George Miller

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, land exchanges between private parties and the federal government have long been a source of contention in Congress and in local communities. Exchanges are supposed to provide the federal government a valuable tool to acquire lands with high public interest values, such as enhanced recreational opportunities or wildlife habitat, and to dispose of lands with less or limited public value. According to a new General Accounting Office study that I commissioned, however, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service have wasted hundreds of millions of dollars swapping valuable public land for private land of questionable value, and the Bureau may even be breaking the law. In response to this report, I have called on Interior Secretary Babbitt and Agriculture Secretary Glickman to immediately suspend all land exchanges until the exchange programs can be fixed. The GAO report was prominently covered earlier this month by NBC Nightly News, CBS Radio, the Washington Post, and other media outlets across country. Subsequently, my call for a moratorium on exchanges has received strong support from newspapers, organizations and individuals from across the country as well. I commend to my colleagues three of the newspaper editorials that have appeared so far endorsing the call for the moratorium. I hope that my colleagues will review the GAO report and the call for a moratorium and will support such a move. The public is being taken advantage in these deals and their wallet and the environment are paying the price. ``Let's Make a Land Deal,'' The Washington Post, July 15, 2000; ``Public Land Deals Better Not Cheat The Public,'' The Bozeman (MT) Chronicle, July 20, 2000; ``Land Exchange Programs Troubled, But Well Worth Fixing'', Minneapolis (MN) Star Tribune, July 24, 2000. [From the Washington Post, July 15, 2000] Let's Make a Land Deal It seems like a simple idea: If the federal government owns some land it doesn't necessarily care to keep, and a private landowner has some land the government wants, and the two are roughly equal in value, then make a trade. The Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management have had the authority to make those kinds of deals for years, with the idea that the exchanges would help the agencies consolidate federal lands and acquire important resources. But the transactions are often far from simple and, according to a General Accounting Office report released this week, the land-exchange program has shortchanged taxpayers by millions of dollars by undervaluing federal land or overvaluing private land in some of its deals. The GAO said there are so many inherent difficulties in the land-exchange process that Congress should consider giving up the program altogether, opting for more straight-forward sales and purchases. The Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management reacted sharply to the report, contending that GAO looked at too few transactions to justify its broad recommendation and that many of the cases it cited are old and have already been addressed. They say significant reforms are already underway. Properly handled, land exchanges give the two agencies resources (public lands suitable for exchange) that they can use to acquire valuable and useful lands, including habitat for endangered species. If they lose that resource and wind up having to compete for funds for every proposed purchase, the likelihood is that their ability to obtain important land or consolidate holdings will be curtailed. But it is important to be sure that those purposes are being served by the land swaps and that the public's interest is protected, both in terms of what land is being traded away and what value is being obtained for it. Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), who requested the GAO report, has called for a moratorium on land exchanges until each agency ``demonstrates that it can insure all exchanges are in the public interest and of equal value, as required by law.'' That's a challenge they ought to be able to meet.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, the murder in Washington, D.C. of Orlando Letelier and his assistant Roni Karpen Moffit by the Chilean intelligence agency (DINA) has been a point of contention for the Chilean and United States governments since it occurred in September of 1976. Letelier was an important figure in the democratically elected government of President Salvador Allende and he came to this country after being imprisoned and beaten in Chile and then released by the Pinochet dictatorship from the position he had held, Chile's ambassador to the U.S. There is compelling evidence that Gen. Pinochet ordered his assassination. Moffit died because she happened to be driving in the car with him which had been wired with a bomb. Now that Pinochet has had his immunity revoked by a Chilean court, U.S. authorities have begun to review whether sufficient grounds exist to authorize his extradition. Joshua G. Hill, a Research Associate with the Washington-based Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA), authored a brief research memorandum on Pinochet's involvement in the assassinations and steps being taken to bring him to justice. I commend to my colleagues this brief paper on a case that has remained of such great importance to so many people in the U.S. and Chile. ``Pinochet and the Letelier Case,'' by Joshua Hill, research associate, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, Washington, D.C. Pinochet and the Letelier Case Background Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet's seventeen-year reign was one of terror and murder. Not only were well over three thousand political opponents killed or ``disappeared'' in Chile (including several U.S. citizens), but Pinochet's murderous group extended into the United States as well. Orlando Letelier, one of the most famous Chilean dissidents living abroad was murdered September 21, 1976 on the streets of Washington, D.C. Now that the Santiago Court of Appeals has removed General Pinochet's immunity, the U.S. Department of Justice is reviewing the possible extradition of Pinochet to stand trial for the car bombing murders of Letelier and Roni Moffitt, an American colleague of Letelier's at Washington's Institute for Policy Studies. According to the evidence presented at the time of the trial, the bomb was detonated by remote control. Letelier was killed instantly, while Roni Moffitt died when a metal shard pierced her body. Her husband, Michael, who was in the back seat, miraculously survived the blast. The initial trials The Department of Justice led by Attorney General Janet Reno reopened the Letelier case once Pinochet returned to Chile after being held under house arrest, in Great Britain. Accusations arising in Chilean and Spanish courts have rejuvenated interest in The mounting evidence against Pinochet In March and April of this year, the U.S. Justice Department and FBI investigated and interviewed witnesses in Chile. They were allowed to submit questions through a Chilean judge to forty-two subpoenaed people. John Dinges, a journalist and author who obtained a secret memo from a Chilean reporter, claims that an affidavit exists attesting to the existence of an order from Pinochet to Espinoza to murder Letelier. Compounding this testimony, it is a fact that Pinochet revoked Letelier's Chilean citizenship only ten days before his assassination in a response to growing outcries by Letelier against Chile's atrocious human rights policy. ``What was important to me about the stripping of his citizenship was the timing of it--just 10 days before the assassination,'' said E. Lawrence Barcella Jr., a former federal prosecutor who won two other cases against Chileans involved in the murder of Letelier. ``It clearly shows that the efforts of Letelier was making to bring pressure on Chile-were working. He was getting under the junta's skin.'' After his imprisonment in the United States, the Chilean government sentenced Contreras in 1995 to seven years for murder. Since it is highly doubtful that Contreras was acting without the President's approval, this conviction strengthens the case against Pinochet. In fact, in Contreras's 1997 affidavit, he stated that no DINA missions were ever undertaken without prior consent from Pinochet. U.S. domestic pressure is applied Adding to the domestic political pressure in the U.S., on May 26 California Congressmen George Miller and thirty-four other Congressmen sent a letter to President Clinton to insist that the U.S. continue to press the Chilean government for greater assistance in carrying out the investigation of Pinochet's complicity. They labeled the Letelier case the worst incident of terrorism committed by a foreign government on U.S. soil and the letter requested the president to focus on discussing the investigation in his meeting with Chilean President Ricardo Lagos in Berlin on June 2. It also called for the possible extradition of Pinochet to the United States if the evidence continues to point toward a significant connection between the former Chilean dictator and Letelier's murder. The extradition of Pinochet may be unlikely due to his advanced age and ailing health, but many members of Congress and others still are calling for a trial and a conviction to reinforce the principle that the U.S. will not tolerate terrorism on its soil. The Letelier case represents the effort to demonstrate that no one is above the law, not even a former dictator and self-proclaimed president.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to announce the untimely passing of Marc Reisner, a leading environmental author who helped awaken the nation and this body to the urgent need to reform the way we thought about water policy. Mr. Reisner's 1986 book, ``Cadillac Desert,'' is not only one of the great pieces of environmental literature ever written, but a marvelous study of the political process. It is often said that in the American West, whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting. Mr. Reisner's account of the historic water battles that have rocked California over the past 100 years puts new meaning into that old truism. Having spent much of the last quarter century working to bring federal water policy into the modern era, I salute Mr. Reisner for bringing these issues, and the urgency of adopting a new water ethic, before the public in a comprehensive and effective history. We continue the arduous and seemingly never-ending battle to modernize water policy, and much of what we have achieved, including the landmark Central Valley Project Improvement Act of 1992, has profited by the understanding of water policy and water politics promoted by Mr. Reisner and ``Cadillac Desert.'' I want to express my condolences to his family, including his wife Lawrie Mott who is a scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, and their two daughters. While his passing is a devastating loss and unacceptingly premature, I hope they can find comfort in knowing that his work helped change this nation for the better, and will continue to influence policymakers and private citizens for many years to come. I submit for the Record at this point a story from the San Francisco Chronicle on Marc Reisner. The article follows: [From the San Francisco Chronicle, July 24, 2000] Marc Reisner, Lecturer, Author of ``Cadillac Desert'' (By Glen Martin) Marc Reisner, a writer and conservationist who wrote the seminal text on the West's perennial water wars, died Friday of cancer at his Marin County home. He was 51. Mr. Reisner wrote and lectured extensively on environmental issues, but he was best known for his 1986 book, ``Cadillac Desert,'' an angry indictment of water depletion in the American West. The book was a wake-up call about destructive dam-building, pork barrel water subsidies, and the general frittering away of the West's scarce water resources. It stimulated a campaign for water policy reform that continues to the present. Mr. Reisner was born in St. Paul, Minn., and was a 1970 graduate of Earlham College in Indiana. From 1972 to 1979, he was a staff writer and communications director for the Natural Resources Defense Council. He was awarded an Alicia Patterson Journalism Fellowship in 1979, and began the research on water policy that ultimately resulted in ``Cadillac Desert.'' Mr. Reisner's book was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1986. The book was the basis for a $2.8 million documentary film series, which was first shown on national Public Broadcasting stations in 1997. The film won a Columbia University/Peabody Award. ``Cadillac Desert'' was ranked by the Modern Library as 61st among the 100 most notable nonfiction English language works published in the 20th century. Mr. Reisner was also the author of ``Game Wars,'' a 1991 book that elucidated the career of Dave Hall, a now retired special agent for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who specialized in busting international poaching rings. With author Sarah Bates, he co-wrote ``Overtapped Oasis'' in 1989, an examination of Western water policy. During the course of his career, his elegantly written essays and articles appeared in dozens of magazines and newspapers. At the time of his death, Mr. Reisner was working on a book about the role natural disasters have played in shaping California history and politics. In recent years, Mr. Reisner devoted much of his time to promoting solutions to California's environmental problems. He was a consultant to the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations on removing antiquated dams that were interfering with anadromous fish runs. He also co-founded the Ricelands Habitat partnership, a coalition of farmers and conservationists that worked to promote environmentally friendly agriculture, improve waterfowl habitat on cropland and minimize the negative impact on fisheries caused by water diversions. Mr. Reisner was also involved in two private ``green'' ventures. He managed the Vidler Water Co., which promoted environmentally benign groundwater storage and water transfer programs as an alternative to dams. And he worked with a group of California rice farmers and engineers to make fiberboard and other products from compressed rice straw. Recently, Mr. Reisner served as a distinguished visiting professor at the University of California at Davis, lecturing on the interaction of human civilization and the environment. He was a member of the board of the Natural Heritage Institute, an honorary trustee of the Tuolumne River Preservation Trust, a Rene Dubos Fellow and a recipient of the Bay Institute's Bay Education Award. He also received a special commendation from the American Whitewater Affiliation for his efforts to promote river conservation. Earlier this year, Mr. Reisner was awarded a Pew Fellowship in marine conservation. He intended to use the funds to restore native salmon habitats in California. Environmentalists remember Mr. Reisner as someone who was determined to mitigate the environmental problems he covered in his writing. ``Before `Cadillac Desert,' the general public perception was that dams and water manipulation were an unmitigated good thing,'' said Michael Sherwood, a staff attorney for the Earth Justice Legal Defense Fund who is involved in litigation on endangered salmon and steelhead runs. ``Marc was instrumental in raising awareness of the damage being done to fish and wildlife,'' said Sherwood, ``and in recent years, he showed ways environmentalists and irrigators could work together to find solutions that both protected natural resources and allowed commercial uses for water. We can be thankful he was here to open our minds on both issues.'' Mr. Reisner is survived by his wife, Lawrie Mott, a senior scientist for the Natural Resources Defense Council; and two daughters, Ruthie and Margot, all of Marin County. Memorial services are pending.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, earlier this month, the House of Representatives unanimously passed my legislation to create a Rosie the Riveter National Historic Park in Richmond, CA. H.R. 4063, which has been the subject of a hearing also in the Senate Energy Committee, would honor all those who served, in uniform and in coveralls, wearing helmets or bandanas, hoisting a machine gun or a welder's torch. Rosie the Riveter is, in the words of the National Park Service, ``the most remembered icon of the civilian work force that helped win World War II and has a powerful resonance in the women's movement.'' Rosie has been commemorated on posters, in the famous Normal Rockwell painting, and on a U.S. postage stamp. She remains one of the most enduring images of the Second World War. Another icon does remain that is worth remembering and preserving is one of the 747 ships that the Rosies--and the Wendys and Welder-- constructed at the Richmond Kaiser shipyards: the Red Oak Victory, one of the last surviving Victory ships that served in World War II. Eventually, the Red Oak Victory will play a crucial and permanent role in the National Historic Park. Today, she is being carefully restored by a small navy of volunteers that is stripping paint, cleaning rust, and reconstructing this legacy of the greatest war in history. I want to pay tribute to the men and women who are volunteering their time to spruce up the Red Oak Victory so that future generations of residents, visitors and students can learn first hand about the home front efforts to win the war and the tremendous economic, demographic and social changes generated by the war effort. The San Francisco Chronicle has published an account of the restoration effort, and I would like to share that report with my colleagues. [From the San Francisco Chronicle, July 27, 2000] Rosie Revisited--Volunteer Crew Is Restoring a World War II Victory Ship, Remnant of Richmond's Shipyards (By Chip Johnson) Every Tuesday for the past year, Owen Olson has left his Daly City home and stepped back in time aboard the Red Oak Victory, a World War II relic being brought back to life on the Richmond waterfront. At 79 years old, the retired U.S. Navy lieutenant dons a pair of coveralls and safety glasses, and climbs down into the bowels of the ship's engine room to strip off layer upon layer of lead-based paint. His face streaked with oil, he is a Norman Rockwell image of an engine-room grease monkey. Olson is one of the 30 volunteers, many of them retirees, who show up to paint, weld and repair the aging vessel. It is the only ship still afloat from Richmond's giant Kaiser Shipyards--a remnant of the glory days when 747 ships were built there during the war. One day, they hope, the vessel will be docked at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Park in Richmond. The Rosie memorial, a 400-foot-long wall shaped like a section of a Victory ship, will tell the story of the working women--and men--of World War II. It is scheduled to be unveiled at a dedication ceremony in mid-October. Meanwhile, about 7,000 feet of space at the old Ford plant, which built 60,000 tanks during the war, will be converted into a visitor center near where the Red Oak Victory would be docked in the future. The visitor center will provide information about the shipyards, the tank factory and other World War II-era sites in Richmond as well as war-factory sites in Massachusetts, Washington, Michigan, Ohio, New York, Louisiana and Connecticut. When the park is approved by Congress, it will become eligible for funding from the National Park Service. The visitor center is scheduled to be completed in two years. Meanwhile, there is a lot of work to be done on the Red Oak Victory, whose restoration must be funded by grants and donations in addition to the sweat of volunteers who hope to have the job finished in two years. On his weekly trip to Richmond, Olson is joined by a collection of aging wise guys and characters who look like they were typecast for a remake of ``McHale's Navy,'' a 1960s TV sitcom. The crew is clearly more comfortable aboard the ship--a rusting giant cargo vessel pulled from the mothball fleet at Suisun Bay two years ago--than they are on land. Some of the officers' quarters have been restored by a volunteer group from Clearlake in Lake County, but the rusting exterior decks and walls of the ship need the most attention. Mike Huntsinger, a career merchant sailor, serves as the chief mate. His job is to coordinate the tasks on the ship and perform a mechanical assessment of the ship's condition. A detailed 60-page restoration report has just been submitted to a firm that will estimate the cost of ``The objective is to restore it to an operating vessel and make it look like it did the day it was launched,'' he said. Right now, the boat is docked in Brickyard Cove Marina at an old city-owned dock, Terminal 9. She is a rusting gray lady, but there are signs of life aboard her. A gigantic winch used to load one of the ship's four huge cargo holds has been restored and is now operational. The 5mm and 20mm guns aboard the vessel, which was used to ferry supplies to soldiers fighting the Japanese, lie on the deck until the day they are mounted on the gun tubs on the bow and stern of the ship. But making the Red Oak Victory whole again will take far more than the elbow grease and old sea stories that Olson and J.P. Irvin, his mate in the engine room, or chief engineer Bill Jackson can muster. The cost is staggering--about $3 million to $4 million worth of mechanical repairs would require the giant vessel to be dry-docked. An equally long list of cosmetic work, including a stem-to-stern paint job, would also require a substantial investment, he said. Sea valves in the ship's hull that once allowed ocean water inside to cool the engines have been welded shut. The propeller needs to be balanced, auxiliary generators could use an overhaul, and ultrasound tests must be performed on the hull, just to name a few things, Huntsinger said. ``We'll pare down from there and see what the real world gives us,'' he said. Lois Boyle, president of the Richmond Museum of History, which owns the boat, will try to raise money through federal transportation grants, corporate sponsors--including Kaiser Permanente, whose parent company built the vessel--and hundreds of others. The museum has also applied to have the ship Despite its state of disrepair, the Red Oak Victory--named after the tiny town in Iowa that suffered the heaviest losses per capita in World War II--was a working merchant ship in the Vietnam War before being decommissioned in 1969. Jackson, a veteran seaman who sailed for 53 years, knows the feeling. The 82-year-old Oakland native was living in Costa Rica with a new wife and new son when he got a call in 1990 from an old sea buddy to help run a steam-powered supply ship in Operation Desert Storm. A few years later, Jackson returned to Oakland, where he lives with family members and spends his days aboard the Red Oak Victory. ``I love this ship and the sea and the friendships with the men that have sailed them over the years,'' he said. He must love ships because during World War II, he had two of them torpedoed from underneath him. He survived, but suffered injuries aboard the Courageous, which was sunk off the coast of Trinidad. The Red Oak Victory has become a rallying point for old sailors and history buffs alike, a place where they can work and reminisce and shave 30 years away. Huntsinger remembers the feeling he had the first time he saw the ship. ``I saw the mast from the highway, came aboard and the memories came flooding back,'' he said. As much as he and the rest enjoy the work, they will never turn away volunteers. ``I have a love for these old ships,'' said Rolly Hauck, 77 a retired salesman from Novato who served in the merchant fleet. He and his compatriots have but one collective wish when it comes to the Red Oak Victory. ``I want to see this ship live again,'' Hauck said.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this resolution and in support of the continuation of the Jackson-Vanik waiver for Vietnam. Last year, 297 Members of the House voted against a disapproval waiver. Since that time, major steps have been taken in many areas of greatest concern to the Congress and the American people with respect to issues between the United States and Vietnam. The number of Vietnamese who have been able to leave the country to resettle in the United States has reached merely 16,000 in the first 6 months of this year compared to 3,800 2 years ago. Ambassador Pete Peterson, our former colleague, has declared that ``Vietnam's cooperation on emigration policy, the test issue for the Jackson-Vanik waiver, is exemplary.'' Close cooperation between our governments is also continuing in the location, identification, and the return of remains, and in resolving the remaining MIA questions has been considerable. I had an opportunity to visit with our teams in the country that are seeking these remains and going through this intensive, arduous process. They will tell us the cooperation that they are getting from the government now that they did not get before. The program is working, not as fast as we would like, but the cooperation is in fact there. In reaching an accord with the United States on a comprehensive trade agreement, which is not an issue before this Congress today, the government of Vietnam has also demonstrated that it is prepared to move in the direction of transparency, fair trade, and a more open economy that will ultimately serve the people of that nation well. Our continued waiver of Jackson-Vanik, which is strongly supported by a number of veterans organizations, has encouraged Vietnam to implement reforms that are needed to establish the basic labor and political rights we believe are critical. There is still much room for improvement, to be sure, on all of these fronts, on freedom of expression, on religious freedom, on labor rights, on political rights; but the fact of the matter is progress is being made because of this engagement. We should continue to encourage these reforms in Vietnam through expanded trade, labor, and educational exchanges, again which are taking place already; cooperation, environmental and scientific initiatives which, again, are already taking place. But we need more of them. We need these efforts to build a stronger relationship between the two countries to promote the kind of open and democratic societies we believe they have a right to enjoy.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.) Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2348. This legislation authorizes funding for the Bureau of Reclamation to continue the endangered fish recovery implementation programs for the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins on a cost-shared basis with non-federal participants. Through these recovery programs, government agencies, Indian tribes and private organizations are working to achieve recovery of endangered fish while balancing the continuing demands for water in the arid West. The participants are equal partners in the recovery programs and decisions are made by consensus. The recovery programs work within state laws and support water development under interstate water compacts. The recovery programs are succeeding because all participants in the programs recognize that failure to recover the endangered species could result in limitations on current and future water diversions and use in the Upper Basin states. H.R. 2348 provides Congress and the Upper Basin stakeholders with finite limits on the construction costs anticipated by these recovery programs. H.R. 2348 authorizes the use of significant non-federal funding contributions. Since 1988, the recovery programs have been relied primarily on the good will of congressional appropriators and the Department of the Interior for adequate funding. With the passage of H.R. 2348, funding authorities for the recovery programs will be crystal clear. This is one of the most successful and broadly supported interagency cooperative programs in the history of fish management in this country. We seldom have an opportunity to pass legislation that enjoys such broad support. Years of cooperative work which brought this legislation before the committee, and I commend the many people both inside and outside government who have contributed to this program and the passage of this legislation. I strongly urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2348. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2462--the Guam Omnibus Opportunities Act--of which I am a cosponsor along with the Chairman of the Resources Committee. I recognize and congratulate our colleague from Guam, Mr. Underwood, for his hard work and collaboration with the staff of the Committee to craft legislation which addresses some very complex issues facing the people of Guam. Some may not realize how difficult a job it is for the delegates from the territories to move legislation through the Congress and I, for one, am glad that we are considering Mr. Underwood's legislation today. The Guam Omnibus Opportunities Act is legislation which, among other things, addresses two very important issues for the people of Guam--the future return of federal excess lands on Guam and the expansion of the island's economy. H.R. 2462 puts into place, a process wherein the government of Guam is given first consideration in the return of federal excess land. As chairman of the Resources Committee during the 103rd Congress, we passed legislation, authored by Mr. Underwood, which identified 3,200 acres of federal excess lands no longer needed by the federal government for return to the government of Guam to benefit the people of Guam. This was the first step in helping to address the very unique circumstances of Guam's history and the federal acquisition of 1/3 of the island after WWII for purposes of national defense. Currently, the return of excess federal land is governed by the General Service Administration's land return process which can completely prevent Guam from regaining the land, in favor of other federal interests. H.R. 2462 builds upon the success of our work during the 103rd Congress and establishes a process in which federal property no longer necessary for the continuing operations of the defense of our nation is returned to the government of Guam for uses consistent with benefitting the island's community. H.R. 2462 also contains a novel approach to increase investment into Guam by allowing the government to match the withholding tax rates of foreign investors to equal the same rate offered in U.S. treaties for foreign investors doing business in the 50 states. Guam's U.S. ``mirror image'' tax system was instituted with the passage of its organic act in 1950. The Internal Revenue Code requires a withholding tax rate of 30 percent on foreign investors with the exception of withholding tax rates negotiated in U.S. treaties with foreign nations. These rates are often lowered to encourage foreign investment into the United States. It is often the case, however, that the definition of the United States does not include Guam or the other U.S. territories. The exclusion of the territories, has for better or worse, penalized Guam in this instance since the majority of their private sector development has come from foreign sources. Amending Guam's Organic Act to equal the withholding tax rate under U.S. treaties will boost their attraction to foreign investors and benefit the island's long-term private sector diversification. I am mindful that over the past several years, the economy of Guam has spiraled downwards due to decreased military presence and the slumping economies in Asia. I am happy that we are attempting to address these issues in terms of making future excess federal land available to the island government for public benefit uses and the lifting of restrictive taxes on foreign investors. I thank Mr. Underwood again for his legislation and urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2462--the Guam Omnibus Opportunities Act.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, as the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen) has explained, this is legislation that has been worked out in extensive negotiations between the sponsor, our colleague, the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Bono), and the Secretary of the Interior. The Secretary believes that the bill before us will adequately protect this area. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Jones). (Mrs. JONES of Ohio asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Portman). This is follow-on legislation to the legislation that we passed to establish a National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program and will provide for the construction of a facility known as the Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3817, dealing with the tragedy of Jaryd Atadero, who disappeared on the Big South Trail in Comanche Peak Wilderness area of the Roosevelt National Forest in Colorado. Despite a week-long search, Jaryd was never found. With this bill, perhaps some good can come from this tragedy. I thank the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Tancredo) for bringing this legislation to the floor to deal with the memory of Jaryd and perhaps to warn other families and children about some of the dangers of being in a wilderness area, and to prevent other tragedies such as Jaryd's death. I urge my colleagues to support this. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Farr).

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 2327, and I want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Saxton), the gentleman from California (Mr. Farr), the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Greenwood), and others who have worked hard on this legislation. It is very clear that, as a Nation, we must consider comprehensively the challenges and the opportunities that lie ahead in the 21st century to ensure that we manage our ocean environment in the way that is both integrated and sustainable in the long term. I believe that this legislation moves us toward that goal. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Farr).

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Allen) for his work and his support of this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, H.R. 1651, which was passed by the House last year. As my colleague on the other side has explained, it contains several provisions intended to improve the fisheries conservation, management and data collection. It was approved unanimously by the Senate last month, and I urge the Members to support passage. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Allen).

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.) Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4320. The magnitude of the crisis facing the great apes is quite alarming. Populations of chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos, and orangutans in Africa and Asia are disappearing at a record pace, and scientists have warned they could become extinct in the wild within the next twenty years. A broad range of actions will be needed to conserve and recover great ape populations in Africa and Asia. Logging companies must halt the flow of illegal bushmeat from their operations. Long term support for protected areas, national parks, and buffer zones must be secured to protect habitat and wildlife. Law enforcement capacity to enable countries to enforce wildlife protection laws must be developed to prevent poaching. Finally, efforts must be undertaken to help rural populations develop alternative sources of protein that will reduce the demand for bushmeat. While it is a formidable task, we cannot let the desperate straights of the great apes immobilize us. We must do what we can as quickly as possible. H.R. 4320 bill is a good step in the direction and will hopefully inspire a broad scale effort to restore ape populations worldwide. Modeled after the successful and widely supported African and Asian Elephant Conservation Acts, the Great Ape Conservation Act would authorize the Secretary to provide up to $5 million a year in grants to local wildlife management authorities and other entities in the ranges states to conserve and rebuild great ape populations. This is important because without the cooperation and commitment of the range states and the local communities, conservation efforts cannot be successful. H.R. 4320 is supported by the Administration and a broad range of interest groups, and I hope Members can support its passage today.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.) Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3291. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3291 provides for the settlement of the water rights claims of the Shivwits Band of the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah. The bill would make 2,000 acre-feet of water available annually to the Shivwits Band of the Paiute Indian Tribe. The water would be diverted from the water reclamation facility in St. George, Utah. This settlement will provide the tribe with a significant and long- overdue economic boost. We have no objections to the legislation. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2773 would amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to make the Wekiva River in Central Florida, as well as several of its tributaries, components of the wild and scenic rivers system. Congress authorized a study of the river in 1996 to determine whether it met the criteria for addition to the wild and scenic rivers program. The study found that it did. There is a great deal of local support for conferring this status on the Wekiva; and in addition to this Federal designation, the Wekiva already benefits from important State and local protections. During consideration of this measure by the Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands, an amendment in the nature of a substitute was adopted which made a number of technical changes to the bill, the majority of which are suggested by the National Park Service. With these changes, we support the legislation and urge our colleagues to approve H.R. 2773.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this is the third time this important piece to the ongoing struggle for Indian tribes to provide governmental services to their membership has been before us. This bill provides a process through which tribes shall step into the shoes of the Federal Government and administer programs to their members previously run by the Indian Health Service. Similar legislation passed the House in the 105th Congress and again just last November when we passed H.R. 1167. The bill has passed the Senate, and today we are here to agree to changes we have worked out with the Senate. This is one of, if not the most, important pieces of legislation this Congress will pass affecting American Indian tribes as it reaffirms our commitment to tribal self-governance. The nature of self-governance is rooted in the inherent sovereignty of American Indian and Alaska Native tribes. From the founding of this Nation, Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages have been recognized as distinct, independent, political communities exercising powers of self-government, not by virtue of any delegation of powers from the Federal Government but rather by virtue of their innate sovereignty. The tribes' sovereignty predates the founding of the United States and its Constitution and forms the backdrop against which the United States has continually entered into a relationship with Indian tribes and Native villages. We did not make any changes to the bill as it passed the Senate. We decided to delete a section of the bill relating to the application of the FLRA, which is further addressed in the more appropriate setting. Language included in the bill permits tribes to receive waivers from certain regulations to help tribes administer certain programs. We are all agreed, however, that this language does not alter the obligation of the Indian tribes to comply fully with the laws enacted by Congress. I want to thank the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young) and all the members of the committee and all of the Indian tribes who worked so hard on this legislation, the Indian Health Service, and our friends in the other body who labored long and hard to get us where we are today, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California

Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, last month, scientists from 12 nations sounded the warning alarm that the world's great apes-- the chimpanzee, the gorilla, the bonobo, and the orangutan--are hurtling toward extinction at an alarming rate. These animals are humankind's closest living relatives in the animal kingdom, yet they face the very real possibility of disappearing from the wild within the near future due to habitat destruction and illegal hunting. While many species are currently facing imminent declines due to these anthropogenic pressures, the great apes are especially susceptible because of their slow reproduction and demanding habitat requirements. If action is not taken immediately, these animals will most likely cease to exist within our children's lifetime. We cannot stand by and let this tragedy come to pass. The threats to the great apes stem largely from increased commercial logging that facilitates both habitat loss and a growing and largely unregulated commercial trade in bushmeat. These factors are further exacerbated by civil war in many areas that are home to great ape populations. In Indonesia, it is estimated that less than 2 percent of the orangutan's original forest habitat remains. The most recent population estimates of these apes in Bomeo and Sumatra, the only two remaining areas that support orangutans in the wild, are less than 25,000 individuals. This figure represents a decline of 30 to 50 percent in the last decade and 10 to 20 percent annually. At this rate, if nothing is done, the orangutan will be extinct within 50 years. Although rates of forest loss are lower in most parts of Africa than in Indonesia, the irrevocable conversion of forested ape habitat to farmland and plantations poses a similar threat to populations of chimpanzees, gorillas, and bonobos. In fact, Africa is the third largest timber exporter in the world. Experts predict that in Zaire, Equatorial Guinea, and Cameroon, forests could disappear within 70 years if current trends continue. When this is considered along with the large habitat requirements of great apes and the need for protecting large enough populations to maintain long-term viability, the loss of tropical rainforest habitat poses a dire threat to global ape populations. Another growing problem threatening ape populations, particularly in Africa, is the dramatic rise in bushmeat trade. Bushmeat, the term used to describe wildlife used for meat consumption, includes gorillas, chimpanzees, and a variety of other species. Once only used as a sustainable subsistence food source, the largely illegal commercial trade has skyrocketed in recent years with devastating impacts on ape populations. This dramatic rise has occurred for a number of reasons, but primarily because of increased hunting to feed local people who have been forced to rely on cash economies rather than traditional ways of life and the influx of commercial logging companies who use bushmeat to feed their employees. In addition, as timber concessions continue to open up once remote forests with the construction of roads, logging trucks are hauling out hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds of bushmeat each week. Moreover, the increased prevalence of bushmeat has caused markets to move beyond local centers to urban areas and even international trade. According to the most recent reports, in the Congo Basin 4,500 gorillas per year and 3,000 chimps per year are killed solely for the bushmeat market. Even in the absence of habitat loss, the bushmeat trade in the Congo Basin is likely to lead to extinction of chimpanzees and gorillas there within the next century. Perhaps most staggering are the results of a just-completed Harvard survey of great ape research sites. This survey found that great ape populations are known, or suspected, to be declining in 96% of protected areas. It is these sites where the prospect for ape survival is best. In these protected areas, great apes are increasingly threatened by hunting, logging, war, and increased human population pressure in surrounding communities. We are only now beginning to understand and appreciate the complex role of great apes in maintaining the ecological health and blodiversity of tropical and subtropical forest habitats. Biologists fear that the loss of all great apes could irrevocably alter forest structure and the composition of species which could intensify other environmental threats caused by deforestation and agricultural development. A broad range of actions is needed if there is to be any hope of saving great ape populations. Laws on logging and poaching must be enforced and developed to stem the unregulated and uncontrolled destruction of forest habitat and flow of bushmeat into the commercial marketplace. Long term support for protected areas, national parks, and buffer zones must be secured to protect habitat and wildlife. And, finally, conservation education and intervention programs must be expanded and funded, to involve more local people and scientists in the protection of great ape populations. The challenges facing the conservation of great apes is immense. As a first step in the effort to address this problem I have introduced H.R. 4320, the Great Ape Conservation Act. The Act is modeled after the highly successful African and Asian Elephant and Rhino Conservation Acts, and would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to assist in the conservation and protection of great apes by providing grants to local wildlife management authorities and other organizations and individuals involved in the conservation, management, protection, and restoration of great ape populations and their habitats. The Great Ape Conservation Act will put money on the ground quickly, to start to halt the destruction of these animals. At the CITES meeting I attended in April, delegates and NGOs from many of the African nations expressed great concern over the growing demand for bushmeat and how this demand is contributing to the rapid decline of wild animal populations. Support for an effort to halt the flow of bushmeat is coming from not only the U.S., but also from the range states and many other countries who want to see this problem addressed. Clearly, the time for action is now. Just as clear is the fact that mere urging on the part of the U.S. to save these species will not be enough, even with the support of other nations. Whether its elephants or apes, rhinos or tigers, it's not enough to dictate to third world nations about the need to conserve their endangered biological diversity. We also must be willing to make the financial investment and provide them with the resources they will need to do the job. Only by incorporating the participation of the local residents will we be able to address the many social and economic factors preventing the long-term conservation and protection of great apes or any other species we think needs protection. This was the goal of the African and Asian Elephant Conservation Acts as well as the Rhino, Tiger Conservation Act, and this is the goal of the Great Ape Protection Act. This bill will only be the first step, however, and we must quickly determine what more we can do. It is critical that action be taken now, if we are to preserve the world's populations of great apes the chimpanzee, the gorilla, the bonobo, and the orangutan--for us and future generations. The cost of delaying is too large to accept.