Jim Saxton

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 the bill just passed.

Mr. SAXTON

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate very much the gentleman's remarks and obviously have enjoyed working with him as well. Mr. Speaker, I will yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, today we are considering H.R. 543. With one exception, this bill is identical to H.R. 3487 which passed the House on September 4. That one change deletes a provision which is unacceptable to the other body. On May 16, I, along with the gentleman from California [Mr. Farr], introduced this bill to reauthorize the National Marine Sanctuaries Act through fiscal year 1999. The National Marine Sanctuaries Act is implemented by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration through the National Marine Sanctuary Program. The mission of this program is to protect significant marine environmental and cultural resource while ensuring the continuation of all compatible public and private uses. To accomplish this, the program oversees a system of specifically-managed marine areas. These areas include highly valuable environmental and historical features. Over the past 21 years, Mr. Speaker, 14 national marine sanctuaries have been designed off our Nation's shores, from Massachusetts to Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico, and in Hawaii. Two more are active candidates for designation, one in the Great Lakes and one in the State of Washington. The bill authorizes funding for the National Marine Sanctuaries Program through fiscal year 1999; directs the Secretary of Commerce to prepare and submit to Congress a long-range plan for the management, recovery and preservation of the U.S.S. Monitor; authorizes the Secretary to designate sponsors for the sanctuary program to create, market, and sell symbols and products to promote them; and designates that the money collected from those items sold at the sanctuaries can be retained for use by those sanctuaries. The bill also adds a Stetson Bank to the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in Texas; simplifies the designation process for a minor addition to the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, and prohibits user fees in that sanctuary; and requires Congressional approval for designation of a sanctuary in the Northwest Straits in the State of Washington. These are small changes that will allow the system to operate more efficiently and be more responsive to the public's concerns. Mr. Speaker, finally, I would just like to note that inasmuch as there is a strong rumor here that the House will adjourn sine die somewhere between now and midnight, that makes today the final day in the 104th Congress. By coincidence, it is also the final day in a 24 year-long distinguished career of our good friend and colleague from Massachusetts, Mr. Studds. So it is fitting that this bill rename the Stellwagon Bank National Marine Sanctuary in honor of our colleague, who, for 22 years, was an active member of the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee and, during those 22 years, has more accomplishments than I care to remember at this point, and of course, for the last 2 years he has worked diligently as my counterpart on the Subcommittee on Fish, Wildlife and Oceans of the Committee on Resources. It is through his very, very diligent efforts and hard-working attitude that I have profited much for the last 12 years during my time here, have learned much, and have been able to call the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Studds] a great friend and wonderful colleague and, in many instances, a teacher to me with regard to the issues that we have dealt with in those two committees. So it is my pleasure, Mr. Speaker, to make the recommendation that we all vote ``aye'' today on this bill, inasmuch as it does redesignate this sanctuary, which Gerry Studds actually helped to create himself, and, of course, this reauthorization of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act this year will demonstrate our collective commitment to protecting and wisely managing our Nation's marine natural resources. Therefore, I ask all Members on both sides of the aisle to vote affirmatively on this bill today. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. (Mr. ABERCROMBIE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 543) to approve a governing international fishery agreement between the United States and the Republic of Estonia, as amended.

Mr. SAXTON

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 525, the following suspension is expected to be considered today: H.R. 3632, Patient Reviews in Nursing Facilities. The bill was noticed earlier with an incorrect number. The correct number is H.R. 3632.

Mr. SAXTON

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I am told by my diligent staff that during my statement I said that we were reauthorizing for 1987, which is obviously only 10 years off and it is really 1997. I would also like to thank Mr. Pallone for his cooperation here today. This was kind of a last minute thing that we decided to do for the reasons that I stated before, primarily because of its importance to the continuation of this extremely successful effort. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, the Atlantic coast stock of striped bass are found in waters from North Carolina to Maine. They are highly migratory but move primarily along the coast within the 3-mile zone, which is subject to State fishery management. While striped bass populations have fluctuated dramatically in the past, the population suffered a drastic decline in the 1970's. In fact, striped bass harvests dropped from 15 million pounds in 1973 to 3.5 million pounds in 1983. In response to this serious problem, Congress approved an emergency striped bass study and the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act of 1984. This law requires all affected coastal States to implement management measures to conserve and protect the remaining stocks of Atlantic striped bass. The resurgence of striped bass is a major fishery management success story. In fact, Maryland recently announced that a record-shattering number of young striped bass were found this year in the State's long- running annual striped bass survey. This survey is one of the most important barometers used to judge the health of the Atlantic coast striped bass stock. H.R. 4139 will ensure that this remarkable recovery continues. This legislation will reauthorize both the Striped Bass Conservation Act and ongoing striped bass population studies. In addition, the bill focuses attention on stripers in the Delaware River and encourages greater public participation in the writing of management plans. Mr. Speaker, let me just say also that we have done a lot of things on the Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans Subcommittee, and, of course, previous to that we operated in the framework of the Merchant Marine Committee. For the past 12 years, the years that I have been here, we have done a lot of things to try to conserve and protect and enhance fisheries populations, not only in the Atlantic Ocean, obviously, but in the Gulf and in the waters offshore of the west coast as well. This effort, which, I must add, has been on a bipartisan basis, has been a real success story, and so early in 1995 we passed in this House a bill very similar to this to reauthorize the act for 1995 and 1996. The other body has failed to act. This bill reauthorizes, therefore, the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act with some very minor changes for the year 1997. We are hopeful that in the next 48 hours or so, the other body will see its way clear to take up this measure so that we can proceed to have an enhanced striped bass protection and enhancement effort ongoing in 1997. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support the continuation of this vital and highly successful conservation effort by voting in favor of what I consider to be very important legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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 ask unanimous consent to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4139) to reauthorize and amend the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act and the Anadromous Fish Conservation Act.

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 on the Senate amendments to H.R. 3546.

Mr. SAXTON

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendments to the bill (H.R. 3546) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey the Walhalla National Fish Hatchery to the State of South Carolina.

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, on July 30 of this year, the House overwhelmingly adopted H.R. 3546, a bill introduced by our colleague, Lindsey Graham, to transfer the Walhalla National Fish Hatchery to the State of South Carolina. This noncontroversial bill is nearly identical to measures the House has approved to transfer certain Federal fish hatcheries to non-Federal control. This hatchery, which is about 78 acres, is currently being operated by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources under a long-term agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Without this agreement, the Service would have closed the hatchery because it is no longer an essential component of its nationwide stocking program. The other body has now acted on H.R. 3546 and while they made no changes in the Walhalla provision, they did add a new title which makes technical changes to the Coastal Barrier Resources System. In fact, they have specifically redrawn the boundaries of unit 01 in South Carolina to delete certain properties, known as Beachwalk, Courtyard Villas, and Lands End, from the System. It is my understanding that there were structures on these properties prior to the passage of the Coastal Barrier Improvement Act of 1990. It is, therefore, appropriate to correct this mistake and to remove this property from the System because it does not satisfy the criteria for inclusion. Finally, I would advise my colleagues that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has indicated they support this modification to the Coastal Barrier Resource System. This is the second time we have removed property from the System this year. In each instance, we have done so without undermining the fundamental goals of this important environmental law. I urge a vote in favor of this legislation and I compliment Lindsey Graham for his outstanding leadership on behalf of his South Carolina constituents. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I have not further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SAXTON

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I will ask the chairman of the committee to engage in a colloquy regarding the definition of the term ``recreational fishery'' in the Senate bill. Mr. Speaker, the Senate bill appears to define recreational fishing, at least it appears to define it to some people, as fishing for sport or pleasure, but makes no mention of fishing for personal consumption. My understanding of the definition is that it is not in any way intended to preclude a recreational angler from consuming the fish which he or she catches.

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, it is my intention to introduce legislation in the coming Congress to clarify that recreational fishing indeed does include harvesting fish for personal consumption. I thank the chairman for his leadership, and I look forward to working to remedy this deficiency.

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, with that understanding, I rise in support of House passage of S. 39, the Sustainable Fisheries Act. The House passed H.R. 39, the Fisheries Conservation and Management Amendments of 1995 by a vote of 388 to 37 almost a full year ago. We in the House worked in a bipartisan fashion to craft a strong conservation measure that was fair and equitable to all fishing sectors. Mr. Speaker, the chairman of the committee, along with the gentleman from California [Mr. Miller], and the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Studds], and I know that fish do not respect the artificial boundaries imposed upon them, nor do they care which party is in power. All fisheries measures are by definition bipartisan, which is one of the reasons it is such a pleasure to chair the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans of the Committee on Resources. I thank each of my colleagues for taking into consideration the unique needs of the mid-Atlantic fishermen throughout the negotiations on H.R. 39. It was a great bill, and I cannot pretend to be as pleased about the passage of S. 39 as I was our bill. I firmly believe the House bill was far stronger and more comprehensive and made far more sense than the bill we are currently passing. So I concur with Chairman Young that it is necessary to accept the hastily assembled Senate bill, because a weaker bill that does provide some new fisheries and conservation and management guidance is better than nothing at all. However, I intend to work closely with the chairman in the coming Congress to fix the deficiencies in this bill. Having said that, I request that all Members vote ``aye'' today.

Mr. SAXTON

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

Mr. SAXTON

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 3068) to accept the request of the Prairie Island Indian Community to revoke their charter of incorporation issued under the Indian Reorganization Act.

Mr. SAXTON

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

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Shreveport, LA [Mr. McCrery], the author of this bill.

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, on April 23 of this year, the House overwhelmingly adopted H.R. 2660, a bill introduced by our colleague from Louisiana, Jim McCrery, to increase the authorization level for the Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge. The other body has not acted on this legislation and while they made no changes in the Tensas River provision, they did add a new title to the bill dealing with the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana. This refuge was established in 1986 to protect 19,000 areas of coastal wetlands. In fact, the refuge, which is located within the corporate limits of the city of New Orleans, has the distinction of having the largest amount of coastal wetlands in the United States that is easily accessible to city residents. Title II of H.R. 2660 will allow the Secretary of the Interior to acquire an additional 4,228 acres of land. According to the authors of this provision, the inclusion of this property within the refuge will enhance the populations of migratory, shore, and wading birds, protect threatened and endangered species, encourage natural diversity of fish and wildlife species, and provide valuable opportunities to the public for environmental education on some of our Nation's essential coastal wetlands. I am pleased to present this bill to the House and strongly believe that these modifications in two refuge units in Louisiana are consistent with the fundamental goals of our National Wildlife Refuge System. I urge a vote in favor of H.R. 2660 and compliment Jim McCrery for his outstanding leadership in this matter. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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 the Senate amendments to H.R. 2660.

Mr. SAXTON

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 1802) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain property containing a fish and wildlife facility to the State of Wyoming, and for other purposes.