[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 16197-16198]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 APPOINTMENT OF CONFEREES ON H.R. 4578, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND 
               RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2001

  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the 
Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 4578) making appropriations for the 
Department of Interior and related agencies for the fiscal year ending 
September 30, 2001, and for other purposes, with a Senate amendment 
thereto, disagree to the Senate amendment, and agree to the conference 
asked by the Senate.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hutchinson). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.


                Motion to Instruct Offered by Mr. Dicks

  Mr. DICKS. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion to instruct conferees.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Mr. Dicks moves that the managers on the part of the House 
     at the conference on the

[[Page 16198]]

     disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the bill, H.R. 4578, 
     be instructed to insist on funding for the Institute of 
     Museum and Library Services at a level not less than the 
     $24,907,000 provided in the Senate amendment.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Washington (Mr. Dicks) 
and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula) each will be recognized for 30 
minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Dicks).
  Mr. DICKS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, the small increase for the Institute for Museum and 
Library Services will help address, which is only $600,000, I might 
add, some of the critical needs in this country of our museums and 
libraries.
  The dramatic advances in technology, increasing diversity in our 
population and growing demands for learning across a lifetime requires 
museums and libraries to provide service in new ways. This is a small 
but vitally important increase. It is my hope that a favorable vote on 
this motion to instruct conferees will demonstrate the support for 
these programs, and I urge support for the motion.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the 
distinguished gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter).
  Ms. SLAUGHTER. I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.
  Mr. Speaker, perhaps more than any other institution, museums 
consistently give the American people a real glimpse into our past. 
Walk a few feet outside the door of the Capitol and you see hundreds of 
people from all over the country and the world touring through the many 
museums here in Washington. These visits give both adults and children 
a sense of our own history and culture as well as those of other 
nations. That is why I believe it makes good sense to provide the 
Institute for Museum and Library Services with the funding increase 
suggested by this motion.
  In 1995, the budget for the Institution of Museum and Library 
Services was cut by more than 25 percent. Since then, the IMLS has seen 
only extremely modest increases in their funding levels. This motion to 
instruct provides much needed and very affordable relief by directing 
the conferees to accept a $600,000 increase for this agency, an amount 
that was responsibly added to this bill by the other body. This 
Institute of Museum and Library Services oversees America's 8,000 
museums, connects schools, libraries and other institutions with many 
wonderful resources within their walls. With additional funding, IMLS 
can continue to administer the wonderful programs that connect our 
youth with history and expose all of us to worlds we have yet to know.
  In an era where technology takes center stage in our society, we need 
new programs more than ever and not to forget to emphasize art, 
culture, and history. If we give these services nothing more than level 
funding, we send a message to the younger generation that it is okay to 
forget your past, it is okay not to have a place where individuals can 
see evidence of the greatness that came before them. Unless we approve 
this motion, we are contributing to the slow death of arts and culture 
in America. We owe our constituents much more than that.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to vote in favor of the 
motion to instruct.
  Mr. DICKS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this motion to instruct is a very small and modest 
amount for the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and it just 
requests that we take the Senate level, which was $600,000 above the 
House level, a good program. I urge adoption of the motion.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. DICKS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, I yield 
back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the 
motion.
  The previous question was ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to instruct 
offered by the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Dicks).
  The motion was agreed to.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection the Chair appoints the 
following conferees: Messrs. Regula, Kolbe, Skeen, Taylor of North 
Carolina, Nethercutt, Wamp, Kingston, Peterson of Pennsylvania, Young 
of Florida, Dicks, Murtha, Moran of Virginia, Cramer, Hinchey, and 
Obey.
  There was no objection.

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