Trent Lott

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. I have no objection.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, with regard to Calendar No. 34, the nomination of Pete Peterson to be the Ambassador to Vietnam, I would like to specifically thank the Senator from New Hampshire for his cooperation and for the very serious questions that he has raised, which needed to have proper attention. I believe that we have gotten some progress made in that regard. We do have now a letter that has been sent to me, in response to our questions, from the National Security Council, Mr. Berger. Senator Smith has had a chance to review that. I personally have had very serious concerns all along about the normalization of relations with Vietnam. I think the certification has been flawed in the way it has been handled, and I think that those points needed to be made. But I also felt that Pete Peterson was an excellent choice for this assignment. And I appreciate the cooperation of Senator Smith in the way he handled this matter, and Senator McCain for his cooperation. I know he has a personal involvement and interest in the nominee. I just wanted to thank them both for their efforts. I would like to yield the remainder of my time to the Senator from New Hampshire.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, in executive session, I ask unanimous consent that the majority leader, after consultation with the Democratic leader, may proceed to the consideration of Executive Calendar No. 34, the nomination of Pete Peterson to be Ambassador to Vietnam. I further ask that the nomination be considered under the following time limitation: 30 minutes equally divided between the majority leader and Democratic leader or their designees. I further ask unanimous consent that immediately following the expiration or yielding back of the time, the Senate proceed to a vote on the nomination and that, immediately following the vote, the President be notified of the Senate's action and the Senate then return to legislative session.

Mr. LOTT. That is my understanding at this time, Mr. President.

Mr. LOTT. I hope that, after all that we have done, we can get this concluded tonight. I know that would be your preference. That is my understanding as to the parties that have been interested. I think we can get it done tonight.

Mr. LOTT. For clarification, there was no objection to the unanimous consent request that I made, as amended by Senator Daschle.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I want to announce officially that there will be no further votes today.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I send a second-degree amendment to the desk and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I understand that a unanimous consent request has been entered into to allow the distinguished Senator from West Virginia to speak at this point. I have spoken to him, and with his permission, if he would allow me to proceed before that, I ask for that consent.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that it be in order to send a second-degree amendment to the desk.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk on behalf of Senator Domenici.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, for the information of all Senators, in light of the recent agreement and the request to bring the nuclear waste bill to a conclusion on Monday morning, I want to thank first of all, the Democratic leader for his cooperation in getting us to a point where we will get the final vote. The Senate, therefore, will not be in session on Friday this week. The Senate will convene on Monday, and following morning business the Senate will resume the pending nuclear waste bill under the previous order for debate of the remaining amendments. However, no votes will occur during Monday's session of the Senate. The Senate will convene on Tuesday, April 15, and begin a series of back-to-back votes beginning at 9 a.m. Following those votes, which would include final passage of the nuclear waste bill, the Senate will conduct morning business to discuss the significance of April 15, which is tax filing day. It is the hope of the leadership that the Senate could consider the nomination of Alexis Herman to be Secretary of Labor on Wednesday. Therefore, a vote is expected on that nomination during the day, Wednesday, April 16, session of the Senate. Also, we are very close, I believe, to getting an agreement with regard to the nomination of Pete Peterson to be Ambassador to Vietnam. One of the Senators has had some concerns in reviewing a fax matter at this point, and immediately after we hear from Senator Byrd, we hope to be ready to proceed on that under a time limit agreement. If we could get 30 minutes equally divided on each side unless yielded back, and perhaps a voice vote, but we will determine that during the next very few minutes. Again, Mr. President, I thank all Senators for their cooperation. I know it has been a very hard issue for the Senators from Nevada, and they have been very tenacious, but they have been reasonable in their approach. I appreciate that and I want to thank Senator Murkowski and others for their good work and thank you, Senator Daschle for your cooperation. Amendment No. 42 (Purpose: To ensure that budgetary discipline will apply to fees levied under this Act)

Mr. LOTT. Strictly at 6:30 we would vote. That is fine. I have no objection to that. With regard to the question, we are still working on trying to get final clearance on the Pete Peterson nomination to be ambassador. I am hoping that while we are having this final debate and getting the vote on these issues that we will be able to bring that to the floor for consideration this afternoon possibly on a voice vote. But depending on when we get done, it may require some time and a recorded vote. I believe we can get it up tonight. If we run into a snag on this agreement, it would be our intent then to try to do it during the day Tuesday, probably. I would like to do it tonight. We are working on it. We have asked the administration for some information that is critical. I believe we will have a response in the next 4 hours. I thank the minority leader.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. All Senators, under rule XXII, have until 1 o'clock to file first-degree amendments.

Mr. LOTT. I yield the floor.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I object to further consideration of this matter at this time.

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I understand there is a bill at the desk due for its second reading.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, finding a new species of plant in America brings mixed reactions. From scientists, it brings the excitement of biodiversity and more opportunities for scientific investigation. But for many Americans, an endangered plant listing often places strict controls on the use and resources of the land where the plant is found. When an endangered plant is found in a national forest, it can curtail the multiple use mission of the U.S. Forest Service. Its mere occurrence can stop the timber harvesting, which is so important to the rejuvenation of the entire forest habitat. And when trees are not cut, there are dramatic economic consequences for the community that lives near the forest and depends on it for jobs. You can be sure that enthusiasm was not over flowing when Mr. Steve Leonard, Camp Shelby's Heritage Inventory Botanist, announced that the Louisiana quillwort was found in the DeSoto ranger district in Perry County, MI on May 24, 1996. Mr. President, let me tell you about Perry County. Perry County has only three towns and roughly 11,000 citizens. Perry County contains 410,000 acres, 162,000 of which--over 39 percent--are national forest lands. The employment opportunities are limited primarily to the timber industry. The harvesting and marketing of forest products in the county has created over 1,800 jobs, of which 330 are involved in timber sales in the national forest. Currently, the unemployment rate is 7 percent. This year, Perry County's payment from the U.S. Forest Service for timber sales was cut by $1.5 million. This money would have been used by Perry County's schools to offset the loss of tax revenue received because of the large land ownership by the Federal Government. Now along comes the quillwort. This county is already absorbing the economic impacts of repeated and failed government attempts to establish habitats for the endangered red cockaded woodpeckers in the DeSoto National Forest. And let's not forget the restrictions for those gopher tortoise. The residents of Perry County love the environment and many make their living from the environment, but the ever growing restriction on land use challenges their commitment. The Louisiana quillwort is a very small grass-like plant with just a few strands--smaller than this ballpoint pen--whose scientific name is Isoetes Louisianensis. It was first discovered 5 years ago on private property in just two parishes of Louisiana. It was promptly listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, but since then, there has been no monitoring of its population. To this day, there still remains huge scientific factual gaps on the known and potential threats to this plant. There is one thing I know for sure. There is a lot of this quillwort growing on the edges of stream beds in Mississippi's DeSoto National Forest. It may be scarce in Louisiana, but Mississippi clearly has more than our fair share. This is not unlike many other aspects of the ever- continuing rivalry with our neighboring State. I say this with great respect for my friend and colleague Senator John Breaux, but maybe the name of this species should be changed. Mr. President, today I am here to honor the dedicated efforts of the U.S. Forest Service employees who walked over 200 miles of stream beds this past winter in order to locate quillwort populations and to ensure there would be no disruptions of timber sales. This was no easy task. The heavy winter rains left boot-sucking mud everywhere. Mr. President, at the end of my remarks I would like to submit for the record the names of all 48 U.S. Forest Service personnel involved in this effort. I want to recognize them and to thank them. And I know the citizens of Perry County want to thank them. This was more than an effort by the U.S. Forest Service. It is the story of the individual leadership and excellence of Mr. Don Neal and Ms. Kim Kennedy, two very able U.S. Forest Service employees. They did an outstanding job of determining the environmental consequences and developing a plan of action. Thanks to their efforts, the plan minimized economic impact without compromising the required protection necessary for the quillwort's habitat. This is also the story of two Federal agencies--each with partially conflicting missions. It took 4 years following the quillwort's initial discovery for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to approve a recovery plan. Fortunately, it took the U.S. Forest Service only 2 months to issue implementing directives. This swift action occurred under the watchful eye of Mr. Robert Joslin, the regional forester in Atlanta. He is to be commended not only for his actions when faced with the quillwort, but for his many years of dedicated leadership for balanced forest management throughout the Southeast. The forests have thrived. Thank you, Bob. The quillwort protection plan established a 165 foot buffer zone on either side of a streambed. Limiting timber harvesting within this zone maintained a heavy overhead canopy and filtered the light reaching the stream's surface. The cutting restriction also curtailed sedimentation and changes to drainage patterns. The quillwort seems to like small intermittent streams. This protection plan created a real challenge for Don and Kim because, at that time, there were 25 active timber sales in 51 compartments of the DeSoto ranger district. Four even had loggers on site. Due to the lack of factual knowledge about the quillwort's habitat-- especially since it was now newly discovered in Mississippi-- determining which drainage to survey proved difficult. The U.S. Forest Service stepped up to the plate and made the decision to survey all drainage within or immediately adjacent to cutting units. And, to err on the side of caution, the survey was 20 percent wider than the 165 foot buffer suggested in the recovery plan. The DeSoto district established an incident command system team to organize and survey 137 miles of streams on all active timber sales and 88 miles of streams in sales planned for next fiscal year. Timber sales were prioritized for survey in the following order: those with loggers on site; sales with open payment units; sales which had not been opened; and finally next year's planned sales. It took 34 days of slow slogging up and down streambeds--both sides. More quillwort was found. Louisiana quillwort was found on four active timber sales, three of which required modification before being released for cutting. It was also found on seven sales planned for next year, two of which were modified before the sales were finalized. The rest of the Louisiana quillwort was located in existing set aside buffer zones. Throughout the survey process, Ms. Kennedy maintained constant contact with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offices in Jackson and Vicksburg. Her persistence ensured that the appropriate NEPA documents were amended and the timber sales were modified. Without this level of attention, the sales could easily have experienced bureaucratic disruptions. Mr. President, this is clearly an environmental success story for all. An endangered plant was found. The habitat around identified populations was protected. Trees were still cut. I believe a mutually successful coexistence occurred. The quillwort won. Perry County won. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service won. The U.S. Forest Service won. I applaud the U.S. Forest Service for protecting the quillwort's habitat with a flexible rapid response. They did not take the easy route and stop all contracts. I'd also like to note that this process has allowed the Forest Service to significantly expand the scientific knowledge about this quillwort species. With all these new and frequently large finds, it makes me wonder just how endangered this plant really is? I hope the agency charged with monitoring the livelihood of the quillwort will not ignore this information. Mr. President, there is another question that cannot be overlooked when talking about the DeSoto National Forest. Why has the annual forest regeneration program dwindled down to less than 1 percent of the total acreage while over 33 percent of the forest has pine trees well beyond rotation age? And why is only 35 percent of the annual growth being harvested? This only causes these pine forests to get older. Mississippi's largest cash crop is timber. Every Mississippian has been behind a log truck on its way to a mill at some point, and every Mississippian knows a little about silviculture. We know that pine forests should be rotated and harvested to maintain their health. We also recognize that old trees are vulnerable to the pine beatle which jeopardizes healthy sections of the forest. Good silviculture prevents a pine forest from getting too old. Good silviculture encourages selective tree harvesting. Good silviculture creates healthy forests. Good silviculture creates an economically thriving community in all sectors. I want to challenge the U.S. Forest Service to give me a credible response to this question: Why are we only harvesting a small percentage of the annual growth? I do not want my inquiry to be dismissed with the weak excuse that we just did not have enough people to prepare a sale. The quillwort drew 48 Forest Service employees. How many Forest Service employees worked on timber sales during this timeframe? Recent claims that budget reductions have curtailed the timber sale program only go so far. In Mississippi, mature pine trees are ready to be cut. And the school district, county government, and timber farmers of Perry County who depend on these revenues are anxiously awaiting that day. The citizens of Perry County deserve no less. I urge a full, honest, and equal commitment to all of the U.S. Forest Service's missions. It is a sad fact that the U.S. Forest Service does not even live up to its existing and approved forest management plans nationwide. It repeatedly disregards programmed sales, making it impossible for counties like Perry County to plan its school budgets. I view forest plans as a contract between the Forest Service and each county. I do not expect these contracts to be broken. When these contacts are broken, the schoolchildren are the big losers. I would like to personally invite the new head of the U.S. Forest Service to visit Mississippi's national forests to discuss his plans to honor his agency's commitments to Perry County and Mississippi. In conclusion, Mr. President, I want to reiterate my appreciation for the extraordinary efforts of the regional forester in Atlanta and the district ranger and his employees in the Desoto district. They reflect great credit upon the proud tradition of the U.S. Forest Service. A proper balance was struck --a plant was protected and the interests of the citizens it affected were equally protected. This proves a mutually beneficial coexistence can occur. Mr. President, I request unanimous consent to list the names of the 48 DeSoto National Forest employees who walked the streambeds in search of quillworts. I ask that my colleagues join me in recognizing their extraordinary efforts: Kent Ainsworth, Debbie Lindsay, Eddie Bagget, Gary Lott, Jim Barner, Ed Lumpkin, Anthony Bolton, Robert Lumpkin, Hildred Bolton, Dean McCardle, Anthony Bond, Richard McCardle, Charles Broome, Wayne McCardle, Ed Bratcher, Mike McGregor, Steve Cobb, Don Neal, Robert Cooper, Gordon Pearce, Keith Coursey, Lee Prine, Jefferson Davis, Robert Reams, Frank Grady, Tony Rivers, Charles Grice, Patricia Rogers, Alicia Gruver, Joe Schonewitz, Andy Hunter, Ray Shows, Harvest Jackson, Robert Smistik, Kim Kennedy, John Stewart, Rebecca Ladnier, Wayne Stone, Gail Lassalle, Diane Tyrone, Pete Lassalle, Larry Walters, Steve Lee, David Wallace, Lisa Lewis, Donald Williams, and Mike Lick. Bruce Wilson.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I am sorry I am a minute late. I will not make a practice of that, Mr. President. We like to start right on time. Today the Senate will resume consideration of Senator Thurmond's amendment to the substitute amendment to S. 104, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. We are still hopeful that an agreement can be reached to enable us to complete action on this important bill in a reasonable timeframe. At any rate, we will continue to go forward on it, and we are making progress. I appreciate the cooperation of Senators on both sides of this issue for their cooperation. A cloture motion was filed last night on the committee substitute; however, if an agreement is reached, that cloture vote will, hopefully, not be necessary, and I assume it will not be. If an agreement is not reached, the cloture vote will occur on tomorrow morning. As a reminder, under rule XXII, Senators have until 1 p.m. today in order to file first-degree amendments to the substitute amendment. Rollcall votes are possible throughout today's session of the Senate, and into the evening if necessary. I do expect some votes today, but the most important thing is to find a way to come to an amicable agreement on how to conclude this legislation. That is our focus, and, again, we are making progress in that effort. As always, Senators will be notified as to when any votes are scheduled.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Madam President, for the information of all Senators, this cloture vote would occur on Friday unless consent can be granted for a vote on Thursday. Also, the interested parties are in the process of negotiating a consent agreement that would call for the final passage of S. 104 by the close of business tomorrow. Needless to say, if that is agreed to, the cloture vote would not be necessary. I encourage our colleagues to continue to negotiate on this important legislation, and I hope that they will be able to reach an agreement shortly.

Mr. LOTT. Madam President, I send a cloture motion to the desk to the pending committee substitute.

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

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. Madam President, for the information of all Senators, tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. the Senate will resume consideration of the Thurmond amendment to the Nuclear Policy Act. Thus far, we have made, I think, some progress on this important legislation. It is my hope that the Senate will be able to make additional progress during tomorrow's session and that we will be able to bring it to conclusion. But I do want to advise Senators that we do expect the likelihood of votes on amendments tomorrow and possibly even final passage, although that is still being discussed.

Mr. LOTT

Mr. LOTT. I now ask for its second reading and object to my own request on behalf of Senators on the Democratic side of the aisle.