Nick Rahall

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3058, the Public Land Communities Transition Assistance Act. As the chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources, I do want to express my deep appreciation to the gentleman from Oregon, Peter DeFazio, for his strongly tenacious efforts and determined determination on behalf of this legislation. He has more than adequately explained the bill. My purpose is to stress the urgency of this body acting on the legislation. This legislation, commonly referred to as the ``county payments bill,'' was enacted in 2000 to provide stability in revenue sharing payments made to the States and counties containing Federal forest lands. This funding has been extremely important, critically so in many cases, in assisting schools and communities in rural counties across the country, including my home State of West Virginia. Yet the Congress has failed to reauthorize the program. This Congress, with a Democratic majority, is attempting to pick up the pieces of a program that was looking at being eliminated square in the eye. Last year we managed to pass a 1-year extension of county payments, but that is due to expire at the end of this month. So I cannot stress enough the urgency of today's vote. Critical funding for schools and county services across the country will evaporate if we do not act today. Indeed, the National Forest Counties and Schools Coalition estimates that about 7,000 teachers and other educational staff will be laid off as of June 30th when their contracts expire if this body does not act. That is something worth thinking about. Students in rural forest counties across this Nation will be deprived of almost 7,000 teachers and the other educational staff. Now, some have taken issue with the pay-for, the offset being used for this bill, which is a conservation of resources fee on a class of Federal oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico that are unduly enjoying royalty relief by virtue of not having price thresholds. This is not a new proposal. This body has considered it before, and rightly so. My colleagues, to date the American people have been deprived of over $1 billion in Federal royalties as a result of this situation. That is over 1 billion with a ``B'' dollars, something worth thinking about. We now learn that in the future if this situation is not corrected, the American people will be fleeced to the tune of $4 billion and to a high of $14 billion.

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. Madam Speaker, on Tuesday, May 13, 2008, the House overwhelmingly passed H.R. 6022, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Fill Suspension and Consumer Protection Act by a bipartisan vote of 385-25. This important piece of legislation is now awaiting action by the Senate, which passed a similar bill 97-1. Hopefully this bill will be on the President's desk in the immediate future, and he will sign it into law so that American consumers can experience some relief immediately. The purpose of the bill is to temporarily halt filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) while oil is at recordbreaking highs. It makes absolutely no sense for the Government to be buying oil at roughly $125 a barrel and pumping it underground. While this is a modest measure to address gasoline prices, every little bit helps, as the President noted over 2 years ago. Considering that American taxpayers are paying $9 million a day to continue filling the reserve, I think halting the purchases is more than just a ``little bit.'' The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was created in 1975 to respond to the first Arab oil embargo of the 1970s. Originally, the Department of Energy was provided with appropriations to purchase oil to fill the SPR, but in 1999 the situation changed, and it was announced that oil taken as a ``royalty-in-kind'' from production in the Gulf of Mexico would be used instead. Through the end of the last fiscal year, the Department of the Interior has provided roughly 140 million barrels of royalty-in-kind oil to fill the SPR, valued at approximately $4.6 billion. Today, the SPR is almost 97 percent full, yet royalty-in-kind oil is still flowing into it at a rate of 70,000 barrels, worth, as stated above, nearly $9 million per day. As in any government contractual undertaking, the act of suspending shipments of oil to the SPR cannot occur without some adjustments in schedules, and it will take some time as well. For example, the Department of Energy will have to suspend its contracts with those entities that are delivering the oil to the SPR, and at any given moment a huge quantity of oil is already in transit. My interest, however, as chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources, which has primary jurisdiction over the Department of the Interior and the program that has been transferring royalty-in-kind oil to the Department of Energy, is to ensure that proper guidance and oversight is provided to that Department of the Interior. To that end, we understand the language of Section 2(c) of H.R. 6022 to provide the necessary authority to the Secretary to terminate existing SPR-related contracts and dispose of any remaining RIK oil accordingly. Under the terms of Federal oil and gas leases, the Federal Government is entitled to a percentage of the proceeds derived from the sale of oil and gas produced on Federal lands. The specific percentage is set by the terms of the lease, and typically ranges from 12.5 and 18.75 percent. The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to take that percentage either in the form of a cash payment or in the form of oil or gas itself. This latter method is called royalty-in-kind, RIK, and when the Government chooses to take its royalty-in-kind, it then typically sells--using private marketing companies--that oil and gas on the open market, directly competing with private firms. Currently, some of that RIK oil is not sold, but instead is directed towards filling the SPR. Under the terms of the RIK-SPR program, the Secretary of the Interior enters into long-term transportation contracts with energy companies to deliver royalty oil from the Gulf of Mexico to an onshore market center, where title is transferred to the Department of Energy. These contracts are typically for 6-month terms, and on May 1, the Interior Department issued those contracts for the period of July 1 to December 31 of this year. These contracts have a contingency clause to convert them from purely transportation to an outright sale contracts, but there is a 45-day notification requirement before such a conversion can occur. In order to get the oil from the onshore market center to the SPR, the Department of Energy enters into exchange contracts with energy companies. Under the terms of the exchange contract, the contractor takes title of the oil at the market center, and then delivers other oil that meets SPR specifications at one of the SPR sites. Consequently, the RIK oil does not directly flow into the SPR. The language of H.R. 6022 directs the Secretary of the Interior to ``suspend acquisition of petroleum for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve through the royalty-in-kind program.'' This means that the Department must terminate its transportation contracts and suspend delivery of the RIK oil to the SPR. In order to ensure that the Department of the Interior does not end up leaving RIK oil ``in the pipeline'' so to speak, H.R. 6022 intends that the Secretary convert the transportation contracts into sales contracts as soon as practicable and in accordance with the terms of the transportation contracts. This is the obvious intention of the bill, as Congress would certainly not want to strand tens of thousands of barrels of oil a day in pipelines across America. Consequently, we envision that the Department of Energy will continue to accept the oil at the market centers for as long as the Department of the Interior is contractually obligated to have it delivered, which we anticipate will not exceed 45 days from enactment of H.R. 6022. Congressional intent in this matter is to require the Departments of the Interior and Energy to end the process of filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as rapidly as possible. The Department of the Interior should immediately, upon enactment of this legislation, provide the necessary notice to their contractors that RIK delivery contracts will be converted to sale contracts within 45 days.

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. I thank the chairman of the Budget Committee, Mr. Spratt, for yielding me the time. While the Republicans continue to argue that opening more land is essential to lowering gasoline prices, the facts prove otherwise. We simply cannot drill our way to lower prices at the pump, and let's look at those facts. Since 2000, the amount of drilling on Federal lands has steadily increased. Between 1999 and 2007, drilling permits on public lands has increased more than 361 percent; yet gas prices, as we all know too acutely, have risen dramatically. There is simply no correlation between the two. Despite the Federal Government's willingness to make public lands available to energy production, of the 42 million acres of onshore Federal lands currently being leased by oil and gas companies, that's the red column here, only about 12 million are actually in production or producing oil and gas. The industry has this much available to them, and this is all they're using right here. They are obviously stockpiling these leases, and it's been evident for at least the past decade. In 2007, for example, the government issued 7,561 permits to drill. Yet only 4,704 wells were started. Over the past 4 years, there have been 9,800 more permits issued than the wells drilled. Today, the oil and gas industry holds in excess of 3,000 permits for onshore oil and gas development that they are not using to increase domestic production. Now, here's the most important point for my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. Some would argue that the entire Outer Continental Shelf should be opened to oil and gas development. This is a specious argument as drilling off the coasts of California, Florida or Virginia has been consistently and repeatedly opposed by both parties. And for those on the minority side who may want to vote for this motion to recommit, just remember: This will be viewed as a vote to allow oil and gas drilling off your shores. According to the Department of the Interior, the parts of the OCS, primarily the Gulf of Mexico, that are currently open to drilling contain 79 percent of the oil and 82 percent of the natural gas that exists on the entire OCS.

Mr. RAHALL. And as is the case with onshore, out of the 40 million acres currently being held by oil and gas companies, under lease, in the Outer Continental Shelf, the oil and gas industry has put less than 7 million of those acres into production. It's already there. It's available to them. Yet they're not using it, and they want to go elsewhere to drill. In a nutshell, the industry has access to most of the estimated technologically recoverable natural gas that's occurring in the Federal OCS, in fact four times as much as is estimated by the Minerals Management Service to occur in the moratoria areas, but the industry is not developing it. You cannot drill your way to lower gas prices at the pump. The industry has plenty available to them. Let them use what they already have before going into other pristine areas like ANWR.

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. Madam Speaker, today I am introducing a resolution expressing the sense of the Congress that the United States, through the International Whaling Commission, IWC, should use all appropriate measures to end commercial whaling in all of its existing or potential forms and seek to strengthen whale conservation and management measures. Whales cannot be humanely killed, according to Dr. Peter Singer, a professor of bioethics at Princeton University. As Dr. Singer said, causing suffering to innocent beings, without an extremely weighty reason for doing so, is wrong. Beyond subsistence needs, it is difficult to think of a reason weighty enough to cause such suffering to one of God's most magnificent creatures. As such, the purpose of my resolution is to send a strong message to the Administration as it prepares for the June 2008 meeting of the International Whaling Commission, IWC, in Santiago. The message is simple: now is not the time to capitulate to calls to weaken or undermine the IWC ban on commercial whaling. The American people care deeply about protecting whales, and the U.S. should continue to be an international leader in whale conservation. Established in 1946, the IWC's initial focus was the allocation of whaling quotas among member countries. Unfortunately, whalers from many countries routinely exceeded these quotas, and whale populations plummeted. In response, the IWC instituted a moratorium on the commercial killing of whales in 1986. Despite this moratorium, significant whaling has continued. Norway officially objected to the moratorium and resumed commercial whaling in 1993. Japan and Iceland have been using a provision in the Convention-- which allows countries to issue themselves permits for ``scientific whaling''--to kill whales under the guise of science, and later sell the meat commercially. More than 11,000 whales have been reportedly killed in lethal scientific whaling programs since the adoption of the commercial whaling moratorium, even though the IWC Scientific Committee has repeatedly stated that such lethal takes are not necessary for scientific research. At the same time, Japan is calling for the IWC to once again sanction commercial whaling in the form of ``coastal'' whaling, ``community'' whaling, or some other iteration of small-scale commercial whaling that will effectively eviscerate the moratorium. In contrast, the anti-whaling nations want the IWC to look to the future--a future in which whales are protected and their nonlethal use is promoted. With its 75-plus members almost evenly divided between anti- and pro-whaling, it is imperative that the U.S. make clear its strong stand against the resumption of any form of commercial whaling, including community whaling, and that we press for the end of ``scientific'' whaling that is anything but scientific. Therefore, the resolution I am introducing today calls on the U.S. delegation to the IWC to remain firmly opposed to commercial whaling in all its forms. The resolution urges the U.S. to not only initiate or support efforts to oppose the unnecessary lethal taking of whales for scientific purposes, but also seek to end the sale of meat and blubber from whales killed for scientific research in order to remove this perverse incentive. The resolution also calls on the U.S. to reject proposals that would weaken or lift the moratorium on commercial whaling by creating a new category of whaling deceptively called coastal or community whaling. It is more critical than ever that the U.S. remain firmly opposed to any proposals to resume even a limited level of commercial whaling and to maintain its leadership role in shaping global whale conservation policies through the IWC. The administration must not undo more than 20 years of whale conservation and capitulate to Japan's demand for a sanctioned resumption of coastal commercial whaling. Instead, the U.S. should again demonstrate leadership in whale conservation and promote nonlethal uses of whales--such as whale watching--a far more benign and profitable venture. Worldwide, tourists spend an estimated $1.5 billion on whale watching each year. Whales constitute a vital component of the world's marine ecosystems and are some of the largest and most intelligent mammals on Earth. Conserving them requires us to uphold strong international agreements and maintain an unwavering commitment to protecting these species from killing for commercial gain. I thank my colleagues for cosponsoring this resolution, and I urge all Members to support it.

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6022, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Fill Suspension and Consumer Protection Act of 2008. At a time when crude oil is over $120 a barrel, it makes absolutely no sense for the Federal Government to continue purchasing massive quantities of oil in order to stick it in a hole in the ground for safe-keeping. Under the current situation, the Federal Government is buying oil at record-high prices to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve at the rate of 70,000 barrels a day. These daily purchases create additional pressure on demand and further inflate prices at the pump. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is roughly 97 percent full right now. We do not need to pay a premium to the oil companies just to top it off. In addition to the obvious economic reasons to suspend filling the Reserve now, the Federal Government should not use oil taken as a ``Royalty-In-Kind'', RIK, from oil and gas production in the Federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico to fill the Reserve. By way of background, RIK is one of two methods used by the Government to collect the taxpayer's share of production from the Nation's substantial oil and gas mineral assets. The other method is good old-fashioned cash. I have been arguing for years that the Royalty-in-Kind program is a bad idea. Under the pretense of ``enhanced transparency'' and ``reduced litigation,'' the oil industry, with a little help from its Republican friends in Congress and the Administration, snookered folks into believing that taxpayers would get a better deal if Federal oil and gas royalty payments were made ``in-kind'' instead of paying in cash. Despite report after report, investigations and potentially even criminal indictments, the Minerals Management Service, MMS, has forged ahead with this misbegotten program. Today, the RIK Program is selling over 800 million cubic feet of natural gas per day and over 150,000 barrels of crude oil per day on the open market. The MMS reports that revenues from sales of RIK oil and gas in fiscal year 2006 were approximately $4.1 billion. However, we have no way of knowing if it got the best price or even broke even. Even the MMS itself estimates that the Royalty-in-Kind program only increased royalty revenues by a meager 0.3 percent--which according to the Government Accountability Office, GAO, during a recent Natural Resources Committee hearing, could not be confirmed. As further evidence of the problems with RIK, earlier this year, the Inspector General for the Department of Energy found chronic mismanagement in the transfer of oil between the Department of the Interior and the Department of Energy. During a brief 4-month period of oil transfers between the two agencies, approximately 32,000 barrels of oil were lost or could not be accounted for--that is almost $4 million worth of oil that is simply gone. The GAO also concluded that the current method for filling the Reserve is not cost-effective. The bottom line--the Royalty-in-Kind program should not be used to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Not now, not ever. Mr. Speaker, this bill is an important first step in reducing the pain Americans are feeling at the pump. It cuts off the flow of Royalty-in-Kind oil to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve at a time when that flow is neither necessary nor prudent. I believe we need to pass this bill and then take a closer look at the Royalty-in-Kind program overall to see if that, too, is costing the American taxpayer more that it is worth.

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Dr. Jerry L. Beasley and his 23 years of service to the students and faculty of Concord University. Concord University is home to over 2700 of West Virginia's best and brightest students and one of the finest public universities in the Nation. Since 1985, Jerry has led the faculty and staff of Concord University as President of this great institution and is now set to retire on June 30, 2008. Born and raised in Hinton, West Virginia, Jerry has devoted his life to improving our State's educational opportunities. He earned his bachelor's degree from Harvard College in 1966 and his master's in education degree in 1969. He worked at Harvard as an assistant to the admissions committee for the college before joining the West Virginia Commission of Higher Education. In 1972, he came to Concord College as a special assistant to the President before being hired by Waynesburg College as Vice President for Planning and Development from 1974-1982 where his efforts more than tripled gifts and grants for operations. In 1979, he was awarded a Ph.D. from Stanford University where his doctoral research focused on innovations in State government. His last stop before returning to Concord was at West Virginia Wesleyan, where Jerry served as Vice President for Planning and Development. In 1985, Jerry became President at Concord, and in what would be the first of many signs of his lifelong dedication to the institution of higher learning, he decided to forgo the traditional inauguration and instead devoted the funds and efforts for the ceremony to the support of student scholarships. During his tenure, Jerry has been a godsend to Concord University, helping it to expand and flourish, and has played a powerful role in developing one of the largest endowments of any West Virginia public college. At close to $23 million, the Concord University Foundation is number one among small public colleges and universities in the state. He also oversaw major changes and improvements to the campus from the physical plant, Marsh Hall, the science building and new technology centers on campus. From special assistant to the President to being installed as President himself, Jerry has left his mark on virtually every aspect of the University and touched countless lives around him. Jerry's list of accomplishments far exceeds his years of service. He has nurtured generations of young minds and helped shape the higher education system in West Virginia. His dedication to his work and commitment to helping others are examples for us all. I again congratulate Jerry on his 23 years of dedicated service to Concord University and wish his wife Jean and himself continued success in all their future endeavors here in Athens.

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on behalf of H. Res. 1086, a resolution in recognition of National Nurses Week, which will be celebrated May 6 through May 12, 2008. As a proud member of the Congressional Nursing Caucus, I added my name as cosponsor to this worthy resolution. Nurses Week has been celebrated every year since 2003 and coincides with the May 12th birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. We recognize this week, as we should all 52 weeks of the year, the critical role nurses play in providing safe, high- quality, and preventative health care. Providing this type of adequate health care is essential, not only across the Nation, but especially in rural America. As a longtime friend of hard-working West Virginians, I believe all Americans deserve to have access to quality, affordable health care. Throughout my tenure, I have continued to support programs that will improve this access, and I believe that providing quality nurses is part of this goal. This is why I support increased funding for Nursing Workforce Development Programs so that those who answer the call to serve others through nursing have the support and funding they need to achieve that goal. Nursing care is an essential and necessary aspect of our health care infrastructure, and it is therefore important that we continue to provide every opportunity to recruit and maintain more nurses, particularly in rural areas like southern West Virginia. Nursing programs in my district such as those at St. Mary's Hospital, Marshall University, and Mountain State University, along with countless others around the State, help to provide a vital service to their fellow citizens. I encourage the people of West Virginia, and the entire Nation, to observe National Nurses Week with appropriate recognition, ceremonies, activities, and programs to demonstrate the importance of nurses to the everyday lives of patients. They make significant contributions to the lives of so many every day without once asking for the recognition they clearly deserve.

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Dr. Sarah N. Denman and her 33 years of service to the students and faculty of Marshall University. Marshall University is home to 14,000 of West Virginia's best and brightest students and one of the finest public universities in the Nation. For the last 9 years, Sarah has served as the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Marshall University and is now set to retire on May 10, 2008, with Marshall's 171st Commencement. Born and raised in Kenova, West Virginia, Sarah has devoted her life to improving our State's educational opportunities. She earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees from Marshall University and her doctorate in higher education administration from West Virginia University. She then taught for 6 years at Ceredo-Kenova High School before joining Marshall's faculty. At Marshall, she has served as Coordinator of the Communications Program, Associate Dean for the Community College, Higher Learning Commission Consultant Evaluator, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, Vice President of Academic Affairs, and since 1999, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs. During her tenure, Sarah has been a godsend to Marshall University, helping it expand and flourish, and has played a powerful role in transforming a once humble Marshall College into the internationally renowned university it is today. From Associate Professor to Provost, Sarah has left her mark on virtually every aspect of the University and touched countless lives of those around her. Marshall's academic programs have been blessed by her guidance and, in turn, southern West Virginia has been blessed by Marshall. Thanks to her hard work and dedication at Marshall, the best and brightest of West Virginia's students have access to the higher education they need--without leaving the home they love--to succeed in the global economy. Sarah's list of accomplishments far exceeds her years of service. She has nurtured generations of young minds and helped shape the higher education system in West Virginia. Her dedication to her work and commitment to helping others are examples to us all. I again congratulate Sarah for her 33 years of dedicated service at Marshall University and wish her continued success in retirement and all her future endeavors.

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize West Virginia's Army National Guard for earning a Special Category ``First Place'' award in the prestigious Army Communities of Excellence (ACOE) competition. West Virginia scored highest among 28 states and territories that entered this year's contest. The award recognizes performance excellence in business process improvement, individual and corporate innovation, and dedication to providing support to soldiers and families. Our heroic men and women in uniform are never far from my thoughts. They are our Nation's consistent example of valor and courage. West Virginia's Army National Guard performance illustrates those qualities in the ACOE competition, during which they were recognized for having a strong strategic planning process, communication that flowed well throughout all levels of the organization, and a customer-driven focus that sought to create value and promote personal learning and social responsibility. This award reflects the hard work and dedication of the men and women not only of the West Virginia Army National Guard, but also of every family member and friend that stands behind them. It is important to remember that our brave men and women have given so much and have expected so little in return. I am proud to take this moment to recognize the excellence of the West Virginia Army National Guard in all that they do to keep us safe from harm. Our Armed Forces have paid the debt for the freedom we enjoy today, and I will continue, as I have in the past, to do everything I can to honor their sacrifices and service. Our veterans, just as our soldiers today, remain foremost in the thoughts and minds of Southern West Virginians, and I will continue to devote my all to those who wear or have worn America's uniform.

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. RAHALL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3522) to ratify a conveyance of a portion of the Jicarilla Apache Reservation to Rio Arriba County, State of New Mexico, pursuant to the settlement of litigation between the Jicarilla Apache Nation and Rio Arriba County, State of New Mexico, to authorize issuance of a patent for said lands, and to change the exterior boundary of the Jicarilla Apache Reservation accordingly, and for other purposes.

Mr. RAHALL. Passage of the pending measure will resolve a longstanding dispute between the Jicarilla Apache Nation and the county of Rio Arriba in New Mexico over a disputed road. The tribe and the county have agreed to a settlement which requires the approval of Congress in order to become effective. Under this settlement agreement, the tribe will transfer 70.5 acres of land located within its expanded 1988 reservation to the county. In exchange, the county will abandon any and all claims to the disputed road. I would like to commend our colleague from New Mexico for his super leadership and determination, Mr. Tom Udall, for bringing this bill before us today. Some of the more difficult and contentious issues that we deal with are those of property lines and jurisdictions of towns, private landowners and Indian tribes. Mr. Udall has never shied away from such matters when they affect the Indian tribes of New Mexico, and I commend him. I urge my colleagues to support its passage. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. RAHALL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. RAHALL. Existing Federal law allows tribal corporations to lease tribal land for a term of 25 years. However, there are instances where the Congress has provided the authority for a tribal corporation to engage in even longer terms. The pending measure would give the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe of Connecticut the ability to lease its lands for not more than two additional terms of up to 25 years each, for a total of 75 years, in an effort to assist this tribe, expand its economy and assist its members. Furthermore, it prohibits any entity from conducting gaming activity on any land that is leased with an option to renew under this act. I would note that this measure passed the other body by unanimous consent. And I would commend our colleague from Connecticut (Mr. Larson) for his leadership and championing this measure in the House. I urge its passage and I reserve the balance of my time, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. RAHALL. I yield back the balance of my time, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 2457) to provide for extensions of leases of certain land by Mashantucket Pequot (Western) Tribe.

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time. I am prepared to yield back.

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I have commended this gentleman in my opening remarks because he truly has worked hard over a number of years for a major part of this package. It is a highlight of the package, and I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Larsen) to explain it.

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, a simple response to the gentleman who just spoke. There's no eminent domain authority whatsoever granted in this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Connecticut, a very valued Member that has worked hard on this bill and has done a superb job, and I want to commend Mr. Courtney for his leadership and work on this legislation.

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to a member of our Committee on Natural Resources, the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Inslee). (Mr. INSLEE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. RAHALL. I am prepared to close on this side, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I want to yield 2 minutes to another of our subcommittee chairwomen who has put in long hours and very hard work on this legislation, the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans (Ms. Bordallo).