Walter Jones

Mr. JONES of North Carolina

Mr. JONES of North Carolina. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 4957 contains several important conservation titles. It would first convey the Tylersville National Fish Hatchery to the State of Pennsylvania, a provision authored by Congressman John Peterson and Senator Rick Santorum. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission has been operating this facility under a long-term lease agreement with the Fish and Wildlife Service. By all accounts they have operated this hatchery in a highly effective manner, producing adult trout for thousands of recreational fishermen and investing nearly $4 million in improvements. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has testified that this facility is not considered an active component of the Federal Fish Hatchery System. Title II of this bill is based on the text of H.R. 1428, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Reauthorization Act, as passed by the House. It will simply extend the existing authorization levels for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The foundation has funded more than 6,500 conservation projects and involved more than 1,800 conservation organizations. The goal of those projects has been to increase resources for fish and wildlife conservation and develop innovative conservation solutions while respecting private property rights and sustaining healthy ecosystems. Title III of the legislation will extend the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act of 2000, legislation which has already been passed by the House. This will allow the Secretary of the Interior to continue to approve grants for the conservation of the more than 800 species of neotropical birds that migrate and reside throughout North America. Title IV incorporates the text of the Ed Fountain Park Expansion Act, approved by the other body on July 11. Under this provision, about 8 acres of Federal land would be conveyed from the Fish and Wildlife Service to the city of Las Vegas, Nevada. There, land was once used as the headquarters for the Desert National Wildlife Refuge, but the only remaining structure on the property is an abandoned storage building. The city of Las Vegas would pay administrative transfer costs and the property would revert back to the Federal Government if not used for a park. Title V incorporates the House-passed language of H.R. 4947, the Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge Expansion Act. The Cahaba River is the longest free-flowing river in the State of Alabama, and it may have the greatest fish biodiversity per mile of any river in the United States. This measure will modestly expand the boundaries of the existing refuge. Title VI incorporates the House-passed text of H.R. 5232, the Cherry Valley National Wildlife Refuge Study Act. This legislation requires the Fish and Wildlife Service to evaluate the potential of creating a new national wildlife refuge in northeastern Pennsylvania. Finally, there is an extension of existing authorization of appropriation levels for the Great Ape Conservation Act taken from S. 1250 which passed the Senate earlier this month. For the past 6 years, about $1 million per year has been spent to stop great ape species from sliding toward extinction. The Fish and Wildlife Service has assisted endangered chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans through 155 projects in dozens of range States and leveraged an additional $7.7 million in private matching funds. Mr. Speaker, I urge an ``aye'' vote on this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JONES of North Carolina

Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 1025) to amend the Act entitled ``An Act to provide for the construction of the Cheney division, Wichita Federal reclamation project, Kansas, and for other purposes'' to authorize the Equus Beds Division of the Wichita Project.

Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. S. 1025, introduced by Senator Pat Roberts and supported by our Kansas colleague Todd Tiahrt, authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to assist in the funding and implementation of an aquifer recharge program near the city of Wichita. The Equus Beds aquifer has supplied water to Wichita for over 60 years, but groundwater levels continue to decline. The bill's project will use excess water flows from the Little Arkansas River to recharge the aquifer and would provide significant new water storage capacity for area water consumers. This enhanced aquifer recharge and storage concept will help impede saline water intrusion and enhance the region's long-term water needs. I urge support of the bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, at this time I would like to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Tiahrt).

Mr. JONES of North Carolina

Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 260) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide technical and financial assistance to private landowners to restore, enhance, and manage private land to improve fish and wildlife habitats through the Partners For Fish and Wildlife Program.

Mr. JONES of North Carolina. 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.

Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I am pleased to support S. 260, the Partners For Fish and Wildlife Act, and compliment the House and Senate authors of this legislation, Representative John Sullivan and Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma. This is not a new Federal program. It has been administratively managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for over two decades. It is based on the innovative concept that wildlife populations and their habitats can be effectively conserved, managed and restored through voluntary agreements between private landowners and the Federal Government. During the past 20 years, more than 35,000 agreements have been signed throughout the United States. The result has been remarkable with the protection, restoration and enhancement of nearly 2.5 million acres of important fish and wildlife habitat. In specific terms, over 700,000 acres of wetlands, 1.5 million acres of upland habitat and 6,000 miles of riparian and instream habitat have been restored. In addition, over 120,000 acres have been treated for invasive species, and 194 barriers to the fish passage have been removed. What this legislation simply proposes is to build upon the existing successes by converting the line item within the Fish and Wildlife Service budget to a congressionally authorized program. By so doing, we will provide stability to the program, highlight the benefits of public and private partnership, and increase the amount of congressional oversight in the future. S. 260 is strongly supported by the Bush administration to States, private landowners and wildlife conservation organizations. The Partners Program has been a huge success, and we should ensure that this innovative program will flourish in the future. I urge an ``aye'' vote on this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield back my time.

Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Sullivan).

Mr. JONES of North Carolina

Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2334) to amend the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the design, planning, and construction of permanent facilities for the GREAT project to reclaim, reuse, and treat impaired waters water in the area of Oxnard, California, as amended.

Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2334, sponsored by Congresswoman Lois Capps, authorizes the Bureau of Reclamation to participate in a water recycling and desalting project with the city of Oxnard, California. As water demands grow and supplies become more scarce in southern Carolina, this bill will help provide regional water supply solutions to the Oxnard Plain. Using an innovative recycling and groundwater injection system, this program will provide many regional benefits and is designed to help meet the city's water supply needs through the year 2030. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise their remarks and include extraneous material.

Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. JONES of North Carolina

Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I join my friend Congressman Gonzalez of Texas and many of my colleagues to support H. Resolution 874, a resolution to recognize and honor older Americans for their role in helping make America great. It is so important that policymakers in Congress recognize the contributions of our Nation's seniors by keeping their needs in mind as we develop legislation. We must take this responsibility seriously as we consider issues such as Medicare, Social Security, veterans benefits, housing, and health care. We also owe it to our seniors and our seniors' grandchildren to do a better job of balancing the budget here in Washington, D.C. No matter what the issue, we must always work to ensure that the needs of our seniors do not get overlooked. I am thankful to the TREA Senior Citizens League, the largest nonpartisan seniors group in the Nation, and its national chairman, Ralph McCutchen, for supporting this resolution. The sacrifice of our seniors and the Greatest Generation should not go unrecognized. And, again, I thank my friend from Texas for introducing this resolutions. And I am pleased to support this resolution and encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support the resolution.

Mr. JONES of North Carolina

Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, the men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol are often exposed to high-risk situations and dangerous environments while working on our southern border. Often working alone in remote areas and rugged landscapes, U.S. Border Patrol agents routinely encounter heavily armed human drug traffickers. Despite these dangerous conditions, the men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol work tirelessly to protect our Nation's borders, and they deserve the utmost praise for their dedication and bravery. Unfortunately, Madam Speaker, two U.S. Border Patrol agents who deserve our appreciation have instead become victims of a grave injustice. Agents Ramos and Compean were found guilty in a Federal court for wounding a drug smuggler who brought 743 pounds of marijuana across our southern borders into Texas. The agents now face up to 20 years in Federal prison. Agent Ramos served the Border Patrol for 9 years and was a former nominee for Border Patrol Agent of the Year. Agent Compean had 5 years of experience as a Border Patrol agent. These agents never should have been prosecuted for their actions last year. By attempting to apprehend a Mexican drug smuggler, these agents were simply doing their job to protect the American people. These agents should have been commended for their actions. But instead, the U.S. Attorney's Office prosecuted the agents and granted full immunity to the drug smuggler. Granted full immunity to the drug smuggler for his testimony against our agents. The drug smuggler received full medical care in El Paso, Texas, was permitted to return to Mexico, and is now suing the Border Patrol for $5 million for violating his civil rights. I want to repeat that, Madam Speaker. The drug smuggler received full medical care in El Paso, Texas, was permitted to return to Mexico, and is now suing the Border Patrol for $5 million for violating his civil rights. He is not even an American citizen. He is a criminal. Madam Speaker, I have spoken to numerous people inside Texas and outside of Texas regarding this outrage, including the attorney for one of these agents. I have written to the President of the United States asking him to please look into this matter. I have written two letters to Attorney General Gonzales asking him to reopen this case for a fuller investigation before these men are sentenced in October. I hope that the American people will agree that this prosecution is an outrageous injustice and that the situation must be investigated. Madam Speaker, I am going to close in 1 second, but I will tell you I have had the opportunity to talk to these gentlemen, and I will tell you they are fine Hispanic Americans. They are citizens of this great Nation, and they love America. They, like their fellow Border Patrol agents, have a very difficult and tough job, and I hope that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will ask the same question that I am asking: Why and how is it that these Border Patrol agents were doing their job to apprehend a drug smuggler, and yet they are the ones who have been prosecuted, and on October 18 they will be sentenced? I think this is an injustice, and we are asking for an investigation. I know that Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee has joined us in this effort. I hope that we will look into this because these men and women who serve us on the border deserve our protection. I thank those who serve. God bless America.

Mr. JONES of North Carolina

Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I am on the floor today to bring to the attention of the House a situation involving two U.S. Border Patrol agents. These agents were found guilty in a Federal Court for wounding a drug dealer, a smuggler, who brought 743 pounds of marijuana across our southern border into Texas. These agents now face up to 20 years in Federal prison. Agent Ramos served the Border Patrol for 9 years and was a former nominee for Border Patrol Agent of the Year. Agent Compean had 5 years of experience as a Border Patrol agent. These agents never should have been prosecuted for their actions last year. By attempting to apprehend a Mexican drug smuggler, these agents were simply doing their job to protect the American people. These agents should have been commended for their actions, but instead the U.S. Attorney's office prosecuted the agents and granted full immunity to the drug smuggler for his testimony against our agents. The drug smuggler received full medical care in El Paso, Texas, was permitted to return to Mexico, and is now suing the Border Patrol for $5 million for violating his constitutional rights. He is not an American citizen. He is a criminal. Mr. Speaker, I have spoken to numerous people inside Texas and outside of Texas regarding this outrage, including the attorney for one of these agents. I have written the President of the United States asking him to please look into this matter. I have written two letters to Attorney General Gonzalez asking him to reopen this case for a fuller investigation before these men are sentenced on October 19. Mr. Speaker, I hope that the American people will agree that this prosecution is an outrageous injustice and that the situation must be investigated. Mr. Speaker, I hope that fellow Members of the House will join me in this effort. I know Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee and Congressman Poe and Congressman Gohmert have all said that they want to join in this effort to find out what has happened. I believe this is an injustice that needs to be looked into by the Attorney General and by the Congress of the United States. Mr. Speaker, with that, before I yield back the balance of my time, I will ask God to please bless our men and women in uniform, both in Afghanistan and in Iraq and throughout the world, and I will ask God to please bless America.

Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take the time of the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. JONES of North Carolina

Mr. JONES of North Carolina. 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.

Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. JONES of North Carolina

Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. House Resolution 175, introduced by Congressman Nadler of New York, declares that the House of Representatives stands shoulder to shoulder with the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, the citizens of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, and indeed the Nation, who were struck twice by terrorist attacks, by supporting a national memorial at the World Trade Center site to commemorate and mourn the tremendous loss of life that followed the attacks of February 26, 1993, and September 11, 2001. I urge adoption of this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 175) recognizing the importance of establishing a national memorial at the World Trade Center site to commemorate and mourn the events of February 26, 1993, and September 11, 2001.

Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. JONES of North Carolina

Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present H.R. 5381 introduced by a distinguished colleague, Jim Saxton of New Jersey, to enhance the existing volunteer program within the National Fish Hatchery System. The National Fish Hatchery System Volunteer Act is modeled after the highly successful Refuge Volunteer Act. This legislation will allow the national fish hatcheries to replicate the success of the refuge volunteer program. In 1982, about 4,000 volunteers worked at one or more of our refuges. Today, that figure is 37,000 and growing each year. Based on testimony, we know that there are 18 Friends of the Hatchery organizations out of the 150 eligible facilities throughout the system. While the National Fish Hatchery System has an existing volunteer policy, its limited statutory authority is inadequate. At the same time, the need for volunteers is critical because the vast majority of our hatcheries are more than 50 years old, they require constant attention and maintenance, and the number of full-time hatchery employees has declined by more than 12 percent over the past decade. There is no question that during these difficult budgetary times the National Fish Hatchery System could utilize the talents, experience, and expertise of thousands of volunteers. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.