Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve Boundary Revision Act of 2004

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet on Wednesday, July 14, 2004, at 9:30 a.m. on Home Products Fire Safety.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet on Wednesday, July 14, 2004, at 2:30 p.m. on Adult Stem Cell Research.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, on Wednesday, July 14, at 11:30 a.m. to consider pending calendar business.

Agenda Item 1: S. 203--A bill to open certain withdrawn land in Big Horn County, Wyoming, to locatable mineral development for bentonite mining.

Agenda Item 4: S. 931--A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to undertake a program to reduce the risks from and mitigate the effects of avalanches on visitors to units of the National Park System and on other recreational users of public land.

Agenda Item 7: S. 1211--A bill to further the purposes of title XVI of the Reclamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992, the ``Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act'', by directing the Secretary of the Interior to undertake a demonstration program for water reclamation in the Tularosa Basin of New Mexico, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 14: S. 2052--A bill to amend the National Trails System Act to designate El Camino Real de los Tejas as a National Historic Trail.

Agenda Item 16: S. 2140--A bill to expand the boundary of the Mount Rainier National Park.

Agenda Item 17: S. 2167--A bill to establish the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park in the States of Washington and Oregon, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 18: S. 2173--A bill to further the purposes of the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site Establishment Act of 2000.

Agenda Item 19: S. 2285--A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey a parcel of real property to Beaver County, Utah.

Agenda Item 20: S. 2287--A bill to adjust the boundary of the Barataria Preserve Unit of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve in the State of Louisiana, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 21: S. 2460--A bill to provide assistance to the State of New Mexico for the development of comprehensive State water plans, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 22: S. 2508--A bill to redesignate the Ridges Basin Reservoir, Colorado, as Lake Nighthorse.

Agenda Item 23: S. 2511--A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a feasibility study of a Chimayo water supply system, to provide for the planning, design, and construction of a water supply, reclamation, and filtration facility for Espanola, New Mexico, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 24: S. 2543--A bill to establish a program and criteria for National Heritage Areas in the United States, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 27: H.R. 1284--To amend the Reclamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992 to increase the Federal share of the costs of the San Gabriel Basin demonstration project.

Agenda Item 29: H.R. 1616--To authorize the exchange of certain lands within the Martin Luther King, Junior, National Historic Site for lands owned by the City of Atlanta, Georgia, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 30: H.R. 3768--To expand the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, Florida.

In addition, the Committee may turn to any other measures that are ready for consideration.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet in open Executive Session during the session on July 14, 2004, at 10 a.m., in a mock markup to consider proposed legislation implementing the U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement; and to consider favorably reporting S. 2610, the U.S.- Australia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act; and the nominations of Joey Russell George, to be Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, U.S. Department of Treasury; Patrick P. O'Carroll, Jr., to be Inspector General, Social Security Administration; Timothy S. Bitsberger, to be Assistant Secretary for Financial Markets, U.S. Department of Treasury; Paul B. Jones, to be Member, IRS Oversight Board; and, Charles L. Kolbe, to be Member, IRA Oversight Board.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 14, 2004, at 9:30 a.m., to hold a hearing on Pakistan: Balancing Reform and Counterterrorism.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 14, 2004, at 2:30 p.m., to hold a hearing on U.S. Policy Toward Southeast Europe: Unfinished Business in the Balkans.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Indian Affairs be authorized to meet on Wednesday, July 14, 2004, at 10 a.m., in room 485 of the Russell Senate Office Building, to conduct an oversight hearing on the American Indian Religious Freedom Act.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a hearing on Wednesday, July 14, 2004, at 10 a.m. on ``Examining the Implications of Drug Importation'' in the Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 226. The witness list will be delivered later today.

Witness List

Panel I: Hon. John Breaux, U.S. Senator; and Hon. Bryon Dorgan, U.S. Senator.

Panel II: William K. Hubbard, Associate Commissioner for Policy and Planning, U.S. Food and Drug Administration; John Taylor, III, Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs, U.S. Food and Drug Administration; and Elizabeth G. Durant, Director of Trade Programs, Bureau of Customs and Border Protection.

Panel III: Hon. Rudolph Giuliani; Carmen Catizone, M.S., RPh, DPh, Executive Director/Secretary, National Association of Boards of Pharmacy Boards; Kathleen Jaeger, President and CEO, GPhA; Ms. Joanna Disch, Board Member, AARP; and Ms. Elizabeth A. Wennar, M.P.H, D.H.A., President and CEO, United Health Alliance of Bennington, VT and Principle, HealthInova of Manchester, VT, United Health Alliance, Health Care Economist.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Rules and Administration be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 14, 2004, at 9:30 a.m., to conduct an oversight hearing on the Federal Election Commission.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 14, at 2:30 p.m.

The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on S. 2317, to limit the royalty on soda ash; S. 2353, to reauthorize and amend the National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992; H.R. 1189, to increase the waiver requirement for certain local matching requirements for grants provided to American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands, or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and for other purposes; and H.R. 2010, to protect the voting rights of members of the armed services in elections for the delegate representing American Samoa in the United States House of Representatives, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3768. I introduced this bill to provide protection to a parcel of land that is located in a historic area of my district, an area called American Beach which has great national significance. This beautiful stretch of shoreline provides a great history and a great story.

Founded in the 1930s by A. L. Lewis, American Beach provided a sunny paradise for African Americans during a tumultuous time in American history. This area of Florida's northeastern shore attracted African Americans from all over the country, including heavyweight boxing champion Joe Lewis, entertainer Cab Calloway, and civil rights leader A. Philip Randolph. While this Nation was struggling to find equality within its shores, American Beach provided a relaxing, culturally unique spot for African Americans to gather along the ocean's edge. The significance of this site was recently recognized when the beach and 120 residential homes in the area were added to the National Registry of Historic Places. Additionally, in 1992 the Florida legislature named American Beach the first site on the Florida Black Heritage Trail.

In his recently released budget, President Bush provides resources for a new Preserve America program through the National Park Service. This initiative is designed to encourage heritage tourism throughout the country. Today this legislation answers the President's call without spending a single dime of taxpayers' money.

Last year, American Beach's neighbor, Amelia Island Plantation, made arrangements to donate 8.5 acres to the National Park Service. Unfortunately, the Park Service could not accept this generous gift because the acreage rests outside the boundaries of the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve. And so what this legislation simply does, it allows the National Park Service to accept the historic site by simply modifying the boundaries of the preserve.

I support this addition to the Timucuan, and others like it, where willing property owners and the National Park Service can work together as stewards of our national treasures. I urge the adoption of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3768) to expand the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, Florida, as amended.

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 under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

H.R. 3768, introduced by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Crenshaw) and amended by the Committee on Resources, would authorize the expansion of the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve in the State of Florida by 8.5 acres. The additional land, much of it known as American Beach, would be donated by the Amelia Island Plantation Company. American Beach, established by Florida's first insurance company, the Afro-American Life Insurance Company, is the only remaining example of a beach resort established for use by African Americans during the divisive Jim Crow 1930s. In addition, the beach includes the Nana, the tallest natural dune on Amelia Island and habitat for the threatened loggerhead turtle.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3768, as amended, is supported by the majority and the minority of the committee, the Nassau

County Board of Commissioners of Florida, and the administration. I urge adoption of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Crenshaw), who is the sponsor of this important legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

(Mrs. CHRISTENSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3768, as amended, is a small, noncontroversial measure. The legislation involves the inclusion of 8.5 acres of land within the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve in northern Florida. This parcel of land, known as American Beach, has historical ties to the African American community, largely represented by the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Corrine Brown), which used the area for many years for recreational purposes. It is our understanding that this noncontroversial measure has the support of the local community and there are no objections from the National Park Service to the inclusion of this recreational and historical land within the preserve.

That being the case, Mr. Speaker, we support the passage of the legislation today.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. President, the energy committee, Senators Domenici and Bingaman, are to be congratulated. I say that because usually the committee waits until the very last minute, and then we have a load of bills that can't be lifted. There are scores of them. This was a large number of bills, and they did them now.

Being from a public lands State where 87 percent of the land is owned by the Federal Government, the committee did the right thing. When we get ready to recess, there will be another big batch we will have to take a look at. But it will lessen the burden that we have in the waning hours of getting out of here trying to work through all of these bills. I didn't add them up, but there are probably over 40 bills we needed to dispose of to send them to the House tonight. The number is 44, I am told.

This is good work. The committee should be congratulated, and that is what I am doing now.