Jim Saxton

Mr. SAXTON

Mr. SAXTON. Madam Speaker, first, let me express my appreciation to my colleagues, the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. LoBiondo), for joining me and for working so hard to bring this bill to the floor. I would also like to thank the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) for his interest in, and efforts to help, this bill to proceed to the extent that it has. Madam Speaker, as the author of H.R. 1934, I rise obviously in strong support of the Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Act. I am pleased that the House is considering this bill, and I would like to urge everyone to vote for it. But first, let me just explain what the bill does, Madam Speaker, and why I believe it is so urgently needed. Madam Speaker, H.R. 1934 would establish a grant program to fund and rescue and rehabilitate marine mammals; and it would conduct, it would provide for us to conduct, scientific work associated with live and dead marine mammals; and third and finally, it would assist those centers which carry out those humanitarian rescues and recoveries. Madam Speaker, Americans are always thrilled to see news reports of rescue attempts of stranded or beached Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, manatees or pygmy sperm whales. These efforts are extremely expensive, and this bill helps in no small way to offset some of these costs. Although title IV of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, as it currently stands, provides funds to compensate participants of the Nation's stranding network, it is limited to certain work associated with unusual mortality events which are defined as unexpected or a scientific die-off of marine mammals. Madam Speaker, regrettably at the same time, funds are currently not available for small strandings, either live or dead, of dolphins on the New Jersey beaches or the now famous live stranding of the baby grey whale on a California beach that was successfully rescued, rehabilitated and released back to the wild by Sea World. Furthermore, there are few funds available to research the cause of these standings or to care for these sick animals. The examples I have mentioned are just two of the hundreds of small live and dead standings that occur frequently on our Nation's shores. Hundreds of dolphins, harbor porpoises, seals, sea lions, manatees, sea otters, and even beluga whales become stranded on our shores. Every year hundreds of people like my constituent, Robert Schoelkopf, director of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine, New Jersey, rescue and recover and collect important scientific data and at times successfully release these animals back into the wild. In his testimony recently, Mr. Schoelkopf noted that his stranding center has handled 1,852 marine mammals. He stated that the National Marine Fishery Service has acknowledged the need for stranding networks along the coast to be the first response to not only typical standings but also for unusual episodes. Yet, Madam Speaker, there are no funds available for people like Bob Schoelkopf who work side by side with the National Marine Fishery Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service to save and study these magnificent animals. This bill would fill that void by making a small but critical amount of money available through the competitive grant process to help cover some of the costs associated with these nonunusual mortality events. Madam Speaker, I would just like to urge my colleagues to support the passage of this important conservation bill and again express my gratitude for my colleagues who have worked so hard as partners on this legislation. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SAXTON. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1934) to amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to establish the John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program, as amended.

Mr. SAXTON

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 323) to redesignate the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument as a national park and establish the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. SAXTON

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 293) to direct the Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior to convey certain lands in San Juan County, New Mexico, to San Juan College.

Mr. SAXTON

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, today I have been joined by my friend Dennis Kucinich in offering legislation to advance debt relief and reform of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). While this may appear to be an ambitious undertaking, it is my view that true and lasting debt relief will be most quickly and effectively obtained through IMF reform. The bill contains four main sections: conditions on gold sales; termination of ESAF and use of its reserves for debt relief; a freeze on IMF funding until debt relief is provided; and Congressional pre-approval of future proposed quota increases. As the research of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) has found, the IMF in recent decades has drifted away from its original mission and towards becoming another development bank much like the World Bank. The development and economic restructuring loans made under this policy have become increasingly problematic, as the recent cases of Russia and Indonesia indicate. The leading edge of this drift in IMF policy has been the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility, or ESAF. It was a fundamental policy mistake for the IMF to have established ESAF and embarked on the course of development lending that has led to so many serious problems around the world. This legislation seeks to correct this mistake by closing ESAF and using its reserves for debt relief. The legislation is based on the view that the policy underlying the establishment of ESAF is bankrupt, and therefore ESAF should be ended, and its legacy of heavy debt burdens on the poorest nations should be written off. As I have said many times, my own view is that this type of lending through the IMF's general resources should also be ended, and the IMF refocused on its original function. The bill also would pre-condition U.S. approval of gold sales upon the following: cancellation of IMF debt owed by countries eligible for debt relief under HIPC, increased IMF financial transparency, a Congressional finding of IMF compliance with Congressional reforms, an accurate accounting of IMF costs, and use of the gold restitution provisions. The IMF's attempt to tap taxpayer funds through the new gold sales proposal about to be unveiled would be blocked. The bill would also block future IMF appropriations until debt relief is provided and require Congressional pre-approval of any future proposed quota increases. The IMF has been generously funded by the taxpayers of its major donor nations for many years. However, these resources have often been used to implement counterproductive IMF policies around the world. The IMF and Administration approach essentially papers over IMF mistakes with additional taxpayer money tapped in ways that are not always transparent. It is our view that the cost of IMF policy mistakes should be paid out of IMF resources, and not through further contributions by the taxpayers. For more information on the IMF and international economics, please visit our website at www.house.gov/jec.

Mr. SAXTON

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 1243, the bill just passed.

Mr. SAXTON

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. SAXTON

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, Congress approved the Coastal Barrier Resources Act in 1982 to protect certain coastal areas by establishing a system of barrier units that are precluded from receiving Federal development assistance. I introduced H.R. 1431 to reauthorize and improve the Coastal Barrier Resources Act. The system is administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service. Maps depicting the various units are adopted by Congress and any changes to the boundary systems units require legislative action. The system was greatly expanded in the Coastal Barrier Improvement Act of 1990 and now includes 585 system units and 274 otherwise protected areas, covering nearly 1.3 million acres and 1,200 shoreline miles around the Great Lakes, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Gulf of Mexico. The Coastal Barrier Resources System is unique because it does not regulate or restrict the use of private lands in these coastal barrier areas. Instead, lands within the system are simply not eligible to receive Federal development assistance, including Federal flood insurance. H.R. 1431 would reauthorize the Coastal Barrier Resources System for 5 years, and it is supported by the administration. I am aware there is one minor outstanding issue regarding how to depict the boundary of the unit known as L03, and I would like to assure my colleagues on the other side of the aisle that I remain committed to making these maps as accurate as possible. This minor discrepancy, however, should not hold up the passage of this legislation today; and we will continue to work with the minority to resolve this one issue. Mr. Speaker, I believe that H.R. 1431 addresses the needs of the Coastal Barrier Resources System; and I strongly urge passage of this important environmental legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I will not take long, but just for the Record, I would like to say two things. First, I would like to thank the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega) for his fine and great cooperation in working out what some have seen as difficulties to this bill, and I think that with the one exception that I noted in my opening statement, those difficult issues have been worked out. I would just like to say secondly for the Record that wanting to make sure that we do this on as bipartisan a basis as possible, we endeavored to obtain the support of the United States Department of the Interior and were successful in doing that. Just for the record, I have a letter here from the Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Donald Barry, and he was kind enough to answer questions that we posed to him in our letter to him. For example, for the Record we asked, where this map makes changes to the boundaries of the existing OPA, do those changes conform to the boundary of P-19P, to the boundary of the Cayo Costa State Park. This is an important question, because the underlying law required that wherever possible, these boundaries conform to State park boundaries; and his answer is, yes, the new boundary, that is the change in the boundary that is included in this bill, follows the boundary of the Cayo Costa State Park. We asked him, does the Department support the changes made by the map? And the answer is yes, the Department supports the changes to P-19P. So I will not take the time to go through the other areas of agreement, but the Secretary has indicated broad agreement. Finally, he noted in answer to a question, How many acres are removed from the coastal barrier system, how many are added, what is the net acreage change that results from these boundary changes through the amendments, and his answer, and I will read it in its entirety, ``The changes to the three OPAs, North Captiva, Cape Hatteras, and Cape Henlopen, will remove 272 acres from the coastal barrier resources system. The number of acres added, 3,390, and the net change as a result of these amendments is in addition to 3,118 acres to the system.'' So I wanted to make sure that was on the record, Mr. Speaker, because I would not want any misunderstanding in this room or among Members of the public that we are removing or in some way denigrating or taking actions that would denigrate the system. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. SAXTON. I yield to the gentleman from American Samoa.

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1431) to reauthorize and amend the Coastal Barrier Resources Act, as amended.

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, let me just try to answer some questions that were raised, or at least respond to them. Subsequent to the original legislation which passed in 1982, the Department of the Interior was charged with the responsibility that can generally be described as mapping, and to set aside areas to be included in the system. As one might expect, because the people who were doing the mapping were human beings, there was perhaps less precision with the original mapping than there might have been. Frankly, all this bill does as far as this part of the activity is concerned, or as far as this part of the language in the bill is concerned, is to try to correct some mistakes that were made subsequent to the 1982 bill, during the mapping process. In making those corrections, we were actually adding over 3,000 acres to the system, not removing. We are adding over 3,000 acres to the system, while removing only approximately 270 that were included as an error. So I share with my friends the desire to strengthen the system, but a system that has incorrect lines in it, incorrect areas included and areas that have not been included that should have been included, is not a system with a lot of integrity. So I thank the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega) for understanding this, and for agreeing to and having demonstrated the ability to work with me and our staffs together and with the Department of the Interior to make these corrections. So again, I want to emphasize how important I think this is. Mr. Speaker, some of us spend a lot of time around the water, some of us spend a lot of time on the water. Some of us have for years and years been distressed by the high rate of development in coastal areas. We are currently attempting to reauthorize the Coastal Zone Management Act, and that act is intended to, among other things, protect, enhance coastal areas, and in almost every instance, by slowing down growth. I can remember 35 years ago sailing, and all Members who are here know that Barnegat Bay is in my district, I can remember many years ago beginning at the top of Barnegat Bay, the north end, and sailing south, and looking to my right and left and seeing a few houses dotting the skyline here and there, but by and large a lot of greenery. That was 35 years ago. I would love to take Members on the same trip today and let them look to the right and left and see the houses and the commercial establishments and the restaurants. Certainly this bill and the provisions in it and the history of it have been a very important part of protecting those open space areas, wetlands, and other types of habitat that are so important to coastal areas. So while we are trying to carry out our very important objectives, while we are trying to put in place Federal, State and local policy that makes sense in terms of protecting the environmental integrity of these areas, where inconsistencies and mistakes are found, they need to be corrected. Those corrections are what have caused the concern on the part of some of the previous speakers.

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

Mr. SAXTON

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1431, the bill just debated.

Mr. SAXTON

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

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I introduced H.R. 1243 to reauthorize the National Marine Sanctuary Program. National Marine sanctuaries are essential components in our efforts to protect and manage this Nation's marine resources. I strongly support the program and believe that this legislation will strengthen the management of our existing sanctuaries. The National Marine Sanctuaries Act of 1992 allows the Secretary of Commerce to designate and manage areas of marine environment with nationally significant and aesthetic, ecological, historical, or recreational values as national marine sanctuaries. The primary purpose of this law is to protect marine resources such as coral reefs and sunken historical vessels while facilitating all compatible public and private uses of those resources. Twelve marine areas have been designated as national marine sanctuaries to date. They range in size from less than a quarter of a mile to over 5,300 square miles and include near-shore coral reefs, open ocean habitat, and ship wrecks. One additional area, Thunder Bay on Michigan's Lake Huron, is an active candidate for designation. These sanctuaries support valuable commercial activities such as fishing and kelp harvesting and provide areas for recreational boating, diving, snorkeling, and sports fishing opportunities. The biggest hurdle facing the sanctuary program has been and continues to be inadequate funding for basic management research and outreach activities. This is a serious problem and one that is addressed by H.R. 1243. This bill limits the designation of new sanctuaries until sufficient funds have been made available to improve operations at existing sanctuaries. I would like to make it clear, Mr. Speaker, that I am not opposed to creating new sanctuaries. They are desirable and useful, and there is a need for additional sanctuaries. However, I am concerned that NOAA has been unable to meet the management and conservation needs of the current sanctuaries, and until NOAA meets its management goals, it is inappropriate to spend scarce federal dollars to expand the system. NOAA was concerned about the breadth of sanctuary moratorium language. H.R. 1243 addresses NOAA's concerns and requires that before establishing a new sanctuary the Secretary must find that the new sanctuary, one, will not have a negative impact on the management of existing sanctuaries; and two, will not interfere with NOAA's ability to complete sanctuary resource surveys for all sanctuaries within a 10- year period. This important measure reauthorizes the National Marine Sanctuary Program for 5 years at $29 million a year to operate, maintain, and provide facilities at the sanctuaries. This level of funding is identical to the administration's fiscal year 2000 request and will allow the program to get on the right track. I strongly support partnerships between sanctuaries, local entities, and volunteers. H.R. 1243 builds upon existing cooperative arrangements and authorizes the sanctuaries to enter into partnerships with local universities, aquaria, and other groups to develop visitor centers and to promote the scientific, educational, and research values of the sanctuary. Finally, title II reauthorizes another important research element, the National Estuarine Reserve System for 5 years. The national estuary system, reserve systems, are systems of 25 research reserves that form effective partnerships between the state and Federal Government and are designed to investigate real world problems. I am very proud of the work being done, for example, at the Jacques Cousteau Reserve, which is located near my home. It is an important public educational resource for the residents of coastal New Jersey, and the research conducted there has provided new insights into how estuaries function. This legislation is an essential step forward in improving the operation and maintenance of our Nation's underwater park system. I urge the adoption of this important environmental measure. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1243) to reauthorize the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, as amended.

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I have no speakers at this time, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to thank and commend the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega), as well as the gentleman from California (Mr. Farr), and gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps) for their great support on this bill. It is through teamwork like this that we do move forward together on important matters such as this.

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

Mr. SAXTON

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate and pay tribute to Norway for its numerous contributions to and dedicated support of the international affairs which have become significant factors in the development of a sound Balkan market economy and a strong foundation for democracy. In particular, I would like to specifically highlight Norway's exemplary commitment to recent international peacekeeping operations, military volunteer support and participation in various multilateral economic and humanitarian programs. Since 1947, Norway has taken part in nearly 30 peacekeeping operations involving more than 55,000 military volunteers. With a total population of about 4.5 million, this is a significant contribution which greatly exceeds larger NATO ally countries. These Noregian military volunteers have been stationed in the Balkans, the Middle East, Kashmir, Korea, the Congo, Guatemala, Angola, El Salvador, Somalia and the former Yugoslavia to name a few. Since 1997, Norway has assisted with extremely delicate international situations by taking as active part in peace keeping operations such as supporting the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), the Stabilization Forces (SFOR) in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the United Nations Truce Supervision (UNTS) in East Solovenia, and the United Nations Mission of Observers in Prevlaka (UNMOP). Norway is equally strong in the economic marketing and developing of democracy for three Baltic states; Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Through various multilateral cooperative programs and exercises, Norway has stimulated economic growth and collaboration between a number of western countries with the Baltic states. This unified effort has resulted in the establishment of a joint Baltic peace-keeping battalion, a joint Baltic Navy Squadron, and Baltic Security Assistance Group. Norway has also provided significant monetary aid to the Balkan area with 153 million dollars to aid Kosovars in Norway, 38 million dollars in military expenses and 29 million dollars to United Nations for humanitarian assistance. Mr. Speaker, Norway is indeed a ``keystone'' to the foundation of international democracy and within the Balkan area. Its continued support of peacekeeping operations, humanitarian support and economic growth remains vital to world stability. For outstanding support of democracy, I congratulate and pay tribute to our good friend and ally, Norway.

Mr. SAXTON

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. SAXTON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks and include extraneous material.)

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1651 is a package of noncontroversial bills that should pass this body without much debate. The first title amends the Fisherman's Protective Act to extend the period of time during which reimbursements may be provided to owners of U.S. fishing vessel for costs incurred when a vessel is illegally seized and detained by a foreign country. The time period is extended from October 1, 2000, to October 1, 2003. The second title, the Yukon River Salmon Act of 1999, establishes the Yukon River Salmon Panel, which will advise the Secretary of State regarding negotiations on any international agreement with Canada relating to the management of salmon stocks originating from the Yukon River. In addition, the panel will advise the Secretary of the Interior and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game regarding restoration and enhancement of Yukon River salmon. In 1995, Congress passed the Yukon River Salmon Act as part of the Fisheries Act of 1995. This Act created the Yukon River Salmon Panel, as required in the interim agreement between the United States and Canada for the conservation of Yukon River salmon stocks originating in Canada. This interim agreement expired in March of 1998. The expiration of the interim agreement has made the role of the Yukon Salmon Panel unclear. This legislation authorizes the panel and its activities, regardless of the agreement with Canada. If a new agreement cannot be reached between United States and Canada, the Secretary of State is authorized to appoint the advisory panel members to any panel created by the new agreement. The authorized appropriations in this title have been capped at the level authorized in 1995. The third title to the bill authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to acquire and equip a fishery survey vessel. This new vessel will provide fishery managers with accurate and timely data necessary to implement the fishery management plans and to meet international treaty obligations. Mr. Speaker, I ask for an aye vote on the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I would just like to thank the gentleman from American Samoa, the ranking member of the subcommittee, for his great work in support in getting this bill to the floor. It is much appreciated. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.