Conrad Burns

Mr. BURNS

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to support this amendment. A long time ago, I wanted to go much further than this. But I think the Senator from New Mexico has hit the nail on the head. So I support it, and I yield back the remainder of my time. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on the amendment.

Mr. BURNS. I move to lay that motion on the table. The motion to lay on the table was agreed to. Amendment No. 1754, As Modified

Mr. BURNS. I ask unanimous consent that the Interior appropriations bill move to third reading.

Mr. BURNS. Again, I thank my good friend from North Dakota. We worked very closely on this bill. I think we set a record. Actually, we started last Thursday and everyone shuffled out of town for some reason or other--Isabel or something. But we actually have only worked on this bill--this is Tuesday--we did not have votes yesterday and we got some work done. I appreciate the Senator's contribution to this bill. His staff has been very good. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate insist on the amendments, request a conference with the House, and the Chair be authorized to appoint conferees on the part of the Senate.

Mr. BURNS. I thank the Senator from Vermont and also recognize that Rebuild America can help alleviate the pressure on our transmission grid in the near term. The Department's budget request indicates that every dollar the taxpayer invests in this program gets a return of about $10 in benefits. The program focuses on our schools, hospitals, small communities, and small businesses. It successfully enables the upgrading of millions of square feet per year. I will work with Senators Leahy and Dorgan to improve funding for this program in conference with the House.

Mr. BURNS. I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered and agreed to.

Mr. BURNS. I agree that the Zero Energy Buildings program is worthy of support, and I pledge to assist in efforts to provide appropriate funding. Amendment No. 1725, as Modified

Mr. BURNS. I am glad to discuss this with my colleague.

Mr. BURNS. I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. BURNS. I agree with my colleague that this appears to be a worthy project whose goals of habitat protection and species restoration are consistent with the expressed goals of the Private Landowner's Incentive Program. I believe this is the kind of innovative effort that should be considered for funding by the Department of the Interior and I encourage them to apply for a competitive grant through the LIP program.

Mr. BURNS. I appreciate my colleague's interest in the fetal alcohol syndrome research being conducted by the Indian Health Service and the University of Washington. I look forward to working with my colleague on the continued funding for these research efforts.

Mr. BURNS. Madam President, I yield to the Senator from Wyoming.

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk which has been agreed to by both sides. This happens to be an amendment that covers almost the core of the debate during this piece of legislation. This has moneys which replace the moneys that were borrowed from all the funds to fight fires.

Mr. BURNS. In drafting the Senate Interior Appropriations bill, my staff and I consulted with the Department of Energy to ensure the amount provided in the bill would fully support the fiscal year needs of the ITM syngas membrane technology the Senator just described.

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I have a unanimous consent request to propound. I ask unanimous consent that prior to a series of stacked votes, which will begin at 4:45 p.m., there be 10 minutes of debate equally divided in relation to the Bingaman amendment No. 1740; further, that there be a total of 50 minutes equally divided in the usual form in relation to the Voinovich and Reid amendments on competitive sourcing. I further ask unanimous consent that at the hour of 4:45 p.m., the Senate proceed to a vote in relation to the Bingaman amendment No. 1740, to be followed by a vote in relation to the Boxer amendment No. 1753, to be followed by a vote in relation to the Voinovich amendment which is to be modified to be a first-degree amendment, to be followed by a vote in relation to the Reid amendment No. 1731; provided, further, that no second-degree amendments be in order to the amendments prior to the vote, with 2 minutes equally divided prior to each vote.

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, we have the first package of amendments. They have been agreed to on both sides of the aisle. This is in package No. 1, for identification for my good friend from North Dakota. There are two other packages to come, and we are working on those. Amendment Nos. 1757; 1758; 1752, As Modified; 1759; 1760; 1761; 1762; 1728, As Modified; 1763, 1726, 1764, 1765, and 1766, En Bloc

Mr. BURNS. Is that agreeable?

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendments in package No. 1 be considered en bloc and agreed to en bloc.

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, thanking my good friend from Wyoming for allowing me to interrupt here, I renew the unanimous consent request with regard to the votes. I ask unanimous consent that prior to a series of stacked votes, which will begin at 4:45, there will be 10 minutes of debate equally divided in relation to the Bingaman amendment No. 1740; further, that there be a total of 50 minutes equally divided in the usual form in relation to the Voinovich and Reid amendments on competitive sourcing. I further ask that at the hour of 4:45, the Senate proceed to a vote in relation to the Bingaman amendment No. 1740, to be followed by a vote in relation to the Boxer amendment No. 1753, to be followed by a vote in relation to the Voinovich amendment, which is to be modified to be a first-degree amendment, to be followed by a vote in relation to the Reid amendment No. 1731; provided further that no second-degree amendments be in order to the amendments prior to the vote, with 2 minutes equally divided prior to each vote.

Mr. BURNS

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Water and Power of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, September 23, at 2:30 p.m. The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on S. 213, a bill to clear title to certain real property in New Mexico associated with the middle Rio Grande Project, and for other purposes; S. 1236, a bill directing the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program to control or eradicate Tamarisk in the western United States, and for other purposes; S. 1516, a bill to further the purposes of the Reclamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992 by directing the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation, to carry out an assessment and demonstration program to assess potential increases in water availability for Bureau of Reclamation projects and other uses through control of salt cedar and Russian olive; H.R. 856, a bill authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to revise a repayment contract with the Tom Green county water control and improvement district No. 1 San Angelo Project, Texas, and for other purposes; and H.R. 961, a bill to promote Department of the of the Interior efforts to provide a scientific basis for the management of sediment and nutrient loss in the upper Mississippi River Basin, and for other purposes. (Contact: Shelly Randel 202-224-7933, Erik Webb 202-224-4756 or Meghan Beal at 202-224-7556).

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, September 23, 2003, at 11 a.m., in open session to consider the nomination of the Honorable Gordon R. England to be Secretary of the Navy.

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security be authorized to meet to conduct a hearing on ``Information Sharing and Coordination for Visa Issuance: Our first line of defense for homeland security'' on Tuesday, September 23, 2003, at 2:30 p.m., in SD226. witness list Panel I: Maura Harty, Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs, Department of State, Washington, D.C.; C. Stewart Verdery, Jr., Assistant Secretary for Policy and Planning, Border and Transportation Security, Department of Homeland Security, Arlington, Virginia. Panel II: John O. Brennan, Director, Terrorist Threat Integration Center (TTIC), Office of the Director of Central Intelligence, McLean, Virginia; Larry A. Mefford, Executive Assistant Director, Counter-terrorism and Counter- intelligence, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.

Mr. BURNS

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the committee amendments be agreed to, the Campbell amendment be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table; and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. BURNS

Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, this amendment provides an additional $292 million for the Indian Health Service. There is no offset. I don't doubt the numbers the Senator from South Dakota presented. They are factual. I do not doubt his passion for this subject. But let's take a look at what is really happening. Since we have focused on that, over the last 5 years we have added $725 million funding to the IHS account. In addition, thanks to the work of my colleague from New Mexico, Senator Domenici, and the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, we have provided $30 million per year for diabetes efforts. We know that is one of the primary focuses in Indian health for the following 5 years. That amount was increased to a total of $100 million beginning in fiscal year 2001. Reauthorization of this program has ensured that $150 million for the next 5 years will be available beginning in fiscal year 2004. In short, over the last 5 years, well over $1 billion in new money has been provided in order to improve the health care within our Native-American community. Within the extremely limited resources this subcommittee has been given over the past several years, we have been responsive to the needs of Native Americans and we will continue to make every effort to provide the additional dollars within the overall allocation we were given. We know well, and my colleagues on the other side of the aisle know well, what happened last year. Under their leadership, the IHS account was reduced by $75 million in the final hours before markup in order to reduce the subcommittee's allocation. Clinical services alone were reduced by $50 million. Saying that, despite the decrease, we still have a problem even with the additional moneys we put in this year. We understand the problems in the Indian Health Service. We are $88 million over last year's level, and the adoption of this amendment would exceed the subcommittee's allocation and is subject to a point of order.

Mr. BURNS. The pending amendment No. 1734, offered by the Senator from South Dakota, increases discretionary spending in excess of the 302(b) allocation to the Subcommittee on Interior of the Appropriations Committee. Therefore, I raise a point of order against the amendment pursuant to section 302 of the Budget Act.