Thad Cochran

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, there was no limitation of amendments. The provision in the unanimous consent request was that any amendment offered to the bill would be relevant to the bill and any amendment to an amendment be relevant to the amendment to which it was offered. There was no limitation requested in that unanimous consent request.

Mr. COCHRAN. I am happy to yield to my friend if I have any time.

Mr. COCHRAN. I ask unanimous consent that I may proceed for 1 minute as in morning business.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. Chairman, thank you for clarifying this issue and for your leadership and support in addressing this important issue.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I would like to take the opportunity to clarify language included in the Transportation, Treasury and General Government Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2004. My distinguished colleague, the Chairman of the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Shelby, worked to ensure that important funding was provided for the Federal Aviation Administration to address the problem of runway incursions at our Nation's airports. I share his concern about reports of runway incursions and surface incidents. It is my hope that the FAA will use the funding provided to them to test new technologies that could significantly improve this situation. Testing at one of the 90 ``hot spot'' airports identified by the FAA should include accurate and reliable non-cooperative sensors, such as millimeter wave sensors, that can form a distributed radar and optical identification local network. The technologies tested should also include synchronized 2D and 3D graphic displays. I would ask the chairman to clarify the funding provided by the subcommittee to address runway incursion prevention devices at our Nation's airports.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, the Healthy Forests Restoration Act, which is a bill that has been reported by the Agriculture Committee, is a comprehensive strategy to improve forest health on both public and private lands. The bill empowers Federal land managers to implement, in consultation with local communities, scientifically supported management practices on Federal forests. It establishes new conservation programs to improve water quality and regenerate privately owned forests. This bill will reduce the amount of time and expense required to conduct hazardous fuel projects, but it also mandates rigorous environmental analysis before any such projects are undertaken. Over the past few years, many lives have been lost and homes and communities destroyed by forest fires that could have been prevented. Instead of managing our national forests, the U.S. Forest Service has been forced to spend inordinate amounts of time and effort fighting lawsuits. This has caused months and sometimes years of delays in fuel reduction projects. Our forests have continued to suffer, and they have continued to burn. I will offer an amendment to title I of the bill, if and when it is presented to the Senate, which contains several modifications to the committee bill. This amendment embodies recommendations made by a bipartisan group of Senators who are committed to getting this legislation passed and signed by the President. The amendment establishes a predecisional administrative review process. It allows an additional analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act. It directs the Secretary of Agriculture to give priority to communities and watersheds in hazardous fuel reduction projects. It contains new language protecting old-growth stands. It encourages the courts to expedite the judicial review process. The committee bill authorizes grant programs to encourage utilization of certain forest waste material. It provides financial and technical assistance to private forest land owners to encourage better management techniques to protect water quality. It also authorizes funding for the U.S. Forest Service, land grant institutions, and 1890 institutions to plan, promote, and conduct the gathering of information about insects that have caused severe damage to forest ecosystems. Also included in the bill is the Healthy Forest Reserve Program, which is a private forest land conservation initiative to support the restoration of declining forest ecosystem types that are critical to the recovery of threatened, endangered, and other sensitive species. Two titles were added to the House-passed bill by our committee. One would establish a public land corps to provide opportunities to young people for employment and, at the same time, provide a cost-effective and efficient means to implement rehabilitation and enhancement projects in local communities. The other title will promote investment in forest-resource-dependent communities. In essence, this legislation will provide new legal authority to help us manage the Nation's forests in a safer and more effective manner. I urge the Senate to support this bill. Madam President, I yield the remainder of the time allocated to me under the order to the distinguished Senator from Pennsylvania, Mr. Santorum. Mr. WYDEN addressed the Chair.

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, I am not able to accept it on behalf of the majority leader. I made this request at the majority leader's request. This was written by the majority leader, so I am unable to make that modification.

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, at the request of the majority leader, I ask unanimous consent that at a time to be determined by the majority leader, in consultation with the minority leader, the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 1904, the Healthy Forests Restoration Act, under the following limitations: That any amendments offered must be relevant to the underlying measure, and that any second-degree amendment be relevant to the first-degree amendment to which it is offered. I further ask unanimous consent that following the disposition of any amendments, the bill be read a third time and the Senate proceed to a vote on passage, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Madam President, I understand under the order a certain amount of time is allocated to me.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I yield the remainder of the time on this side to the Senator from Wyoming, Mr. Thomas.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished Senator from Idaho, Mr. Craig.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Right.

Mr. COCHRAN. Under the order, how much time remains on this side?

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I yield the remaining time to the distinguished Senator from New Mexico.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, how much time remains on the morning business allocation for this side of the aisle?

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, at the request of the majority leader, I have been asked to announce that this afternoon there will be a period of morning business until 2 p.m. It had been the majority leader's hope, and the desire of many Members on this side of the aisle, to begin consideration of the Healthy Forests issue during today's session. Unfortunately, there is an objection on the Democratic side of the aisle. Given that objection, it had been the intent of the leader to begin consideration of the class action fairness legislation. Again, there was an objection to proceeding to that measure on Friday; and, therefore, a motion to proceed was made by the majority leader. Today, at 2 p.m., the Senate will resume debate on the motion to proceed to the class action bill. Members are expected to come to the floor throughout the day to speak on this motion. If we are unable to proceed on the bill today, it may be necessary to file a cloture motion on that pending motion to proceed. Under a previous order, at 5:15 today, the Senate will vote on the confirmation of Margaret Catharine Rodgers to be a U.S. district judge for the Northern District of Florida. This will be the first vote of today's session.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, on behalf of the leader, I ask unanimous consent that at a time to be determined by the majority leader, in consultation with the minority leader, the Senate proceed to the consideration of H.R. 1904, the Healthy Forests bill, under the following limitations: that the following first-degree amendments be the only amendments in order, and that any listed first-degree amendments be subject to second-degree amendments which must be relevant to the first degree to which offered: managers' amendment; Leahy-Boxer, buyback provisions; Bingaman-Leahy-Boxer, appeals process; Bingaman-Leahy-Boxer, wildland-urban interface; Bingaman-Leahy-Boxer, NEPA; Boxer-Leahy-Cantwell-Murray, additional area exclusion; Campbell- Inouye, tribal lands and hazardous fuels; Collins-Snowe, suburban sprawl; Kyl, wildfire research institutes; Kyl, wildland-urban interface; Leahy-Boxer judicial review; Smith, land grant universities; and Ensign, animals. I further ask unanimous consent that following the disposition of these amendments, the bill be read a third time, and the Senate proceed to a vote on passage, with no intervening action or debate.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. I am advised there are Senators who have been told they could come over and talk on the motion to proceed to consider the class action at 2:15.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the time for morning business be extended to 2:15 p.m.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Doug MacCleery, an employee of the Department of Agriculture who has been detailed to the Agriculture Committee, and Eric Steiner, a fellow on the committee staff, be granted privileges of the floor during today's session.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. I yield to the distinguished Senator 7\1/2\ minutes.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, on July 24, the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry reported to the Senate H.R. 1904, the Healthy Forests Restoration Act. This bill reflects a comprehensive effort to improve forest health on both public and private lands. The bill provides Federal land managers the tools to implement scientifically supported management practices on Federal forests, in consultation with local communities, while establishing new conservation programs to improve water quality and regenerate declining forest ecosystem types on private lands. The legislation will reduce the amount of time and expense required to conduct hazardous fuels projects. But it also will require rigorous environmental analysis of such projects. Over the past few years, we have seen many communities destroyed and many firefighters' lives lost due to forest fires that could have been prevented. Instead of managing our national forest treasures, the U.S. Forest Service has been forced to spend great amounts of time and resources battling lawsuits. The result has been months and even years of delays in fuel reduction projects. Our forests have continued to suffer, and they have continued to burn. I have also introduced, with 13 cosponsors, an amendment to title I of the bill which contains several modifications to the House bill the committee reported. This amendment embodies recommendations made by a bipartisan group of Senators who are committed to getting this legislation passed and signed by the President. The amendment establishes a predecisional administrative review process. It allows an additional analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act. It directs the Secretary of Agriculture to give priority to communities and watersheds in hazardous fuel reduction projects. It contains new language protecting old growth stands. And it encourages the courts to expedite the judicial review process. The reported legislation contains a biomass title authorizing grant programs to encourage utilization of certain forest waste materials. Another title in the bill provides financial and technical assistance to private forest landowners to encourage better management techniques to protect water quality. The pest and remote sensing titles would authorize funding for the U.S. Forest Service, land grant institutions, and 1890 institutions to plan, conduct, and promote the gathering of information about insects that have caused severe damage to forest ecosystems. Title V, the Healthy Forest Reserve Program, is a private forestland conservation initiative that would support the restoration of declining forest ecosystem types that are critical to the recovery of threatened, endangered, and other sensitive species. Two additional titles were added to the House-passed bill by our committee. One would establish a public land corps to provide opportunities to young people for employment and at the same time provide a cost-effective and efficient means to implement rehabilitation and enhancement projects in local communities. The other new title will promote investment in forest-resource-dependent communities. This legislation provides new legal authority to help us manage the Nation's forests in a safe and effective manner. The bill will help us do a better job of safeguarding these priceless national resources. I urge the Senate to support this bill.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I yield the Senator from Idaho such time as he may consume.

Mr. COCHRAN

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, the Senate has already defeated a similar amendment by a vote of 71 to 24 on July 17. This amendment would cut funding that will help bring our troops home from the region at the earliest possible date. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a letter dated October 16, 2003, to Chairman Stevens from Joseph O'Neill, Deputy Coordinator and Chief Medical Officer, Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator, be printed in the Record.

Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, the Senate should reject the amendment. I move to table the amendment, and I ask for the yeas and nays.