Tom Udall

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, the 102nd Congress commissioned a study of White Clay Creek, from its headwaters in Delaware to its confluence with the Christina River in Pennsylvania, to determine if the creek and any of its tributaries might be eligible for designation as part of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Program. Ultimately, the study supported such designation. As part of the study, the National Park Service, working with a local task force, developed a cooperative management plan which was approved in 1998. Since completion of the study, three counties and 13 municipalities in Delaware and Pennsylvania have adopted resolutions endorsing designation of the creek. S. 1849 would amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to add several segments of White Clay Creek and its tributaries to the program. Under the legislation, the river will be managed cooperatively between the Secretary and State and local governments, consistent with the 1998 management plan. The bill prohibits any Federal land acquisition for the purpose of carrying out this act. Mr. Speaker, we join the administration and the local communities in supporting passage of S. 1849, as amended. I commend the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Gilchrest) and other members of the committee for their work on this bill. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to my colleague from the great State of Texas (Mr. Reyes) who represents this area and has played a real leadership role on this issue.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, on a warm summer, predawn day on August 19 of this year, several families were sleeping at a campsite 20 miles south of Carlsbad, New Mexico. Without notice, a 30-inch diameter natural gas pipeline blasted through the earth, sprouting a 350-foot high fireball and causing a 20-foot-deep, 86-foot-long and 46- foot-wide blast crater. This accident tragically killed a total of 12 people, including five children camped near the site of the explosion. Examination of the broken pipe determined that corrosion had eaten away one-half of the 50-year-old pipeline's wall in places. Mr. Speaker, in order for Americans to be assured that the oil and gas pipeline industry is properly regulated and the communities have the opportunity to oversee these operations, we must fully fund the Office of Pipeline Safety. Fully funding of the Office of Pipeline Safety is a proper start to regulating an industry that has gone too far and too long without proper oversight. The bill I have cosponsored with the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Inslee), H.R. 4792, the Comprehensive Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2000, emphasizes increased pipeline inspections and public notification of where pipelines are located. It also would require stricter certification for pipeline operators and employees. This issue is a matter of community and worker safety. We must be at the forefront of this topic by providing full funding for the Office of Pipeline Safety so that we can better protect our citizens from natural gas catastrophes. I urge all Members to support the motion to instruct.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring to your attention the Edgewood Middle School located in Edgewood, New Mexico. The school is a brand new institution of secondary learning. The need for the school is a testament to the growth and innovation of this area of my state, portions of which I proudly represent. Edgewood is a lovely community situated amid the East Mountains and arid lands of New Mexico. Edgewood and its nearby neighbors--Moriarty, Sandia Park, Tijeras, Cedar Crest, and Stanley--are committed to the community values that make for a high quality of life. It is not surprising to me the enthusiasm and welcome that the Edgewood Middle School has received. Someone once said that a journey of 1,000 miles begins with the first step. I must commend Moriarity school superintendent, Dr. Elna Stowe, for her tireless work and devotion in making this school a reality. Additionally, the first principal of this institution, Sandy Beery, will shepherd the school as it grows and blossoms. As you know, Mr. Speaker, it takes a team effort to achieve great goals. I fully believe that the educators, administrators, and the surrounding communities will come together to have an exceptional body of learning. Schools are hallowed places, and I am very enthusiastic about the students who will be educated here and then move on to higher learning. A good education is the start of a good future. I close by taking you back to 1787. It was a time much like today, when this Nation's future was at an exciting crosswinds. At the close of the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin rose and made an observation about the chair from which General Washington had been presiding. On the chair was the design of a Sun that was low on the horizon, and many of the delegates had wondered whether it was a rising or a setting Sun. `We know now,' Franklin said. `It is a rising Sun and the beginning of a great new day.' The people of the East Mountains are proud of their strong community spirit and devotion that have helped build the Edgewood Middle School. I commend these community members for their dedication to education and for the enrichment of their students, present and future. Because of all these things, I see a rising Sun and the beginning of a bright future for the East Mountain community.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in opposition to H.R. 3125, which could more appropriately be re-titled the Internet Gambling Proliferation Act. What this proposed legislation does is impose a new set of laws that selectively privilege some forms of gambling by exempting them from these laws. At the same time, other forms of gambling are condemned. What Congress should do is work with the states to enact legislation, which deals rationally with prohibiting or regulating Internet gambling. Furthermore, in my home State of New Mexico--as in many other states--this legislation would unnecessarily complicate the ability of states and tribal governments to work out a rational regulatory scheme.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to thank a few people that have been involved in this. Clearly, the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson) has shown leadership in getting this through the House. The gentleman from Utah (Chairman Hansen), I want to thank him for his stewardship and his ability to pull it together and move this thing along. People have been waiting a long time in New Mexico, and we owe a debt of gratitude to the gentleman for working very hard on this bill. I know the gentleman worked very closely with the ranking member, the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller) to get this to the floor, and I want to thank the gentleman from California for his excellent leadership in negotiating this bill through the rocky shoals of the House. I also want to thank the New Mexico delegation, Senator Domenici, Senator Bingaman, the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Skeen), who earlier chaired that appropriations bill through and who has been a really fine Member from New Mexico. The entire delegation pulled together on this issue to try to see that it got done, and today we are getting very, very close. Also, I would like to thank the Members of the Committee staff who have worked with me and the ranking member, the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller): Rick Healy, John Lawrence, David Watkins, and all the others who have worked with us. I think this is a great example of bipartisanship. It is the House at its best, and I am very proud to be part of this effort. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller), ranking member on the Committee on Resources.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, these assurances made by Mr. Frampton and the administration make me much more comfortable with the objectives of this historic piece of legislation. This bill is before us as the result of a bipartisan, bicameral effort to acquire the Baca for the American public, providing the present and future generations an invaluable gift. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, the Valles Caldera Preservation Act will secure the Baca Ranch for the people of our Nation. The stunning 95,000 acre Baca Ranch sits in the heart of my congressional district. The vast landscape includes over 25 miles of streams, mountain peaks as high as 11,000 feet, and the Valles Caldera, a 15- mile-wide remnant of an ancient volcano. This unique geological feature is well-known around the world and has been seen by astronauts from space. Other open lands that surround the Valles Caldera include the Santa Fe National Force, Bandelier National Monument and the Jemez National Recreation Area. The Baca Ranch is home to teaming amounts of wildlife, including New Mexico's largest wild elk herd, mule deer, mountain lions and rainbow and brown trout. The land also has unique historic value as part of the land grant heritage of northern New Mexico. The Baca Ranch grew out of land granted to Don Luis Maria Cabeza de Vaca in 1841. Over the years, the vast resources of the Baca Ranch have benefited the people of New Mexico. Historically and in modern times, the forests have been harvested and cattle have grazed on the lush grasslands. The potential public uses of the Baca Ranch land are remarkable. As wild as the land is, it is close to the communities of Santa Fe and Albuquerque, making it easily accessible to the public. Recreational opportunities including fishing, hunting, hiking, camping, and cross- country skiing abound on the Baca. A key aspect of the Baca Ranch bill is that it will continue to be a working ranch. Following the Dunnigan family's example of responsible stewardship, I am both hopeful and confident that the ranch will be managed so it supports both traditional livestock activities and wildlife. Public ownership of the Baca means that traditional to Mexican families will have the same opportunities to join others that are able to enjoy the land. One issue of concern to me has been the accessibility of the Baca Ranch to the general public for hunting and fishing. I raised this issue earlier in the Committee on Resources. I did not offer an amendment because I wished to work with the administration and other Members in resolving this issue. In my discussions with the administration, I have now been assured that fairness and equity will apply to those wishing to use this beautiful ranch for recreational purposes, including hunting and fishing. In a letter sent to me on May 25 of this year from George Frampton, acting chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, Mr. Frampton states, ``While efforts at income generation may include the charging of fees for hunting and other activities on the property, the Preserve will be a public asset. As such, any fees for activities in which the public is likely to participate should be reasonable and affordable. Restrictions on hunting that may be necessary due to resource limitations should be accomplished through reservation or lottery systems and not through the charging of excessive or exorbitant fees.'' Mr. Speaker, I include Mr. Frampton's letter for the Record. Executive Office of the President, Council on Environmental Quality, Washington, DC, May 25, 2000. Representative Tom Udall, United States House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Representative Udall: This is to confirm our telephone conversation regarding the Valles Caldera property in your District. Due in part to your hard work, the Forest Service is closer than it has ever been to acquiring this property and assuring its preservation for future generations, although it does not yet have the authority to finalize this acquisition. As you know, authorizing legislation is required before the transaction can take place. Such legislation, which the Administration supports, has passed the Senate and was considered by the House Resources Committee yesterday. This legislation provides for management of the property by a board of trustees, and establishes requirements and guidance for the Trust in this regard. You have asked about the Administration's understanding of the intent of this legislation with respect to fees for hunting that may be permitted on the property. It is our understanding that the foremost responsibility of the Trust managers of this property should it come into federal ownership will be protection and conservation of its natural, scientific and historic resources. Other management goals, including income generation, are to be pursued only to the extent that they are consistent with resource protection. While efforts at income generation may include the charging of fees for hunting and other activities on the property, the Preserve will be a public asset. As such, any fees for activities in which the public is likely to participate should be reasonable and affordable. Restrictions on hunting that may be necessary due to resource limitations should be accomplished through reservation or lottery systems, and not through the charging of excessive or exorbitant fees. I trust this information on the Administration's understanding of the legislation as currently drafted is useful. I look forward to working with you to protect this unique and wonderful part of your congressional district for future generations of New Mexicans and all Americans. Sincerely, George T. Frampton, Jr., Acting Chair.

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

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, as I have traveled the roads in my district talking and spending time with my constituents--small ranchers, sheep growers, farmers, conservationists, environmentalists and others--I have learned to understand and appreciate their different concerns over the issue of predators. This has been an important listening and learning experience for me. What I learned from all of this was the need for a balanced approach. On one hand environmentalists insist that out on the range, where no one can see, many predators are killed unnecessarily. The traditional small ranchers, sheep growers and farmers on the other hand, point out the need to find solutions for protecting the domestic resources that provide them with a living. Conservationists are concerned about predator impacts on both game animals and protected species. My legislation is an effort to bring common sense thinking to these sensitive issues. In the rural Hispanic and Native American communities of my district, I have seen the need for finding ways to control predators that will allow them to preserve a way of life that is more than four centuries old while not putting the surrounding ecosystem under unnecessary stress. My legislation would provide grants through the Wildlife Services Agency, to assist with implementing nonlethal predator control in areas like my district. Funds would also be made available for providing training and technical assistance to traditional small ranchers, sheep growers and farmers regarding the use of nonlethal predator control in their operations. Emphasis would be placed on methods such as using burros, llamas, night penning and guard dogs for predator control. Matching the funding to the small subsistence operators is important if the assistance is to get to those who need it to protect their livelihood. I am also recommending that the Secretary of Agriculture add to our knowledge base concerning these methods by conducting research directly or through grants to determine the extent of damage to livestock operations, throughout the western states, where different methods of predator control are used. Only then can we intelligently learn to find the balance that successfully protects traditional ways of living and our need for vital, thriving ecosystems.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I speak today about the Democratic alternative for providing prescription coverage to all Americans on Medicare. Before I discuss the proposal I would like to tell you that we have seen great success with the Administration's long-term strategy of fiscal discipline. It is working well. Our economy is strong and we should use this moment of prosperity to lengthen the life and modernize Medicare with a prescription drug benefit plan. Lack of prescription drug coverage among senior citizens and people with disabilities today is similar to the lack of hospital coverage among senior citizens when Medicare was created. Three out of five lack dependable coverage. Only half of beneficiaries have year-round coverage, and one third have no drug coverage at-all. It's projected that this year more than half of Medicare beneficiaries will use prescription drugs costing $500 or more, and 38 percent will spend more than $1000. Each year, about 85 percent of Medicare beneficiaries fill at least one prescription. Yet one third of beneficiaries have no coverage for drugs at all. And in 1996, more than half did not have drug coverage for the entire year. In the district that I represent, there are 64,822 seniors aged 65 or older who face the challenge of paying exorbitant prices for prescription drugs. For the 10 million Medicare beneficiaries living in rural areas, nearly half have no drug coverage. They have less access to employer based retiree health insurance because of the job structure in rural areas. There is no reason that we in Congress cannot take the necessary steps to ensure that every older American has access to the lifesaving, life enhancing prescription drugs they need. My Democratic colleagues and I are united in a single strategy to provide these prescription drugs. I don't know how we can deny the fact that with the funds we have, with the obligations we have, with the fact that anybody who lives to be 65 in America today has a life expectancy of 82 or 83 years that their need for life enhancing and life preserving prescription drugs will only increase. Now is the best time to address this issue. We must do it now. The timing is right. The Republican leaders put forth a plan with a stated goal of providing affordable prescription drugs for seniors, but the policy falls far short of the promise. Their plan fails to guarantee that all seniors who want it will have access to meaningful, affordable, and reliable prescription drug coverage. Their plan also suggests a private insurance benefit that insurers, themselves, say they will not offer and no one will buy if they did offer it because it would be too expensive. Limiting direct financial assistance for prescription drugs to seniors below the $12,500 income will leave out over half the seniors. In contrast to the Republican proposal, we as Democrats have a sound plan for all of America's seniors. It ensures that all seniors get voluntary, affordable and reliable prescription coverage through Medicare. Specifically under our plan, Medicare would cover half of a beneficiary's drug costs up to $2,000 a year, beginning in 2002. That would increase to half of $5,000 by 2009. Over that time, monthly premiums would rise from an estimated $24 to about $50. There would be no deductible, and no senior would pay out-of-pocket expenses of more than $4,000 a year. The issue of providing affordable prescription drugs for every older American is essential. Adding prescription drug coverage to Medicare is not only the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do. It's about giving people a chance to fight for a happy and productive long life.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I speak today in support of S. 1515, the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2000. This revision is an important step in improving the program to compensate uranium workers, atomic veterans, and those who were exposed to fallout from atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons. In 1990, Congress first accepted responsibility for the cancers caused by exposure to radioactive materials from our nuclear programs. The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) provided payments to individuals who suffered from diseases as a result of their exposure to radiation in connection with the federal government's nuclear weapons program. Although the original legislation was a good first step, the existing compensation program has proven to place an additional burden on the radiation victims. Progress on implementing RECA has been impeded by criteria for compensation that is far more stringent than for other groups for which compensation is provided. These brave workers were essential to our national security efforts. The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission was the sole purchaser of the uranium ore and knew in the early 1950's that levels of radon and uranium dust in the mines were unhealthy. We also knew atmospheric fallout was dangerous. These brave people, the uranium miners, millers, and transporters, and the ``downwinders'' were used as atomic guinea pigs. The United States owes a debt of gratitude to the workers and their families who unknowingly sacrificed their health to help win the Cold War. I have listened to many of these victims, who have bravely fought their cancers and the U.S. Government for justice. The Senate bill addresses some, not all, concerns with the current RECA program. Mr. Hatch's bill revises RECA in the following ways: Includes residents of areas where atmospheric nuclear testing was conducted; Streamlines current payments schedules by requiring the government to pay compensation to eligible victims within six weeks; Authorizes a grant program to provide for the early detection, prevention, and education of diseases caused by radiation exposure; Expands coverage to include uranium millers in addition to miners; Expands current criteria for victims of radiation exposure to include a wider variety of covered cancers. Although I support these improvements, the bill I introduced in the House last year would have done much more to provide justice for the victims of radiation-induced diseases. The bill we are voting on today must be accepted or rejected in total, without any amendments. As the Judiciary Committee stated at their markup of the bill, RECA is a work in progress. Therefore, in order to ensure immediate and badly needed improvements in the RECA program, I support the Senate bill. However, we all agree and recognize that improvements need to be made to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. I am especially concerned that uranium workers employed between 1971 to 1990 are not covered under this bill nor under current law and that the level of compensation remains at $100,000. My bill would have increased compensation to $200,000, which more fairly covers the medical expenses, hardships, and lost income to the victims. My bill also contained provisions to address victims of experiments who were exposed to radiation without their consent, and would have shifted the burden of proof off the victims onto the Government. Other changes in my bill would have removed the smoking distinction, and included workers exposed after 1971. Especially important was the requirement to take into consideration and incorporate, to the fullest extend feasible, the compensation claims process for Navajo claimants to conform to Navajo law, tradition, and customs. For example, claims should be based on traditional ties of family. One of the champions in this fight was a man by the name of Paul Hicks. He passed away recently and is unable to be with us and witness this victory. I also want to thank the Navajo Nation, President Kelsey A. Begaye, Vice-President Taylor McKenzie, Speaker Edward T. Begay, Mr. Phillip Harrison, Mr. Gilbert Badoni, Mrs. Sarah Benally, and Mr. Melton Martinez and all the others who have worked so hard on this effort. The Navajos are taught to respect, honor, and take care of their elders. We can do no less. Many of these workers are now dying. They desperately need justice. They cannot afford to wait for Congress to act. We need to pass this bill. Justice delayed is justice denied.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce legislation which will bring focus to an issue that concerns the long- term economic viability of communities in much of America's heartland: the southern High plains stretching from the middle of Kansas, the Texas panhandle, Oklahoma, the eastern portion of Colorado, and the eastern counties of my home state of New Mexico. Much of the area that I just described is farming country and much of its economy is linked to the Ogallala aquifer. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resource Conservation Service recently determined that there are over six million acres of irrigated farmland overlying the southern Ogallala. These farms use between six and nine million acre-feet of water annually. The problem however, is that the aquifer is being depleted very quickly. In just seventeen years we have seen large areas of the southern aquifer experience a 10- to 20-foot drop in their water table. These decreased levels will negatively affect aquifers used for irrigation, and for municipal water on the southern High Plains. The problems facing the groundwater resources on the southern High Plains is a multi-state issue with significant economic and social consequences for America. Ignoring the problem and continuing uses to go unabated invites tremendous economic dislocation for a large portion of our country. To address this issue I am introducing the Southern High Plains Groundwater Resource Conservation Act. This bill recognizes that accurate scientific information about groundwater resources is necessary to make good decisions. It calls upon the U.S. Geological Survey to develop mapping, modeling, and monitoring strategies for the Southern Ogallala, to provide a report to Congress and relevant states with maps and information, and to renew and update that report every year. It also acknowledges that a sound water conservation plan must be developed on a multiyear goal. Conservation measures must be implemented over a large area in order to observe a long-term groundwater trend. This bill would authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide planning assistance on a cost-share basis to states, tribes, counties, conservation districts, and other local government units to create water conservation plans designed to benefit their groundwater resource over at least 20 years. Lastly, this bill will provide two primary forms of assistance for groundwater conservation on farms. They are a cost-share assistance program to upgrade the water use efficiency of farming equipment, and the creation of an Irrigated Land Reserve. The cost-share program is based on the upfront costs frequently prohibitive for modern irrigation methods. It is estimated that an initial $20,000 in Federal investment in equipment on a cost-share basis would save between 325 to nearly 490 acre-feet of water over a ten year period. The Irrigated Land Reserve is designed to convert 10% or approximately 600,000 acres of irrigated farmland to dryland agriculture. Because dryland farming is less productive than irrigation, this bill would provide for a rental rate to farmers to ease the economic impact of changing over. When fully implemented this program can potentially save between 600,000 and 900,000 acre-feet of water per year at a cost of $33 to $50 per acre-foot. There is a pressing need to conserve this valuable aquifer, we must acknowledge that this is a precious commodity that is worth saving. It's good for the southern High Plains and it's good for our Nation.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Chairman, I am disappointed with yet another poison apple that we have been given by the majority to vote on--H.R. 4635, the FY 2001 VA-HUD-Independent Agencies Appropriations Act. Although this bill is $2 billion more than the FY 2000 appropriation it is still more than $6 billion below the President's request. In addition, this funding bill follows the FY 2001 congressional budget resolution, which provides for inadequate resources for discretionary investments. I agree with my colleagues and with the administration that we need realistic levels of funding for critical programs that Americans, and New Mexicans, expect their government to perform and provide. Specifically in the areas of education, law enforcement, research and technology, adequate health care, the administration of Social Security and Medicare, and veteran programs. Mr. Chairman, this bill hurts many constituencies throughout my district, as well as those in the districts of my colleagues. The Appropriations Committee has eliminated the Corporation for National and Community Service. In doing so, 62,000 Americans, including participants in my district, would be denied the opportunity to meet pressing education, public safety, and environmental needs in exchange for help with college costs through participation in AmeriCorps. This funding bill would also prevent students from participating in service-learning programs that provide academic benefits, along with the opportunity to learn responsible citizenship. Besides eliminating funding for the Corporation for National and Community Service, it also cuts key housing programs which currently provide crucial services to my constituents in northern New Mexico and throughout my district. Other than the reduction of funding, this bill also denies the request for 120,000 new rental assistance vouchers, a $78 million cut in elderly and disabled housing, and a $28 million cut in HOPWA, the program which provides housing assistance for people with HIV/AIDS, a group in need of housing assistance. Mr. Chairman, other housing programs being cut or reduced include the Home Program and the HOPE VI funds that replace distressed housing projects and operating subsidies for housing authorities. What really disappoints me, Mr. Speaker, is that this bill also makes substantial cuts below the FY 2000 level in the Community Development Block I want to now shift this conversation toward our veterans, to the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect the liberties and security of our nation. This country should not turn its back on these courageous men and women and should provide them with the benefits and resources they so rightly deserve. I am opposed to any reduction in minor construction funding, which would adversely affect all VA operations, ranging from patient safety and maintenance in VA medical centers to gravesite development in some national cemeteries. ln addition, I am also opposed to the provision included in the legislation to prohibit the VA from transfering funds to the Department of Justice to support litigation against tobacco companies. The VA spends more than $1 billion annually treating veterans suffering from tobacco-related conditions and is committed to helping the Federal Government recover these funds. Therefore, the VA should receive their share of any recoveries as a result of the litigation and apply that share toward medical services for our veterans. On the environmental side, the VA-HUD-appropriations bill contains funding cuts for environmental protection, contains anti-environmental riders and blocks the EPA from investigating environmental justice claims. For years, the most vulnerable in our Nation have borne the brunt of environmental pollution from hazardous practices. I believe that all citizens have a fundamental right to a clean environment and this legislation does not provide that right. The President has already indicated that if this bill, in its present form, arrives at his desk for signature it will receive a veto. I'm tired and I know the constituents in my district are tired of the majority crafting appropriation bills which fail to properly address the needs of our country and its programs. I will continue working with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to construct funding bills that are based on a balanced approach and maintain fiscal discipline while providing appropriate tax cuts, protecting the solvency of Medicare and Social Security, and funding for critical programs important to all of us. However, we are not going to get there if we keep sending the President inadequate funding bills that do not take the balanced approach. Mr. Chairman, if the leadership continues to ask Members of Congress to support these ``poison apple'' appropriation bills, I will have to continue to vote against them. For the reasons l have outlined today and for the other deficiencies contained in this legislation, I have to oppose passage of this appropriations bill.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Chairman, I rise to speak on the McGovern amendment which supports one of the most dynamic and vital segments of our society: women entrepreneurs. Women-owned businesses are the fastest growing businesses in our country. In fact, those businesses owned by women of color are growing three times faster than the overall business growth rate. It is imperative that we do all we can to assist their efforts to run successful businesses. This amendment brings additional funding to the Women's Business Center Program and the National Women's Business Council. The Women's Business Center Program provides assistance to tens of thousands of women entrepreneurs in all 50 states, giving preference to those women from disadvantaged backgrounds. In the next fiscal year, the Women's Business Center Program is authorized to receive $13 million. This amendment ensure that the program receives all of those funds as opposed to the current appropriation of a mere $8.9 million. Fully funding the program ensures that it reaches the largest number of people with maximum effectiveness. Another way we can assure that women entrepreneurs are successful is to support the National Women's Business Council, which is dedicated to researching effective business strategies. The Council serves to help women find sources of capital for the businesses. Additional, the Council provide private and public sector professional training for women entrepreneurs. Our funding increase provides for another important function of the Council: to aid state and local organizations in helping women entrepreneurs. This means that women can access information, which is relevant to their regions. In other words, this is money well spent. The Council studies what works and what doesn't. It lets us learn the most effective way to help women start their own businesses. It's objective is to make women entrepreneurs successful. The Council however, is only slated to receive 60 percent of its authorized funding. This amendment provides the full funding--$1 million. This is the sum the President has put in his budget for the Council. Full funding will allow the council to carry out its tasks of researching effective business strategies for the 9.1 million women- owned businesses across the country who employ over 27.5 million workers and generate $3.6 trillion in revenues. It is in the best interest of the country to ensure that these businesses are as efficient and successful as can be. As our ``New Economy'' continues its progress, so does the discussion about creating job growth. This amendment will allow for necessary programs to continue providing job training to these entrepreneurs. The end result will be the creation of jobs for those who need it most-- women, minorities, and the economically disadvantaged. Letting women create their own businesses in depressed areas benefits everyone. Let me turn my attention to the offset for a second. Our amendment takes approximately $4.5 million from the Department of Justice's. Telecommunications Carrier Compliance Fund. Let me say that our $4.5 million represents only 1.6 percent of the $282.5 million TCCF account. Let's think about this for a second. 1.6 percent to assist the growing 9.1 million women-owned businesses in this country. I don't know about you, but to me that sounds like a strong investment. Mr. Chairman, thousands of women across the country are eager to start successful businesses. We must help these women to help themselves--by providing classes, training, proven expertise, and improved access to funding. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment and ensure that these vital programs are fully functional and effective.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I rise to call to the attention of the House the retirement of a leading journalist and commentator for the State of New Mexico. Larry Calloway, who stepped down this month from his regular column at the Albuquerque Journal, will be missed by thousands of readers who were faithful followers of his thrice-weekly column. His refreshing and anecdotal comments, which covered civic activities and politics, were always immensely interesting and entertaining. His remarkable contributions to the people of New Mexico cannot be understated. Thank you, Larry, and best wishes in your new endeavors. [From the Albuquerque (NM) Journal, April 1999] Columnist Larry Calloway, with great suspicion, has covered about 25 regular sessions of the New Mexico Legislature and an alarming number of political campaigns. His column appears like clockwork, Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, on the Editorial page. An outsider, he loves New Mexico and its diverse people but has not fallen in love with its politicians. He had a promising Western wire service career going when he arrived in Santa Fe from Denver in a used 1962 Ford Fairlane junker with all his possessions in the back. He had already worked for United Press International at news bureaus in Helena, Montana, Salt Lake City and Denver, with brief temporary assignments in San Francisco and Topeka, Kansas. New Mexico ended his travels. He stuck, got married and began raising a family of two daughters. His first in-depth experience with New Mexico politics was the Rio Arriba County courthouse raid on June 5, 1967. He was tied up, pushed around, paraded through Tierra Amarilla, threatened with hanging and shot at. He escaped at a State Police roadblock and wondered, ``Was it something I wrote?'' It has been that way ever since. Calloway has been reviled by Democrats for his ``monkey speech'' story that contributed to the defeat of U.S. Sen. Joseph M. Montoya. He has been denounced by both the regulators and the regulated for revelations about things like monopoly bus companies. He has been excoriated in letters to the editor by activists, candidates, lobbyists and governors for discussions of things like real estate deals, political hiring and no-bid contracts. He has been castigated frequently by legislators in open sessions of both houses. Before all that, Calloway was born innocent in Wyoming and raised in Colorado. He was educated in the Denver public Schools, at the University of Colorado-Boulder (BA, philosophy of science) and at Stanford University (professional journalism fellowship). He has worked and traveled in Asia. Calloway was with The Associated Press in Santa Fe through the 1970s and joined the Journal in 1980 as the founding editor of Journal North. Politically, he prefers to describe himself only as ``journalist,'' meaning that he looks for the truth behind the cliches and ideologies and tries to write it. He has written a book of fiction, ``Guide to the San Juans,'' and is writing a book of nonfiction on his lengthy visit to New Mexico, something that probably will have ``outsider'' in the title.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. I yield to the gentlewoman from New Mexico.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. I yield to the gentleman from Ohio.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Chairman, I have read the amendment proposed by the gentlewoman from New Mexico. Her amendment prohibits the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service, and the Forest Service from using these appropriations act funds for prescribed burns on Federal lands without notifying and cooperating with tribal, State and local governments. I believe this is an excellent idea. In testimony before the Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health, it was apparent this policy was not being followed, to the great detriment of the counties affected and the State of New Mexico. I believe that all of the requirements of the prescribed burn policy should be followed, not just the notification requirement. There are many obligations in that policy and they are important, such as compliance with local and Federal air quality regulations governing contingency plans for possible loss of control, a public fire safety hazard analysis, or fire behavior analysis. Mr. Chairman, in the spirit of cooperation, I would offer this perfecting amendment at this time.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Chairman, I offer a perfecting amendment to the amendment.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Dicks) for yielding to me. Mr. Chairman, it seems to me that the issue here is one of do we proceed on a piecemeal basis with the devastating consequences that we have had or do we proceed and look at the overall basin. All of us know that the great explorer that came out West, John Wesley Powell, when he looked at organizing governmental units in this area, said we ought to look at basins; we ought to look at watersheds. And we did not take that advice, and what we have gotten today is a piecemeal approach. It has been absolutely devastating to the natural resources, to the salmon, to the watershed, to the forest. So what we have today is an attempt, what we have today is an attempt, to continue piecemeal, to continue to go into court, to continue to try to bog and slow down the process, rather than look at the whole Columbia River Basin. That is what the issue is here today, and it is an important issue, and it is an issue. I am from the West. There have been criticisms here from the other side turning around and saying, oh, these Easterners should not be able to talk. We ought to look at all of our basins in the West. I am willing to have the Rio Grande looked at. We are looking at the Columbia River Basin. We ought to continue to look at a sound scientific approach on our river basins. So I would urge all of my colleagues, all of my colleagues, to reject this amendment. It is antienvironmental, it is a return to a piecemeal approach, and it is not the approach that we should be heading into in the 21st century in terms of dealing with our resources.

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico

Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to bring to your attention the beautiful Baca Ranch which lies in my third congressional district of New Mexico. I have worked very closely with the entire New Mexico congressional delegation: Senator Pete V. Domenici, Senator Jeff Bingaman, Heather Wilson, the gentlelady from the 1st District, and Representative Joe Skeen of the 2nd District, to ensure that the Baca Ranch can become part of our citizens' patrimony. It is my hope that very soon this chamber will favorably consider and approve the acquisition of the Baca Ranch that all of us in the delegation have worked so intently for. I believe that we must preserve this natural treasure for the future generations in New Mexico and throughout our country. New Mexico Magazine is the oldest state magazine in the United States. Every month this periodical publishes articles and items of interest that touch persons who are interested in or feel affection for the Land of Enchantment. The June 2000 issue contains a beautiful layout that includes a description and photographs of the Valles Caldera by Douglas Preston and photographer Christine Preston. The editors of New Mexico Magazine have granted me the honor of inserting the text of this article into the Congressional Record so that everyone can share in the wonder that is the Baca Ranch. [From The New Mexico Magazine, June 2000] Buying the Baca (By Douglas Preston) N.M. 4, the main road through the Jemez Mountains, climbs through steep canyons and ponderosa forests for many miles. As it reaches the heart of the mountains, a spectacular vista breaks out: a high meadow of incredible vastness, called the Valle Grande, ribboned with streams and ringed by 11,000-foot peaks. Those who stop to admire the view can't help but notice the barbed wire fence and ``No Trespassing'' signs that indicate this enticing valley and the mountains beyond lie on private property. This is the Baca Location No. 1, a 100,000-acre ranch embedded within the Santa Fe National Forest. For more than half a century the federal government has tried to acquire this extraordinary piece of land. Last fall the Forest Service and the family that owns the property, the Dunigans, reached a tentative agreement to transfer the property to the American people for $101 million. All that remains is for Congress to provide the funds. If the deal goes through it will be one of the largest and most important land acquisitions in the American West in decades. The Baca Location No. 1--also known as the Baca Land and Cattle Company--encompasses one of the legendary geological landscapes in America, known as the Valles Caldera. The Valle Grande and the mountains and valleys beyond are the remnants of a gigantic crater, called a caldera, formed by an eruption more than a million years ago. Much of what we know about volcanic caldera formation comes from decades of exploration of the Valles Caldera. It is one of the world's most intensively studied geological landscapes. An observer standing on the site of Santa Fe 1.2 million years ago, looking westward, would have witnessed the birth of the Valles Caldera in a cataclysm of breathtaking violence. Before the eruption, our observer would have seen a grouping of interlapping volcanic peaks not unlike the Jemez Mountains today, shaped by earlier volcanic activity. (Polvodera and Chicoma Peaks in the Jemez today are remnants of these earlier volcanoes.) Contrary to popular belief, there was never a mountain anywhere near as high as Mt. Everest at the site. The highest peaks in this earlier range were probably about 12,000 feet--the same as the Jemez today. The big blowup started out small--some faint earth tremors, the distant sound of thunder and a cauliflower of ash rising into the azure sky. Because the prevailing winds were blowing out of the southeast carrying the ash toward Utah, our Santa Fe observer would have had an excellent view. Over the days and weeks, a nascent volcano gradually built up through fresh eruptions, each bigger than the last. And then the climax came. One or more furious explosions hurtled clouds of ash 100,000 feet into the atmosphere, where they formed a gigantic mushroom cloud. The sounds of the explosions were so thunderous that they bounced off the upper atmosphere and echoed around the curve of the Earth, to be heard thousands of miles away. Like a firestorm, the eruption sucked air inward, generating gale-force winds of 75 to 100 miles an hour. The cloud created its own weather system. As it rose in the sky, lightning ripped through it, and it began dropping great columns of rain and sooty hail. As the magma emptied out from below the Earth's surface, the underground roof of the magma chamber began to collapse. The volcano slumped in, cracking in concentric circles and triggering earthquakes. A gigantic depression formed. The pumice and ash, instead of being shot upward out of a single pipe, now began squirting out of every crack and crevice in the roof of the magma chamber. The eruption became horizontal instead of vertical. Huge avalanches of ash, glowing orange at more than a thousand degrees, raced down the mountainsides at speeds greater than 150 miles an hour, flattening thousands of trees in their path. (The cylindrical holes left by these trees would be found much later by geologists.) When these superheated avalanches hit the Rio Grande, they vaporized the river with a fantastic roar. The ash probably dammed the river, causing it to back up into a lake. When the water finally burst through, devastating flash floods swept downstream. The spreading clouds of ash created darkness so profound that at midday you could not see the hand in front of your face. When the dust finally settled, our observer in Sante Fe would have seen the outline of the Jemez Mountains much as they appear today, minus Redondo Peak. That mountain eerily rose up later, a blister in the earth pushed up by rising magma that never broke out to make a new volcano. The collapse of the magma chamber left a giant crater, or caldera, which soon filled with water to become a crater lake. Over the years, there were flurries of smaller eruptions, and gradually the lake bottom filled with sediments and lava flows to make a gentle floor. The lake eventually broke out and drained. Grass covered the fertile bottomlands, creating the Valle Grande and other vast grass valleys on the ranch, such as the Valle San Antonio and the Valle Toledo. Although the last eruption took place 60,000 years ago, the area remains volcanically active. Hot springs and sulfur vents scattered across the Baca attest to the presence of magma not far from the surface, seismic data indicates a large body of magma sits about 6 to 10 miles down. The Jemez will very likely erupt again. The Valles Caldera, contrary to popular myth, is not the largest caldera in the world, or even in New Mexico. there is a larger caldera in the Mogollon Mountains, dating back 25 million years, and an even larger one in the San Juan Mountains. The Jemez eruption, for all its power, was only fair to middling in size. Geologists estimate the eruption spewed out some 300 cubic kilometers of pumice ash. This was big compared to Mount St. Helens (half a cubic kilometer) and Krakatoa (10 cubic kilometers), but smaller than the Mogollon eruption (1,000 cubic kilometers) or the San Juan (5,000 cubic kilometers.) Among geologists, however, the Valles Caldera will always hold a special place. Human beings probably first moved into the Jemez Mountains about 12 or 13 thousand years ago. It was richly settled by Pueblo Indians in the 13th and 14th centuries, and some of the largest pueblo ruins in the country can be found there. But by the time the Spanish arrived the Pueblo Indians had largely abandoned the mountains, except for seasonal hunting, to build their pueblos along the Rio Grande. The land passed from Mexican to American ownership through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. Baca Location No. 1 was carved out of public land in 1860, to settle a land claim by the Cabeza de Vaca family. Comanches had run the Cabeza de Vacas off their gigantic Las Vegas land grant, and the Mexican government subsequently regranted the land to others. But the American courts found the original grant legal, and to settle it the Baca heirs were given the right to choose an equivalent amount of land elsewhere in the Southwest. No fools, their first choice was the Valles Caldera, hence the name Baca Location No. 1. (There is a Baca Location No. 2 in eastern New Mexico and other Baca locations in Colorado and Arizona.) The first survey indicated the Baca Location No. 1 comprised 99,289 acres. While the rest of the Jemez remained public, this vast in- holding changed hands several times in the late 19th and early 20th century. In 1962, a young Texas oilman and entrepreneur from Abilene, James P. (``Pat'') Dunigan, heard about the ranch and snapped it up for $2.5 million, out from under the nose of the federal government, which had been trying to buy it from the previous owner. Dunigan was primarily interested in the Baca's potential for geothermal energy extraction and cattle grazing. The Dunigan family spent every summer thereafter on the ranch, riding, working cattle, camping and going on field trips with environmental and geological organizations. According to his son, As a result, Dunigan made many changes that greatly improved the health of the land. He undertook a long and expensive lawsuit against the New Mexico Timber Company to terminate its logging of the Baca, which had scarred many hillsides with roads and clear-cuts. He halted serious overgrazing by reducing the cattle load from 12,000 to 5,000 head. He also successfully fought the Public Service Company of New Mexico's ill-advised OLE plan to run high-tension transmission lines through the Jemez, which would have cut through the Cerro Toledo highlands, one of the most remote and beautiful parts of the ranch. A prescribed burn program helped maintain the balance between grasslands and forests. Dunigan's efforts created, among other things, a superb habitat for elk. In mid-century, 107 elk from Jackson Hole and Yellowstone had been introduced in the Jemez Mountains. The elk population grew rapidly. It stands at 8,000 today, many of which summer on the Baca's 30,000 acres of grasslands. According to his family, Dunigan often expressed his hope that the land would end up going to the American people. In late 1978 he began discussing the sale of the ranch to the federal government, but the negotiations ended when Dunigan unexpectedly died in 1980. The Dunigan family reopened discussions with the government in 1997, but they fell apart in early 1999 over issues of confidentiality. ``But there was a realization on everyone's part,'' says Andrew, ``that we had come a long way and that this was such an important thing that it was worth putting aside our differences.'' This they did, and the Dunigan family and the government agreed on a price. Final negotiations are in progress, and Congress has made steps to appropriate the funding. The Baca acquisition enjoys strong support from almost every organization in the state concerned with land issues, from the Northern New Mexico Stockmen's Association to the Sierra Club. It has the backing of the New Mexico Congressional delegation from both parties, as well as the Clinton administration. Most importantly, it has the strong support of the people of northern New Mexico. This time around, it seems likely that the deal will go through. The Baca is a magical place, one of the most extensive high-mountain grasslands in the United States. It is a land of deep fir forests shrouded in morning mists; of sweeping meadows dotted with elk and mule deer; of aspen groves that turn the hillsides gold in the fall; of high mountains echoing with the whistling cry of bald eagles; of clear streams alive with jostling trout. Mountain lions, bobcats, pine martens and black bears prowl its mountain slopes. It hosts a number of rare species, including one found only in the area, the Jemez Mountains salamander. It is also a land of hot springs, obsidian beds, Indian ruins and historic buildings--including several decaying movie sets. The conversion of the Baca to public ownership will involve an experiment unique in the history of public land management. The Baca will become a trust wholly owned by the federal government, called the Valles Caldera Trust. It will remain a working cattle ranch, so far as that is consistent with the preservation of wildlife, scenery and recreation. Within 15 years it is supposed to become self-sufficient financially. The exact details will be worked out by a board of trustees drawn from groups that normally hate each other: ranchers, conservationists, National Park and Forest Service employees, financial experts, game and fish managers, archaeologists, biologists and commodity industry representatives. Denise McCaig, the Baca acquisition coordinator for the Forest Service who was instrumental in seeing the deal through, called the arrangement unique and challenging. ``Having representatives from these different interests could be helpful, but it could also create difficulties. If they can come to this working toward a common objective, it will be good. But if they come to the position working from their own self-interest, they will have problems.'' She laughed: ``Oh yeah, it will be an interesting experiment.'' It has the potential, if it works, of becoming a model for cooperation among normally antagonistic groups concerning other public lands. Over the years, many people have looked longingly over the barbed wire fence that separates N.M. 4 from the Valle Grande and wondered when they would ever have a chance to explore this splendid country. Even after the land goes into public ownership, it will be two years at least before the details of access and use can be worked out by the trustees. When that happens, this magical landscape, born in fire and violence, will finally be opened to the American public.