Ralph Regula

Mr. REGULA

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

Mr. REGULA. Mr. Chairman will the gentleman yield?

Mr. REGULA. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. REGULA. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment, and I ask unanimous consent to return to page 17, line 7, and that this amendment be made in order.

Mr. REGULA. Mr. Chairman, I want to advise the membership of what we are doing. We have an agreement that has been agreed to between the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Inslee) and myself, and I have a colloquy, and then we have two votes on amendments that have been rolled, and that will complete the activities tonight. Then we will get time agreements to start tomorrow morning, as soon as the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs have completed their markup. We are going to make every effort to finish this bill tomorrow. We have to finish it tomorrow, but will attempt to do so in order to get people out of here in time to make their airplane connections. So we have no more debate on this amendment, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. REGULA. Mr. Chairman, just recently this body voted on a bill called CARA, which would spend almost $4 billion annually on a lot of worthy causes. That money is to be generated from royalties on oil wells on Federal property. What we are saying here, in part, is that it is incumbent on the Federal Government to support some research to make these wells even more productive to get more of the resource, which will support the CARA bill.

Mr. REGULA. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent that debate and votes on the gentleman's amendment and all amendments thereto be temporarily put aside, without prejudice, and that it be the first order of new business after 9:30 this evening.

Mr. REGULA. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. Mr. Chairman, I want to advise Members about the schedule, at least as we best know it for the time being. We are planning to go forward on the amendments and possibly have some votes prior to 6:30, if we can get some of these out of the way; and then it is my understanding that we will roll votes until about 9:30 because of the Members that are going to the Kennedy Center for an event. I would hope we can keep going and then finish tonight, because I know if we can get finished with this bill, we will do a great deal to expedite the time of getting out of here tomorrow. I know many Members would like to get on their way at a decent time tomorrow night. So if everybody will help and cooperate, I think we can get this bill finished tonight.

Mr. REGULA. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. REGULA. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me. We are in agreement with this amendment. I think it reaches the intent of what we are trying to do in the committee, and that is to provide funding to match what the State of Florida is doing in land acquisition. This does not remove it, but rather ensures that the money that we have appropriated from all the taxpayers in the United States will be used to benefit a resource that is very valuable to the people of this Nation, namely: the Everglades National Park. This goes to make sure that the money we appropriate goes to the kind of purpose that the constituents, the people of this Nation, would find very desirable. I commend the gentleman for the language, and I am willing to accept the amendment.

Mr. REGULA. Mr. Chairman, it is our understanding, and this was negotiated with the President and the BLM last year. We put the identical language in this year. We do not think it would be appropriate next year because it is our hope that the BLM will have the resources to process the expiring grazing permits in conformance with the court's decision. Perhaps rather than remove it, we could change a word or two to give the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Inslee) some comfort to at least accomplish what we think is being the effect of the language.

Mr. REGULA. Mr. Chairman, with the consent of the parties here, if we could defer this amendment, I would ask unanimous consent to return to this section at some later point, and allow some time to see if we can reach a meeting of the minds on the language that accomplishes the objectives of all the parties.

Mr. REGULA. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Inslee).

Mr. REGULA. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. REGULA. Mr. Chairman, this amendment decreases construction funding for the Escalante Science Center by $1 million. It is not quite ready to go forward. It increases funding for the National Trail Center in Casper, Wyoming, which we had an oversight on and had previously committed to do. The Members involved in this switch are both in agreement with it, and I urge the adoption of the amendment.

Mr. REGULA. Mr. Chairman, I want to commend the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Dicks) and also Mrs. Clark, Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, for working with the gentleman in a very bipartisan fashion to solve a problem that affects the people in the gentleman's district. I think it is a great example of how government officials, executive and legislative, can work together to do something that is beneficial to the people. We hear so much about the lack of bipartisanship, but this is a great example that it does work.

Mr. REGULA. Mr. Chairman, does the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Inslee) understand that the decision rests with BLM? This is permissive authority for them to deal with the problem in the event, for lack of resources, both monetary and manpower that they would not be able to address all of the permits that have an environmental consideration. We are simply giving them some latitude to make the decision, but they do not have to do this. I do not think it gives the permitees any standing because they have to negotiate with BLM. This is language similar to what we had negotiated with the President last year and just simply recognizing that the task was so huge they may not be able to effectively renegotiate all of these permits within the time allocated.

Mr. REGULA. Mr. Chairman, this amendment reflects an agreement between the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Inslee) and myself on an amendment, and I urge the Members to support it.

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

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

Mr. REGULA. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent that consideration in the Committee of the Whole of the amendment by the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Dicks) to H.R. 4578, adding a new section at the end of title I proceed as follows: After the initial five-minute speech by Representative Dicks in support of his amendment, no further debate on that amendment shall be in order; and amendments thereto offered by Representative Nethercutt of Washington, or by Representative Hansen of Utah, each shall be debatable for one hour equally divided and controlled by the proponent and Representative Dicks.

Mr. REGULA. Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise.

Mr. REGULA. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for raising this important issue today. I agree that this disparity is problematic, and that the IHS funding mechanisms are lacking. I agree that the Director of Indian Health Services should develop a plan for ensuring that every Native American is treated in an even-handed manner. Last year, we provided funding through an Indian Health Care Improvement Fund to bring these tribes funded at very low levels of need up to more reasonable levels. Unfortunately, the Indian Health Service has not decided on a method for distributing these funds. It was the committee's intent that these funds be devoted to the most underfunded tribes rather than spreading the funds across the large number of tribes. I will be more than happy to work with the gentleman from Oklahoma to see that the IHS functions are distributed in a more equitable way.

Mr. REGULA

Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

Mr. REGULA

Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 4578, and that I may include tabular and extraneous material.