Wayne Allard

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. Will the Senator yield?

Mr. ALLARD. These are unbelievably intrusive. I congratulate the chairman of the Banking Committee for his hard work, and, in particular, my colleague from Pennsylvania. He has really stepped forward on this issue, doing a great job on the Banking Committee. It is a pleasure to work with both of you on this issue.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. The amendment----

Mr. ALLARD. If the Senator will yield, I recognize that the amendment I introduced in the committee was broad. We made that adjustment on the amendment that was voted on this morning.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and, finally, that any statements related to the bill appear at this point in the Record.

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senate bill 447 be discharged from the Labor Committee and, further, that the Senate proceed to its consideration.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the immediate consideration of Senate Resolution 55 submitted earlier today by Senators Lott and Daschle.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. I now ask for its second reading and would object to my own request.

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I understand that Senate bill 508, which was introduced earlier by Senators Santorum and Allard, is at the desk, and I ask that it be read the first time.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary Committee be discharged from further consideration of Senate Resolution 48 and the Senate proceed to its consideration.

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the resolution appear in the Record.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask unanimous consent that the injunction of secrecy be removed from the following treaty transmitted to the Senate on March 2, 1999, by the President of the United States: The Extradition Treaty Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Korea (Treaty Document 106-2). I further ask that the treaty be considered as having been read the first time; that it be referred, with accompanying papers, to the Committee on Foreign Relations and ordered to be printed; and that the President's message be printed in the Record.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the immediate consideration of Senate Resolution 56 introduced earlier today by Senators Coverdell and Torricelli.

Mr. ALLARD. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the resolution appear at this point in the Record.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now return to legislative session.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate immediately proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination on the Executive Calendar: No. 9. I finally ask unanimous consent that the nomination be confirmed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, any statements relating to the nomination appear at this point in the Record, the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the Senate then return to legislative session.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. I now ask for its second reading and would object to my own request.

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I understand that H.R. 350 is at the desk. I ask for its first reading.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed en bloc to the immediate consideration of Senate resolutions 51 and 52, which are on the calendar. I further ask consent that the resolutions be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, wilderness is described in the law as lands that are, ``* * * in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, * * * an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.'' With today's introduction of the Spanish Peaks Wilderness bill congressmen Scott McInnis, Bob Schaffer and I are setting aside around 18,000 acres of land that more than meets the intent of the authors of the 1964 Wilderness Act. This land will be an important addition to wilderness in Colorado. Spanish Peaks had been considered for inclusion in previous wilderness bills. However, because of unresolved issues it was not appropriate to designate it in the past. Those issues included various inholdings, the use of an old access road in the wilderness area, as well as the potential coal bed methane production on portions of the land. Those issues have either been resolved in this bill or they have been resolved through other methods. The resolution of these issues has maintained the integrity of the proposed wilderness area as well as protecting the needs of the local community. Because of this, the legislation should have the backing of the local community, Colorado environmental groups, and the majority of the Colorado delegation. There is no reason why it cannot be passed quickly. All Colorado wilderness bills should go through the process this bill went through. Congressman McInnis, Congressman Schaffer and I decided that cooperation, consensus, and communication were essential to success. Therefore, we casted our net broadly for concerns, and when they were raised in good faith we actually sat down and worked them out. I have been struck by the fact that when people are given the opportunity to be part of the process they feel like they have a stake in the outcome and they try to be constructive in their criticisms. Because of constructive critics like the Huerfano County Commissioners, this legislation is better now then it was when they first looked at it. Whil the legislation is complete, we are still seeking clarification on one point. The Huerfano County Commissioners are seeking to have a trail that is slightly inside the wilderness area, as designated in the legislation, excluded. My staff has spoken with the local Forest Service staffer and they appear to have no objection to this change. It is still uncertain whether we actually need to change the legislation to do this or whether the map can be adjusted by the Forest Service without any legislative changes. If it is the former than we will make that change prior to passing it out of the Senate. If it is the latter, we will exchange letters with the Forest Service to ensure we are talking about the same trail in the same place. This change should not be of concern. It is only slightly inside the boundaries and any changes we make to exclude it would be of only a slight impact on the entire designation. I want to thank Congressman McInnis, Congressman Schaffer, and the local community for working through this process. When the Colorado delegation works as a team they work the best for the State of Colorado.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I now ask that the Senate stand in adjournment under the previous order.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to a period for morning business with members permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. ALLARD

Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, wilderness is described in the law as lands that are, ``* * * in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, * * * an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.'' With today's introduction of the Spanish Peaks Wilderness bill congressmen Scott McInnis, Bob Schaffer and I are setting aside around 18,000 acres of land that more than meets the intent of the authors of the 1964 Wilderness Act. This land will be an important addition to wilderness in Colorado. Spanish Peaks had been considered for inclusion in previous wilderness bills. However, because of unresolved issues it was not appropriate to designate it in the past. Those issues included various inholdings, the use of an old access road in the wilderness area, as well as the potential coal bed methane production on portions of the land. Those issues have either been resolved in this bill or they have been resolved through other methods. The resolution of these issues has maintained the integrity of the proposed wilderness area as well as protecting the needs of the local community. Because of this, the legislation should have the backing of the local community, Colorado environmental groups, and the majority of the Colorado delegation. There is no reason why it cannot be passed quickly. All Colorado wilderness bills should go through the process this bill went through. Congressman McInnis, Congressman Schaffer and I decided that cooperation, consensus, and communication were essential to success. Therefore, we casted our net broadly for concerns, and when they were raised in good faith we actually sat down and worked them out. I have been struck by the fact that when people are given the opportunity to be part of the process they feel like they have a stake in the outcome and they try to be constructive in their criticisms. Because of constructive critics like the Huerfano County Commissioners, this legislation is better now then it was when they first looked at it. Whil the legislation is complete, we are still seeking clarification on one point. The Huerfano County Commissioners are seeking to have a trail that is slightly inside the wilderness area, as designated in the legislation, excluded. My staff has spoken with the local Forest Service staffer and they appear to have no objection to this change. It is still uncertain whether we actually need to change the legislation to do this or whether the map can be adjusted by the Forest Service without any legislative changes. If it is the former than we will make that change prior to passing it out of the Senate. If it is the latter, we will exchange letters with the Forest Service to ensure we are talking about the same trail in the same place. This change should not be of concern. It is only slightly inside the boundaries and any changes we make to exclude it would be of only a slight impact on the entire designation. I want to thank Congressman McInnis, Congressman Schaffer, and the local community for working through this process. When the Colorado delegation works as a team they work the best for the State of Colorado.