T. Gorton

Mr. GORTON

Mr. GORTON. I understand the concerns of the Senator from Nebraska regarding the need for resources to address the increase in user population for the Ponca Tribe Health and Wellness Center. It is important the Ponca and other Tribes be able to continue providing quality health services for its members. I believe the IHS should examine this issue and identify ways to help the Ponca and other Tribes, which have experienced unusual increases in user populations.

Mr. GORTON. I want to thank Senator Kohl for highlighting the vital work of the Forest Products Lab and reiterate the Committee's support for its research program. national park service concession review

Mr. GORTON. I would be happy to yield.

Mr. GORTON. I agree that such a review would be appropriate.

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Virginia. I had expected that we would have a vote on a point of order with respect to the section of the bill to which he refers tonight. He prefers, as is his right, to introduce a motion to strike this particular provision. That is, of course, a debatable motion and a motion that would be debated with some seriousness. The majority leader has said the floor is available to debate amendments tonight with the exception of the Senator from Virginia. I don't see anyone here who I believe really wants to introduce and debate an amendment tonight. We will leave a resolution or any recorded vote until Wednesday, September 8. One Senator, Mr. Smith from Oregon, I know, wishes to debate the Senator from Virginia. If we can find him in the next 5 minutes or so, so that there could be a real debate, then I would be delighted to have the Senator from Virginia introduce his amendment. But I think we ought to have someone on both sides here in order to do it. In the meantime, for a few minutes at least, we are searching around to see if there are any agreed-upon amendments that I can simply introduce and have offered and passed. I also notice the presence of the Senator from Wyoming who waited patiently this morning with the Senator from Florida for a debate on a particular amendment which might possibly end up being determined by a voice vote. I ask the Senator from Wyoming whether his partner from Florida is available this evening.

Mr. GORTON. I agree with the Senators from Virginia that the life of Maggie Walker is indeed an inspiration. While we're facing tough funding constraints and did our best to meet National Park Service needs in the State of Virginia. I will work with the senior senator from West Virginia to see what can be done for the Historic Site.

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, last year, we enacted the Intestate 90 Land Exchange Act authorizing a large land exchange in Washington between Plum Creek Timber Company and the Forest Service. The land exchange was scheduled under the Act to be closed on July 19. Just prior to closure, however, Plum Creek discovered Marbled Murrelets on two sections of Forest Service land scheduled under the Act to be transferred to Plum Creek. The discovery of Marbled Murrelets occurred after the appraisal was completed and signed by the Secretary of Agriculture. Plum Creek and the Forest Service agree the two sections of land containing murrelets should remain in federal ownership. The legislation, however, did not contemplate or provide for the deletion of these lands or for the need to adjust the appraisal after it had been approved by the Secretary. We are working with the Forest Service and Plum Creek on a solution to this problem. The land exchange is vital because it substantially resolves a decades old conflict created by the checkerboard ownership pattern in central Washington. It places into public ownership thousands of acres of mature timber and essential wildlife habitat, dozens of miles of streams and riparian corridors and some of the most popular recreational lands in Washington.

Mr. GORTON. I will be happy to join the Ranking Member of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee in such a colloquy.

Mr. GORTON. While the overall reduction is $10,000,000, within the total funding level the Committee has provided increases above the fiscal year 1999 level of (1) $1,130,000 for the harvesting and wood utilization laboratory in Sitka, Alaska, (2) $2,000,000 for forest inventory and analysis, (3) $500,000 for hardwood research and development at Purdue University, (4) $600,000 for the development of the National Center for Landscape Fire Analysis at the University of Montana, and (5) $700,000 for the CROP program. Therefore, other activities of the Forest Service research are to be reduced by a total of $14,930,000 below the enacted level.

Mr. GORTON. The report accompanying S. 1292, Senate Report 106-99, stresses the concern of the Committee that the research program of the Forest Service has lost its focus on its primary mission--forest health and productivity--and directs the Forest Service to reduce those areas not directly related to enhancing forest and rangeland productivity. There are existing research programs outside the agency that have greater expertise and objectivity than the Forest Service; especially beyond the disciplines of forest health and productivity.

Mr. GORTON. Your point is well taken, and I welcome the opportunity to provide additional information. The expectations of the Committee are that the Forest Service will not provide any increased funding for activities not expressly stated as increases in Senate Report 106-99. In other words, the Committee has not provided any increased funding for the climate change technology initiative or for global climate research. Nor has the Committee provided any increased funding in this account for Forest Service research on invasive species, fire science, watershed science, inventory and monitoring, or recreation, wilderness and social science. The Committee also has denied any increases for fish and wildlife habitat research programs, for the application of mathematical programming and computer simulation tools in national forest planning, and for forest health monitoring research. Beyond disallowing any of these increases, the Committee expects reductions in research funding to be targeted in those research areas that are not directly related to its core mission of forest health and productivity. In addition to social science and recreation research, which are well outside the expertise and core mission of the Forest Service, research not directly related to forest health and productivity includes, but is not limited to, research on wildlife, fish, water, and air sciences; global climate change and wilderness research. Beyond these research areas, other funding projects that the Committee feels are appropriate for reductions include the administrative costs of the Washington office (funded at $11.261 million in fiscal year 1999) and support for so-called ``national commitments'' (funded at $5.744 million in fiscal year 1999).

Mr. GORTON. Yes, it is the intent of the Committee that these projects be funded for fiscal year 2000 at their fiscal year 1999 funding levels.

Mr. GORTON. I thank the Senator from Pennsylvania for his comments, and I look forward to continuing to work with him on this request. I am well aware of the importance he places on this project, and more broadly, on his involvement in Gettysburg. I will work with my friend from Pennsylvania to fund the restoration and rehabilitation of Thaddeus Stevens Hall. amendment no. 1576

Mr. GORTON

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to the immediate consideration of S. 1543 introduced earlier today by Senator McConnell for himself and others.

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be read the third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. GORTON

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be agreed to, and the resolution, as amended, be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the resolution be printed in the Record.

Mr. GORTON. There is an amendment at the desk.

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of H. Con. Res. 167, which is at the desk.

Mr. GORTON

Mr. GORTON. No. But simply for the benefit of all Members, if the Senator from Minnesota could give us some kind of estimate as to how long he will speak? Because we are going to another matter soon. When his remarks are over, I will move to table the Smith amendment. We will ask for the yeas and nays. I misled my colleagues from Florida and Wyoming, who have an amendment that I think can be disposed of relatively quickly and I trust without a rollcall vote. But because of the lunch hour, I hope we can get to a vote on this amendment without disrupting everyone. Does the Senator from Virginia wish to speak on this amendment?

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendments be dispensed with.

Mr. GORTON. Will the Senator from Minnesota yield for just a moment?

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, the amendments are these: Senator Burns: Transfers $700,000 to tribal colleges with an offset from a land acquisition in his State. Senator Campbell: $400,000 for a habitat conservation program with an offset in his State. Senator DeWine: Redirecting various projects within the State of Ohio. The two Senators from Indiana, Senators Lugar and Bayh: $700,000 for a land acquisition and a wildlife refuge offset by another land acquisition in that State. The two Senators from Florida, Senators Mack and Graham: A very similar land acquisition offset. And Senator Reid of Nevada: A shift of $150,000, again, within the State of Nevada. I ask unanimous consent that all six amendments be considered en bloc and accepted en bloc.

Mr. GORTON

Mr. GORTON. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the Committee for its efforts to help resolve several very important and contentious issues affecting the Howard Hanson Dam project in Washington state. I applaud the Howard Hanson provision in the Managers Statement accompanying this legislation, which recognizes the ongoing negotiations between the Corps of Engineers and the National Marine Fisheries Service with respect to the Corps' responsibilities under the Endangered Species Act for the protection of threatened Puget Sound Chinook Salmon. These fish runs are directly impacted by the Corps of Engineers' operation of Howard Hanson Dam and, as a consequence, the Corps will be asked to bear responsibility for these impacts under the ESA. I appreciate the Committee's acknowledgment that the requirements of ESA might force a revision of the cost allocation for the Howard Hanson project. Given the urgent need to have mitigation measures in place as soon as possible to protect salmon runs in the Puget Sound region, is it the Committee's intent that the Corps provide a proposal for a cost reallocation to the Committee for consideration in the Water Resources Development Act for the year 2000?

Mr. GORTON

Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I rise to express disappointment in the way this tax legislation takes a piecemeal approach toward electricity issues. It deals with only one of the three major provisions that need revision if this industry is going to meet the requirements of all citizens and ratepayers in an era of emerging competition. The electricity industry is in transition. Wholesale competition between utilities and suppliers is becoming a vibrant and competitive market, although there is still work to be done to make this market work more effectively. Consumers have benefited from lower prices and increased supply although the benefits have been invisible to many retail consumers. And nearly half of the states have moved to develop their retail electricity markets to give more consumers the chance to shop for their power provider. But the federal tax provisions that affect this industry were written for a monopoly era. This has the real effect of keeping many utilities from participating in competitive markets due to the penalties they would incur solely because of outdated tax provisions. If these utilities are somehow forced to respond to competition without the needed changes, rates would rise only because of laws written for a time before competition was imagined. This bill addresses only one of these tax problems, the taxation of nuclear plant decommissioning funds. This benefits the investor-owned utilities interested in buying or selling nuclear plants. Two other areas need to be addressed to prevent other consumers from being penalized: the private use restrictions on municipal and public power systems, and the restrictions on electric cooperatives when costs or revenues are incurred during the transition to more extensive competition. In my state we have a healthy mix of suppliers of electricity: investor-owned utilities, cooperatives, municipalities and public utility districts. These three major sectors of the industry should have their tax problems addressed at the same time. I hope Chairman Roth and Chairman Murkowski will keep their commitment to hold a hearing in the tax-writing committee in September, with an eye toward resolving these tax issues as expeditiously as possible.

Mr. GORTON

Mr. GORTON. If the majority leader will yield, I would be delighted to have the first item to be dealt with, with respect to the Interior appropriations bill, immediately after the vote on the tax bill, be the point of order the Senator from Virginia wishes to raise.