T. Gorton

Mr. GORTON

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be granted permission to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, August 9, 1995, for purposes of conducting a full committee hearing which is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. The purpose of this hearing is to consider S. 1054, to provide for the protection of southeast Alaska jobs and communities, and for other purposes.

Mr. GORTON

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I want to take this opportunity to state the obvious, but an obvious that is all too often overlooked, and that is that there was no possibility of dealing with this bill either in the timeframe within which we dealt with it, nor the effectiveness, nor efficiency, nor the wisdom with which we have dealt with it without the help of a number of dedicated members of the staff: Cherie Cooper, who is majority clerk; Sue Masica, the minority clerk; Carole Geagley; Kathleen Wheeler, who has worked on energy, BIA, the geological survey, land and water conservation accounts; Bruce Evans, who was formerly of my personal staff, who dealt with Fish and Wildlife Service, mines; Virginia James with NEH, which was, obviously, very controversial, and the Smithsonian; and Ted Milesnick, a detailee from the Bureau of Land Management to provide support service to all accounts; and my own staff member, Julie Kays, a legislative assistant on my staff who is tireless, fearless, and persuasive in all she does; and, once again, to thank Senator Byrd whose advice, counsel, and wisdom has been of great assistance, for that matter all of the members of my subcommittee, each of whom contributed significantly to this result. Mr. BYRD addressed the Chair.

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which the bill was passed.

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, the only two matters that remain are a significant number of colloquies and third reading and final passage. We will ask unanimous consent for the colloquies later. But in order to speed on with this evening, I ask for third reading. There will be no further amendments. I do not believe there will be any further debate.

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, each of these amendments is for a study within the Indian Health Service. We have not had time to deal with them to the point at which we have full confidence in them, though each of them appears to have a degree of merit. I ask that they be agreed. But we will have to look at them very carefully on both sides during the course of the conference committee and see whether or not they are appropriate or need to be revised. But at this point we are willing to accept them.

Mr. GORTON. Given the severe economic dislocation occurring in Wrangell as a result of the U.S. Forest Service's decision to terminate the contract which provided timber to the Wrangell mill, I agree that the Bradfield Road should be given priority. I concur with my good friend from Alaska that the Service should allocate the funds necessary to complete the environmental studies. The Service should be directed to fund this project out of accounts not designated to produce timber in region 10.

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. GORTON. Why is the road needed?

Mr. GORTON. I recently met with the new Director of the Holocaust Museum, Dr. Walter Reich. I told him then that I am now a great supporter of his institution. I think it has made a powerful and necessary contribution to the Nation's education and remembrance. As the Senator from Alaska knows, the committee had to make some painful choices during the markups. I have listened to his persuasive statement, and I want to assure him that I will review the facts and give every consideration to the House's funding level for the museum.

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, that is correct. It is the intent of the Appropriations Committee that fiscal year 1996 funding for bison restoration projects be distributed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to the Intertribal Bison Cooperative and not to all federally recognized tribes.

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I am familiar with the request of the Senator from New York to have this study conducted by the Park Service. The subcommittee is confident that the Park Service will give due consideration to the Senator's request to include Oriskany Battlefield in the National Park System.

Mr. GORTON. This amendment will only affect the proposal, issuance, or prescription of new or amended standards. There will be no limits on analysis or information exchange. Nor will there be any prohibition or limits on planning by the Department of Energy. The Senate expects that the Department and the manufactures will spend the next year working together to analyze existing standards in order to conduct accurate economic analyses and impact assessments. The second part of the amendment also clarifies that the Department may proceed to establish efficiency standards for the construction of new federally owned commercial and residential buildings. The Department can and should establish minimum efficiency requirements for construction of new Federal facilities, such as military housing and office buildings.

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, most Members have been notified that we did not expect to have a rollcall vote on final passage of this bill. There has now been a request by a Member for a rollcall. So, Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays on final passage.

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I would say to my friend that I understand his concern that he or any Senator who is interested in the redevelopment of Ellis Island be made aware of any plans to do so. I would expect that the Park Service would honor any request to be so notified. To be clear, it is not the intent of the subcommittee to allow such action without scrutiny. Further, the subcommittee would expect the National Park Service on its own, to be cognizant of the concerns of those Members of Congress who express an interest in the redevelopment of Ellis Island and take those concerns into consideration prior to entering into any such agreement.

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, the Senator from New York is correct. This is language that was included in the House-passed version of this legislation. The other body voted 230 to 196 to include this language. Also, it is the intent of the subcommittee that this language will prevent a situation from arising that the Senator describes, mainly, the construction of a permanent bridge. I understand and respect the concerns of the Senator from New York that vehicle traffic not disrupt the cultural and historical context of Ellis Island. Further, the committee is devoted to ensuring the safety of visitors to Ellis Island and will expect strict adherence to all relevant safety guidelines before any pedestrian traffic is allowed. It is my intention to follow the progress of the execution of this provision and will consult with the Senator from New York as to its effectiveness.

Mr. GORTON. Yes, the Senator is correct. In fact, I believe it is in the long-term interest for the national parks to be able to rely on an established pool of scientific knowledge and less on managerial guesswork and to have input into the priority setting of the NRSA.

Mr. GORTON. I would be delighted to engage in a colloquy with my friend from New Mexico. I know he has a concern with the budget impact of the Interior appropriations bill on those scientists within the NRSA who advise the Park Service on science-based natural resources management.

Mr. GORTON. I am aware of the Senator's interest in the design of a facility to replace the Montezuma Creek, UT facility and I hope to work with the Senator to make certain the health care needs of the Utah Navajo's are met. To this end, I would agree that of the $1.9 million included in the bill to complete partially funded health care facility designs, $30,000 is available to the IHS for the study and preliminary design of a Red Mesa facility satellite clinic to be located at Montezuma Creek. This study should include an assessment of whether such arrangement is consistent with the existing IHS health care facility priority list system.

Mr. GORTON. The Senator from New Mexico is correct. The committee understands the importance of these projects and intends to consider them again next year.

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I understand that the Senator from New Mexico would like to clarify an issue related to construction funding for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and I ask unanimous consent that Senator Domenici, Senator Byrd, and I be allowed to enter into a colloquy in that regard.

Mr. GORTON. I thank my colleague from Utah for his statement and for the information he has provided regarding OSM and its activities on road permitting. This is very useful for States with primacy in this area, and I am also pleased with OSM's action that suggests decisions on road permitting should rest in the hands of the States. I appreciate the Senator's efforts in this area. construction funding for the u.s. fish and wildlife service

Mr. GORTON. I understand this situation impacts several other Western States with an equivalent amount of public roads and significant surface mining activities.

Mr. GORTON. If my colleague will yield, the fiscal year 1996 Department of the Interior appropriations bill provides $1.2 million to the BLM for noxious weed management. This funding is a part of the agency's range management account. My colleague will be pleased to know that the subcommittee recognizes the existing noxious weed problem plaguing Utah and directs $261,000 of the total account to the Utah State BLM Office to combat this problem. Like my colleague from Utah, I hope these funds will assist to properly address the noxious weed problem in our public lands States like Utah.

Mr. GORTON. I would not object to this proposal.

Mr. GORTON. I understand the Senator's concern and agree to consider deletion of the language in conference. In the meantime, I hope the Senator will continue to work with the IHS and the tribes to move forward on this project. Facility construction dollars are extremely scarce in the current fiscal climate and there are many worthy projects awaiting funding that have the unqualified support of local tribes. With this in mind, I will be happy to revisit this issue in conference.