracks the Supreme Court's language and would provide 
reassurance to women that the reproductive rights they have relied on 
for nearly 50 years will continue to be the law of the land.
  Specifically, the Reproductive Choice Act would make clear in Federal 
law that States may not impose an ``undue burden'' on the ability of a 
woman to choose whether or not to terminate a pregnancy prior to 
viability. It would still allow States to enact regulations to further 
the health or safety of a woman seeking to terminate a pregnancy, while 
stating that regulations that have the purpose or effect of presenting 
a ``substantial obstacle'' to a woman seeking to terminate a pregnancy 
would be considered an ``undue burden.''
  As is currently permitted under Roe and Casey, our legislation would 
allow individual States to impose restrictions on terminating a 
pregnancy after fetal viability, except when necessary to preserve the 
life or health of the woman. Notably, unlike the Women's Health 
Protection Act, our bill would not restrict laws regarding conscience 
protections, including laws that protect healthcare providers who 
refuse to provide pregnancy termination services for moral or religious 
reasons.
  Women should be assured privacy in making their reproductive choices, 
and I oppose efforts to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in 
Roe v. Wade. It is my hope that the Reproductive Choice Act will be 
enacted to ensure that women in this country are able to make their own 
reproductive choices as established in the landmark Roe decision.

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