Thad Cochran

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. I ask unanimous consent the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, I send an amendment to the desk under the unanimous consent request and ask it be stated.

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, I am prepared to yield back the time on the amendment. I yield the time on the amendment.

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, the Plant Variety Protection Act codifies our international commitments under treaties for protection of plant varieties. The law gives plant varieties 20 years of protection, similar to a patent, in order to preserve the quality of the variety. The law currently does not provide any mechanism to provide for periods of additional protection for varieties that are still commercially valuable. The original PVPA certificate for Marshall ryegrass was issued prior to the adoption of the latest changes pursuant to international negotiations and, as a result, were protected for less than the current 20-year period. My amendment would provide an additional period of PVPA protection of up to 10 years for one of the most if not the most heavily used varieties of ryegrass used by livestock producers around the country. The Secretary would be authorized to cancel this protection as soon as a new variety of this valuable feed grass is developed. There are letters which I will send to the desk for inclusion in the Record in support of this amendment. One is from OreGro Seeds Incorporated in Oregon; another is from a second company, Smith Seed Services in Oregon; another from Plantbreeding Seed Production, Seed Trade, member of an organization called the Barenbrug Group. I ask unanimous consent all of these letters be printed in the Record.

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, I also have a letter from the Livestock Producers Association and a letter from the State of Mississippi's Department of Agriculture and Commerce. I ask unanimous consent that the letters be printed in the Record.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. I appreciate the opportunity to discuss this with the distinguished chairman of the appropriations subcommittee. chronic wasting disease

Mr. COCHRAN. Is the Senator aware that the Wildlife Habitat Management Institute, an NRCS facility in Jackson, MS, is unique among NRCS facilities in that it is a ``virtual institute'' which draws on staff from all across the country to develop innovative habitat management recommendations for landowners?

Mr. COCHRAN. Would the Senator agree that relocating this Institute, given its unique organization and the dispersion of its staff, would not yield significant savings or efficiency?

Mr. COCHRAN. Given this information, would it be the intent of the subcommittee that the Wildlife Habitat Management Institute remain in its current location and excluded from the reorganization?

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, it is my understanding that the provisions in the Agriculture appropriations bill before the Senate would in no way affect the proposed reorganization of the Natural Resources Conservation Service's field laboratory structure. Does the Senator from Utah agree with that interpretation?

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I would like to thank my distinguished colleague, the chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development and Related Agencies, Senator Bennett, for his outstanding work on the fiscal year 2004 Agriculture Appropriations bill. I would also like to take the opportunity to clarify three provisions that it contains. Upon reviewing the bill I wish to bring to your attention three changes I hope can be incorporated in the statement of managers. First, I request that two separate projects, described as Old Canton Road and Watkins Drive in the current bill, be combined to include the same overall funding amount and read as follows: ``The Conference agreement provides $350,000 for erosion control and drainage improvements in Hinds County, Mississippi.'' Second, I request that reference to a specific floodwater retarding structure be removed from language regarding Town Creek in Tupelo, MS, and that the statement of managers read as follows: ``The Conference agreement provides funds for the agency to continue assistance for the Town Creek in Lee County, Mississippi.'' Finally, I request that funding for Oaklimeter Watershed, as provided through the Conservation Operations section of the bill, be provided instead through the Watershed and Flood Control section. I would ask that the chairman work to incorporate these changes to this bill.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I would like to thank my distinguished colleague, the chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development and Related Agencies, Senator Bennett, for his outstanding work on the FY 2004 Agriculture Appropriations bill. Upon review of the bill, I request that the following language be included in the statement of the managers: The conferees are aware of and encourage the Secretary to support the utilization of remote telemedicine services capable of transmitting medical information in both real-time and stored scenarios for diagnosis, medical monitoring and emergency purposes. Furthermore, the conferees recognize the need for integration and interoperability of real-time remote mobile medical technology with other devices, systems and services which together offer increased capabilities, functionality, and levels of care. I would ask that the Chairman work to incorporate this language in the bill.

Mr. COCHRAN. I thank the Chairman for his assistance in clarifying these issues and for his leadership as we complete work on this bill. animal fighting

Mr. COCHRAN. I thank the Chairman for his assistance with this language and for his leadership as we complete work on this bill. national agriculture statistics service potato pricing survey

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, thank you very much. I thank the chairman very much for yielding me this time. Mr. President, the Feinstein amendment suggests a significant change in the regulatory regime that exists today for energy markets. My understanding of the Senator's amendment is that it would, for the first time, require regulation of off-exchange energy derivatives. These complex instruments, used to transfer risk among sophisticated traders, are vital tools in today's energy trading environment. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission exempted off-exchange energy derivatives from regulation in 1993. The Congress codified this exemption, largely without change, as part of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000. The Congress considered regulating off- exchange energy derivatives when it debated the modernization act but chose not to do so because of the disruption new burdensome regulation would cause to these sophisticated traders. Senators should remember that the distinguished Senator from California initially offered an amendment similar to the one before us today during last year's Senate debate on the Energy bill. On April 10, 2002, the Senate voted 48 to 50 not to invoke cloture on this initial version of the Feinstein amendment. Senator Feinstein tried again with a new version of her amendment in June of this year, again during debate on the Energy bill. On June 11, 2003, the Senate tabled this amendment by a vote of 55 to 44. It should be noted that the second version of her amendment received four fewer votes than the first version. Now we have before us a third version of the Feinstein amendment. Senators may remember from the debate last summer on the second version of the Feinstein amendment that I read into the Record a June 11, 2003, letter from the President's Working Group on Financial Markets. In that letter, Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the Federal Reserve; John Snow, Secretary of the Treasury; William Donaldson, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission; and James Newsome, Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, all expressed opposition to the Feinstein amendment. The letter warned that the Feinstein amendment would have significant unintended consequences for this important risk management market. It also pointed out that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has brought formal legal actions against Enron, Dynegy, and El Paso for market manipulation, wash--or round-trip--trades, false reporting of prices, and operation of illegal markets. The Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Department of Justice have also initiated formal actions in the energy sector. Some of these actions have already resulted in substantial monetary penalties and other sanctions and make clear that wrongdoers in the energy markets are fully subject to the existing enforcement authority of Federal regulators. To my knowledge, the President's working group has not changed its position on this latest version of the proposal of the Senator from California. Finally, the Feinstein amendment may create regulatory uncertainty for off-exchange energy derivatives from multiple Federal agencies. On one hand, the amendment before us requires the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to regulate off-exchange energy market derivative transactions. However, the amendment also contains a provision that appears to preserve the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's authority in this market. At a minimum, the amendment appears to muddy the regulatory water with respect to this market. Remember, the CFTC has antifraud authority. It has brought legal actions against Enron, El Paso, Dynergy, and others regarding energy market problems. It has recovered millions of dollars in fines from these companies. It has numerous ongoing investigations in this area. And more charges are possible. The Senator from California has said that her amendment is needed to prevent wash trades. The CFTC has wash trade authority. It has specific authority under section 4 of the CEA. The CFTC has brought several wash trade actions in the last several years, and its authority to do so has been upheld recently by two U.S. appeals courts. Just this year, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has recovered tens of millions of dollars from merchant energy traders for wash trades and false trades. It has also been suggested by the Senator that because exempt commercial markets such as the InterContinentalExchange are exempt from regulation under the Commodity Exchange Act that they have no regulatory oversight. These markets are subject to many regulatory requirements. They are required by statute to have an electronic audit trail. They are required by statute to keep records for 5 years. They are subject to antifraud and antimanipulation authority under the CFTC's jurisdiction. They are subject to special call examinations by the commission as well. This amendment would impose large trader reporting on exempt commercial markets. Large trader reporting works on retail futures exchanges with standardized contracts but wouldn't work on exempt commercial markets which do not have the same type of standardization. Large trader reporting on exempt commercial markets could actually lead to misleading information being provided to the public. Large trader reporting is used for market surveillance in retail futures markets. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's statutory authority for exempt commercial markets is after-the-fact antifraud and antimanipulation enforcement and is, therefore, inconsistent with a large trader reporting scheme. For these reasons, which I think are very compelling, the Senate should reject this amendment. I ask unanimous consent to print in the Record the text of a letter that went out to all Senators signed by myself, Senator Pete Domenici, Senator Mike Crapo, and Senator Zell Miller on this subject, along with enclosures which are letters addressed to Senators Crapo and Miller from the Department of the Treasury, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, signed by John W. Snow, Alan Greenspan, William Donaldson, and James E. Newsome, along with a Department of the Treasury letter, dated September 18, 2002, to these same two Senators, Mr. Crapo and Mr. Miller.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, on November 3, 2003, the Agricultural Research Service, the primary research agency in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will celebrate its 50th anniversary. To commemorate this special anniversary, I, along with Senator Harkin, am offering a Senate joint resolution to recognize the important contributions the Agricultural Research Service provides to the agriculture community and to the Nation. Although ARS can trace its heritage back to early 19th century seed collection activities in the U.S. Patent Office, it was officially organized on November 2, 1953, when USDA consolidated most of its research functions into the newly named Agricultural Research Service. Today, ARS is a public institution that conducts agricultural research exclusively for the public good. The research is often long- term and costly, and unlikely to be undertaken by the private sector. The ARS discoveries and innovations touch the lives of every American through the food we eat, the clothes we wear, and the environment in which we live. I am very proud of the accomplishments ARS has made in my State. For example, ARS established the Lower Mississippi Delta Nutrition Intervention Research Initiative in 1995 to improve the health of residents of the Mississippi Delta through nutrition intervention research. ARS has partnered with, among others, the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg and Alcorn State University in Lorman to identify food and nutrition problems in communities and to design nutrition interventions to determine how and why people make food choices, and how those choices could be improved. Another fine example of the partnership between the ARS and our Mississippi universities is the Southern Horticultural Laboratory in Poplarville. This ARS small fruit research facility, in cooperation with Mississippi State University, has led in the establishment of a vibrant blueberry industry in South Mississippi and other Gulf Coast States and has now expanded to include research on ornamentals and vegetables. The ARS Catfish Genetics Research Unit at Stoneville, in partnership with Mississippi State University, bred a new catfish variety, NWAC 103, and released it in February 2001. This marks one of the few times genetic research has improved catfish since the industry started in the United States in the late 1950s. Since then, catfish has become one of the most successful aquacultural enterprises, thereby guaranteeing a plentiful supply of high-quality fish to consumers. Also, ARS scientists, in partnership with the University of Mississippi scientists, invented a new natural product-based algaecide for use in catfish aquaculture, thus providing an alternative to synthetic herbicides. A special ARS project in the late 1990s in Mississippi showed that farm runoff is not damaging Mississippi groundwater. Data from the 7,320-acre Mississippi Delta Management Systems Evaluation Areas in Sunflower and LeFlore counties showed contamination by farm chemicals is not a problem. The Mississippi Delta MSEA also focused on farmland erosion control and preventing sediment and chemical runoff into three oxbow lakes: Beasley, Thighman and Deep Hollow. Technology being tested in the Delta MSEA not only enhances the health of the lakes, thus increasing fish and duck numbers, but may also help growers reduce costs. To mark its five decades of public service and, in recognition of the local and national partnerships that are the foundation of much of their research, ARS will celebrate with various events throughout the next year following a kick-off celebration on November 3, 2003. I commend the Agricultural Research Service on the occasion of its 50th anniversary and look forward to many more years of its important service to the Nation.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Subcommittee on Children and Families and Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on African Affairs be authorized to meet for a hearing on ``A Morale Imperative: Frist Report on the HIV/AIDS Codel to Africa'' during the session of the Senate on Thursday, October 30, 2003, at 3 p.m., in S211.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a markup on Thursday, October 30, 2003, at 10 a.m. in Dirksen Room 226. Agenda: I. Nominations: Henry W. Saad to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Sixth Circuit; Dora L. Irizarry to be U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of New York; William K. Sessions III to be a Member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission; D. Michael Fisher to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit; Janice R. Brown to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit; David L. Huber to be U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky. II. Bills: S. 1720, a bill to provide for Federal court proceedings in Plano, Texas [Cornyn]; S. 710, Anti-Atrocity Alien Deportation Act of 2003 [Leahy, Hatch]; S. Con. Res. 58, Expressing the sense of Congress with respect to raising awareness and encouraging prevention of stalking in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of National Stalking Awareness Month [DeWine, Biden, Feinstein]; S. Con. Res. , Recognizing that November 2, 2003, shall be dedicated to ``A tribute to survivors'' at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum [Hatch].

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet on October 30, 2003, at 10 a.m., on universal service.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, October 30, 2003 at 2:30 p.m. to hold a sub committee hearing on Combating Transnational Crime & Corruption in Europe.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, October 30, 2003 at 9 a.m. to hold a hearing on Syria: U.S. Policy Directions.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a hearing on Thursday, October 30, 2003, at 2:00 p.m., on ``Monopsony Issues in Agriculture: Buying Power of Processors in Our Nation's Agricultural Markets,'' in the Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 226. Witness list: ``Monopsony Issues in Agriculture: Buying Power of Processors in Our Nation's Agricultural Markets'' Thursday, October 30, 2003, 2:00 p.m., SD-226. Panel I: The Honorable R. Hewitt Pate, Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC. Panel II: Dr. Dee Von Bailey, Professor and Extension Economist, Department of Economics, Utah State University, Logan, UT; Dr. Ronald W. Cotterill, Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT; Professor Peter Carstensen, George H. Young-Bascom Professor of Law, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison,

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, there has been considerable attention paid to the provisions of the House-passed bill which was referred to in our Committee on Agriculture. The version the House passed has the same provisions that would change substantially the judicial review and appeals provisions of current law. When we were looking at the bill in our committee, it was decided that while we didn't disagree with the objectives of the House, we thought that there could be more appropriate language which would help ensure that litigation and appeals weren't abused to the extent that they created impasses and gridlock in the process. I have to give credit to the distinguished Senator from Oregon, Mr. Wyden, and the distinguished Senator from California, Mrs. Feinstein, for coming up with suggestions for changes that were included in this bill that is now before the Senate. It was included in the language of the compromise that we made to substantially change title I as it relates to the judicial review section of the bill. Let me point out that it balances risk, which is what this is about. Looking at ramifications of approving or not approving a fuel reduction project can be explained by looking at certain examples from which we have learned. On the Kenai Peninsula in south-central Alaska, for instance, over 300,000 acres of forest have been lost to a spruce bark beetle infestation which we are told could have been avoided but was not because of litigation and appeals that were generated over the project's proposal. The Dixie National Forest has 112,000 acres that have been devastated by the spruce bark beetle as well which could have been prevented with treatment but was slowed by the appeals and litigation in that situation. Over the last 3 years, bark beetles have ravaged forests around Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino National Forest in southern California causing an 80-percent mortality rate and substantially increasing the fuel loads of that forest. What I am afraid we are going to see if the Leahy amendment is approved is a reversal of efforts that we have made to come to a new approach which we think will improve forest help. We still have rigorous environmental safeguards in place, but the suggestions that courts do not bog down the process with endless appeals and litigation is one of the goals of this legislation. I don't know if other Senators want to be heard on this amendment. But I would be prepared, after Senators have had an opportunity to express themselves, if they want to debate this issue, to move to table the Leahy amendment. I move to table the Leahy amendment, and I ask for the yeas and nays.