[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 10040-10041]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       RECOGNIZING NORTHEASTERN NEVADA HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM

  Mr. REID. Madam President, I rise today to congratulate the 
Northeastern Nevada Historical Society Museum on their acceptance to 
the American Association of Museums' Museum Assessment Program. The 
Northeastern Nevada Historical Society has been serving Nevada for 54 
years, preserving its history and educating communities. Through 
participation in the Museum Assessment Program, MAP, the museum will 
undertake extensive improvement projects for the benefit of the entire 
community.
  The Northeastern Nevada Historical Society Museum, located in Elko, 
is the only museum in Elko County and the largest museum in 
northeastern Nevada. The museum houses two history galleries, three art 
galleries, archives, a theatre, a gift shop, and an extensive library 
collection. The exhibits range from ``Murray'' the mastodon, a set of 
2-million-year-old mastodon bones discovered in northern Nevada, to 
modern abstract paintings. Every year 18,000 people from all parts of 
the country visit the museum. Children from five counties make field 
trips here to learn about Nevada, wildlife, and history. The museum 
also runs educational programming and hosts community events, making it 
one of northern Nevada's most treasured establishments.
  Last year, the Northeastern Nevada Historical Society was accepted 
into the prestigious Museum Assessment Program, which is an intense 
yearlong improvement process with three phases. In the first phase 
museums receive guidance from the American Association of Museums, AAM, 
in the form of written documents to help them asses their own 
effectiveness and areas for improvement. In the second phase, the 
museum is peer-reviewed through a visit by a surveyor. Together, the 
museum staff and surveyor design an improvement plan for the museum, 
which is implemented in the third phase of the program.
  The dedicated staff at the historical society worked tirelessly 
throughout the first few months of this year to complete the self-
assessment portion of the MAP program. Recently, they received a visit 
from a surveyor, with whom they developed a thorough museum improvement 
plan. Throughout this process, the historical society has shown the 
utmost dedication to meeting the highest standards in museum 
excellence.
  I am very thankful to the Northeastern Nevada Historical Society 
Museum for its work preserving Nevada's history. I have lived in Nevada 
all of my life and have been deeply influenced by our unique culture 
and history. The historical society aims to capture this culture and 
history and share them in a way that is engaging and educational. I am 
pleased to see that the American Association of Museums has recognized 
this goal and will be supporting the Northeastern Nevada Historical 
Society Museum in furthering it. The museum's commitment to the 
communities it serves is evidenced by its choice to participate in such 
a rigorous improvement program. I commend the Northeastern Nevada 
Historical Society for its dedication and look forward to its 
contribution to Nevada's communities for many years to come.
  Mr. COBURN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have my letter 
to the Senate minority leader regarding the Global Food Security Act, 
S. 384, printed in the Congressional Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                                  U.S. Senate,

                                                     May 27, 2010.
     Hon. Mitch McConnell,
     Senate Minority Leader, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator McConnell: I recently objected to a unanimous 
     consent request to pass S. 384, the Global Food Security Act.
       As you will recall, I sent a letter to the entire Senate at 
     the beginning of this Congress in which I outlined four basic 
     principles that would give me cause to object to any 
     legislation that violated them. Among them are the principles 
     that any new spending commitment authorized must be paid for 
     by reducing spending in other areas of the federal budget and 
     that any new programs or initiatives should not duplicate 
     existing ones.
       Along these lines I have two primary concerns with S. 384. 
     First, according to the Congressional Budget Office, this 
     bill will cost taxpayers $6.5 billion; yet, the legislation 
     provides no offset to avoid increasing our national debt, 
     which recently reached $13 trillion.
       Second, it appears several components of S. 384 may overlap 
     with existing federal programs and authority relating to 
     agricultural assistance and research. For example, S. 384 
     creates the Higher Education Collaboration for Technology, 
     Agriculture, Research and Extension program (HECTARE), which 
     authorizes research and teaching activities for academic 
     exchanges for students, faculty, extension educators, and 
     school administrators. However, according to the 
     Congressional Research Service, this section overlaps with 
     several programs at the Department of Agriculture (USDA). 
     Specifically, USDA already has research, extension and 
     teaching activities authorized in Section 1458 of the 2008 
     farm bill. Other farm bill programs, such as the Competitive 
     Grants for International Science and Education Programs (Sec. 
     1459A), the Borlaug International Agricultural Science and 
     Technology Fellowship Program (Sec. 1473G), and the Cochran 
     Agricultural Fellowship Program for Middle Income Countries, 
     Emerging Democracies and Emerging Markets (Sec. 1543) also 
     authorize USDA to carry out the kinds of activities that 
     would be funded by the HECTARE program.
       Additionally, this bill adds new provisions and authority 
     for conservation farming and other sustainable agriculture 
     techniques. At the same time, USAID already operates the 
     Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management 
     Collaborative Research Support Program, which American 
     universities carry out to support sustainable agriculture 
     research and natural resource management internationally. 
     USAID also operates the Consultative Group on Program, which 
     American universities carry out to support sustainable 
     agriculture research and natural resource management 
     internationally. USAID also operates the Consultative Group 
     on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), which is an 
     alliance of international agricultural centers that mobilizes 
     science to benefit the poor by promoting conservation and 
     sustainability of natural resources and biodiversity. 
     Further, the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service 
     conducts an International Technical Assistance program. 
     Through this program, the U.S. provides technical assistance 
     internationally to enhance conservation and management of 
     natural resources. Finally, one

[[Page 10041]]

     component of USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service's mission is 
     to provide food aid and technical assistance in foreign 
     countries.
       The statutory authorities to implement these initiatives 
     already exist. Congress should conduct better management of 
     programs already authorized rather than create new ones as 
     outlined in S. 384. The past failures of Congress to 
     streamline federal programs where appropriate have resulted 
     in a vast expansion of our government, often to the detriment 
     of taxpayers and in violation of the principles set forth in 
     the U.S. Constitution.
       During this time of national economic unrest, Congress must 
     do the hard work of paying for its commitments rather than 
     passing along debt to future generations and risking 
     financial collapse. Additionally, Congress must first 
     evaluate existing programs to eliminate or consolidate 
     overlapping functions before it creates new programs or 
     embarks on new initiatives.
       Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions you 
     may have. Thank you for your service to our country.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Tom A. Coburn,
     U.S. Senator.

                          ____________________