John Doolittle

Mr. DOOLITTLE

Mr. DOOLITTLE. I thank the gentleman. We will be doing it again soon as we examine other aspects of the views and the record of Vice President Al Gore.

Mr. DOOLITTLE

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Chairman, this is an important bill. I know the other side is trying to portray this as helping big developers, but the fact of the matter is, this bill is designed to help the little guy and anybody else, including a big developer, who seeks to assert the constitutional right to receive just compensation for the taking of his or her property. That is just something that is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the fifth amendment. And yet, because of a network of procedures developed over the years, the effect of those procedures has been to make this amendment somehow secondary to some of the others. We all know the reality. I mean a government is fighting with taxpayer dollars; and they have, usually, a vast amount to draw upon. They already have attorneys on staff, and they have firms on contract to wage these battles with taxpayer dollars. When the little guy is seeking to defend his or her constitutional right, and it takes on the average of 9\1/2\ years to get through the Federal Court system, that is bad enough already, but then it takes a number of years to get into the Federal Court system. This bill, amongst other things, simply allows people to at least enter the Federal Court system. If anything, the bill does not go far enough because we have still got that long, drawn-out time when you, an individual, is paying lawyers at $300 or $400 an hour to litigate their claims. It is very, very difficult to reach the relief that they need. This bill makes an important step in that direction. It simply seeks to place the fifth amendment on an equal level to the fourth amendment or the first amendment, where they are not required to go first through the whole State process before they can get into Federal Court. Mr. Chairman, I strongly urge an ``aye'' vote on this legislation.

Mr. DOOLITTLE

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, recently regional parties won elections in two states in India. Neither the ruling BJP nor the opposition Congress Party was able to pull off a complete victory. These results only increase the instability that already plagues India. To retain control of the government, the BJP had to assemble a coalition of 24 parties. Clearly, the days when a national party could dominate India's government are gone. While the political instability increases, there are 17 independence movements within India's borders. Many experts on the situation in South Asia have predicted the disintegration of India. From these results it looks like that disintegration is closer. America is a country founded on the idea of freedom. I urge President Clinton to raise the issue of freeing the political prisoners during his upcoming visit to India. I also urge him to bring up the question of self-determination. It is time to speak out for freedom.

Mr. DOOLITTLE

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, the Tribune newspaper of India reported on February 9 that the Indian government has identified the killer of Christian missionary Graham Staines as Dara Singh, but his real name is Rabinder Kumar Paul. The use of ``Singh'' is a smear against the Sikhs designed to create the impression that Sikhs were somehow responsible for the Staines murder and put the Christians against the Sikhs, promoting India's divide-and-rule strategy against minorities. The facts do not support this. Staines, an Australian missionary, and his two young sons were burned to death in their jeep. They were surrounded by a mob of militant Hindus affiliated with the RSS, which is the parent organization of the ruling BJP. These fundamentalist Hindus chanted ``Victory to Hannuman,'' a Hindu god, while the Staines family's jeep burned. Yet India wants to create the impression that one person was responsible for this brutal murder and that he is a Sikh. Mr. Speaker, I am offended by this open manipulation of both Christians and Sikhs. Apparently, India is concerned about the support that leaders of the freedom movements of South Asia have showed for each other. So they have resorted to this divisive strategy to preserve their empire. The time has come for America, the beacon of freedom, to take strong measures to stop India from pursuing this campaign to turn one minority against another. First, we must cut off our aid to India. We must recognize its violations of religious liberty and impose appropriate sanctions. Then we must declare our support for free and fair plebiscites, under international supervision, on the question of independence for Punjab, Khalistan, for Kashmir, and for Nagaland. Pitting one group against the other to maintain a corrupt,brutal tyranny is not a democratic or a moral way to behave.

Mr. DOOLITTLE

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I was distressed to hear that Mandeep Pal Singh Sodhi, a 27-year-old Sikh man, burned himself to death in front of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly building. His self-immolation was reported in the Hindustan Times on January 11. He was protesting police brutality against his family. Mandeep Pal Singh Sodhi's brothers were detained and brutalized by police. Their mother was promised an inquiry, but nothing happened. Recently, the Committee for Coordination on Disappearances in Punjab, led by Hindu human rights activist Ram Narayan Kumar, issued a preliminary report that included the names and addresses of 838 Sikhs who were picked up, tortured, murdered, and secretly disposed of by the police. According to figures compiled by the Punjab State Magistracy and by human rights groups, the Indian government has killed over a quarter of a million Sikhs since 1984. It is not just Sikhs who have suffered this kind of oppression. The Indian government has victimized Christians, Muslims, Dalits, and others. Groups associated with the ruling BJP have burned down Christian churches and prayer halls. Allies of the government have murdered nuns, priests, and missionaries. The self-immolation of Mandeep Pal Singh Sodhi should serve as a wake-up call to the country that proudly proclaims itself ``the world's largest democracy.'' It should serve as a call to India to begin living up to the democratic principles that it proclaims. India must stop this police brutality and release its political prisoners. It must hold a free and fair internationally-supervised plebiscite on the issue of independence in Khalistan, Kashmir, Nagaland, and wherever else people within India are struggling for freedom. Until then, the U.S. should stop its aid to India and encourage it to act like the democratic country it claims to be. Mr. Speaker, I would like to submit the Hindustan Times article into the Record. [From the Hindustan Times, Jan. 11, 2000] Self immolation in front of UP Assembly (By Bhupendra Pandey) Lucknow, January 10--Motorists, pedestrians and policemen watched in shock as a young man, allegedly because of police harassment, immolated himself on the busy road opposite the Vidhan Sabha on Monday afternoon. The 27-year-old youth, identified as Mandeep Pal Singh Sodhi, a resident of Krishna Nagar, suffered 70 per cent burns and died on way to hospital. Later, the police inspector posted at Krishna Nagar was sent to the police lines for illegally detaining the deceased's brother and harassing his family members. Chief Minister Ram Prakash Gupta has announced a financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh to the dependents of the victim. The District Magistrate of Lucknow has directed the ADM, City, to probe the incident. According to eyewitnesses, Mandeep got off a bus near the Royal Hotel intersection and doused himself with kerosene. Then, he went towards the Assembly and set himself on fire and started running. Soon, he was transformed into a ball of fire. After he collapsed and lay writhing on the road, three policemen tried feebly to rescue him. Others also joined them, but by then Mandeep had already suffered excessive burns. Thereafter, he was taken to the nearby Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Hospital from where he was referred to the KGMC. But he succumbed to burn injuries on the way. Initially, policemen were unable to identify the youth but later found a slip of paper tucked in his shoes. According to it, Mandeep ran a small chemists shop outside a private nursing home in Krishna Nagar. Meanwhile, Mandeep's mother, Mrs. Manpreet Kaur, has accused the police of forcing her son to commit suicide. ``Fed up with police harassment, my son committed suicide,'' she said. According to her, her husband, Surendra Pal Singh, who died five years ago, ran a flourishing transport business. But it ran into tough times after his death. She said that her tale of woes began a year ago when the SO of Sarojini Nagar raided her house and detained her two sons, Yashpal and Inderpal, without specifying the charges. Later, they were booked in a case of a motorcycle theft. In March last year, the two were again booked in a case of another motorcycle theft and jailed. The two brothers were also booked under the Gangster Act. Mrs. Kaur said that she had earlier met then Chief Minister Kalyan Singh and also the Circle Officer of Sarojini Nagar. She had been assured of an inquiry into the matter. But nothing happened. In fact, Yashpal was picked again on Saturday night in connection with a recent case of motorcycle theft in Krishna Nagar. Today, Mrs. Kaur decided to complain to the District Magistrate and despite Mandeep's request to her to stay at home, she left for the DM's office. Soon after Mandeep too boarded a bus for the Vidhan Sabha. Mrs. Kaur learnt about her son's immolation in the afternoon when she came home after meeting the DM. Yashpal was released by the police following the DM's intervention.

Mr. DOOLITTLE

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 359) to clarify the intent of Congress in Public Law 93- 632 to require the Secretary of Agriculture to continue to provide for the maintenance and operation of 18 concrete dams and weirs that were located in the Emigrant Wilderness at the time the wilderness area was designated in that Public Law, as amended.

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, this legislation, the Emigrant Wilderness Preservation Act of 1999, was designed to provide for the maintenance and operation of 18 small water empowerment structures within the Emigrant Wilderness. Similar legislation last Congress, H.R. 1663, received overwhelming support when it was brought before this House, passing on the floor by a vote of 424 to 2. The Emigrant Wilderness's 18 check dam system was built between 1921 and 1954 through the combined efforts of the U.S. Forest Service, the California Conservation Corps., and local volunteer groups. This system works to enhance the high elevation lake fisheries and species habitat by keeping year-round flows in the streams. Although, I feel it is imperative that all 18 dams be maintained and operated, in an effort to move this legislation and allow for the immediate preservation of the fisheries and ecosystem of this area, I have come to an agreement with my colleague the gentleman from California (Mr. Miller). I have submitted an amendment in the nature of a substitute that has bipartisan support decreasing the number of water empowerment structures preserved in this legislation from 18 to 12. H.R. 359 will allow a non-Federal entity to pay the cost of maintaining and repairing these substantially unnoticeable structures by allowing the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into a cooperative agreement providing the non-Federal entity the opportunity to conduct the necessary maintenance. By providing for the continued maintenance and operation of these 12 structures, we will protect the stream flow system within the Emigrant Wilderness that for over 70 years has maintained an ecosystem of lakes, streams, and meadows upon which many species, including the great American bald eagle, depend. If these small, unnoticeable structures are allowed to deteriorate, many of the lakes and streams will dry up during the summer and fall months, resulting in negative impacts on the ecosystem fisheries, recreation, and the area's tourism economy. Madam speaker, I offer this amendment in the nature of a substitute as a bipartisan effort to preserve and protect the important historical research within the Emigrant Wilderness. It is my hope that we can move this bill forward with the same resounding support it had last Congress. I ask for the support of my colleagues and urge them to vote for this legislation.

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Madam Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DOOLITTLE

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3002) to provide for the continued preparation of certain useful reports concerning public lands, Native Americans, fisheries, wildlife, insular areas, and other natural resources-related matters, and to repeal provisions of law regarding terminated reporting requirements concerning such matters.

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, H.R. 3002 will provide for the continued preparation of certain useful reports concerning public lands, Native Americans, fisheries, wildlife, insular areas and other natural resources-related matters. Section 3003 of the Federal Reports Elimination and Sunset Act of 1997 terminates all reports to Congress contained in House Document 103-7 as of December 21, 1999. This document lists statutorily required reports to Congress from various executive branch agencies. The philosophy of the Federal Reports Elimination and Sunset Act is to ``alleviate the paperwork burden on executive branch agencies.'' Certainly the reduction of unnecessary paperwork is a worthy goal. However, some consideration must be given as to why a statute mandates a certain report and as to how this information is used by the Congress and the public. In the case of the Committee on Resources, this information greatly aids our oversight activities and the development of legislation. The reports also provide the public with valuable insight as to how Federal tax dollars are being spent. Without action by Congress, many critical reports will be lost before the end of the year, requiring extensive amendments to underlying statutory authorities to reinstate the reports. H.R. 3002 will restore 128 reports, including implementation costs of the Endangered Species Act, notices of withdrawals of public lands, rehabilitation needs for National Forest System lands, threatened areas on the National Register of Historic Places, management plans for National Parks, proposed oil and gas leasing programs on the Outer Continental Shelf, proposals for projects under the Small Reclamation Projects Act, and audits of financial assistance provided to the insular areas of the United States. The bill also makes technical changes to some underlying laws which authorize repealed or sunsetted reports. Time constraints preclude additional mop-up work in this area, but the committee intends to work on technical amendments in another vehicle soon. These reports are needed for effective congressional oversight and to allow the public to see how their taxpayer dollars are being spent. I urge support for this bill. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. DOOLITTLE

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3077) to amend the Act that authorized construction of the San Luis Unit of the Central Valley Project, California, to facilitate water transfers in the Central Valley Project, as amended.

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, Federal agricultural contractors in the Central Valley Project of California who rely on exported water supplies from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta have seen substantial reductions in their Federal water supplies over the last several years, even though these last few years have been ``wet'' years. This reduction has been increased because of the accumulated impacts of implementation of the Endangered Species Act, the Central Valley Project Improvement Act, and the Bay Delta Accord. This reduction in CVP export supply reliability has increased the desire of many water managers to pursue water transfers. Additionally, numerous State laws and Federal laws have been enacted in an attempt to facilitate water transfers to assist agricultural and urban water users in maintaining reliable water supplies. The San Luis Act of 1960 prohibits the State of California from providing water service to the San Luis Unit of the Central Valley Project. The committee believes this prohibition is inconsistent with current Federal and State policies which encourage and facilitate water transfers. H.R. 3077 amends the Act of 1960 by eliminating the restrictions on use of San Luis Unit facilities for water transfers in the Central Valley. The gentleman from California (Mr. Dooley) is the author of this legislation, and in just a moment I am sure will add his explanation. This morning we received a letter from Governor Grey Davis of California in support of H.R. 3077. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich), a cosponsor of this legislation.

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Madam Speaker, I urge an ``aye'' vote and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DOOLITTLE

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Madam 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. 359, H.R. 3002, and H.R. 3077.

Mr. DOOLITTLE

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to call the attention of my colleagues to a letter that appeared on Wednesday, November 3, 1999, in the New York Post by Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan. It reveals the religious persecution in India. Christians have been actively persecuted in India in recent months, a pattern carried out on Sikhs, Muslims, and others. I urge all my colleagues to read the attached letter, which I am placing in the Record. [From the New York Post, Nov. 3, 1999] Religious Persecution in India Thank you, Rod Dreher, for an excellent article (``Pope's passage to India may be most perilous yet,'' Oct. 28) exposing the ``Hindu brownshirts'' who run India. The religious persecution of Christians has reached unparalled proportions, as Dreher aptly points out. But it is not just Christians who have suffered severe religious persecution. India has killed over 200,000 Christians, over 250,000 Sikhs, more than 65,000 Muslims and tens of thousands of Assamese, Manipuris, Tamils, Dalits and others since its independence. Thousands of minorities, especially Sikhs, remain in Indian jails as political prisoners without charge or trial. The Western world must not accept this pattern of religious tyranny. Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, Council of Khalistan, Washington D.C. (via e-mail).

Mr. DOOLITTLE

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Madam Speaker, I support the passage of the S. 900 conference report because I believe it is a fair and balanced bill which will spur competition within the financial services industry, reinforce functional regulation and protect consumers. This legislation is by no means perfect, but it does represent a reasonable compromise between the House and Senate versions of financial services modernization legislation. The issue of modernizing this country's financial laws has been debated in Congress for over two decades and has not come to a resolution until now. The financial services industry has undergone dramatic changes in the past few decades and regulations have been formulated in a piecemeal fashion through regulatory decisions and court rulings. This has resulted in an uneven and often inequitable regulatory framework that is badly in need of an overhaul in today's rapidly changing economy. It is long past time to modernize our financial system in order to reflect the reality of the marketplace. In doing so we need to make sure there are rules in place to protect the American public without layering bureaucratic regulations. I believe the bill before us accomplishes this goal. The point of passing financial services reform is to update and streamline the rules and ensure that all entities are fairly and consistently regulated by the appropriate entity. I believe S. 900 strikes a balance between fostering free market competition and protecting the interests of the general public. As a strong supporter of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), I believe this Conference Report is a significant improvement over the Senate-passed bill, which contained onerous provisions that I believe would have seriously undermined CRA. This bill not only steadfastly maintains the application of CRA to all insured depository institutions, but also requires that these banks have at least a ``satisfactory'' CRA rating they can offer any new financial services. Without the passage of this bill, banks will continue to expand into new areas of financial services, as they are already doing, without clear CRA requirements. S. 900 also contains a small but very important provision that I have personally worked on for the past three years. The language I have included will prevent certain financial institutions from discriminating against victims of domestic violence in the underwriting, pricing, sale or renewal of any insurance product and in the settlement of any claim. This provision specifically applies to banks, which is important because this legislation will allow banks to sell and underwrite insurance on a large scale for the first time. When this is signed into law, it will be the first federal legislation of its kind prohibiting insurance discrimination against survivors of domestic violence. Another important provision in this legislation is the inclusion of the ``PRIME'' bill, a new program that will provide new grants to microentrepreneurs. This program will help provide training and technical assistance to low-income and disadvantaged entrepreneurs interested in starting or expanding their own business. My home state has been a leader in the microcredit movement and these new grants will be a real boon to microentrepreneurs in my district and throughout Colorado. It is rare that a flawless bill comes to the floor of the House and this legislation is no exception. This is a good bill, but it is not perfect. While the goals of this legislation are too important to delay any longer, I do believe that the privacy language should be stronger. This bill establishes privacy laws where none currently exist and ensures that stronger state privacy laws will not be preempted. However, I think Congress needs to continue to explore the issues of financial and other types of personal privacy that will become increasingly more important to consumers as marketplaces change and technology advances continue.

Mr. DOOLITTLE

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to condemn the recent act of burning the Pope in effigy by a Hindu fundamentalist group in India. My friend Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan, brought this disgraceful act to my attention. It was reported in India Abroad. An organizer of the march criticized the Delhi Archbishop for contacting the Pope about religious persecution in India. The Pope is visiting India soon and the Hindu militants demand that the Pope declare all religions the same. This follows the rapes of four nuns in India by individuals described by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad as ``patriotic youth.'' Hindu fundamentalists have murdered four priests. Hindu fundamentalists also killed Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two little boys by surrounding their Jeep and setting it on fire. They have burned churches, prayer halls, and Christian schools. Sikhs, Muslims, and others have also suffered from similar treatment. They, too, have seen their religious shrines desecrated and attacked and religious leaders kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by the Indian authorities and their Hindu fundamentalist allies. These are people who espouse total Hindu domination of every facet of life in India. In this light, is it any wonder that so many of the minorities in India's multinational empire, such as Christian Nagaland, the Sikhs of Punjab, Khalistan, the Kashmiri Muslims, and so many others seek independence from India? It is time for Congress to encourage freedom for people of the subcontinent. I submit the Council of Khalistan's press release on the burning of the Pope's effigy into the Record. Hindu Activists Burn Effigy of Pope, March to Protest Christian Activity There is No Religious Freedom in India Washington, D.C., October 28, 1999.--Fundamentalist Hindu militants burned an effigy of Pope John Paul II on October 22 during a Goa-to-Delhi march to protest Christian religious activity in India, according to a report in the October 29 issue of India Abroad. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a branch of the Rashteriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), a pro- Fascist, Hindu fundamentalist organization organized the march. The ruling BJP, which leads the 24-party governing coalition in India, is the political arm of the RSS. Marchers are protesting large-scale conversions by Christians, according to the article. They are demanding that the Pope proclaim all religions equal during his visit to India next month. Subhash Velingkar, an organizer of the march, condemned religious conversions. In the eyes of many Hindu activists, all conversions from Hinduism are `forced'' conversions. Velingkar attacked the Archbishop of Delhi, Alain de Lastic, for communicating with the Vatican about the persecution of Christians in India. ``Why should people from India complain to the Vatican?,'' he demanded. Recently a nun named Sister Ruby was abducted by militant Hindus and forced to drink their urine on the threat of being raped. Four other nuns were raped last year. The VHP called the nuns ``antinational elements'' and described the rapists as ``patriotic youth.'' Another priest was recently murdered in India, joining four other priests who were murdered last year. Christians have been subjected to a wave of violence since Christmas Day. Churches have been burned and schools and prayer halls have been destroyed. Missionary Graham Staines and his two sons, ages 8 and 10, were burned to death while they slept in their van by a mob of Hindus who surrounded the jeep and chanted ``Victory to Lord Ram.'' ``We strongly condemn this march and the burning in effigy of the Pope,'' said Dr. Gurmit Singh Aulakh, President of the Council of Khalistan, the organization leading the Sikh Nation's struggle for independence from India. ``The ordeal that the Christians are enduring is reminiscent of what the Sikhs, Muslims, and other religious minorities in India go through,'' he said. ``There is no religious freedom in India,'' he said. ``The VHp openly proclaimed that anybody living in India should be a Hindu or subservient to the Hindus.'' March organizer Velingkar said, ``Christians are brothers of the same blood.'' Dr. Aulakh dismissed that statement. ``The Hindu fundamentalists say the same things about Sikhs being brothers of Hindus,'' he said. ``If that is the case, then why do they continue to murder Sikhs, Christians, Muslims, and others in large numbers?'' India has murdered over 250,000 Sikhs since 1984, over 200,000 Christians in Nagaland since 1988, more than 65,000 Muslims in Kashmir since 1988, and tens of thousands of Assamese, Manipuris, Tamils, Dalits, and others. It continues to hold tens of thousands of members of these groups as political prisoners without charge or trial, according to a report by Amnesty International. Thousands have been illegally detained for as long as 15 years. ``Clearly there is no place for religious minorities in democratic, secular India,'' said Dr. Aulakh. ``This only makes the case for freedom for all the minority nations of South Asia stronger,'' he said. ``I call on President Clinton and the Pope to bring up the issues of religious freedom and self-determination on their visits to India,'' he said.

Mr. DOOLITTLE

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, this is obviously an issue of great importance to the body, and I have great affection and esteem for the authors of the competing proposal. I think it is quite clear that we need some type of health care reform. What we need to decide upon is what is something we can agree upon between the two bodies and that can be signed by the President and become law. The Dingell-Norwood is not a perfect bill. Most bills here are not perfect; I will stipulate to that. I do not think we want to tie the hands of our conferees as they go in trying to produce a product that is acceptable to everyone. I would just point out, and I know it has been pointed out before by the author of the substitute, but I just want to reemphasize this, that the substitute, for example, allows access to ambulance services. The substitute has external appeal time lines that are shorter to allow expedited review. The substitute provides access to all cancer clinical trials. That provision is much broader than Dingell-Norwood for cancer patients because the Dingell-Norwood bill does not include FDA approved clinical trials. I urge my colleagues to vote no on this motion.

Mr. DOOLITTLE

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 862) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to implement the provisions of the Agreement conveying title to a Distribution System from the United States to the Clear Creek Community Services District, as amended.

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the subject of Bureau of Reclamation facility transfers has been of particular interest to the Congress, local irrigation districts, and the administration in recent years. Facility transfers represented an effort to shrink the Federal government and shift the responsibilities for ownership into the hands of those who can more efficiently operate and maintain them. Much of the momentum for these transfers comes from local irrigation districts that are seeking title to these projects. The Federal government holds title to more than 600 Bureau of Reclamation water projects throughout the West. A growing number of these projects are now paid out and operated and maintained by local irrigation districts. The districts seek to have the facilities transferred to them, since many of the districts now have the expertise needed to manage the systems and can do so more efficiently than the Federal government. H.R. 862 transfers title of the Clear Creek distribution system in California to the Clear Creek Services District without affecting the underlying water services contract, and it relieves the Federal government of all liability for its role in owning and constructing the water distribution system. This transfer should be supported for two reasons. In the case of the Clear Creek distribution system, the government will reduce its risk of future liabilities associated with the project due to faulty project design. The district has indicated that it is prepared to accept responsibility for the system. Second, the district believes that it has the expertise and financial capability to manage this project more efficiently than the Federal government. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Herger), in whose district this project is located .

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Guam (Mr. Underwood), for his help in this matter, and I urge an aye vote. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DOOLITTLE

Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 992) to convey the Sly Park Dam and Reservoir to the El Dorado Irrigation District, and for other purposes, as amended.