Nick Rahall

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Chairman, I thank the cosponsor of this amendment, the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Inslee) for yielding me this time. Mr. Chairman, normally I would have offered this type of amendment, being the usual suspect, because I have a long history on the issue that it touches upon. I have invested a great deal of time, indeed years, in an effort to reform the Mining Law of 1872. To be clear, I fully support this amendment. It represents a type of policy that should be in place. At the same time, it is far past time to be doing piecemeal reform of the Mining Law of 1872. The solution is, without a doubt, comprehensive reform, not this piecemeal fashion that we have been doing. I have stood on this floor with amendments and bills on this issue, yet the hard heads in the hardrock mining industry just do not get it. They have not gotten it yet. Their allies in this body, although in a minority, are in a position to block comprehensive reform measures from being considered in committee; so we are forced to come to the floor with amendments of this nature or amendments that I have offered in the past on efforts to stop the patenting of mining claims and to uphold the millsite decision. This will continue until the mining industry comes to the table. Mr. Chairman, I say to the industry, come to the table. Negotiate. Compromise. My door is open. We will find common ground. Not ground sold for $2.50 an acre under a 19th century law. No, not that common ground. Not ground from the public's gold and silver that is mined with no royalty paid to the true owners of the land, the American people. I believe we can reach a sensible agreement on how to address issues which swirl around this industry and plague this industry in its investment decisions, and I understand the need for stability and certainty before making those types of investment in large equipment that is needed to mine our Nation's resources. Mr. Chairman, there is new leadership at the National Mining Association. I have told them my door is open. Let us work together to restore the public faith and interest in this matter. In the meantime, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the Inslee amendment. I say to my colleague, the gentleman from Arizona, who described these regulations as promulgated by the last administration in the last nanosecond, that is because a Republican Congress for five times has delayed through appropriations riders these regulations.

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the DeFazio amendment on recreation fees. At the height of summer recreation season when tens of millions of Americans most enjoy their national parks and other public lands, the bill before us expands the recreation fees that are financially unfair to seniors, families, and children. After just passing a tax cut, there are those who want to give money with the one hand and take it back with the other. I am concerned with the scope and nature of the recreation fees being charged, and the fees' impact on senior citizens, families, and other recreational users. I am especially disturbed by the fact that while recreational trail users of our Federal lands are being asked to bear an increased financial burden for the management of these lands, the same is not being asked of many subsidized individuals, businesses, and industries whose consumptive use of Federal lands have far more impact. It is unfortunate, Mr. Chairman, that proponents propose substantial increases in recreation fees at the height of the summer recreation season, yet have been unwilling to reduce the generous subsidy corporations receive from the use of public resources. It is regrettable that proponents apparently believe that only private citizens, not the corporations that profit from the resources of this Nation, should be called upon to pay more. How much additional revenue can the majority expect to squeeze out of families and senior citizens? Our national shrines and the national heritage embodied in our public lands provide an exceptional and unique place in which to instill a solid value system in our children. We should be encouraging this family value, not hindering it. It will be a sad day when families and other visitors have to look in their wallets to see if they can afford to use our great system of national parks, forests, and public lands in which they, the public, share ownership. Mr. Chairman, I support the DeFazio amendment. I do not believe it is right that our constituents should have to pay to simply walk in our national forests or watch a sunset on our public lands.

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, America's national monuments are under siege. Under the guise of an energy crisis, both the President and his Interior Secretary have publicly suggested that some of our national monuments might be pretty nice places for oil and gas drilling or perhaps even a coal mine. In my view, this is not what America is about. Americans are rightfully concerned about energy security, but I do not think that the majority of Americans believe that we are in such a sorry state of affairs that we must unleash big oil onto some of our most cherished and sacred public lands. Make no mistake about it, some of the oil and gas companies have been hankering to get into these areas for years. They are salivating over the thought that these monuments might be opened. Mr. Chairman, I maintain that our national monuments, our national heritage must not be sacrificed on the alter of greed and profit. Mr. Chairman, my amendment would simply prohibit the issuance of new energy leases in designated national monuments. It would not, it would not vanquish any valid existing right, nor would it prevent leasing in any situation where that activity was authorized when the monument was established. Establishment of a national monument is an authority vested with the President under what is known as the Antiquities Act. Beginning with that great Republican conservative Teddy Roosevelt, 14 of the 17 Presidents who served since 1906 have used this power. In all, they have established 122 national monuments, with Congress subsequently redesignating 30 of them as national parks. We are talking about places like the California Coastal National Monument and the Giant Sequoia National Monument in California. The Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho and Vermillion Cliffs National Monument in Arizona.

Mr. RAHALL. I yield to the gentleman from Washington.

Mr. RAHALL. Reclaiming my time, the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Dicks), the distinguished ranking member, is exactly right. Mr. Chairman, I yield further to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Dicks).

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, these places I just mentioned, they are incredible treasures. They are incredible treasures; from the Atlantic to the Pacific, historic sites, glacial fjords, towering mountains and fragile deserts. Indeed, they are a lasting legacy that we as Americans can hand down for generations to come. Are we really that desperate that we will allow coal mining or oil and gas drilling in these national monuments? I do not believe so. Yet there are some, there are some who see things differently. Under the Bush administration, the Interior Department has conducted a new analysis of the energy potential of national monument lands, not all monuments, mind you, not an analysis of all monuments, just those it so happened were designated by President Clinton. What a surprise. This new analysis found that a number of our national monuments may contain some oil and gas and coal resources. These areas apparently now represent the administration's monument hit list. So the question comes down to this: 95 percent of BLM lands in the western energy-producing States are already open to oil, gas and coal leasing; 95 percent BLM lands are already open to oil, gas and coal leasing. Must we now sacrifice the remaining 5 percent of protected areas, our wilderness, our historic sites, our wildlife preserves? Must they now be subjected to exploitation and speculation? I say no, and I sincerely hope that this body says no as well. Vote for our heritage. Vote for our legacy. Vote for our future generations. Vote for American values. And vote for this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind), a valued member of our committee and the ranking member on the Subcommittee Committee on Energy and Mineral Resources. (Mr. KIND asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio).

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey).

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Udall).

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge West Virginia Day, at least for the 1 hour left in today, and the West Virginian of the Century, U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd, whose accomplishments will last forever. 138 years ago, on June 20, 1863, West Virginia became the 35th State in the Union. Over those 138 years, our State has been blessed with many great statesmen and women, but last month at the State capitol in Charleston, Senator Robert C. Byrd was appropriately honored as West Virginian of the Century by a proclamation from our West Virginia Governor, Bob Wise, and resolutions from the West Virginia House of Delegates and the West Virginia Senate. Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record the remarks of Senator Byrd on that occasion. Remarks by Senator Robert C. Byrd, ``West Virginian of the 20th Century,'' May 31, 2001 West Virginia, how I love you! Every streamlet, shrub and stone, Even the clouds that flit above you Always seem to be my own. Your steep hillsides clad in grandeur, Always rugged, bold and free, Sing with ever swelling chorus: Montani, Semper, Liberi! Always free! The little streamlets, As they glide and race along, Join their music to the anthem And the zephyrs swell the song. Always free! The mountain torrent In its haste to reach the sea, Shouts its challenge to the hillsides And the echo answers ``FREE!'' Always free! Repeats the river In a deeper, fuller tone And the West wind in the treetops Adds a chorus all its own. Always Free! The crashing thunder, Madly flung from hill to hill, In a wild reverberation Makes our hearts with rapture fill. Always free! The Bob White whistles And the whippoorwill replies, Always free! The robin twitters As the sunset gilds the skies. Perched upon the tallest timber, Far above the sheltered lea, There the eagle screams defiance To a hostile world: ``I'm free!'' And two million happy people, Hearts attuned in holy glee, Add the hallelujah chorus: ``Mountaineers are always free!'' Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Governor Wise, my fellow West Virginians, ladies and gentlemen: Now in my 84th year, I look back over the ups and downs of a long and full and active life. I see a vastly changed world from what it was when I walked the dirt roads of Wolf Creek Hollow in Mercer County and studied in a two-room schoolhouse. The nation has grown from 102 million when I was born in 1917 to the burgeoning population of 275 million people today. At the beginning of my life, the nation was still in its horse-and-buggy days. Now we are in the age of instant communications, the Internet, jet-propelled planes, inter- planetary exploration, medical miracles, and the highest standard of living that the world has ever known. We live in a country whose greatness seems to have been foreordained by her fortunate geography and rich natural resources, her agreeable and temperate climate, and by the hardy and industrious race of men and women who hewed her forests, cultivated her fields, bridged her rivers, built her cities, and created the American Dream that has excited the envy and won the admiration of mankind around the globe. How blessed we are to have inherited this pearl of great price! And how thankful we should be to the provident hand of that Omnipotent Being, who has favored our undertakings from the pre-dawn infancy of the colonial experience to the present- day meridian of the American Republic! I am grateful for the Divine hand that delivered me, in my infancy to my home in West Virginia. I am grateful for wear- worn shoes; for the callouses of honest labor; and for the challenges of an unforgiving terrain. I am thankful for wrong turns that led to the right paths; for good people who inspired me to strive for great things; and for the rich experiences that taught me the difference between knowledge and wisdom. I am grateful to the people of West Virginia for placing their trust in this adopted son of a poor coal miner, a mere ``scrap boy'' who used to go door to door gathering bits of food to fatten up the hogs raised by my foster father in a pen by the railroad tracks. I am grateful to the people for giving me the opportunity to serve our state and our nation; to stand in the midst of history, among men and women who have changed the course of destiny, at the pinnacle of power in the greatest legislative body ever to grace the Earth. And I am grateful to the people for their many kindnesses to Erma, my wife of 64 years, to whom I owe so much. She has been God's greatest gift to me. West Virginians have given so much to me. Without your faith in me, I do not know where I would be today, but one thing I do know: I would not be here. Never having forgotten my roots, I continue to be aware that my highest duty is to West Virginia and to the people of our state, who have honored me with public office for more than a half century. My own less-than-modest beginning and the poverty of my state during my boyhood years have never faded from my view, and it has been my constant desire to improve the lives of the people who sent me to Washington. In many ways, I think that I have succeeded, but there is still work to do. I am blessed to have had at my side a wife who, for 64 years, has been the central pillar of my home and my career. Erma and I grew from childhood to adulthood during the years of the Great Depression and in the coal mining towns of Southern West Virginia. The bottom rungs in our Ladder of Life were missing, but with God's help and by His grace, we have weathered storms of adversity and come through times of sorrow as well as joy to the present moment. Not least of all, I owe much of my phenomenal success in serving the people of my state and my country to the many extraordinary men and women who have worked on my staff throughout my long career in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. As we have now crossed the threshold into a new century, I take this opportunity to urge my fellow West Virginians to build their future on the development of the human mind and the rock of the human spirit. I hope that more and more West Virginians will understand the imperative of education and the value of our schools, and that we will restore education to its rightful position as the primary key that opens doors onto the classic American dream of fulfillment in life as individuals and as a society. I hope that increased numbers of parents will become involved in monitoring their children's learning progress, in encouraging better performance at all levels of their children's schoolwork, and in applauding the achievements of good teachers. I also hope that increased numbers of children will discover and rediscover the joys of reading, that more and more students will find unfathomed challenges in mathematics and the sciences and in history, and that a new generation of well-educated, keenly interested, and highly dedicated and industrious students will emerge from our schools to assure our State's preeminence in every field of learning, business, industry, and endeavor known to man, and many fields yet unknown but waiting for some blade-sharp West Virginia intellects to invent and open doors to them. I hope that West Virginians will continue to preserve and honor the old values that guided and sustained our fathers and mothers and more distant ancestors in their daily lives and in the life of our state from its earliest beginnings. The Biblical proverb admonishes us, ``Remove not the ancient landmark which thy fathers have set.'' My foster parents on their knees influenced my life from my early beginnings. I am sure that many of you can say the same thing. Man is a spiritual creature. But if that spirituality is ignored--if man's soul is allowed to starve--the result is spiritual death. And no task of national renewal will be possible unless that effort is also a task of spiritual renewal. George Washington in his farewell address, made the point succinctly: . . . And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. Scientists have long sought the so-called ``missing link.'' The real missing link in our national cultural life is God. From the depths of my heart, I thank Governor Bob Wise, House Speaker Bob Kiss, Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin, the members of both the House and the Senate, but most of all, I thank the people of West Virginia for the many years in which they have reposed their confidence and their faith in me. I have done my best. May God always bless the State of West Virginia. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that, the passing there Had worn them really about the same. And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet, knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. Mr. Speaker, I urge you and my colleagues in the House to join me in congratulating Senator Byrd as ``West Virginian of the Century,'' and in thanking him for his tireless work on behalf of the great State of West Virginia and its millions of residents. Mr. Speaker, I urge you and my colleagues in the House to join me in congratulating Senator Byrd as West Virginian of the Century and in thanking him for his tireless work on behalf of the great State of West Virginia and its millions of residents.

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce the bi-partisan ``Motor Carrier Fuel Cost Equity Act of 2001'' with my colleagues Mr. Blunt of Missouri, Mr. Mollohan of West Virginia, Mr. Ney of Ohio, Mr. Peterson of Minnesota, Mr. Strickland of Ohio, Mr. Lipinski of Illinois and Ms. Brown of Florida. In the 106th Congress, the House passed this bill by suspension of the rules on October 10, 2000 because Members recognized the hardship small business truckers suffer when they must pay for price spikes in the cost of diesel fuel. However, the bill was received in the Senate the next day and no further action was taken. Today, my colleagues and I re-introduce this bill with the hope that it will be enacted into law. Our goal is to ease the financial burden on small business truckers who need relief from diesel fuel price spikes. Small business truckers are the Owner-Operators, approximately 350,000 men and women throughout the United States who own, operate and maintain their own 18-wheelers for their livelihood. They comprise about 67 percent of our nation's trucking force. They pay for their own diesel fuel, taxes, highway tolls and permits. These men and women do not work for the large trucking companies which negotiate long term fuel contracts and can defray part of the cost of skyrocketing fuel prices. Unlike the large trucking companies, the Owner-Operators are at the mercy of diesel fuel price spikes. They simply do not have the market clout to negotiate fuel contracts. In the last 18 months, the price of diesel fuel has risen more than fifty cents a gallon over the 1999 levels. While the price spikes have hurt the entire trucking industry, no one is hurt like the little guy. Fuel is the single biggest operating cost of a small business trucker and accounts for up to one-third of their budget. According to an analyst with A.G. Edwards, almost 200,000 trucks have been repossessed since January of 2000 because small business truckers could not make ends meet. In the third quarter of 2000 over 1,350 companies owning five trucks or less went bankrupt. This is nearly double the record set in the previous quarter. The price of diesel fuel prices was the primary factor in causing these bankruptcies. Just-in-time deliveries are being threatened, fewer transportation alternatives for shippers are available and consumers could face a rise in the price of various goods and commodities resulting in a national economic downturn. The ``Motor Carrier Fuel Cost Equity Act of 2001'' gives a safety net of relief to owner-operators, shippers and consumers by ensuring that a fuel surcharge will be assessed at times of diesel fuel price spikes. Under terms of a surcharge, a shipper pays to the trucking companies the difference between what is deemed to be a baseline cost of diesel fuel and the sudden, dramatic increases in the cost of that fuel. The legislation provides that the fuel surcharge must be itemized on the freight bill or invoice to trucking customers. The fuel surcharge arrangement will be enforced solely by the parties themselves through private action. The federal government will have no regulatory or enforcement authority. The bill will not abrogate existing fuel surcharge arrangements. Customers who already pay a fuel surcharge will not be affected by this legislation. Nothing in the bill will prevent parties in the future from establishing a fuel surcharge agreement that is different from this pending legislation. All past, current and future privately negotiated fuel surcharge agreements are fully respected. In calculating a diesel fuel surcharge, pricing will be based on the National Average Diesel Fuel Index which is published by the Energy Information Administration of the United States Department of Energy. Whenever fuel costs return to normal levels, the surcharge will no longer be applied. America watched the economies of Britain and France thrown into chaos on the issue of diesel fuel prices. A lack of relief from diesel fuel prices is a formula for disaster in the making, considering the large number of bankruptcies we have recently witnessed in the United States. The essential feature of the Motor Carrier Fuel Cost Equity Act of 2001 is that it provides a private right of action as a means to ensure that the entity which actually pays for the fuel receives the surcharge. No Federal Government enforcement. No cost to the taxpayers. Just simply equity and fairness. High diesel fuel prices have also had a devastating effect on our nation's port drivers. Their poor working conditions have come to the attention of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which is involved in an ongoing effort to organize port truck drivers and to bring national attention to their plight. It is time that we go to bat for the little guy, the small businessperson, and for the integrity of our economy by enacting the Motor Carrier Fuel Cost Equity Act of 2001.

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker. Last Friday night, June 1st, my good friend and our former colleague, Representative Dawson Mathis from the great State of Georgia, attended graduation exercises for his granddaughter Shannon Mathis at Orange Park High School in Clay County, Florida. The President of the Class of 2001, Mike Bennett, addressed his classmates at that event and so impressed former Representative Mathis that he called his remarks to my attention. I would also note with more than a little pride that Mike's father, Ken Bennett, is a native of Huntington, West Virginia, in my Congressional District. At this point, I would ask that Mike Bennett's address be printed in the Record. I wish him the best in his studies at the U.S. Naval Academy this fall. Address of Mike Bennett: Orange Park High School, Senior Class Graduation, June 1, 2001. It is not until we have lost everything, that we are free to do nothing. For thirteen school years, we, the senior class of 2001, have had our lives laid out before us. We have been told what to do, where to go, what to learn, and even when to eat. We have had people take us by the hand, and show us the way. We have been cared for by people that have chosen to ignore our shortcomings, and look past our imperfections. For this we are eternally grateful, and can never truly show our gratitude. For almost eighteen years of life, our parents, family, and friends have been our North Star. They have cared for us unselfishly, and without fail. They have brought us, and been with us, through both triumph and tragedy. They have given, even when not asked to, advice and love, from which we have flourished. They are the people that have taught us the lessons of life, and the lessons of love. To our teachers, thank you. You have given so much of yourselves, to people, that only days before, were complete strangers. Your infectious love, and underlying understanding are the reason we are here today. Without your help, I personally would not be the person that I am today. And, I am positive, everyone else, in our class, would be changed as well. Which brings me to today. All of the aforementioned guidance that has previously been given to us in vast bundles, will soon shrink. Not because of lack of concern or interest, but rather an increase in physical distance. We, the alumni to be, of Orange Park High School, will soon be out on our own. We will blaze our own trails, straying from the beaten path, and make our own decisions. For the first time in our young lives, we will be completely responsible for ourselves. We will have to deal with large decisions, such as what to do after graduation, and small, seemingly unimportant ones, like what to eat for dinner. Each decision that we make, will shape our futures, no matter how small the matter seems. Our slates are clean, and the books of our lives are waiting to be written, by us, alone. We need to take our precious gift of life, and run with it. We need to live our lives for ourselves, and nobody else. We need to remember that the decisions we make, can never be changed, and must be thought out, for ourselves alone. But, most importantly, we need not look back on our pasts and ask what if, but rather, look only at the present, and to the future. If we wonder about, and dwell upon the past, our lives will pass us by. Pondering over the past brings nothing but pain, regrets, and the deepest of sorrows. So, we, the senior class of 2001, must walk the fine line of remembering the past, but not dwelling on it. Finally, I leave you, my fellow classmates with this. We, for the first time in our lives, have nothing hanging over our heads, and the world at our feet. We must not waste this opportunity, for we will never have one like it, ever again. For, it is not until we have lost everything, that we are truly free to do anything.

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in both sorrow and celebration to pay tribute to a life well lived by John Joseph Moakley, a man who died with the voices of his friends and colleagues raised in his praise. We prayed even as we knew better, that God would let him stay with us, because this House needs men like Joe Moakley. We need his spirit, his courage, and his strength of purpose that kept him in public service for so many years. But God needed Joe more. Joe Moakley was to die as he had lived: in the service of his people right up to the end. I will not forget the way in which he let us know that he had not much longer to dwell among us. He said: ``My doctor told me not to buy any green bananas.'' Who but Joe would have had the courage and the wit to thus announce his imminent leave-taking from the House and from the world. Joe was leaving the place where he spent so many years in tender service to the people of south Boston--the people he loved and respected all the days of his life. Joe Moakley's natural sense of humor was well known, often bringing laughter to bear against the times his colleagues despaired of compromise or consensus. But Joe didn't just serve the people of south Boston--although he would tell you they came first. He served the entire Nation as he upheld the Constitution he swore he would uphold on behalf of people's rights, working long hours in Washington, and even longer hours spent among his constituents against poverty of body and soul. His constituents who were faithful to him to the end knew they will never see the likes of Joe again. When someone like Joe Moakley passes on--who died as he lived in passionate pursuit of the rights of people everywhere--the whole world mourns his passing. He died as he would have wanted to die--working till nearly the very last day before the Memorial Day recess. Dying, he carried on with his life, speaking to the hardships of others and none of his own. Dying, he remained totally pledged to the people who sent him to do a job only he could do. Dying, he was full of grace, and nearly always full of his special humor. And speaking of humor, who but Joe, would announce that he had only a short time more to live in this world by saying his doctor told him not to buy any green bananas? Who but Joe Moakley could look into the face of death still smiling? Joe's smile was the solace he offered to you and to me, so that we would be comforted and unafraid at hearing his news. This did not mean that he did not love life. No one loved life more than Joe Moakley. But maybe after having toiled in these fields for so long, he tired of the battles of the flesh, and welcomed the spiritual journey ahead. Just as he committed himself to public service more than 30 years ago, he committed himself to his leave-taking mere months ago, using humor as his walking stick. And as he stepped into the sunset of his life, he understood the love that poured from the hearts and minds of best friends and mere acquaintances and knew it was all for him. I am glad he knew of the great well of love and respect that we had for him before his death. That he could receive his bouquets while he lived. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to Joe Moakley, friend and colleague, and to quote Shakespeare in his memory: ``And when he shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars and he will make the face of heaven so fine, that all the world will be in love with night, and pay no worship to the garish sun.''

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. I thank the distinguished gentleman from Illinois for yielding me this time. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the gentleman from California's intent here. I listened very closely to his remarks. Each one of the incidents of terror and loss of American life which he so adequately described is horrendous, and I join him in condemning every one of those attacks. Any loss of innocent civilian lives is to be highly condemned no matter who the perpetrators. But I ask my distinguished colleague, Lebanon was not responsible for these acts of terror. As the gentleman has said, the Lebanese themselves have suffered over the last couple of decades. The Lebanese are the victims. Let us face it, the Lebanese are the victims here. Now, if we cannot take direct aim at Syria itself and, let us face it, Syria is very much a controlling influence in Lebanon, then why should we take aim at the innocent Lebanese government? This amendment attempts to send a message to Syria. It is clear and simple what its intent is concerning the cross-border attacks against Israel, which I condemn as well. But this amendment would not accomplish the intent of securing that border. All it accomplishes is to do more harm to the Lebanese. Lebanon cannot comply with this amendment that it deploy all of its troops to the southern border between Israel and Lebanon, because Syria will not allow it. I believe that the sponsor of the amendment is fully aware of that. The administration is against this amendment. Secretary Powell has sent a very strong letter stating what a destabilizing situation would occur in the south if U.S. assistance and its training, both military and economic, were to be cut off. USAID helps send Lebanese children to school through scholarship programs. That is the economic part of it. The IMET training helps train the Lebanese Army so that they can go down into the south and secure the border when given the political go- ahead to do it. I think Secretary Powell and this administration knows well that this amendment would seriously impede the long-term massive effort that has gone into pursuing critical U.S. policy in this area. That is what we should be most concerned with here, U.S. best interests in this region. This amendment does not further the United States' best interests.

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. Madam Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.

Mr. RAHALL. Madam Speaker, continuing on my reservation, I yield to the distinguished gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), the former mayor of Paterson, New Jersey, and a valued member of my other committee, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Mr. RAHALL. Madam Speaker, reserving the right to object, and I will not object, I yield to the gentleman from Colorado for purposes of explaining the legislation.

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, Resource Committee Democrats did not object to, and in fact, support consideration of H.R. 601 because it represents a technical amendment to the recently expanded Craters of the Moon National Monument. The legislation in no way seeks to repudiate the November 2000 action taken by the Clinton Administration to expand the monument. In this regard, H.R. 601 simply allows hunting, a traditional use of the expanded area, to continue. Except for hunting, no other change is made or contemplated to the management of the significant natural resources of the Craters of the Moon area. By way of background, Craters of the Moon National Monument was initially established by Proclamation of President Coolidge in 1924 and is administered by the National Park Service. Meanwhile, the 661,287 acres of additional Federal lands added to the monument by President Clinton had been managed by the Bureau of Land Management and hunting was permitted on these lands. Under the Clinton Proclamation, the NPS now manages approximately 410,000 acres of the expansion area which contain nationally significant exposed lava flows, while the BLM continues to administer the remaining 251,287 acre portion of the expanded monument. As such, while hunting can continue on a portion of the expanded area, since this activity is normally not allowed in monuments administered by the NPS it is not allowed on the other portion of the expanded area. H.R. 601 addresses this minor discrepancy by redesignating the approximately 410,000 acre expansion area that the NPS manages as the ``Craters of the Moon National Preserve.'' Except for hunting, the preserve will be managed exactly the same as the original Craters of the Moon National Monument. Again, except for hunting, the preserve will be managed exactly the same as the original Craters of the Moon National Monument. This bill then in no way reflects a rollback of the Clinton Administration monument designations nor does it signal the willingness of Resources Committee Democrats to support any such move.

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, today I join 43 Members in introducing legislation to reauthorize and amend the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA)--the keystone federal law that directs the delivery of health services to American Indian and Alaska Native people. The Indian health care network--comprised of reservation- and traditional homeland-based hospitals, clinics, school health centers and health stations in very remote areas, and urban Indian health programs in major cities--is the primary source of medical care for over 1.3 million American Indians and Alaska Natives. The Indian Health Service administers this comprehensive health care network largely in partnership with Indian tribes themselves who have assumed an increasingly greater role in operating health programs so vital to the well-being of their members. The IHCIA was first enacted in 1976 to present a more organized and comprehensive approach to the delivery of medical care to Indian people, most of whom live in isolated, sparsely-populated and under-served areas of our country. Subsequent reauthorization, has amended the Act to reflect advancements in health care delivery, respond to the desire of tribes for greater responsibility of programs, and target the high incidence of certain diseases that have plagued this segment of the American population. The bill we introduce today is based largely upon recommendations made by the Indian health community--including tribal leaders, tribal health directors, health care experts, Native patients themselves, and the Indian Health Service. Its primary objective is to improve access to quality medical care for this population. In this bill we maintain the basic framework of the IHCIA, including its provisions that target diseases for which Indian Country shows an astonishingly high rate--such as diabetes, tuberculosis, infant mortality, and substance abuse. We have included a greater role for Indian tribes in setting local priorities for health care delivery and provide for innovative options for funding of Indian health facilities. This legislation authorizes a nationally certified Community Health Aide program to supply medical care in under-served, remote areas and strengthens health programs that serve Indian people in urban areas. In addition, this bill will provide for the consolidation of substance abuse, mental health and social service programs into a holistic system for behavioral health services. We have certainly made improvements in the health status of Indian and Alaska Native people since IHCIA was first authorized including; infant mortality which has decreased by nearly 55 percent. Native people, however, still suffer death rates from some diseases at rates many times higher than the national population such as; diabetes at 249 percent higher, tuberculosis at 533 percent higher, and substance abuse at 627 percent higher. I will push for immediate action on this important legislation in the Resources Committee where I serve as the Ranking Democratic Member and look forward to working with my colleagues and Indian Country as we proceed.

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Dr. Joseph J. Jacobs, an renowned entrepreneur who created the Joseph J. Jacobs Engineering Group many years ago. Dr. Jacobs is a chemical engineer by profession, who has over the years become an outstanding humanitarian, an economist, an educator, a philanthropist, and an author who wrote a book in 1995 entitled: The Compassionate Conservative which became the by-word of President George W. Bush's Administration. Above all, this proud Lebanese-American became a great good friend of mine. I have recently written to President George W. Bush asking him to award Joseph Jacobs the Presidential Citizens Medal, an award that recognizes citizens who have performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens and one that is awarded at the sole discretion of the President. Mr. Speaker I ask unanimous consent that my letter to President George W. Bush recommending that he award the Presidential Citizens Medal to Dr. Joseph Jacobs, be printed hereafter in the Congressional Record. On reading this letter, a tribute to Joseph J. Jacobs, my colleagues will be reminded of the numerous citizens in the United States who are sons and daughters of immigrants, who have worked hard to create businesses that in turn create jobs and good fortune for themselves and others. Dr. Joseph Jacobs, son of immigrants from Lebanon, has used his fortune to establish the Jacobs Family Foundation in order to perpetually give back to the citizens of the United States through education, through humanitarian services for underrepresented groups, and through love for his fellow human beings. April 17, 2001. Hon. George W. Bush, President, The White House, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. President: For many years it has been my distinct privilege to have as a good friend, Dr. Joseph J. Jacobs, Chairman of the Board, Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc., in Pasadena, California, who is a great humanitarian who has contributed an abundance to society during his lifetime. I am writing to highly recommend a Presidential Citizens Medal for Dr. Jacobs which, in your discretion, you can award at any time during this year should you decide to do so (in accordance with Executive Order No. 11494 issued by then President Nixon). The Presidential Citizens Medal is awarded in recognition of citizens of the United States who have performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens and is issued at your sole discretion. Dr. Joseph J. Jacobs is the founder and chair of the Jacobs Engineering Group of international renown with numerous worldwide divisions, is more than 50 years old. He built his company from a one-man chemical process consultancy to its present status as the leading engineering-construction company in the United States if not the world. For many years Dr. Jacobs served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Polytechnic University of New York (1974- 1984 and 1992 to 1994). The University has named the Administration building for Dr. Jacobs and a chair in the Chemical Engineering Department has been established in his and Mrs. Jacob's names. On April 29, 2001 Dr. Jacobs will be honored for his contributions to the St. Nicholas Home, a non-sectarian, non-profit nongovernmental support residence for the elderly in Brooklyn, New York. His contributions to the education system and humanitarian efforts in the area of his birth, marks Dr. Jacobs as a remarkable leader who gives back to society in recognition of the support he received over the years in making Jacobs Engineering Group one of the finest in the United States The recipient of many awards in the Chemical Engineering world, Dr. Jacobs has established the Jacobs Family Foundation, which targets its philanthropy on the issues of community based economic development, youth and families at risk, Arab-American cultural awareness and access to educational and training opportunities for under represented groups. In addition to grant support, the Foundation provides technical assistance to non-profits in the areas of strategic planning, leadership development and fund raising. Dr. Jacobs is the author of numerous articles on Chemical Engineering and economics, and was a contributing author to the Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology. Having made substantial contributions to the study of a number of serious social issues, one resulted in a highly praised PBS program aired in 1986 on ``The Problems of Aging Parents of Adult Children.'' In 1991, Dr. Jacobs completed his autobiography ``The Anatomy of an Entrepreneur: Family, Culture and Ethics'' from which we learn that he traces his high standards of morality and ethics back to the ethnic background of his family and the Lebanese American community in Brooklyn, NY where he was born and raised. Dr. Jacob's second book reflecting these values was entitled, ``The Compassionate Conservative'' published by Huntington House in 1995, and a second edition was published in December 1999; a book whose title you have made the by- word of your Administration. It is my profound hope that you will award the Presidential Citizens Medal to Dr. Joseph Jacobs in the coming year, an award that is made solely at your discretion. From the foregoing, and from the attached biography on Dr. Jacobs, I believe that you will agree that he is an exemplary man who deserves your recognition. I will look forward to your response to this sincere request on behalf of a wonderful man who has given much to the citizens of the United States throughout a lifetime of hard work and achievement. With warm regard, I am Sincerely, Nick J. Rahall II, Member of Congress.

Mr. RAHALL

Mr. RAHALL. Madam Chairman, I rise in my capacity as the Ranking Democratic Member on the Resources Committee to point out that among the many worthy and valid reasons why this budget resolution should be defeated is the fact that it runs roughshod over last year's landmark bipartisan agreement on conservation program funding. This agreement, often referred to as ``CARA light'' but more formally as the Land Conservation, Preservation and Infrastructure Improvement Program was enacted as part of the fiscal year 2001 Interior Appropriations measure. It seeks, in part, to keep faith with the original purpose of the Land and Water Conservation Fund by providing for a dedicated stream of funds for federal land acquisition as well as for State land and water conservation grants. But it does more than that. Other eligible programs for the $12 billion set-aside are those which support historic preservation, the Youth Conservation Corps, Payments In Lieu of Taxes, the Forest Legacy Program, and State Wildlife Grants among others. The pending budget resolution, as does the Bush Blueprint, would skim $2.7 billion from the $12 billion agreed to only late last year to help pay for tax cuts for the wealthy. These are not touchy feely programs we are talking about here. These are programs that are extremely important to America and to Americans. They are endeavors that are part of our birthright and our destiny. For by investing in America, and out natural resource heritage, we are fulfilling what I believe is an obligation we have to future generations. And that obligation is that this generation, the current generation, will not consume everything and leave nothing to our children and our children's children. This budget resolution fails to meet that obligation. It fails to meet our obligations to this country in many other respects as well. So again, I urge the defeat of the pending resolution.