Thelma Drake

Mrs. DRAKE

Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 1829) to repeal certain sections of the Act of May 26, 1936, pertaining to the Virgin Islands, as amended.

Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, with time quickly running out in the 109th Congress, the Committee on Resources has amended this bill to package several bills for consideration in the Senate. Title I is the text of H.R. 6014 authored by Congressman Richard Pombo, which aims to protect levees in the highly vulnerable Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in Central California. This bill passed the House in September. Title II is the text of H.R. 5861, authored by Congressman Stevan Pearce, which strengthens and improves the operation of the National Historic Preservation Act. This bill also passed the House in September. Title III, authored by Senator Pete Domenici and Congresswoman Donna Christensen, amends the Organic Act which applies to the U.S. Virgin Islands. The language, as reflected in both H.R. 59 and S. 1829, as passed by the Senate on September 29 of this year, will allow the Virgin Islands to control its property tax system. Currently, all other States and territories have this ability, and for the many residents of this territory it is important that we are able to move this provision forward. The last title includes the text of H.R. 5978, authored by Congressman Roy Blunt. That bill authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study to determine the suitability and feasibility of including the battlefields and related sites of the First and Second Battles of Newtonia, Missouri, during the Civil War, as part of Wilson's Creek National Battlefield or designating the battlefields and related sites as a separate unit of the National Park System. All of these bills are worthy of our consideration, and I ask for your support. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on this bill.

Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. DRAKE

Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 214) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to cooperate with the States on the border with Mexico and other appropriate entities in conducting a hydrogeologic characterization, mapping, and modeling program for priority transboundary aquifers, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. S. 214, introduced by Senator Bingaman and supported by our Arizona colleague Congressman Jim Kolbe, authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to cooperate on a study on the Mexican border of transboundary aquifers. As the population in this arid region continues to grow, the importance of water cannot be overstated. This legislation will help provide the scientific foundation necessary for Federal, State, and local officials to address pressing water resource challenges. This includes researching, mapping, and modeling of these aquifers along our shared border. Because these aquifers do not recognize international borders, it is essential that any research involve the cooperation and participation of both countries. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. DRAKE

Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 1346) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study of maritime sites in the State of Michigan.

Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, S. 1346, introduced by Senator Stabenow, is a companion to H.R. 3532 introduced by our colleague, Mr. Camp of Michigan. The bill would direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study of Michigan's maritime heritage resources to determine suitable and feasible options for their long-term protection. I urge adoption of the bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp).

Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. DRAKE

Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 101) to convey to the town of Frannie, Wyoming, certain land withdrawn by the Commissioner of Reclamation.

Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. S. 101, introduced by Senator Mike Enzi, and supported by our Wyoming colleague, Barbara Cubin, authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to convey a parcel of land to the town of Frannie, Wyoming. The land in question is less than 1 acre and equates to approximately half a city block. The Bureau of Reclamation has not used this land for many years, and the town has actually managed it for the last 15 years. As the land is no longer needed for reclamation projects, the town would like to use this land to build a community center. The Department of the Interior has testified in support of this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support this noncontroversial bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. DRAKE

Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 4001) to designate certain land in New England as wilderness for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System and certain land as a National Recreation Area, and for other purposes.

Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. S. 4001 would designate 34,500 acres of wilderness in the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire and 41,652 acres of wilderness in the Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont. The Resources Committee supports the wilderness designation in the White Mountain National Forest. This designation was developed with the Forest Service through its forest planning process and with substantial input and involvement from the public and local interest groups. It boasts the strong support of New Hampshire's citizens, environmental groups, the forest products industry, elected officials, the Forest Service and the administration. With that said, the committee is somewhat troubled with the Vermont wilderness designation within S. 4001. The Forest Service's publicly vetted and collaborative forest plan recommends only 27,000 acres of wilderness. However, considering the few days remaining in this Congress and the support of this bill by the entire Vermont delegation, the Resources Committee will defer to Vermont's elected officials and pass the bill today. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Bradley).

Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Bass).

Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. DRAKE

Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, predatory lending practices have become a major concern in areas surrounding military installations. This is of particular concern in the Second District of Virginia, with a very high number of payday lenders. Interest rates on these loans have been recorded as high as 780 percent. Many young servicemembers attempt to climb out of debt by adding additional debt on top of debt, which quickly becomes unmanageable. Lenders add to this by encouraging extensions of the loan through refinancing. This type of predatory lending leads to multiple issues, chief among them the loss of a security clearance. A military member lost in uncontrollable debt could be a security risk, and clearances are often revoked. This represents a national security issue. Additionally, this represents a morale issue. Individuals have a tendency to concentrate less on their jobs when they are mired in uncontrollable debt. When servicemembers are concentrating less on their mission and more on their debt, it affects readiness. To safeguard servicemembers, the conference report prohibits creditors from rolling over loan balances, charging annual percentage rates that are higher than 36 percent, including fees, and it prohibits the borrower from prepaying the loan or charging the borrower a fee for prepayment. This is a fairness issue. It has been a grave concern to our military commanders. I would like to commend our chairman, our ranking member and our committee for their concern for this issue.

Mrs. DRAKE. I yield to the gentleman from California.

Mrs. DRAKE

Mrs. DRAKE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce this bill to establish the Mineral Commodity Information Administration in the Department of the Interior. This bill would make the Mineral Information Team (MIT) with the United States Geological Service an independent agency in the Department of the Interior, with much the same charter as the Energy Information Agency housed in the Department of Energy. The MIT collects and disseminates data on virtually every commercially important non-fuel mineral commodity produced worldwide, information that is critical to businesses, the government, and importantly, the Department of Defense (DOD) to help manage the National Defense Stockpile. Due to the importance of the data, the MIT should be an independent agency reporting to the Secretary of the Interior. Virtually every manufacturing sector, from aviation to textiles, relies on the unbiased, thorough, and comprehensive data reported by the MIT. This data is essential for effective use of our natural resources and for accurate forecasting. The information for a number of the MIT reports is derived from proprietary information given by our members precisely because the government is a trusted third party. The United States is the world's largest user of mineral commodities, with processed materials of mineral origin accounting for over $487 billion in the economy in 2005 (an increase of 8 percent over 2004 on top of an increase of over 13 percent in 2003). In 2002, the administration's FY 2003 budget proposed to eliminate the collection of international mineral commodity information. The attempts to eliminate international mineral commodity information collection have continued with each subsequent budget proposal. The congressional appropriations committees have wisely continued to reject calls to eliminate this critical data. This information from the MIT is critical to the effective use of the nation's natural resources and for accurate forecasting. Without a reliable source of worldwide commodity information, the U.S. would be blind to any impending supply shortages. MIT data was critical in calming the markets during the cement and steel shortages of 2004, identifying the problem as one of logistics, not supply. Our Nation is facing a global resources future where we are more dependent than ever on foreign sources of energy and minerals while at the same time no longer ``guaranteed'' to be the major recipient of energy and minerals from our traditional foreign suppliers. Considering businesses operate in a global economy, and imported raw and processed mineral materials increased in value by more than 14 percent from 2005 to $103 billion, the comprehensive data provided by the MIT becomes ever more important. Clearly the Federal government understands the importance of worldwide data on energy production as demonstrated by the increased funding for the Energy Information Administration. Currently, the continued viability and availability of mineral commodity information is mired in the bureaucracy and under budgetary assault. It is imperative that the importance of the MIT mission be recognized by establishing it as an independent agency of the Department of the Interior. This is the goal that my bill will accomplish. The mission of the newly created Mineral Commodity Information Administration will be to continue to collect, analyze, and disseminate information on the domestic and international supply of and demand for minerals and mineral materials essential to the U.S economy and national security.