Jeff Bingaman

Mr. BINGAMAN

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public that a hearing has been scheduled before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests. The hearing will be held on Wednesday, July 16, 2008, at 2:30 p.m., in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on the following bills: 2354, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey 4 parcels of land from the Bureau of Land Management to the city of Twin Falls, Idaho; S. 3065, to establish the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area and the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness Area; S. 3069, to designate certain land as wilderness in the State of California, and for other purposes; S. 3085, to require the Secretary of the Interior to establish a cooperative watershed management program, and for other purposes; H.R. 3473, to provide for a land exchange with the City of Bountiful, Utah, involving National Forest System land in the Wasatch- Cache National Forest and to further land ownership consolidation in that national forest, and for other purposes; H.R. 3490, to transfer administrative jurisdiction of certain Federal lands from the Bureau of Land Management to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, to take such lands into trust for Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians of the Tuolumne Rancheria, and for other purposes; and H.R. 3651, to require the conveyance of certain public land within the boundaries of Camp Williams, Utah, to support the training and readiness of the Utah National Guard. Because of the limited time available for the hearing, witnesses may testify by invitation only. However, those wishing to submit written testimony for the hearing record should send it to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510-6150, or by email to rachel_pasternack@energy.senate .gov. For further information, please contact David Brooks at (202) 224- 9863 or Rachel Pasternack at (202) 224-0883. Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public that the location has been changed for an upcoming hearing before the Subcommittee on National Parks. The hearing will be held on Monday, July 21, 2008, at 9:30 a.m., the new location: Alumni Hall, Highsmith Union, University of North Carolina Asheville, One University Heights, Asheville, North Carolina. The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony regarding the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory of all species within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Specifically, the hearing will address: (1) How much has been learned up to this point and at what cost? (2) What is left to be done and what is the estimated time and cost to complete the inventory? (3) How has the data been used and are there other ways to use it? (4) What changes, if any, should be made in the program and (5) Should the program be expanded to include other National Parks? Because of the limited time available for the hearing, witnesses may testify by invitation only. However, those wishing to submit written testimony for the hearing record should send it to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510-6150, or by email to rachel_pasternack@energy.senate .gov. For further information, please contact Kira Finkler at (202) 224- 5523 or Rachel Pasternack at (202) 224-0883.

Mr. BINGAMAN

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, how much time remains on this side?

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I will use a maximum of 5 minutes to respond to some of the points that were made. First, let me say how much respect I have for Senator Grassley. He is the ranking member on our Finance Committee. He is a very conscientious and fair individual with whom I have enjoyed working on many matters. On this particular issue, I disagree with him. Let me point out there were three arguments made: First, that this is not bipartisan; it is clearly not the bipartisan agreement he and Senator Baucus were working to develop, but it is clearly a bipartisan agreement. I am informed that 129 Republicans in the House voted for this bill. That is two-thirds of the Republicans who serve in the House. The vote in the House was 355 in favor. So this is a bipartisan bill by any definition. The fact that it has come from the House of Representatives rather than originating in the Senate, of course, is another matter. But it is bipartisan. The second point, of course, is that there are important things that have been left out. I do not doubt that there are important things that have been left out and that I would like to see included. But the reality is, we have a bill that does important things; particularly, it heads off the expected cut in physician payments that is scheduled to occur next Tuesday. That is a very important provision. And I think it makes all the sense in the world for us to pass what we have in front of us, pass what the House of Representatives has passed, fix the problems that legislation fixes, and then come back at a future time and try to solve these other problems, many of which I am sure I would wind up agreeing with my colleague from Iowa. The third point is that we should oppose this because the President has said he would veto it. Frankly, I am not clear as to the substantive reason the President thinks this bill should be vetoed. I believe strongly that the way the system is intended to operate is, Congress sends bills to the President. If he vetoes them, then Congress sees whether it has got enough votes to override the veto. If we do not, of course we have to take a different course. In this circumstance, it looks to me like at least the House of Representatives has enough votes to override a Presidential veto, if the President were to take that course. I do not know what we would have in the Senate. I hope very much we would have the necessary 67 votes. I think it would certainly be in the interests of the people I represent in New Mexico to see this legislation enacted and enacted quickly. So I urge my colleagues to support it and hope that colleagues on both sides of the aisle will support the legislation.

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

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that any time under a quorum call on this bill be equally divided.

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BINGAMAN

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2008, a collection of over 90 individual bills that have been reported by the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. This legislation follows enactment of the Consolidated Natural Resources Act, Public Law 110-229, which was signed into law last month. That act was successful in combining together several bills which were not able to pass the Senate individually. It is my hope that the Omnibus Public Land Management Act will similarly facilitate the passage of the remaining bills which have been reported by the Energy and Natural Resources Committee during this Congress. For the information of the Senate and the public, I ask unanimous consent that the table of contents listing the various measures included in this bill be printed in the Record. There bein no objection, the material as ordered to be placed in the Record, as follows: Sec. 1. Short title Sec. 2. Table of Contents

Mr. BINGAMAN

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public that a hearing has been scheduled before the Subcommittee on Water and Power. The hearing will be held on Tuesday, July 8, 2008, at 2:30 p.m., in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC. The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on the following bills: S. 2842, to require the Secretary of the Interior to carry out annual inspections of canals, levees, tunnels, dikes, pumping plants, dams, and reservoirs under the jurisdiction of the Secretary, and for other purposes; S. 2974, to provide for the construction of the Arkansas Valley Conduit in the State of Colorado; H.R. 3323, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey a water distribution system to the Goleta Water District, and for other purposes.; and S. 3189, to amend Public Law 106-392 to require the Administrator of the Western Area Power Administration and the Commissioner of Reclamation to maintain sufficient revenues in the Upper Colorado River Basin Fund, and for other purposes. Because of the limited time available for the hearing, witnesses may testify by invitation only. However, those wishing to submit written testimony for the hearing record should send it to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510-6150, or by e-mail to Gina_Weinstock@energy.senate .gov. For further information, please contact Michael Connor at (202) 224- 5479 or Gina Weinstock at (202) 224-5684.

Mr. BINGAMAN

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public of an addition to a previously announced hearing before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests. The hearing will be held on July 9, 2008, at 2:30 p.m. in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. In addition to the other measures previously announced, the Subcommittee will also consider S. 3179, a bill to authorize the conveyance of certain public land in the State of New Mexico owned or leased by the Department of Energy, and for other purposes. Because of the limited time available for the hearing, witnesses may testify by invitation only. However, those wishing to submit written testimony for the hearing record should send it to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510-6150, or by email to rachel_pasternack@energy.senate .gov. For further information, please contact David Brooks at (202) 224- 9863 or Rachel Pasternack at (202) 224-0883.

Mr. BINGAMAN

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public that a hearing has been scheduled before Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests. The hearing will be held on Wednesday, July 9, 2008, at 2:30 p.m. in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on the following bills: S. 2443 and H.R. 2246, to provide for the release of any reversionary interest of the United States in and to certain lands in Reno, Nevada; S. 2779, to amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to clarify that uncertified States and Indian tribes have the authority to use certain payments for certain noncoal reclamation projects; S. 2875, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide grants to designated States and tribes to carry out programs to reduce the risk of livestock loss due to predation by gray wolves and other predator species or to compensate landowners for livestock loss due to predation; S. 2898 and H.R. 816, to provide for the release of certain land from the Sunrise Mountain Instant Study Area in the State of Nevada; S. 3088, to designate certain land in the State of Oregon as wilderness, and for other purposes; S. 3089, to designate certain land in the State of Oregon as wilderness, and for other purposes; S. 3089, to designate certain land in the State of Oregon as wilderness, to provide for the exchange of certain Federal land and non-Federal land, and for other purposes; and S. 3157, to provide for the exchange and conveyance of certain National Forest System land and other land in southeast Arizona, and for other purposes. Because of the limited time available for the hearing, witnesses may testify by invitation only. However, those wishing to submit written testimony for the hearing record should send it to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510-6150, or by email to rachel_pasternack@energy.senate .gov. For further information, please contact David Brooks at (202) 224- 9863 or Rachel Pasternack at (202) 224-0883.

Mr. BINGAMAN

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public that an oversight hearing has been scheduled. The hearing will be held on Wednesday, June 25, 2008, at 9:30 a.m., in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on the challenges to meeting future energy needs and to developing the technologies for meeting increased global energy demand in the context of the need to address global climate change. Because of the limited time available for the hearing, witnesses may testify by invitation only. However, those wishing to submit written testimony for the hearing record may do so by sending it to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510-6150, or by e-mail to Rosemarie_Calabro@ energy.senate.gov. For further information, please contact Alicia Jackson at (202) 224- 3607 or Rosemarie Calabro at (202) 224-5039.

Mr. BINGAMAN

Mr. BINGAMAN. Madam President, I wish to call attention to the arrest of seven Baha'i leaders in Iran earlier this month. On May 14, six Iranian Baha'i leaders--Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm, all of Tehran--were arrested and reportedly taken to Evin Prison, the same facility where Haleh Esfandiari, director of the Middle East Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars here in Washington, spent 105 days last year. In addition, on March 5, another Baha'i leader, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, also of Tehran, was summoned to the city of Mashhad by the Ministry of Intelligence. I am concerned that these arrests signal an escalation of repression against the Baha'i community in Iran. These actions do not befit the rich heritage of Iranian civilization, and I call upon the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran to release the seven Baha'i leaders promptly and unconditionally.

Mr. BINGAMAN

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

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I will speak very briefly here to call to the attention of all Senators the very important decision that was just handed down this morning by the Supreme Court regarding the prisoners who are detained in Guantanamo. The Supreme Court has once again rejected the administration's approach in disregarding basic due process rights and our Nation's longstanding commitment to the rule of law. The Court, in a decision written by Justice Kennedy, held that individuals detained at Guantanamo have a constitutional right to challenge their prolonged detention in civilian courts. Furthermore, the Supreme Court found that the Military Commissions Act of 2006 amounted to an unconstitutional suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. The Court today reiterated that the Great Writ, the writ of habeas corpus, remains as a fundamental protector of individual liberty and as a safeguard against arbitrary detention by the Government. This right, which is enshrined in our Constitution, simply allows for an independent and meaningful review of a person's confinement by the Government. Nothing in today's decision requires that the Government release the prisoners held at Guantanamo. Many of those prisoners have been held there for over 6 years without access to meaningful judicial review. The decision simply allows these individuals to ask a court whether their continued confinement is in accordance with our Constitution. The President has asserted extraordinary authority to indefinitely imprison anyone he designates as a so-called enemy combatant--that would include U.S. citizens, according to the administration's legal position--and that that detention could continue without any judicial review. It is time that we change course and recognize that acting in a manner consistent with our Constitution and with our core American values is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign of our strength and a sign of who we are as a people. I am very pleased that our highest Court has reaffirmed our Nation's respect for the rule of law and sent a clear message that the Constitution remains strong. I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BINGAMAN

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, how much time remains?

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I am glad to come to the Senate floor and join my colleagues in talking about the unfortunate votes that were cast this morning--one to go ahead and consider legislation to try to deal with the price of gasoline. That was the first vote where, unfortunately, we rejected the effort to proceed to that bill. The majority of Republican Members chose not to proceed to that bill, which was unfortunate. The second vote was to proceed to a bill that has the effect of extending the provisions that are currently in the Tax Code and particularly to extend tax provisions that are intended to encourage clean energy development. I wish to talk about that second bill in particular because it is one I have been involved in and have followed and supported for some time now. The incentives we have in current law to encourage alternative energy development--wind energy, wind energy farms, wind turbine farms, solar energy developments in this country--most of those incentives were put into place in the current form in 2005 when we passed the Energy bill. There was great fanfare and rejoicing when we passed that. The President signed that bill in my home State of New Mexico, in Albuquerque. He rightfully took credit for the fact that this was being enacted, and he talked about the importance of these energy tax provisions. I did not realize when we did that in 2005 that it was the administration's intent to allow those tax provisions to expire at the end of 2008. I thought the idea was that we would keep those in place long enough that we would provide incentives for people to pursue these alternative options. We have now tried three times in this Congress to extend those energy tax provisions, and we have failed three times. So I rise to express deep disappointment and frustration with that vote. The implications of the vote are profound if we cannot persuade our colleagues to change their position. Clearly, if it is going to be our national policy that we are not extending these tax provisions, then we are going to suffer environmental consequences from continued reliance on power generated from fossil fuels; our efforts to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil will be cut short; our ability to create high-paying green jobs in these new energy sectors will come to nought; and our effort to promote research and development in these new industries will certainly not materialize. It is a sad day for us in the Senate; we are not able to move ahead and do this. The first time this issue came up, the first time we tried to extend these tax provisions, the argument was that the offsets are the problem; you folks are trying to reduce the tax benefits enjoyed by the oil and gas industry in order to provide revenue to pay for these alternative energy tax provisions, and that is the objectionable part. I did not agree with that argument. I voted to extend the alternative energy tax provisions and pay for it in that way, but I think the House of Representatives has heard that message and the House of Representatives has now sent us a bill, which is the bill we were trying to proceed to today, which does not try to pay for these extensions of alternative energy tax provisions by reducing tax benefits for the oil and gas industry. It leaves the oil and gas industry alone, and it finds some alternative ways to make up that lost revenue. The alternatives are ones which, to my mind, are very meritorious. Of course, under our rules in the Senate that we have adopted in the Congress, we have to find a way to make up the revenue being lost. That is why we are pushing to do so, and it is the responsible thing to do. The alternative, of course, is to borrow more money from our friends overseas, to run up the deficit and let our grandchildren worry about it at some point down the road. That is not a responsible course. One of the bill's offsets that we were trying to proceed to today would delay a tax benefit known as the worldwide interest allocation. That is a tax benefit that has not gone into effect. We would delay the effective date of it, again, for some period. There are a lot of corporations that have indicated to us they would support going ahead and delaying that benefit. This is not a tax increase from current law; this is keeping current law where it is. The other offset would be to close a loophole that enables hedge fund managers to defer compensation by investing wages in offshore investment funds. This proposal would end that deferral, would require the hedge fund managers recognize the compensation that they receive as income when it is paid. This proposal does not increase taxes; it simply changes the timing of tax liabilities. Describing this loophole, the New York Times says: Many hedge fund managers are enjoying not only extraordinary profits, but the extra benefit of a system almost encouraging them to set up offshore accounts. What we were trying to do in this legislation is to say let's not encourage them to set up offshore accounts by giving them tax incentives to do so. That is a reasonable position, and it is one that we should definitely be enacting into law. I know 44 Members of this Chamber voted ``no'' in our effort to proceed to consider this bill.

Mr. BINGAMAN. Madam President, I do not see additional colleagues here. I ask for an additional 2 minutes.

Mr. BINGAMAN. I appreciate it. As I said, 44 Members of the Senate voted not to proceed to consider this bill and instead, I gather, to protect a handful of hedge fund managers from having to pay the normal tax that ought to be levied on each American when they get compensated. Clearly, I think we have lost sight of our priorities. I know this is an election year. I know there are powerful special interests that are always saying just vote no, always resist whatever is proposed. The simple fact is, if we are going to turn the page, if we are going to turn the corner on our future energy needs, we are going to have to move ahead and put in place some policies that will encourage alternative energy development. We have fallen short in doing that now three times in this Congress. I hope we do not continue to fall short. I urge my colleagues to reconsider this, and I hope the majority leader will find a way to bring this issue back to the full Senate, even this week, if possible, so we can get a positive vote to proceed with this legislation. Madam President, I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BINGAMAN

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise today with my colleague Senator Hatch to introduce legislation to acknowledge the heroic contributions of American ex-prisoners of war who were forced into slave labor by the Imperial Government of Japan during the Second World War. The bill would award a one-time compensation of $20,000 to each surviving veteran, government employee, or government contractor who was imprisoned by the Japanese during World War II and forced to perform slave labor to support Japan's war effort. The bill would also extend that compensation to surviving spouses of such veterans or employees. While this compensation is only a small token of our Nation's gratitude, it is my hope that it serves as recognition of the vital military contributions and sacrifices made by these individuals, particularly as those Americans who sacrificed so much approach their final years. From December 1941 to April 1942, American military forces stationed in the Philippines fought valiantly for almost 6 months against overwhelming Japanese military forces on the Bataan peninsula. As a result of that prolonged conflict, U.S. forces prevented Japan from achieving its strategic objective of capturing Australia and thereby dooming Allied hopes in the Pacific theater from the outset of the war. Once captured by the Japanese, American prisoners of war in the Philippines endured the infamous ``Death March'' during which approximately 730 Americans died en route to the notorious Japanese prison camp north of Manila. Of the survivors of the March, more than 5,000 more Americans perished during the first 6 months of captivity. The Japanese forced many of those who survived captivity to embark on ``hell ships''--unmarked merchant ships--to be transported to Japan to work as slave laborers in company-owned mines, shipyards, and factories. Tragically, many of our own men perished in those unmarked vessels, victims of attacks by American military aircraft and submarines who were unaware that American POWs were aboard those ships. The stories of other American military and civilian employees captured by the Japanese at Wake Island, Java, Manchuria, Taiwan, and other locations in the Pacific and enslaved to support the war effort are equally compelling. The heroic performance of our soldiers at Bataan and during incarceration in POW camps earned them well-deserved citations following the war. For example, the 200th and 515th Coastal Artillery units from New Mexico that served to defend the retreating troops at Bataan received three Presidential Unit Citations and the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for their heroism. New Mexico is particularly proud of these men whose heroism I seek to salute through this legislation today. Sadly, the Americans who were enslaved by Japan have never been adequately compensated for the excruciating sacrifices they made while in Japanese military and company prisons and labor camps. In the War Claims Acts of 1948 and 1952, our Government paid former U.S. prisoners of war $1.00 per day for ``missed meals'' during their captivity, and later, $1.50 per day for ``forced labor, pain, and suffering.'' Even those paltry compensations were not widely known about or received by all veterans who qualified for them. In addition, efforts to obtain appropriate compensation from the Government of Japan, or from Japanese companies through litigation, have been unsuccessful and are not likely to succeed in a timely enough manner to compensate surviving veterans or others who would be eligible. Other Allied nations have already set international precedent to honor their enslaved veterans. Allied governments, including Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Norway, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom have authorized compensation gratuities. For example, in 1998, the Canadian Government authorized the payment of $15,600, Canadian dollars, to veterans who were captured in Hong Kong and enslaved by the Japanese. And in 2000, Prime Minister Tony Blair announced a multi- million pound compensation fund for former enslaved Japanese prisoners of war in recognition of their heroic experiences. It is long overdue for our own Nation to provide similar compensation to those who gave so much to defend and preserve our freedom. Approximately 10 years have passed since I began advocating for passage of this type of compensation, and in that time, many of these brave heroes who deserve recognition have already passed away. Fortunately, Congress still has time to honor those individuals who are alive today to share their courageous and heartrending stories. For this reason, I believe the Congress should avoid any further delay and act as soon as possible to enact this important legislation. I thank Senator Hatch for agreeing to cosponsor this legislation, and I urge my fellow Senators to support it.

Mr. BINGAMAN

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise today with my colleague Senator Hatch to introduce legislation to acknowledge the heroic contributions of American ex-prisoners of war who were forced into slave labor by the Imperial Government of Japan during the Second World War. The bill would award a one-time compensation of $20,000 to each surviving veteran, government employee, or government contractor who was imprisoned by the Japanese during World War II and forced to perform slave labor to support Japan's war effort. The bill would also extend that compensation to surviving spouses of such veterans or employees. While this compensation is only a small token of our Nation's gratitude, it is my hope that it serves as recognition of the vital military contributions and sacrifices made by these individuals, particularly as those Americans who sacrificed so much approach their final years. From December 1941 to April 1942, American military forces stationed in the Philippines fought valiantly for almost 6 months against overwhelming Japanese military forces on the Bataan peninsula. As a result of that prolonged conflict, U.S. forces prevented Japan from achieving its strategic objective of capturing Australia and thereby dooming Allied hopes in the Pacific theater from the outset of the war. Once captured by the Japanese, American prisoners of war in the Philippines endured the infamous ``Death March'' during which approximately 730 Americans died en route to the notorious Japanese prison camp north of Manila. Of the survivors of the March, more than 5,000 more Americans perished during the first 6 months of captivity. The Japanese forced many of those who survived captivity to embark on ``hell ships''--unmarked merchant ships--to be transported to Japan to work as slave laborers in company-owned mines, shipyards, and factories. Tragically, many of our own men perished in those unmarked vessels, victims of attacks by American military aircraft and submarines who were unaware that American POWs were aboard those ships. The stories of other American military and civilian employees captured by the Japanese at Wake Island, Java, Manchuria, Taiwan, and other locations in the Pacific and enslaved to support the war effort are equally compelling. The heroic performance of our soldiers at Bataan and during incarceration in POW camps earned them well-deserved citations following the war. For example, the 200th and 515th Coastal Artillery units from New Mexico that served to defend the retreating troops at Bataan received three Presidential Unit Citations and the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation for their heroism. New Mexico is particularly proud of these men whose heroism I seek to salute through this legislation today. Sadly, the Americans who were enslaved by Japan have never been adequately compensated for the excruciating sacrifices they made while in Japanese military and company prisons and labor camps. In the War Claims Acts of 1948 and 1952, our Government paid former U.S. prisoners of war $1.00 per day for ``missed meals'' during their captivity, and later, $1.50 per day for ``forced labor, pain, and suffering.'' Even those paltry compensations were not widely known about or received by all veterans who qualified for them. In addition, efforts to obtain appropriate compensation from the Government of Japan, or from Japanese companies through litigation, have been unsuccessful and are not likely to succeed in a timely enough manner to compensate surviving veterans or others who would be eligible. Other Allied nations have already set international precedent to honor their enslaved veterans. Allied governments, including Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Norway, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom have authorized compensation gratuities. For example, in 1998, the Canadian Government authorized the payment of $15,600, Canadian dollars, to veterans who were captured in Hong Kong and enslaved by the Japanese. And in 2000, Prime Minister Tony Blair announced a multi- million pound compensation fund for former enslaved Japanese prisoners of war in recognition of their heroic experiences. It is long overdue for our own Nation to provide similar compensation to those who gave so much to defend and preserve our freedom. Approximately 10 years have passed since I began advocating for passage of this type of compensation, and in that time, many of these brave heroes who deserve recognition have already passed away. Fortunately, Congress still has time to honor those individuals who are alive today to share their courageous and heartrending stories. For this reason, I believe the Congress should avoid any further delay and act as soon as possible to enact this important legislation. I thank Senator Hatch for agreeing to cosponsor this legislation, and I urge my fellow Senators to support it.

Mr. BINGAMAN

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public that a hearing has been scheduled before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The hearing will be held on Tuesday, June 17, 2008, at 10 a.m., in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The purpose of the hearing is to examine the challenges and regional solutions to developing transmission for renewable electricity resources. Because of the limited time available for the hearing, witnesses may testify by invitation only. However, those wishing to submit written testimony for the hearing record may do so by sending it to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510-6150, or by e-mail to Gina_weinstock@energy .senate.gov. For further information, please contact Leon Lowery at (202) 224-2209 or Gina Weinstock at (202) 224-5684.

Mr. BINGAMAN

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public an addition to a previously announced hearing before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Subcommittee on National Parks. The hearing will be held on June 17, 2008, at 2:30 p.m., in room SD- 366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. In addition to the other measures previously announced, the subcommittee will also consider S. 3096, a bill to amend the National Cave and Karst Research Institute Act of 1998 to authorize appropriations for the National Cave and Karst Research Institute. Because of the limited time available for the hearing, witnesses may testify by invitation only. However, those wishing to submit written testimony for the hearing record should send it to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510-6150, or by email to rachel_pasternack@energy.senate .gov. For further information, please contact David Brooks at (202) 224- 9863 or Rachel Pasternack at (202) 224-0883.

Mr. BINGAMAN

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise to talk about the cloture vote on the climate change legislation pending before the Senate. Global warming is a problem that we must address and the sooner the better. We must meet it with a strong and mandatory regulatory system. Of all the possible options, a cap-and-trade system makes the most sense. Turning that concept into legislative language is not easy, and turning it into legislative language that can become law is far harder still. The substitute amendment before us is the product of a lot of hard work and passion to do the right thing. I applaud that and thank the sponsors for their sincere efforts. There are many ideas in this amendment that I support, but, as the sponsors know, I also have many concerns about the substance of their proposal. I am sorry that we will not have a chance to debate the many complex and far-reaching issues they present. I have been in the Senate for 25 years. I have learned, and firmly believe, that the only way to write legislation that stands a good chance of becoming law is to ensure that all sides have a legitimate opportunity to comment on and contribute to legislation as it is being written. I know very well from my own experience that in bills as complicated as this one, many Senators will have concerns that they would like to see resolved. It is the prerogative of the authors to include these issues or not. But it is important to assure all Senators that their concerns have been carefully and openly considered and that even if the sponsors don't share those concerns, the right of Senators to have them considered by the full Senate will be protected. Without these assurances, it is much harder to ask Senators to support the final product and work for its passage. I hope that when we return to this issue, we can use such a process to produce a bill that will be signed into law. I am especially disappointed by the tactics we have seen in recent days from the other side of the aisle to slow this bill's progress and frustrate the amendment process. While Senators certainly have the right to use all 30 hours of postcloture debate time following cloture on the motion to proceed and to make the Senate clerks spend 9 hours reading the text of a long substitute amendment, it is hard to square those actions with any sense of real concern about this critical issue we should be working on. We will be turning to the Defense bill later this month. I have a hard time imagining that the same tactics will be applied. That would be totally inconsistent with our responsibilities for national security. Similarly, the tactics of the past few days have been totally inconsistent with our responsibility to deal seriously with this important issue. I have struggled with this cloture vote. A vote for cloture can be seen as a message vote that rejects the tactical maneuvering we have seen to prevent consideration of this bill. At the same time, if cloture is invoked it will mean that only a tightly prescribed set of amendments would be in order. I do not believe that the problems in the legislation before us can be adequately corrected under postcloture procedural constraints. Ultimately, though, we must send a message about how important this issue is and how it should not be hamstrung by obstructionist parliamentary tactics. That is why I voted for the cloture motion laid down by the majority leader.

Mr. BINGAMAN

Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public that a field hearing has been scheduled before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Subcommittee on National Parks. The hearing will be held on Monday, July 21, 2008, at 9:30 a.m., at the Destination Center at Blue Ridge Parkway, 195 Hemphill Knob Road, Asheville, North Carolina. The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony regarding the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory of all species within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Specifically, the hearing will address: (1) How much has been learned up to this point and at what cost? (2) What is left to be done and what is the estimated time and cost to complete the inventory? (3) How has the data been used and are there other ways to use it? (4) What changes, if any, should be made in the program and (5) Should the program be expanded to include other National Parks? Because of the limited time available for the hearing, witnesses may testify by invitation only. However, those wishing to submit written testimony for the hearing record should send it to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510-6150, or by e-mail to rachel_pastenack@energy.senate .gov. For further information, please contact Kira Finkler at (202) 224- 5523 or Rachel Pastenack at (202) 224-0883.