Ken Calvert

Mr. CALVERT

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, due to previously scheduled commitments in my district, I am unable to make the final two votes on H.R. 3, the Juvenile Crime Control Act. I strongly support the bill, and have voted today for many amendments to strengthen the bill. I oppose the motion to recommit with instructions because such a move would strip the bill of the very provisions which make it good legislation. Thus, I support final passage of the bill. I hope that the Senate will take up this measure quickly and that the President will sign the Juvenile Crime Control Act as soon as possible. Unfortunately, there are cases of juvenile crime where Federal prosecutors need the authority to try juvenile offenders as adults. This legislation would grant that authority and make available block grants to restore the effectiveness of State and local juvenile justice systems. This is good legislation which all Members of the House should support.

Mr. CALVERT

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 478 introduced by my friends, the gentleman from California [Mr. Herger] and the gentleman from California [Mr. Pombo], and in opposition to the Boehlert substitute. In January 1993 in my district, in the Temecula-Murrieta area of California, over $10 million worth of damage occurred in the old town area of Temecula and Murrieta when the Murrieta Creek overflowed its banks. It is not a theory, it is not my imagination. I was there, I saw it happen. Interestingly enough, the county of Riverside, the county flood control agency, had for months if not years attempted to get permission from the Federal authorities to do necessary repairs and cleaning out of that Murrieta Creek bottom. They were unable to get those permits. Because of that, that damage occurred. Furthermore, there was so much debris within that creek bottom, it went on down through Murrieta Creek and joined into the Santa Margarita Creek and went on through that area, and there was so much debris, it created an artificial dike for a while while the water accumulated behind it. Eventually that broke, and the water went through and hit the dike that protects the helicopters at Camp Pendleton in California. That dike broke, and that water cascaded without any warning on to the military base and I believe approximately $75 million worth of helicopters were destroyed because of that. We could have solved that problem. This was absolutely solvable. All we had to do was just clean out that river bottom. We were unable to do it. Fortunately since then we have been able to clean out the river bottom. We have been able to do that but unfortunately with a lot of effort. Just this last year we tried to clean it out, up until just a couple of weeks before the rainy season began, we still had a very difficult time getting the necessary permits to keep it cleared out. I have had a lot of disasters in my county. I am the same county, of course, that had the problem with the fire breaks and the inadequacy of the fire breaks and the Winchester fires in the same year which destroyed many homes of folks that could have been protected if fire breaks had been allowed. This bill does not address that. I would like to get into that somewhere down the road. But it does address necessary protection to flood control channels which protect life and property. If we cannot protect life and property and be Members of this Congress, I do not know what we can do. Please support the gentleman from California [Mr. Herger], the gentleman from California [Mr. Pombo] and oppose the gentleman from New York [Mr. Boehlert] and let us move forward with this.

Mr. CALVERT

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my colleague, the gentleman from Hawaii [Mr. Abercrombie], in reintroducing the Veterans' Cemetery Protection Act. Whenever a young man or woman decides to enter the military, they do so voluntarily in order to protect our country and guard against the uncertainties of the world. Sometimes they make the ultimate sacrifice. Over 1 million Americans have died fighting in our country's wars. That is why it sickens me when I hear of hooligans desecrating our national cemeteries. In 1996, Riverside National Cemetery, the second largest cemetery in this country, next only to Arlington, fell prey to vandals who stole bronze markers from 128 graves. On April 19, vandals spray-painted racist and profane words on the cemetery walls of the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii. Enough is enough. The Veterans' Cemetery Protection Act would stiffen criminal penalties for theft and malicious vandalism at national cemeteries. I wish to thank the gentleman from Arizona [Mr. Stump] of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, the gentleman from California [Mr. Bono], the gentleman from California [Mr. Royce], and many others who have come forward to support this bill. Being so close to Memorial Day, I invite my colleagues to become original cosponsors of this measure as a small gift to our Nation's veterans.

Mr. CALVERT

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman of the Commerce Committee for yielding me this time. I also thank the chairman of the Committee on Science and the ranking member, Mr. Brown, for their support in expediting passage of this bill. As Chairman Sensenbrenner has pointed out, this bill will allow the Electric and Magnetic Fields research program to complete its original 5-year authorization. At the same time, we will save the taxpayers money by reducing the authorization some $19 million to the $46- million-agreed-upon budget for the program. I should add that 50 percent of this budget is cost-shared by industry. Mr. Speaker, at the time of the markup of this bill in the Energy and Environment Subcommittee, the distinguished vice-chairman of the full Science Committee, Mr. Ehlers, made the point that all the research to date on this issue has failed to find a significant link between electric and magnetic fields and serious health problems. I agree and I doubt that will change. Nevertheless, this program was agreed to by both Government and industry to put to rest public concern and, once started, I think it's worth finishing. Finally, I want to particularly thank my friend from Indiana, our ranking minority member of the subcommittee, Mr. Roemer, for cosponsoring this bill and working closely with us to expedite the process. Mr. Speaker, this bill has strong bipartisan support and I urge its passage. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. CALVERT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3198, a bill to reauthorize and amend the National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992 which established a cooperative program between the U.S. Geological Survey, the various State geological surveys, and academia. After 4 years, it is time to reauthorize this program for another 4 years and to modify its terms slightly based upon the experience the cooperators have gained. First, let me say that our colleague from West Virginia, Nick Rahall, joined by a large bipartisan group of Members, was the lead sponsor of the bill which became law in 1992 first authorizing the cooperative geologic mapping program. That action was taken, Mr. Speaker, in the wake of a study by the National Academy of Sciences which expressed alarm at the decline of detailed geologic mapping efforts nationwide over the last decade. The National Geologic Mapping Act then, as now, was a codification of ``cooperative federalism'' in that it expressly authorized the practice of the USGS using a small but significant portion of its geologic mapping budget to fund mapping projects of priority to the State geologic surveys on a 50/50 matching share basis. Furthermore, a component of the program was designed to set aside a smaller portion of the budget for universities to compete for funds to support student training in geologic mapping skills and field studies. Mr. Speaker, the basic scientific endeavor of mapping the bedrock geology and surficial deposits of this country is the foundation upon which society's needs for identification and abatement of geologic hazards such as seismic zones, volcanic activity, and landslides. Such mapping is also key to delineation and protection of sources of safe drinking water, sound land-use planning, and initial mineral resources assessments as well. Since its passage of the 1992 Act, staffing at the USGS, particularly for this type of work, has declined dramatically. A significant reduction-in-force in the Geologic Division begun by the fiscal year 1995 budget and continued last year has made it all the more necessary to full involve the State surveys in the priorization of national geologic mapping needs and cooperative use of their staffs to get the job done. H.R. 3198 reauthorizes this cooperative program for 4 more years and establishes thresholds for the sharing of funds between the Federal, State, and academic components. In general, the administration has agreed to dedicate not less than 20 percent of the budget line for geologic mapping to the cooperative State map component, and not less than 2 percent to the educational component. Mr. Speaker, by way of reference, the fiscal year 1996 appropriation for this subactivity of the USGS was approximately $22 million, meaning that $4 million is in the grant pool for matching with State moneys on geologic mapping projects upon approval by a peer review panel. The administration's fiscal year 1997 budget requested level funding for this program and the full House voted in agreement earlier this month on H.R. 3662, the Interior and Related Agencies appropriations bill. H.R. 3198 will reauthorize this valuable program for 4 more years and ratify some very minor changes negotiated between the three participant groups--Feds, States, and academia. Specifically, these are definitional name changes, a slight modification of the congressional findings, and a paring down of the size of the Advisory Committee to the USGS Director. The current act has an unwieldly 16 member board. This reauthorization calls for downsized 10-member advisory board, made up of Federal representatives as well as State geologists and university members. Mr. Speaker, let me finish by thanking the ranking member of the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee, Mr. Abercrombie of Hawaii, for his cooperation on this reauthorization. H.R. 3198 has the full support of the administration and I urge its passage. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3198) to reauthorize and amend the National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992, and for other purposes.

Mr. CALVERT

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1786) to regulate fishing in certain waters of Alaska, as amended.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. CALVERT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1786 is the result of cooperative efforts of the Alaska Federation of Natives, the Bristol Bay Native Association, the Department of the Interior, and Resources Committee staff. This bill is necessary to allow approximately 40 local residents of the Alaska Peninsula to harvest traditional red fish within the boundaries of Katmai National Park. Red fish is spawned out sockeye salmon which has traditional significance for the residents of this region. The harvest of red fish takes place from August to October each year. When Katmai National Park was designated in the 1930's, the local residents were prohibited from the taking of fish by traditional means. This bill would allow the local residents to again harvest this culturally significant red fish by traditional means. I want to thank Bristol Bay Native Association, Department of the Interior, the Alaska Federation of Natives and staff for their work on this bill. I urge my colleagues to support this noncontroversial bill. general leave

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 1786.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3198, the bill just passed.

Mr. CALVERT

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank my good friend from California for shepherding this important piece of legislation through the House. In the last Congress I was privileged to be a member of the Task Force on Campaign Finance Reform. One provision I fought for in particular was that 51 percent of total contributions come from within a candidate's congressional district. This creates stronger ties to a Member's constituents and will help reduce the influence of narrow special interests. No longer will this House operate under the image that we are beholden to PAC's or individuals based thousands of miles from the people we represent. In my past two elections I have promised to raise a majority of my money from within my district. Indeed, I have raised an average of over 60 percent of my funds from the people of the 43d District of California. Not only does this indicate my support from my constituents, but more importantly it allows me to better represent their views. They are the citizens who have made my congressional career possible. They are the people whom I represent.

Mr. CALVERT

Mr. CALVERT. Madam Speaker, last month 128 bronze grave markers were stolen from the Riverside National Cemetery in my district--the second largest national cemetery next to Arlington. This was a despicable act. Our Nation should have no tolerance for those who desecrate and vandalize the graves of brave Americans. The men and women who are buried at Riverside National Cemetery and other national cemeteries have paid the ultimate price for our freedom. They deserve our deepest respect and our eternal thanks. Today I am introducing the Veterans' Cemetery Protection Act. This bill will create a criminal penalty of up to 10 years in prison for vandalism or desecration of a national cemetery. If the criminals try to profit from stolen property the penalty is increased to up to 15 years in prison or a $250,000 fine. Many of you have already asked to cosponsor this legislation. If you are not yet a cosponsor and would like to show your support, please contact my office.

Mr. CALVERT

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my good friend, Chris Cox, for his foresight and hard work on this important piece of legislation. In addition, I would also thank subcommittee Chair Morella for shepherding this bill through the Science Committee. In many cases hard metric conversion requires plants to retool their facilities to produce a product that is in no way improved. It is merely a slightly different dimension. In the construction industry, virtually no domestic U.S. manufacturers produce hard metric products. Only Canadian and other foreign firms have the production capacity to produce sufficient hard metric products. H.R. 2779 would put teeth into the Metric Conversion Act's impractical, inefficient, loss of markets limitation by providing a mechanism by which a soft metric standard could be substituted when problems arise. It does not seek to prevent a metric conversion for Federal projects. This bill clarifies the law to more closely pursue its intent, providing for the most efficient and least costly conversion possible. H.R. 2779 has broad bipartisan support. Vice President Gore's National Performance Review recommended that Federal agencies avoid Government-unique products and requirements due to excessive expense and delays. H.R. 2779 will do just that. It will eliminate the burdensome hard metric requirement in Federal construction. This alone will reduce Federal construction costs by 15 to 20 percent. I urge my colleagues to support this important bipartisan proposal.

Mr. CALVERT

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I want to reiterate, my bill expressly provides that the statute of limitations created herein is prospective only and, of course, in cases of fraud and concealment of records, it is void anyway. The leases at issue in the interagency task force report involved production from 1980 through 1993 or so. H.R. 1975 will in no way bar the Federal Government from pursuing the allegations of underpayment if that is what the Secretary of Interior decides to do. My bill says, act in a timely manner, Mr. Secretary, the taxpayers deserve no less or, alternatively, delegate your responsibility for royalty collection to those States that wish to do the job more efficiently and more timely. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Laughlin]. (Mr. LAUGHLIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, in closing I would like to first thank the gentleman from Hawaii [Mr. Abercrombie], my good friend. We worked through this bill over the last year and had many occasions to go back and forth, but in the end I think we ended up with a good piece of legislation which is supported by most everyone here, and I certainly am appreciative of the time and effort that both him and his staff have put into this, and I thank him and look forward to other legislation in the future; and also to the gentleman from California [Mr. Miller], the ranking member of the subcommittee, for all of his, and the overall committee, for all his help. Mr. Speaker, this bill, in closing, will raise money for the Feds and the States. It certainly has bipartisan support in the House, the Senate and 14 Governors. It has the administration support from the White House; the Secretary of Interior, Bruce Babbit. It enacts clear and equitable reform, gives more power to the States. It establishes a certain statute of limitation period. It is a good bill, and I urge its passage.

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Thornberry].

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1975) to improve the management of royalties from Federal and Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leases, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. CALVERT

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent for the immediate consideration in the House of the bill (H.R. 3249) to authorize appropriations for a mining institute to develop domestic technological capabilities for the recovery of minerals from the Nation's seabed, and for other purposes.