[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 75 (Wednesday, May 1, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3137-S3138]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. PADILLA:
  S. 4222. A bill to adjust the boundary of the Mojave National 
Preserve in the State of California to include the land within the 
Castle Mountains National Monument; to the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources.
  Mr. PADILLA. Madam President, I rise to introduce Mojave National 
Preserve Boundary Adjustment Act.
  The Mojave National Preserve Boundary Adjustment Act is a commonsense 
bill that would expand the Mojave National Preserve to include the land 
within the Castle Mountains National Monument.
  The Mojave National Preserve, located in Southern California in the 
Mojave Desert, was established by the 1994 California Desert Protection 
Act, which was one of the late Senator Feinstein's signature 
achievements. Today, the Mojave National Preserve is one of the largest 
national preserves within the continental United States and plays an 
important role in safeguarding a diverse group of ecological habitats, 
mountains, and canyons in the region.
  The adjacent Castle Mountains National Monument is surrounded on 
three sides by the Mojave National Preserve and is also home to 
important historic resources along with resident populations of and 
migratory corridors for desert bighorn sheep, quail, chukar, rabbit, 
mule deer, and other big game. Expanding the Mojave National Preserve 
to encompass Castle Mountains will simplify management of this vast 
desert landscape.
  I am proud to work with a broad range of stakeholders to introduce 
this commonsense legislation to expand the Mojave National Preserve. 
Doing so would allow the National Park Service to further the 
conservation values and permanent protections in the Mojave Desert 
while boosting public access and outdoor recreation to the area.
  I look forward to working with our colleagues to pass the Mojave 
National Preserve Boundary Adjustment Act as quickly as possible.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Wyden, Mr. 
        Fetterman, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Peters, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Warnock, 
        Ms. Butler, Mr. Welch, Ms. Smith, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Markey, 
        Mr. Lujan, Ms. Warren, Mr. Hickenlooper, Mr. Bennet, and Mr. 
        Padilla):
  S. 4226. A bill to decriminalize and deschedule cannabis, to provide 
for reinvestment in certain persons adversely impacted by the War on 
Drugs, to provide for expungement of certain cannabis offenses, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, over the decades, millions of 
Americans--most often Americans of color--have had their lives derailed 
and destroyed by our country's failed war on drugs. The consequences of 
this harmful campaign linger on to this very day. So I was pleased by 
yesterday's news that the DEA, under the Biden administration, is 
preparing to take a truly historic step: rescheduling cannabis from a 
schedule I substance to a schedule III substance under the Controlled 
Substances Act.
  Reclassifying cannabis is a necessary and long overdue step, but it 
is not at all the end of the story. It is time for Congress to wake up 
to the times and do its part by passing the cannabis reform that most 
Americans have long called for. It is past time for Congress to catch 
up with public opinion and to catch up with the science.
  So, today, I am proud to join with my colleagues Senators Booker and 
Wyden to reintroduce the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, a 
comprehensive and necessary update to the Federal Government's approach 
to cannabis. I am proud to be the first majority leader ever to call 
for an end to the marijuana prohibition because I have seen both the 
consequences of outdated drug laws and the benefits of commonsense 
cannabis regulation at the State level, and it is time for Congress to 
follow suit.
  Support for cannabis reform is growing in the Senate. Our bill now 
has 18 sponsors, the most ever for this bill. We will keep working to 
build more support because when liberals and conservatives and 
activists and entrepreneurs and veterans groups can all come together 
on one issue, that is a clear sign the momentum is real.
  I am very proud of the bill we are releasing today. Our legislation 
will finally remove marijuana from the Federal list of controlled 
substances. It will expunge the criminal records of so many Americans 
with low-level marijuana offenses that haunt them--inhibit them--for 
decades. And it will help our country close the book, once and for all, 
on the awful and harmful and failed War on Drugs, which all too often 
has been nothing more than a war on Americans of color.
  In short, our bill is about individual freedom and basic fairness. We 
cannot tolerate any longer the tragedy of the young person getting 
arrested because they have a small amount of marijuana in their pocket.
  For years, that is all it took--getting caught with a little bit of 
marijuana--for you to get saddled with a serious criminal record that 
prevented you from getting a good job, buying a home, getting ahead in 
life. And, of course, this injustice happens predominantly in Black and 
Latino communities. That is unfair. It is un-American. And our bill 
will right this grave wrong.
  In place of the War on Drugs, our bill would lay the foundation for 
something very different: a just and responsible and commonsense 
approach to cannabis regulation. It would call for new guidelines on 
how marijuana products are labeled, require new standards to prevent 
impaired driving, require HHS and NIH to support research into 
cannabis's health aspects, and more. Our bill, if passed, would close 
the door on outdated and very harmful modes of thinking at the Federal 
level, while allowing for reform and sensible regulation to take root.
  So, again, I want to thank Senators Booker and Wyden for being 
terrific partners in putting this bill together. It has been a 
longstanding effort, one that has required a lot of feedback from the 
public and a lot of perseverance.
  As Senate majority leader, I will continue to push for every chance 
we get to bring cannabis policy into the 21st century, and passing our 
bill would be an excellent way to make that happen.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. PADILLA (for himself and Ms. Butler):
  S. 4227. A bill to amend the California Desert Protection Act of 1994 
to expand the boundary of Joshua Tree National Park; to the Committee 
on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. PADILLA. Madam President, I rise to introduce legislation to 
expand the Joshua Tree National Park by approximately 17,842 acres of 
public lands.
  In 2016, the National Park Service, in cooperation with the Bureau of 
Land Management, prepared the Eagle Mountain Boundary Study for an area 
Mountains, located in Riverside County, CA. The purpose of the study 
and environmental assessment was to consider whether to expand Joshua 
Tree National Park to include additional lands and to develop 
alternatives for protecting cultural, natural, and scenic resources 
related to the purpose of the national park.
  NPS' selected alternative recommends expanding the National Park by 
the more than 17,000 acres of federally managed lands covered by my 
legislation. Notably, these lands are adjacent to the national park. 
NPS found

[[Page S3138]]

that doing so could allow for greater protection of existing habitat, 
restoration opportunities, and landscape connectivity for wildlife such 
as bighorn sheep, as well as new visitor opportunities.
  I urge my colleagues to swiftly pass this straightforward boundary 
adjustment as soon as possible.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. PADILLA (for himself and Ms. Butler):
  S. 4228. A bill to redesignate the Cottonwood Visitor Center at 
Joshua Tree National Park as the ``Senator Dianne Feinstein Visitor 
Center''; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. PADILLA. Madam President, I rise to introduce legislation to 
rename the visitor center at Joshua Tree National Park in honor of 
Senator Dianne Feinstein.
  This legislation would redesignate the Cottonwood Visitor Center at 
Joshua Tree National Park to the ``Senator Dianne Feinstein Visitor 
Center.''
  Dianne Feinstein was a towering figure not just in modern California 
politics but in the history of our State and our Nation. Her 
contributions to our Nation, particularly in environmental 
conservation, are a reminder of the public power of public service. For 
Californians, so much of our lands have been preserved thanks to her 
singular drive and leadership, from the redwoods of the Headwaters and 
the San Francisco Bay, to Lake Tahoe and, most notably, the California 
desert.
  Senator Feinstein was known as a great protector of the California 
desert, and some have lovingly referred to her as the ``Queen of the 
Desert''. Senator Feinstein was the driving force behind the 
establishment of Joshua Tree National Park, Death Valley National Park, 
the Mojave National Preserve, the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains 
National Monument, the Mojave Trails National Monument, the Sand to 
Snow National Monument, and the Castle Mountains National Monument. In 
all, it is estimated that Senator Feinstein protected over 3 million 
acres of the California desert.
  In 2019, on the 25th anniversary of the passage of Senator 
Feinstein's landmark California Desert Protection Act, Senator 
Feinstein wrote: ``When I think of the California desert, I think of 
magnificent landscapes and mountain vistas. I think of beautiful 
species like bighorn sheep, mule deer and desert tortoises. I think of 
unique vegetation like the beautiful wildflower blooms and iconic 
Joshua trees. And I think of the long history of local Native American 
tribes. The California desert is a true American treasure. Our efforts 
over the past 25 years have resulted in the largest areas of public 
lands protected in the lower 48 states--that is something truly to 
celebrate.''
  It is only fitting that we celebrate Senator Feinstein's memory by 
renaming the visitor center at Joshua Tree National Park in her honor. 
I look forward to working with my colleagues to enact this legislation 
as soon as possible.

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