Dianne Feinstein

Mrs. FEINSTEIN

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be agreed to.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Madam President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Madam President, in the interest of moving things along--Members are impatient. We have been on this bill for a long time. We wish to conclude. It is my understanding both sides are agreeable to take the Dorgan amendment No. 2441, so I ask for unanimous consent.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I withdraw my prior request and I ask unanimous consent that at 5 o'clock tonight, the Senate proceed to vote in relation to the following amendments and motion to recommit remaining in order to H.R. 2996, the Interior Appropriations Act, and in the following order: The Vitter amendment, No. 2549; the Ensign motion to recommit; the Coburn amendment No. 2482; the Coburn amendment No. 2483; and the Reid amendment No. 2531; that the remaining provisions of the previous order are still in effect.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I yield back the time remaining on the Vitter amendment No. 2549, and I move to table it. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I urge a ``no'' vote. I am going to move to table at the appropriate time. If we adopt the Ensign motion, we cut Park Service dollars, Indian health dollars, particularly water infrastructure. Mr. President, $2.5 billion in this bill is for sewer grants; $1.8 billion is for fire suppression. It is the first time we have met the fire suppression need fully so that they do not have to take from other accounts to fight fires. I move to table the motion to recommit.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. The Senator is correct. We are prepared to accept the amendment.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. A corollary part of this is Dorgan amendment No. 2441, which also moves along with this. So we are prepared to accept Dorgan No. 2441 as well.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, we oppose this amendment. We oppose it because it takes $420 million out of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. We oppose it because the committee in the stimulus bill put in as many dollars as these departments could absorb in the period of time for maintenance. I move to table. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. I yield back all time on the Reid amendment. It has been cleared on both sides. I ask for its adoption by unanimous consent.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise to provide additional clarification regarding a congressionally directed spending items included in the fiscal year 2010 Senate Interior Appropriations Subcommittee. At Senator Reid's request, the committee included $100,000 for the U.S. Forest Service to fund trail improvements in Nevada. It is my understanding that Senator Reid intended those funds to be used for improvements for the Tahoe Rim Trail, to be conducted through a partnership with the Tahoe Rim Trail Association. Due to a clerical error, the project is not listed correctly in the committee report, and I would like to ensure that the Record clearly reflects Senator Reid's intended use for these funds. Through the chair, I would like to ask my colleague from Nevada, the distinguished majority leader, if my understanding of his intent is correct?

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I thank the majority leader for his clarification and I look forward to working with him to support his project as we move through the annual appropriations process. FUNDING RCAPs

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. I thank the Senator for his comments on this. I appreciate the difficulties faced by rural communities in gaining and maintaining access to adequate drinking water. I also know well the good work of the RCAPs in assisting those communities. As we move into conference on this legislation I look forward to working with my colleague to see if we can maintain funding for this important program. White Nose Syndrome

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. I thank Senator Lautenberg. Our offices have worked together on efforts to provide funding to fight WNS, and I share his concerns about this issue.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. I agree with the Senator. We must tackle this issue head-on and make sure all stakeholders are working together to combat this challenge.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. As I mentioned earlier, I share the Senator's concerns and agree that we need to focus more attention and resources on WNS. I commit to work in conference to increase funding for this disease as called for in his amendment. Clean Automotive Technology

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. The Senator is correct. The President's budget proposed $18.975 million for the Climate Protection Program, and that is the same amount proposed in this bill. The House of Representatives approved $20.575 million.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. I appreciate the Senator from Michigan bringing this to my attention and I assure him that I will keep his suggestions in mind as this bill progresses.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. I would like to enter into a colloquy with my colleague from New York.

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. I would like to thank my colleague for bringing this to my attention and I will certainly look into this matter during conference negotiations.