Don Sherwood

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, S. 291, the Carlsbad Irrigation Project Acquired Land Transfer Act, introduced by Senator Domenici of New Mexico, is the companion bill to H.R. 1019, introduced by the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Skeen), my esteemed colleague, that was reported from the Committee on Resources last year. For the last 6 years, the Subcommittee on Water and Power has pursued legislation to shrink the size and scope of the Federal Government through the defederalization of Bureau of Reclamation assets. S. 291 continues this defederalization process by authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to convey to the Carlsbad Irrigation District all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to the acquired lands and all interest the United States holds in the irrigation and drainage system of the Carlsbad project and all related land. The Carlsbad project is a paid-out, single purpose irrigation project delivering stored water to approximately 25,000 acres of farmland in southeastern New Mexico. This bill is one of several working their way through the House and Senate. It is the expectation of the committee that the Senate will accelerate its work on the other transfer bills that currently await action in the Senate. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Skeen), the author of the House version of the Carlsbad transfer, and ask unanimous consent that he be permitted to control that time.

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, S. 356, the Wellton-Mohawk Transfer Act, introduced by Senator Kyl of Arizona, is a companion bill to H.R. 841 introduced by the gentlewoman from Hawaii (Mrs. Mink) that was reported from the Committee on Resources last year. S. 356 continues the defederalization process by conveying certain works, facilities, and titles of the Gila Project and designated lands to the Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage District in Arizona. Wellton-Mohawk has fully repaid its project costs. On July 10, 1998, the district and the bureau signed a memorandum of agreement that covers the details of the transfer of title. It includes transfer of lands between the Federal Government and the district, including the acquisition of additional lands for exchange. All transfers will be at fair market value. No change in the project operation is contemplated by the transfer and the district will continue to limit irrigated acreage to 62,875 acres. The transfer would include all facilities and works for which full repayment has been made. ``The goal of Reclamation and the District is that within 180 days of the execution of the Title Transfer Contract, the Secretary shall convey to the District all right, title and interest of the United States to the Facilities, works and lands to be conveyed and transferred to the District.'' It is the expectation of the committee that the Senate will accelerate its work on other transfer bills that are currently awaiting action in the Senate. The committee expects that the Bureau of Reclamation will adhere to their memorandum of agreement with the district signed on July 10, 1998. Mr. Speaker, I request an aye vote on the bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4435, introduced by our colleague, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones), corrects a mistake that was made in delineating the boundary of Coastal Barrier Resources System Unit NC01. The Coastal Barrier Resources System consists of units located on undeveloped coastal barriers and delineated on maps adapted by Congress. Land included in the system is not acquired by the Government, and the act does not prevent or regulate development on private lands. The act does prohibit the use of Federal developmental assistance, including Federal flood insurance, on property included in the system. Unit NC01 was originally created in 1990 to incorporate property owned by the National Audubon Society and the surrounding associated aquatic habitat. Unfortunately, a significant amount of privately and publicly owned developed property was inadvertently, or incorrectly, included within its boundary. In 1992, Congress directed the Secretary of the Interior to redraw the boundary to fix these problems. That new map again failed to accurately portray the boundary of the Audubon Sanctuary, and the unit continued to include privately owned development property. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4435 removes the incorrectly labeled private property and adds associated aquatic habitat that was incorrectly left out of the unit in 1992. The Fish and Wildlife Service supports this change. I commend the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones) for his efforts in correcting this error and urge an aye vote on H.R. 4435. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3176 addresses an ongoing water management problem at the Kealia National Wildlife Refuge on Maui, Hawaii. This bill was introduced by our colleague, the gentlewoman from Hawaii (Mrs. Mink). The legislation directs the Secretary of Interior to study the serious water management problems that currently exist at the 700-acre refuge. The refuge was created in 1992 to conserve habitat for endangered birds and to provide a wintering sanctuary for a variety of waterfowl species. Regrettably, the Fish and Wildlife Service has failed to provide the necessary resources to manage the water fluctuations. As a result of changes in the landscape, this refuge experiences the frequent dry-ups which result in dust storms, fish kills, and problems with nuisance insects. These problems have a negative economic and health impact on the people who live near the refuge. This bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to study the water problems at the refuge and come up with a plan for addressing the management needs within 1 year. H.R. 3176 is noncontroversial, and I urge an aye vote. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Fossella) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley) for the opportunity to speak today as we mourn the passing of a great American, John Joseph Cardinal O'Connor, the archbishop of New York. I rise this afternoon to join my colleagues in expressing our condolences to Catholics throughout the Nation and around the world. From Cardinal O'Connor's home in Philadelphia, where he was ordained, across the globe with the United States Navy Chaplain Corps, to the Scranton diocese where he served as our Bishop, to the diocese of New York, he ministered with grace, love, compassion and humility. I first knew the cardinal as the bishop of Scranton, and even though that is almost 2 decades ago, he is still revered in Scranton as a man of great compassion and wisdom and, most of all, his relationship with people. Several months ago, I stood in this well as an original cosponsor of legislation to award the Congressional Gold Medal to Cardinal O'Connor in recognition of his devotion to faith, service, and country. Americans of all faiths owe a debt of thanks to the Cardinal. He worked tirelessly to encourage respect and cooperation among secular leaders and believers of Christian and non-Christian religions. He was a spiritual humanist who believed in the fundamental value of every human life. Mr. Speaker, it has been spoken today of his great friendship with Mayor Koch of New York, and I think it has been said that if he had not devoted his life to the Church, he could have easily been the mayor of Philadelphia. He had those kinds of talents. We would all do well to strive to emulate his commitment to love and service.

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I would like to inform my colleagues of the dedication of a new house of worship for The Jewish Fellowship of Hemlock Farms which will be celebrated with an open house on Sunday, May 28, 2000, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Hemlock Farms is a private four-season recreational community in the heart of the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. Its 4,500 acres include state forests, lakes, deer, bears, tennis courts, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a club house with a fitness center and auditorium, a private country club with an 18-hole golf course, 72 miles of paved roads and more than 2,700 homes. About a third of the population are year-round residents. The others who spend their summers or weekends in Hemlock Farms come from the metropolitan areas of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and other areas of Pennsylvania. They include a growing number of Jewish residents. In 1971, a small group of Jewish residents met to form The Jewish Fellowship of Hemlock Farms. Representing the heart of the Jewish community in the Poconos, the Fellowship completed the religious presence of the three major faiths in Hemlock Farms. The Fellowship flourished, and it has taken an active role as a member of the Interfaith Council. For the first 7 years, services were held in members' homes and community buildings. Rapidly increasing membership made possible the construction of its first permanent home in 1980--designed to seat 120. By 1992, the membership had grown to more than 400. The happy result is a new Jewish house of worship and community center designed to seat more than 500. It is under the full-time leadership of Rabbi David Spritzer. It is significant that an increasing number of Jewish families residing in other areas of the Poconos outside of Hemlock Farms are joining the Fellowship. The Fellowship conducts religious services on Friday nights, Saturday mornings, and on the traditional religious holidays throughout the year. There are also many celebrations of Jewish life-cycle events such as weddings and Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. The Hebrew School and other activities of the Fellowship enrich Jewish cultural life. Through lectures, discussion groups, media presentations, socials, and auxiliary volunteer groups of men and women serve the needs of the Fellowship and the extended community. In doing so, the Fellowship enhances the identity of the Jewish people in the midst of diverse populations. The Pocono Mountains region and Pike County in particular constitute the fastest growing sectors of Pennsylvania today. This includes, of course, the increasing number of Jewish residents. This change could not have happened during the first half of the twentieth century because of the existence of social, economic, and educational discrimination. According to historical reports in The Jews of Wilkes- Barre (Levin, Marjorie: Ed.), early nineteenth century Jewish establishment in the area took the form of mercantile service to both the coal industry and commerce along the local waterways. Jews were kept out of utility and banking industries until the 1950's and 1960's. In 1955, because of the efforts of Pennsylvania Attorney General Herbert Cohen, Pocono Mountain hotels and resorts were compelled to comply with state law with the admissions of guests or have their liquor licenses revoked. Educational institutions, at the same time, publicly stated they would no longer condone discrimination regarding admissions. Since then, people of all ethnic origins have been increasingly welcome in the area. At the dedication ceremony on May 28, 2000, the two Torah Scrolls, presently in the old building, will be passed to the new building from member to member lining the path connecting them. One Torah Scroll that was presented to the Jewish Fellowship several years ago had been written for and dedicated to an Eastern European community that no longer exists. It wandered with the generation of the Holocaust and survived like the Jewish people. At the presentation ceremony, the president of the Fellowship declared: Today we will give a new home to this homeless survivor of the Holocaust. This Torah was to have been part of the collection of Hitler's Museum of an Extinct Race, a dream that happily did not come to fruition. Rather, it should be a reminder of the indestructibility of the Jewish people. Marjorie Leven and Paul Zbiek in The Jews of Wilkes-Barre state: It is certainly true that many of today's Jewish professionals and business leaders do not need the economic and psychological security of a tightly-knit Jewish society to the same degree as their forebears. It is also true that maintenance of a unified Jewish community is more difficult in today's increasingly mobile and secularized society. Local Jewish institutions, through their programming, try to reinforce Jewish identity and help ensure Jewish continuity. On an individual and family level, the future for area Jews appears to be positive. On a communal level, Jewish institutions must meet the difficult challenge of assuring their relevancy to Jews while maintaining tradition and competing with general community activities for Jewish attention. Members of Jewish Fellowship believe that the new building will facilitate the ability to do just that. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join with me in congratulating the Jewish Fellowship of Hemlock Farms, Pennsylvania, and wishing them every happiness in their new home.

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Programs Improvement Act authored by the gentleman from Alaska, the chairman of the Committee on Resources. As a member of that committee and of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus, I commend the gentleman from Alaska for crafting this truly ``good government'' bill. I was born, raised, and have lived most of my adult life in rural Pennsylvania. I was taught to hunt and fish at a young age. With that knowledge came a great amount of respect for the game that we hunted, a love of the outdoors, and a desire to ensure that our wildlife resources are managed and preserved for future generations to experience. All those sportsmen over the years who have paid in their excise taxes to the Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson funds think of those funds the same way that Social Security recipients think of the funds they have paid in. I am appalled that we seem in this Chamber to think that it is all right that there is some mismanagement of those funds. It is not all right. It is our job to do something about it. I do not think we should take any comfort in the fact that maybe the States have not done their job as well as they should. This is the right thing to do. Mr. Dingell, Sr., would be appalled if he knew that these funds would be used as slush funds or unnecessary foreign travel or unreasonable overhead costs. Like the Social Security fund, this needs to be very well managed. The bottom line is that this bill will increase the amount of money currently available for conservation by eliminating waste, fraud and abuse. This is good environmental policy, and it is good fiscal policy. I again commend the gentleman from Alaska for the leadership in bringing this to the floor. I ask for its passage.

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I want to bring to the attention of the members of the House the selection of their former colleague, Joe McDade, as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Ford's Theatre Society. The Society is non-profit organization whose mission is to produce live entertainment on the historic stage at Ford's Threatre. Musicals and plays are produced at Ford's Theater that highlight our nation's multiculturalism and the diversity of American life. Congressman McDade served with great distinction as the Representative of Pennsylvania's 10th District for 36 years. His contributions to the prosperity and well-being of his constituents are legendary in Pennsylvania and his service to his nation, particularly on the Appropriations Committee, is well known by the Members of this Chamber. He currently serves as Chairman of the Board of ETA, a respected government relations firm based in Washington. Joe McDade is an excellent selection for Chairman of the Board at Ford's Theater Society. He has always been a strong advocate and genuine aficionado of the arts, having served on the Ford's Board since 1970 and on the Kennedy Center Board for 25 years, where he is a Trustee Emeritus. He is also a Trustee Emeritus at the University of Scranton, and serves as a Board member for Allied Services for the Handicapped. Congressman McDade's achievements have been recognized by several organizations, including the National Parks and Recreation Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Pennsylvania American Legion, the National Association of Defense Lawyers and the National Osteoporosis Association. The Secretary of Defense awarded Congressman McDade the Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the highest civilian award that can be given by the Department of Defense, and Governor Tom Ridge honored Joe McDade's work by issuing an executive order establishing ``Joe McDade Day.'' I know that my colleagues would join me in congratulating Congressman McDade for his selection as Chairman of the Board for the Ford's Theater Society and wishing him the very best as he carries out his important new responsibilities.

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the Oil Price Reduction Act. I would like to commend the gentleman from New York (Chairman Gilman) for his timely response to address this energy crisis. I believe that this bill is a step in the right direction. Last winter we in the Northeast were feeling the economic sting of this oil crisis due to high heating oil and diesel prices. Now, with increased gasoline prices, the rest of the country is feeling the pain we in the Northeast have experienced for the last 3 months. I was going to offer an amendment today that would require a report from the administration distilling what our national energy policy really is and how we can reduce our dependency on foreign oil. Although this amendment was printed in the Record, I have been informed that it is not germane. The thrust of my amendment was to address the question everyone is asking: Why did we not see this coming? Why were we not prepared to meet it? I am here today to work with you and the Members of this Chamber to find the answers to these questions and also to make sure that we will never again be held hostage by the princes and potentates of the Middle East. These are the same friends for whom a decade ago we risked our sons' and daughters' lives to protect against Iraqi aggression. The bottom line is that we lack a coherent national energy policy to insulate us from volatility in the markets. To my knowledge, the only visible policy this administration has demonstrated is to have Secretary of Energy Richardson globe-trot to palaces in the Middle East to plead and petition those princes to ease our burden. As this drama unfolds and more bankruptcies pile up, more independent trucks will be idled, parked or sold, another farmer will go out of business, another family will have their budget busted. On the 27th, OPEC will meet to determine our near-term economic future. We should not have to wait on OPEC to determine our economic future. OPEC may extend the existing production cuts; and according to the international energy agency, global supplies could be as much as 3 million barrels per day below demand. Now we have to have a coherent energy policy so that we are working towards a long-term solution.

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule on this vital piece of legislation, the conference report on AIR 21. Specifically, I want to thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Chairman Shuster) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan) and the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Lipinski), ranking members, for including provisions in this bill that will bring fairer treatment to families of victims involved in airline disasters on the high seas. These provisions will have a similar effect to the intent of my bill, the Airline Disaster Relief Act, which passed the House 412 to 2. This compromise language will allow families who have lost loved ones in aviation disasters over international waters to seek more categories of compensation previously ineligible under the 1920s Death on the High Seas Act. It specifically addresses the inequities faced by families like those in Montoursville, Pennsylvania, a town in my district who lost 22 family members in the TWA Flight 800 disaster of July 1996. The time has come to create one level playing field and one process for airline crash claims. The current treatment of land and sea crash victims as separate and unequal must come to an end. I want to thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Chairman Shuster) and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Duncan) for their efforts to bring justice out of disaster. A small part of the legacy that the victims of TWA-800 will have through the efforts of their families is that the laws of the greatest Nation on Earth will be changed for the better. With passage of this bill, no longer will a parent be told by our Nation's legal system that longitude and latitude will determine the value of their children. I want to thank my colleagues for their compassion for the families of airline crash victims and the excellent work that they accomplished in crafting this bill. I urge my colleagues to pass this rule and this bill. It is the just and right thing to do.

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. I thank the gentleman from Ohio for yielding me the time. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the amendment to increase the Federal minimum wage by $1 over 2 years. Our Nation's economic expansion came a little late to the 10th Congressional District of Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, we have too many working Americans in my district for whom the struggle to afford housing and other basic necessities is a formidable challenge. That is why I made a commitment to support a minimum-wage increase. Since last fall, I have been working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to bring about an increase in the minimum wage. The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that 4 million workers in America earn $5.15 an hour. I have too many of those workers in my district, and their families are working three jobs to support the family. Just yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a report on our Nation's workers' productivity. In the fourth quarter of 1999, both the business sector and the nonfarm sector saw productivity rises which were the largest since the fourth quarter of 1992. Manufacturing productivity rose at a 10.3 percent annual rate. Our economy has enjoyed 20 consecutive years of labor productivity. I believe now is the time for a Federal minimum-wage increase. It has been more than 2 years since we did this. I am aware that businesses, and I was a businessman for 30 years, particularly those in the restaurant and the retail industries, will face higher labor costs. For that reason, I supported the Small Business Tax Fairness Act of 2000. That includes several key provisions to provide the needed tax relief to keep these small businesses going, which have been the engines of our economic growth. Mr. Speaker, it is time to let a little of our unprecedented prosperity down to the people that work the hardest for their wages.

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1749) to designate Wilson Creek in Avery and Caldwell Counties, North Carolina, as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, as amended.

Mr. SHERWOOD. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, H.R. 1749 was introduced by our esteemed colleague, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Ballenger), and would designate Wilson Creek in Avery and Caldwell Counties, North Carolina, as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. When the Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health held a hearing on August 3, 1999, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Ballenger) and the Forest Service testified in support of the bill. The bill was amended at subcommittee to make a technical correction. Both the subcommittee and the full committee favorably reported this bill, as amended by voice vote. I strongly urge passage of H.R. 1749. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SHERWOOD. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Ballenger), the author of the bill.

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

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 613) to encourage Indian economic development, to provide for the disclosure of Indian tribal sovereign immunity in contracts involving Indian tribes, and for other purposes.

Mr. SHERWOOD. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, Senate 613, authored by Senator Campbell of Colorado, would amend existing law to provide that the Secretary of Interior approve only those Indian land contracts which encumber Indian lands for a period of 7 or more years. Senate 613 would update Federal laws enacted in 1872 by removing antiquated and unnecessary Indian land contract approval requirements which apply to ``all'' contracts, irrespective of their brevity or insignificance. We must maintain some Federal control over contracts which encumber Indian lands for 7 or more years because of the trust responsibility incurred by the Federal Government when the land was initially taken into trust. Madam Speaker, this bill was passed unanimously in the Senate and is long overdue. I urge my fellow Members to support it and thus forward it to the President for his signature. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2484) to provide that land which is owned by the Lower Sioux Indian Community in the State of Minnesota but which is not held in trust by the United States for the Community may be leased or transferred by the Community without further approval by the United States.

Mr. SHERWOOD. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2484, legislation which will give the Lower Sioux Indian Community in Minnesota the right, without further approval from the Federal Government, to lease or sell land which the tribe has bought but which has not been taken into trust. Existing Federal law enacted in 1834 provides that an Indian tribe may not lease, sell, or otherwise convey land which it has acquired unless conveyance is approved by Congress. This antiquated law applies even though the land was purchased by the tribe with its own money, and even though the land is located outside the tribe's reservation, and even though the land has never been taken into trust for the tribe. The Lower Sioux Community has found this law to be a major detriment to economic development. The law puts the tribe at a distinct disadvantage, because it finds that it cannot develop or use land which it has acquired to its full advantage. H.R. 2484 will allow the Lower Sioux Indian Community to use the fee land it has purchased just like any other landowner, without having to come to Congress any time it wants to sell, lease, or even mortgage that land. Madam Speaker, this is important to this small Minnesota tribe and I recommend its adoption. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. SHERWOOD

Mr. SHERWOOD. Madam 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. 1749, S. 613, and H.R. 2484, the three bills just debated.