Robert Byrd

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Madam President, shortly we will be debating two resolutions regarding education funding. Though there are differences in the approaches taken in the resolutions, the bottom line is similar--namely, this Senate and this Congress need to support education, and we need to find sufficient funding to meet our obligations to America's students. We need to support our struggling schools as they attempt to provide safe, disciplined environments in which our youth can learn both the fundamentals of history, literature, mathematics, and science, as well as the emerging fields of the next century--computers, satellite communications, advanced electronics and other information technologies that are reshaping the American workplace. On this bottom line, we all agree. The difficult part in this difficult appropriations cycle is, how do we get there? Our funding levels are too low to meet the administration's request, too low to meet the needs that we can all see and agree need to be met, but we are constrained by a budgetary straightjacket imposed in 1997. All year, I have advocated breaking the budgetary caps in order to meet our most pressing needs, but until that happens, the Appropriations Committee must play the cards it has been dealt. This evening, the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, will meet to mark up an appropriations bill that contains funding for education, among other things. When all is said and done, Madam President, I am very proud of the work of our Committee on Appropriations this year. I have served with many great Senators and I have served with a number of great chairmen of the Committee on Appropriations. None has handled their responsibilities any better than has our current Appropriations Committee Chairman, Senator Stevens of Alaska. He has worked closely with me throughout his tenure as chairman of the committee in as nonpartisan a manner as anyone I have ever worked with. We have handled these very difficult matters as best we could to the benefit of all Senators and for the American people. In so doing, despite these crushing spending caps, we have been able to pass in the Senate most of the appropriations bills. The final bill, namely the Labor-HHS appropriations for FY 2000, will be marked up in subcommittee this evening and, in all likelihood, in the full Appropriations Committee tomorrow. Madam President, frankly, I see no intellectually honest way to adequately provide for education without breaking the budgetary caps. I know neither side wants to suggest that the caps be broken. Each side wants the other side to be the first. I have no hesitancy to say how I feel because I am interested in education. I am interested in meeting the needs of the country and meeting the needs of the people. If it cannot be done without breaking the caps, then so be it. I cannot support these two resolutions, not because I disagree with their intent, but because I cannot voice my support for increasing education funding on the one hand while in the same breath saying that the budget caps cannot be broken. Education is important. If it is important, it is worth breaking the budget caps. And it is. It is worth breaking the budget caps. Budgetary gimmicks that add months to the fiscal year or that take funds from other critical programs like heating assistance for the poor and the elderly will not hold up over time. They are very frail reeds, very weak reeds, to which to cling in the face of hurricane force winds of need. Madam President, I yield the floor.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum and ask unanimous consent that the time be charged against each side.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that I may proceed as in morning business for not to exceed 10 minutes.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. What is the situation regarding time?

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, as the gentlemen from Alabama and Missouri know, I have had concerns regarding the impact of the NOX SIP Call for states throughout the Midwest, including my own. I would agree that recent actions taken by the EPA and Northeastern states creates confusion for both industries and states governments alike. I, too, strongly encourage the EPA to work with all parties, and I look forward to finding a fair and equitable solution to improve our air quality in an economically and environmentally sound way. study on hydraulic fracturing

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, no Senator in this body exceeds the Senator from West Virginia in his appreciation of the work that the Senator from Alaska does as chairman of the Appropriations Committee. He is an outstanding chairman. I am proud to serve with him. He always works with me in these matters concerning allocations, and I cannot find the words to adequately praise him. He is doing an excellent job. No Senator in this body, including the Senator speaking, could ever be a better chairman of that committee than Senator Stevens. I served with a lot of chairmen of that committee over the years, but it is a two-way street. It is a team effort. This Senator contends it will always be that, whether I am ranking member or whether I am the chairman. I try to give my full cooperation to Senator Stevens. We have never had a difference on the committee, not when I was chairman--he was not the ranking member at that time, but he has done an excellent job. He has seen the need to increase the amount of moneys for veterans' health care, and upon several occasions I have talked with him about the need to increase the amount. I took the lead, inside the committee, in increasing that amount by $1.1 billion. He fully supported me. It is the chairman, in the main, who decides how much money will be allocated to the various subcommittees. But I believe it is my job as ranking member to work with him. If I have any differences, I let him know, but I have never had any differences with Senator Stevens. So I wanted to add my compliments concerning the distinguished Senator. I also want to compliment Senator Bond, again, the chairman of the VA subcommittee, for the excellent work he has done on that subcommittee. I compliment the ranking member, Senator Mikulski, for the work she does. When she was chairman of that subcommittee, she was one of the best subcommittee chairmen--I don't say chairperson--she was one of the best chairmen that we had of any subcommittee. I did not want this day to pass without this lowly ranking member having an opportunity to say some good words about the people who are entitled to commendation. It doesn't make any difference to me whether they are Republicans or Democrats. If they are entitled to commendation, I give it to them. So I applaud you, Mr. Chairman, not only for doing a good job but for being the fair and considerate Senator that you are, and also a fair and considerate chairman as well. Again, I have to say some good words about Senator Bond, Senator Mikulski. They could not be better. They could not be more fair. They could not be more considerate. They are hamstrung, as you are, Mr. Chairman, by the fact that we do not have enough money. I am for raising the caps. I am for telling the American people the truth. We need more money. Let's raise those caps. I am not a bit backwards about saying I support raising the caps. We have to meet the people's needs. I hope we will get around to that. I think we are going to have to do that before it is over. I thank Senators for their patience for listening, but I wanted to get in my two cents' worth of commendations also.

Mr. BYRD. Yes.

Mr. BYRD. I yield the floor.

Mr. BYRD. Will the gentleman from Missouri yield?

Mr. BYRD

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

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, earlier this week we have heard again the chiming of the celestial clock, the autumnal equinox sounded the arrival of fall and the harvest season. In Washington, the skies today are sapphire blue and they look like parchment marked only with wispy glyphs of aircraft contrails. The air is crisp and the air is clear, with none of the steaminess that burdened our torrid summer days. Evenings serve up the glorious gradations of vivid colors from a palette only God could paint. Night comes earlier and night is cooler. The hum of air conditioners is giving way to the weight of blankets on the bed. In the words of Humbert Wolfe: Listen! The wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves. We have had our summer evenings, now for October eves! The year is advancing, cycling into its season of greatest abundance as crops mature and are harvested--such crops as they are. I have to add that, in the light of the terrible drought that has afflicted the eastern part of the United States, from Vermont to Tennessee. But as the crops, such as they are--mature and are harvested against the coming of winter. Branches are bent over with crisp apples and succulent pears, foretelling the apple butter festivals to come. Mr. President, we have great apple butter festivals in West Virginia. Go to Berkeley Springs in Morgan County, just an hour and a half's drive from here. Go to the apple butter festival there. And there are apple butter festivals in other parts of West Virginia. In my backyard, the squirrels and the chipmunks are gathering, and I play a little game with those squirrels and chipmunks. My wife, Erma, always sees to it that I have a large bag of peanuts. And when I look out the window and see squirrels, I go to the door, softly unlock the door, but the squirrels, they hear. And when they hear the little noises at the door they perk up, they sit up on their haunches and they look at the door, and then they break out into a run. They run to the door--my door, my door that opens on the back porch of my house--they run to the door because they sense that there is about to be a peanut that will emerge from a tiny crack when the door is opened. And they pounce upon that peanut. The chipmunk also runs for the peanut. Sometimes he wins and gets there first, but many times he doesn't get there first, and I can just sense the disappointment on his little face as he becomes very excited and runs here and there, thither and yon, looking for a peanut which the squirrel was first to get. So I throw out another peanut and the chipmunk gets that one. The squirrels and chipmunks are gathering and storing acorns and peanuts and every bit of corn and birdseed that they can steal from my feeders. Erma and I average about 40 pounds of bird food a week that we put in our bird feeders. The tomato plants--aha, my tomato plants, great farmer that I am--I, every year, put out a half-dozen tomato plants. This year was a terrible year for tomatoes. The tomato plants that I cultivate in my backyard are straining under their last load of ruby jewels. But the jewels have been so slow this year to become ruby-colored. They remain green. And, of course, Mr. President, you might understand the greed with which I approach those succulent fruits from the tomato plant. But they have suffered this year not only from the heat, but also from the drought, and then from the recent heavy rains. I am a fortunate farmer. My little crop is grown for pleasure, in the main. I try to furnish my own table and that of any of the grandchildren who happen to come by. My little crop is grown for pleasure. My clay pots have not been cracked by this summer's record drought, nor flooded by Hurricane Floyd. Many farmers upon whose labors my winter table depends have not been so fortunate, of course. Crops and livestock throughout the Nation have been buffeted by rather exceptional weather conditions this year, and particularly in the eastern part of the United States, from Tennessee to Vermont. Come November, farmers are likely to be saying prayers--and I should think they probably have already been saying prayers--prayers of relief because, indeed, there were some rains still left in the heavens. In our conference committees, Senators are working to provide assistance to our family farmers, so that they might be able to recover partially, at least, from this disastrous year and return to oversee the plowing and the calving, the planting and the lambing, the pruning and the blossoming once again, rather than giving up on their most honorable and arduous careers. I have no doubt that the distinguished Senator who presides over the Senate this afternoon with a degree of dignity and skill, that is so rare as a day in June, knows what I am talking about because he comes from Wyoming and there are farmers there and farms. He knows when I talk about calving, lambing, pruning, planting, and plowing, these are not strange, alien words to him. I hope that we will succeed in our efforts here in the Senate and speed up this relief to our farmers. It is much needed, and it should be on its way without delay. Those people are suffering. The march of the seasons also brings us nearer to the close of the year. This year, that event has a special import. We have just begun--I believe it was yesterday--on the 100-day countdown to a calendar change that has spawned many nicknames, Y2K being one of the most common in the United States. The concern over computer glitches caused by the date change certainly warrants our attention and corrective action. But the hype over Y2K and its alias, the ``millennium bug,'' has spawned a misguided perception regarding the true beginning of the third millennium since the birth of our Lord. It is a small but irritating example of sloppy, careless media reporting and advertising that reject the role of informer and educator in favor of following the popular trend. This trend might be termed ``the odometer theory,'' in which the physical act of watching all the nines roll over to zeros on a car's odometer becomes a symbolic ritual unrelated to how well the car is or is not running. Watching 1999--1-9-9-9--roll over to 2-0-0-0 may be a rare event that warrants a new year's party, but it does not truly signify anything except a new year. To be formal, accurate, and correct, we must not confuse, as so many are presently confusing, January 1, 2000, with the beginning of the new millennium, which it is not. January 1, 2000, does not begin the new millennium, unless we wish history to say that the second millennium contained only 999 years. When the Christian calendar, observed in the United States and, indeed, in most of the world, was established in the 6th century by the Scythian monk, chronologist, and scholar Dionysius Exiguus, died A.D. 556, he began his calendar with January 1, year 1. Thus, the third millennium will begin on January 1, 2001, not 2000. Not 2-0-0-0. So forget it. The coming year of 2000 is not the beginning of the next millennium. It is only the end of the current millennium. And this coming January is not the beginning of the 21st century. The year 2000 merely closes out the 20th century. Otherwise, we lose a year somewhere along the line--a good old fiddle tune. Somewhere along the line, we are going to throw away a year. This may be the new math, but according to the old math, there are 100 years in every century for it to be a complete century, and there are 1,000 years in every millennium to complete a millennium. So let's be more accurate. We may party, we may think, we may say the millennium begins next year. So on December 31 of this year, when the clock strikes 12 midnight, there are those who may wish to bring out the champagne and say: Ah, this is the new millennium! It is not. We may party like it is, this December, but I caution everyone against living it up as if the world were going to end or you may face a very embarrassing morning after. I thank you, Mr. President, for allowing me a few minutes to set the record straight. There it is. Unless the new math says that 999 years constitute a millennium, and that 99 years constitute a century, unless that is a given, we have to wait another year before the beginning of the third millennium. Let's set the record straight on that score. It may seem like a small thing, just a little thing, the cranky ranting of a cranky older fellow. The Bible says ``the little foxes that spoil the vines.'' I am talking about one of those little foxes. I am confident that others share my desire for accuracy, and my suspicion that reporters and commentators and public figures who fail on a fact so readily checked may be sloppy with other facts as well. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, may we have order in the Senate so we may be able to hear the Senator.

Mr. BYRD. I yield my 3 hours to the distinguished Senator from California, Mrs. Boxer.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, as the ranking manager of the bill, I now have 3 hours, as I understand it.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I will only speak briefly. I was in an appropriations conference meeting when Mr. Bond so graciously called up the amendment on my behalf and on his behalf and on behalf of Senator Stevens, Senator Mikulski, and others. I express my appreciation to Senator Bond for doing that. I express my appreciation to Senator Stevens for helping us in the Appropriations Committee to have increased allocations for the various subcommittees. And particularly with reference to the Subcommittee on VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies, the Senator from Missouri, Mr. Bond, and the Senator from Maryland, Ms. Mikulski, have performed an extremely important job and have done it well, with the limited amount of funds that have been available to them. In the committee, we recently increased the amount for veterans' health care by $1.1 billion. We did it because Mr. Stevens and I were able to find ways to add monies for the VA-HUD subcommittee. On the floor earlier today, the Senate agreed to the amendment offered by Mr. Bond on my behalf and on his behalf and the others whose names I have already mentioned. I am sure that each of us would like to do more. I have been in Congress now, this is my 47th year. I have always supported the interests of our veterans. I was a member of the Senate when we did not have a Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. The Rules Committee, on which I served, made it possible for the Senate to consider and agree to the proposal that there be a standing committee of the Senate entitled the Veterans' Affairs Committee. I was a Senator who was on the Rules Committee then and who stood up for the veterans. We received a lot of mail at that time from veterans all over the country in support of having a standing committee of the Senate designated the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. So, I have been very supportive of the veterans and their families, and legislation and appropriations that affect their welfare and their well-being. Now, the House has approved a figure of $1.7 billion as an increase over the amount that was in the President's budget. The Senate committee approved an increase of $1.1 billion. That left us $600 million short of where the House of Representatives stood. I think it would be very important to the veterans if the Senate were able to go to the House, in conference, with a figure that matched the higher figure the House has already agreed upon. That is one reason why Senator Stevens, Senator Bond, Senator Mikulski, and I thought it was very important to increase the amount by $600 million. I want to thank our veterans organizations also. Many of us can only imagine how difficult it must be for a soldier to be awakened in the depths of the night by the startling sound of shell explosions or small arms gunfire, to be on the other side of the world from where one's family and friends make their homes, to wade through muddy water up to one's shoulders, to carry 50 pounds of ammunition and supplies on one's back, not knowing if one will live to see the sunset at the end of the day. Our veterans have gone into harm's way time and time again in order to preserve the freedoms that we Americans enjoy and that our friends and allies have also fought and died to protect. There are many Americans who have dared to know the horror of war in service to this country. I am not one of those. I am not a veteran. I worked in the shipyards and helped build the Victory ships and Liberty ships to convey men and supplies to our military forces overseas. So I did my part. But I did not serve in any of the military forces. Unfortunately, as the veteran population begins to reach an age where they need more health care, too many American veterans are facing the stark circumstances wherein it may appear that the Nation they faithfully and honorably served is turning its back on them in time of need. We do not intend to do that. We don't intend to do that on the VA-HUD subcommittee. We don't intend to do that on the full Appropriations Committee of the Senate. So we think we have responded as best we could under the budgetary restrictions that confront us. We have caps that are set in statute. We would like to do more in many areas where appropriations are concerned, but we are restricted by the budgetary caps. I have been in favor of lifting those caps, but they are not lifted as of now. I think it is our duty to honor our debt to the veterans who, in the spirit of those patriots of the Revolution, dared much, risked much, and sacrificed much that we might enjoy the blessings of freedom. I also will take a moment here to say I was very supportive of our veterans when I was chairman of the Appropriations Committee. I helped to appropriate funds and to allocate funds to the VA-HUD subcommittee in order that we might add clinics, add space in various veterans hospitals around the country. We did it in my own State of West Virginia, in Huntington, Beckley, Clarksburg, Martinsburg. I can remember when I helped to provide $76 million for a new veterans hospital in Martinsburg to replace the old Newton D. Baker Hospital. I have been in this fight a long time. I am not a veteran, but I think I have been true to my duties and responsibilities here, one of which duties is to see that our veterans are taken care of, treated fairly, and that their services are respected, appreciated, and remembered. Therefore, I was happy today to provide the amendment that was offered by Mr. Bond and cosponsored by Mr. Bond, Mr. Stevens, Ms. Mikulski, and an additional 20 or more Senators. I thank the distinguished Senator from Missouri for yielding this time. I have to go back to another appropriations conference. This time, I want to take up the battle for our drought-stricken areas of West Virginia and other States in the eastern United States, stretching from Tennessee up to Vermont. Again, that is with respect to the drought and the problems it has created for our livestock farmers. I want to go there and fight their battle. For the moment, I have been delighted to come to the floor. I also appreciate the support of other Senators on this amendment. I express my appreciation to Senator Stevens, who is not on the floor, and to Senator Bond, and Senator Mikulski for the excellent leadership they continue to give in this extremely important bill. I thank all the cosponsors to the amendment which would provide an additional $600 million for veterans' medical care, including Senators Bond, Domenici, Stevens, Mikulski, Grassley, Bingaman, Johnson, Specter, Murkowski, Wellstone, Smith of New Hampshire, Hollings, Rockefeller, Akaka, Conrad, Kerrey, Biden, Leahy, Boxer, Hagel, Murray, Jeffords, Sarbanes, Hutchinson, Reid, Kerry, Robb, Bunning, Bryan, Kennedy, Roberts, Ashcroft, Snowe, Collins, Coverdell, Harkin, Abraham, Dorgan, Durbin, Thurmond, McCain, Levin, Landrieu, Frist, and others. Mr. WELLSTONE addressed the Chair.

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, is time under control?

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Will the Senator yield?

Mr. BYRD. He was assassinated 2 years later, though.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. I agree with my colleagues from Washington and Louisiana. The Fish and Wildlife Service should make every effort to support this project in order to uphold a scientifically justified success in endangered species management

Mr. BYRD. I also agree with the Minority Leader. The Department of the Interior should provide the results of its analysis to Congress quickly and support funding for initiatives that will use new technology to make important scientific data available. pilot program for tribal priority allocation in the bia

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I join with my distinguished colleague, the manager of the bill, in urging Senators to come to the floor and debate these amendments. It is my understanding, as it is his, that the distinguished Senator from Illinois, Mr. Durbin, wishes to speak against the amendment by the distinguished Senator from Missouri, Mr. Bond, and he will certainly have that opportunity. I trust the offices of Senators--I am sure they are watching and listening--will pass on to the respective Senators this urgent message that we are trying to state here, that we are here, we are here to discuss amendments, debate them, agree to them, vote them down, vote them up, amend them further, or whatever. But Senators need to come to the floor and make their wishes known so that this valuable time will not be lost. So I urge our Senators to act accordingly. Now I yield the floor. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I thank the Chair. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Wisconsin, Senator Feingold, for bringing us together today to celebrate the passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964. Too often, the pressing events of the day prevent us from remembering so many important pieces of legislation. I am happy that we are able to take a moment to recognize a historic piece of legislation. Let me begin with a look backward over the well-traveled road of history. It is only fitting that we turn our faces backward so that we might be better informed and prepared to deal with future events. On a whole range of important issues, the Senate has always been blessed with Senators who were able to rise above political parties, and consider first and foremost the national interest. There are many worthy examples throughout the Senate's history. My friend and former colleague, Senator Mike Mansfield, and other distinguished Members of the Senate understood this point well. Political polarization, a simple zero-sum strategy by one party to achieve a short-lived victory which demonizing the other party, is not now, and has never been, a good thing for the Senate. I know that Americans have always loved a good debate. I believe that this is one of the lessons that we can take from the passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964. Members on both sides of the issue focused on the more substantive and stimulating policy challenges rather than allowing pure politics and imagery to enter into the fray. The debate on the Wilderness Act of 1964 serves as a great example of the Senate's charge in taking a leadership role and working over the long term to pass historic pieces of legislation. I believe the bill's chief sponsor, Senator Clinton Anderson from New Mexico, understood this point well when he said, upon consideration of the conference report, on August 20, 1964: What we have done we have done not only to meet the urgency of the moment, but for the future. In no area has this Congress more decisively served the future well-being of the Nation that in passing legislation to conserve natural resources and to provide the means by which our people could enjoy them. One of the brightest stars in the constellation of conservation measures is the wilderness bill * * *. The path of the wilderness legislation through Congress has sometimes been as rugged as the forests and mountains embraced by the wilderness system. The Senate understood there was a need to protect America's unique places, and Members worked to craft a proposal over a number of years that could achieve that end. Senator George McGovern, another key supporter of the Wilderness Act, observed: I think each of us has been enriched at one time or another through our experiences with natural undisturbed areas of the country * * * its comparatively uncluttered open spaces, its lakes and woods, have special appreciation for the purpose of the wilderness preservation system. As the population of our country grows and as our city areas become more contested, it is all the more imperative that we look to the preservation of great primitive outdoor areas where people can go for recreational and inspirational experience. The U.S. population has since grown by more than 70 percent since the Wilderness Act of 1964 was enacted. In addition to land preservation, the act has encouraged the discovery of America's history, promoted recreation, provided for its diverse wildlife and ecosystems, and satisfied people's urge for solace and a return to wild places. The definition of wilderness according to the act is ``an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.'' Initially endowed with 9.1 million acres of public lands, the wilderness system today encompasses more than 104 million acres in forty-four States. My home state of West Virginia remains wild and wonderful because of Congress' actions. Covered from end to end by the ancient Appalachian Mountains, West Virginia remains, to me, one of the most beautiful one of the most unique of all places and I have seen lot of places throughout the world in my time. It is the most southern of the northern States and the most northern of the Southern states; the most eastern of the Western States and the most western of the eastern States; where the east says good morning to the west, and where Yankee Doodle and Dixie kiss each other good night. The luscious mountains gently roll across that land, providing an elegant sense of mystery to the landscape. The wilderness of my State has given West Virginians a freedom to explore. This freedom has been secured and protected so that future generations--like my baby granddaughter, her children, and her children's children--will be able to say Montani Semper Liberi, Mountaineers are always free! Four wilderness areas have been designated in West Virginia since the 1964 act. Each area captures and preserves uniquely a beautiful aspect of a State that has, I believe, more than its fair share of native loveliness. God must have been in a spendthrift mood when he made West Virginia! In the Otter Creek Wilderness Area, consisting of 20,000 acres so designated in 1975, you can follow the same twisting trails that early settlers to the area wove through the dense forest. Amid the stands of towering White Oaks, dark hickory, and ghostly poplar trees, you may discover stunted groves of apple trees, remnants of an early settler's orchard. Maybe Johnny Appleseed came that way. Also designated in 1975, the Dolly Sods Wilderness Area preserves 10,000 acres of Canada that somehow migrated south and chose to settle in West Virginia. Heath thickets, bogs, and low-growing evergreens combine to establish a wide open feeling akin to more northerly climes such as those of Minnesota. Offering scenic vistas, Dolly Sods is a famed spot in which to enjoy hiking, camping, fishing, and nature watching. The Cranberry Wilderness Area proves the regenerative power of nature. Its 35,864 acres were logged in the early part of this century, with the valuable timber shipped by steam locomotives to a mill in Richwood. It also suffered severe wildfires which raged over much of the area. In order to restore it to its natural condition, the Forest Service purchased the land in 1934--the year I graduated from high school. Now grown into a mature forest, the Cranberry Wilderness Area received its official designation in 1983. Consisting of more than 12,000 acres, Laurel Fork Wilderness Area was once a profitable source of lumber at the beginning of the century. Laurel Fork has since been preserved and is a source of the Cheat River. Designated in 1983, Laurel Fork Wilderness has a wide blend of wildlife and foliage special to Appalachia. Among the Birch, Beech, and Maple trees which grow in the area, live the native species of West Virginia such as white-tail deer, wild turkey, bobcat, and even black bear. I might note that perhaps one of the most majestic of wildlife species protected by these wilderness areas throughout the U.S. is the bald eagle. Symbolizing America's freedom and strength, the bald eagle, in fact, has been recently removed from the endangered species list, and will continue to soar for future generations of Americans. The Wilderness Act of 1964 enabled West Virginians to preserve the natural beauty of their State for themselves and for the nation * * * now and forever. I believe that Senator Anderson summarized it best when he said: Deep down inside of most Americans is a love of the out-of- doors. * * * It is an effort to protect and preserve, unspoiled, just a little bit of the vast wilderness which stretched ocean to ocean on this continent less than 300 years ago, so that this love of the great, unspoiled, out-of- doors which is a part of us can be gratified. I would like to take a moment to recognize a number of former colleagues who took a leadership role in passing the Wilderness Act of 1964. Many of them were fairly close friends of mine. There was Senator Anderson, whose name I have spoken earlier, Thomas Kuchel, Hubert Humphrey, Henry Jackson, Frank Church, Frank Lausche, Paul Douglas, Harrison Williams, Jennings Randolph--my former colleague from West Virginia--Joseph Clark, William Proxmire, Maurine Neuberger, Lee Metcalf, George McGovern, David Nelson--they took a leadership role in guiding this piece of legislation through the Senate. The Senate has considered many thousands of pieces of legislation on a myriad of topics over the last several years. I am proud to stand here today and say that this piece of legislation, the Wilderness Act of 1964, stands as a great example of what this body can accomplish when it sets its collective mind to it. These were the sponsors of the Wilderness Act in the 88th Congress. In closing, I want to welcome my colleagues back from the prairies and the plains, the mountains and the hollows and the hills, the broad valleys. We have much work to do in these coming weeks and we can learn much from the Wilderness Act of 1964 and the dedication and commitment of those Senators who worked to fulfill their vision by enacting that great piece of legislation, their vision of a future continent which would be preserved for the men and women who would come after them. Far too often these days, we get caught up in the partisan wranglings of tax cuts, educational needs, national security demands, Social Security changes, health care reform, and much, much more--all of which subjects are extremely important. The public has become concerned about what it is that we actually do in this Chamber. In reflecting upon the Wilderness Act of 1964, I find a great example of what this body can achieve when it puts its whole mind and its whole spirit into it. Again I thank my colleague for his kindness in inviting me to participate here this afternoon in recalling our footsteps down the long hall of memories. In closing, I am reminded of the words of one of America's foremost conservationists and outdoorsman, John Muir-- Oh, these vast, calm, measureless mountain days, inciting at once to work and rest! Days in whose light everything seems equally divine, opening a thousand windows to show us God. Nevermore, however weary, should one faint by the way who gains the blessing of one mountain day: whatever his fate, long life, short life, stormy or calm, he is rich forever. . . . I only went out for a walk, and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was going in. One touch of nature . . . makes all the world kin. I yield the floor.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. Yes, that assumption is accurate. Any rule issued to implement this program could be considered a ``major rule'' under the Congressional Review Act, and subject to the delayed effective date. However, the legislation itself recognizes the urgency of the programs: section 101(l) provides that the Steel Loan Guarantee Board ``shall issue such final procedures, rules, and regulations as may be necessary to carry out this section not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act.'' Identical language appears for the Oil and Gas Loan Guarantee Board, in section 201(k). Due to this urgency, we expect the Administration to apply the provisions of the Congressional Review Act which allow even a major rule to go into effect without delay, consistent with the public interest.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. I thank the Senator.

Mr. BYRD

Mr. BYRD. I concur with the Chairman.