To provide for expansion of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet on Wednesday, February 11, 2004, at 9:30 a.m. on Protecting Children From Violent and Indecent Programming.

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, February 11 at 10:00 a.m. to consider pending calendar business.

Agenda Item 2: S. 213--A bill to clear title to certain real property in New Mexico associated with the Middle Rio Grande Project, and for other purposes with an amendment.

Agenda Item 3: S. 524--A bill to expand the boundaries of the Fort Donelson National Battlefield to authorize the acquisition and interpretation of lands associated with the campaign that resulted in the capture of the fort in 1862, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 5: S. 943--A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to enter into one or more contracts with the city of Cheyenne, Wyoming, for the storage of water in the Kendrick Project, Wyoming with an amendment.

Agenda Item 6: S. 960--To amend the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act and the Hawaii Water Resources Act of 2000 with an amendment.

Agenda Item 9: S. 1107--A bill to enhance the Recreational Fee Demonstration Program for the National Park Service, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 13: S. 1516--Salt Cedar Control Demonstration Act with an amendment in the nature of a substitute.

Agenda Item 14: S. 1576--A bill to revise the boundary of Harper's Ferry National Historical Park, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 15: S. 1577--A bill to extend the deadline for commencement of construction of hydroelectric project in the State of Wyoming.

Agenda Item 16: S. 1582--A bill to amend the Valles Preservation Act to improve the preservation of the Valles Caldera, and for other purposes with an amendment.

Agenda Item 17: S. 1848--A bill to amend the Bend Pine Nursery Land Conveyance Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to sell the Bend Pine Nursery Administration Site in the State of Oregon with an amendment.

Agenda Item 18: H.R. 408--To provide for expansion of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

Agenda Item 19: H.R. 417--To revoke a Public Land Order with respect to certain lands erroneously included in the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, California with report language.

Agenda Item 20: H.R. 620--To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide supplemental funding and other services that are necessary to assist the State of California or local educational agencies in California in providing educational services for students attending schools located within the Park with an amendment.

Agenda Item 21: H.R. 708--To require the conveyance of certain National Forest System lands in Mendocino National Forest, California, to provide for the use of the proceeds from such conveyance for National Forest purposes, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 23: H.R. 856--To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to revise a repayment contract with the Tom Green County Water Control and Improvement District No. 1, San Angelo project, Texas, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 26: H.R. 1598--To amend the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in projects within the San Diego Creek Watershed, California, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 27: S. 1167--A bill to resolve the boundary conflicts in Barry and Stone Counties in the State of Missouri.

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 Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 at 10 a.m. to hold a Business Meeting.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Indian Affairs be authorized to meet on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 at 9:30 a.m. in Room 485 of the Russell Senate Office Building to conduct a hearing on the President's Fiscal Year 2005 Budget Request.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a hearing on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 at 2 p.m. on ``Judicial Nominations,'' in the Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 226.

Panel I: Senators.

Panel II: Diane S. Sykes, to the Circuit Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit; James L. Robart, to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington; Juan R. Sanchez, to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights be authorized to meet to conduct a hearing on ``Cable Competition--Increasing Price; Increasing Value?'' on Wednesday, February 11, 2004, at 10:30 a.m., in Room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mr. Michael Willner, Vice-Chairman, President and CEO, Insight Communications Company, Inc.;

Mr. Rodger Johnson, CEO, Knology;

Mr. Robert Sachs, President and CEO, National Cable and Telecommunications Association;

Ms. Coralie Wilson, President, National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors;

Mr. Scott Cleland, CEO, Precursor; and

Dr. Mark Cooper, Director of Research, Consumer Federation of America.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on International Trade and Finance of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the Session of the Senate on Wednesday, February 11, 2004, at 1:00 p.m. to conduct a hearing on ``Economic and Financial Reconstruction in Iraq.''

Mr. Speaker, first let me make it clear that I strongly support this legislation and also the necessary appropriations to follow through on the authorizing, and I think it is important we do it as soon as possible.

I would first like to express on the record a concern here, and that is that while it is a win-win situation for all the stakeholders involved, I personally believe there should have been a land swap. I believe the land swap was a reasonable request. What this is going to do is cost the taxpayers money that could have been used in other environmental projects in other parks around the country where we are still trying to buy out inholdings, to pay back people who, in fact, are restricted in their land use.

That said, for 17 years that has not happened. The owner is continuing to be deprived of his ability to use his property, and we do not want him to develop condominiums or housing developments along the beautiful Crystal River. It would destroy a very scenic area. So we have little choice in this area about what to do, and I believe this legislation will indeed compensate the owner, protect all the national park lands and expand the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore.

I do not have any constituents in this area. I am not from the State of Michigan. I have many people from northern Indiana, including myself, who go up to Sleeping Bear. But I want to make a couple other general comments for the other Members of our body.

As you have heard from obviously the people from Michigan, just because

they are pro-Michigan does not mean it is not true. This fresh water coast has the best dunes and the best beaches in the United States. I serve on the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands. I have traveled around this country for multiple years. The dunes are more spectacular, more wild and more scenic than what you see in Oregon, than what you see in Kitty Hawk. The beaches are more private and rural in ability to enjoy than you see on any of our other coasts, as someone who visits those coasts as well.

This is incredibly scenic country in a very populace State. This is not like the Indiana Dunes Lakeshore, where we preserved an ecosystem right at the edge of Chicago where other cities are. This is one, however, that still has a number of inholdings, small towns, and, as we work this through, what used to be largely a series of State parks, like DH Day and Platte River and other State parks, has now been joined together, not only where the spectacular dunes are, but the ecosystem that is dependent on the dunes' survival, one of which is the Crystal River.

This beautiful, scenic area comes in through the town of Glen Arbor and out by Glen Haven, as well as the Platte River coming in another part, and the ability for canoeists to enjoy this, the ability to keep the watershed and the trees preserved, so that not only do we have those moving dunes, the largest moving dunes in the world preserved, but the ecosystem that people, like I did when I was in college every spring, we went up and camped at Sleeping Bear, and my parents took me up there when I was young, so that other families can enjoy a wilderness in a fairly populus area of America.

We do not have enough, unlike the speaker from Idaho and others, we do not have a lot of public lands in the Midwest. We do not have a lot of public lands, like many of my colleagues on the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands, like the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Cannon), who are looking often at districts that range anywhere from 30 to 90 percent Federal public lands. In the Midwest we have a shortage. This is helping fill an important gap in an important ecosystem with animal and bird diversity, with sand dunes, with rivers; and it is a rare opportunity to purchase this. So I hope we not only authorize this, but move the appropriations soon.

I commend the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp), the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Stupak), the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee), and the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Miller), and all of the others who have been involved. It has been a pleasure in preserving this important part of our natural and cultural heritage in the Midwest.

I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 408 would accomplish the goal of allowing the National Park Service to acquire nearly 105 acres of land along the Crystal River adjacent to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

This legislation would facilitate the preservation of this rare and valuable land by allowing the National Park Service to add this property to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, and, at the same time, would fairly compensate Bayberry Mills, Inc., a company affiliated with The Homestead, a large, well-known resort, for their property.

I have a particular interest in and a high degree of familiarity with the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore and Bayberry Mills' property because for the last 10 years, it was located in my congressional district. It is a land of majestic beauty, and is a valuable environmental contribution to the area which lies along the pristine Crystal River.

For more than 17 years, there has been controversy about development along the Crystal River. Several proposals for development by the property owners have met with bitter opposition by environmentalists and some in the local community. There have been plans to build a golf course and develop homesites on the property. There is also a proposal to swap the property for lands within Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. That, too, aroused controversy.

We must be grateful to Bayberry Mills and The Homestead for not developing this acreage and for their willingness to work with the National Park Service and our committees to preserve this land. However, now it is time to purchase this land and allow The Homestead to move on.

Last year, I introduced legislation to allow the Federal Government to purchase the land for inclusion into the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. This year, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp), who has worked hard on this and who now represents

the area, and Senator Levin in the other body, have introduced similar legislation, which I fully support and have cosponsored.

This legislation has garnered the support of Bayberry Mills, the Park Service, the local community and many of those in the environmental community who opposed previous development plans for the property.

Mr. Bob Kuras, President of Bayberry Mills, is to be commended for his willingness to complete this sale, and Congress needs to act quickly to take advantage of this opportunity. I truly believe that this legislation is the only solution to a 17-year-old dispute, and it is extremely important that the House and Senate act now, so we can have closure on this issue.

The Park Service will benefit greatly by having the property included in the Lakeshore, the local communities will support this purchase, and Bayberry Mills will be fairly compensated for their property.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my staff for their work on this issue over the past 10 years. I want to thank the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp) and his staff for their diligent work on this legislation we are voting on today. None of this could happen without the support of the Committee on Resources, and we certainly appreciate their help and support in this effort. This is a win-win-win situation, and I strongly urge my colleagues to join us in the passage of H.R. 408.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 408, a bill to provide for the expansion of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, located in Empire, Michigan, and along the coast of Michigan. I introduced this bill in January with my colleague the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Stupak). This legislation represents a culmination of years of debate on the issue of whether or how to include certain acreage into the Park Service system.

H.R. 408 would authorize the National Park Service to purchase approximately 104 acres of property now owned by a private resort community and include it within the boundaries of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

In the mid-eighties, The Homestead, a resort community located in Glen Arbor, Michigan, purchased property that included frontage on the Crystal River. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service described the property as ``globally rare.'' Since the purchase of the Crystal River property, the owners of The Homestead have sought to build a golf course and over 30 single-family homes. The resort's desire to build on the pristine acreage caused concern among a number of community residents and local environmental groups who opposed development of the property.

To resolve the dispute, The Homestead and the Park Service began discussions to exchange the environmentally sensitive riverfront property for acreage already included in the Lakeshore. Residents and area environmental organizations rejected the idea of an exchange. Opponents argued that it would unfairly give land from one private landowner to another.

In the 1970s, the Federal Government condemned private land and included it in the Lakeshore, one of the first cases where the Federal Government condemned property that was already inhabited. At the time, the Federal Government told the private property owners that their land would be protected for the public to enjoy. The idea of trading that land to be developed into a golf course and homes was not a policy local residents and environmental groups could endorse.

After much negotiation and compromise, a solution has been reached that aims to benefit all stakeholders and is supported by all stakeholders. The agreement is embodied in H.R. 408. The bill stipulates that the purchase of this land be made on a ``willing seller'' basis. This stipulation was included intentionally to provide assurances to The Homestead that their property will not be taken or withheld from them for any reason without their express consent. The bill also prohibits the Park Service from acquiring the property by an exchange.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the House Committee on Resources, particularly the gentleman from California (Chairman Pombo); the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands chairman, the gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich); and members of the subcommittee, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee) and the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Souder), for their outstanding support.

I urge my colleagues to adopt this noncontroversial but important measure.

Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor today to urge my colleagues to support H.R. 408, to provide for the expansion of the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes National Lakeshore, of course in my home State, the great State of Michigan. I also want to thank my colleagues, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp) and the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Stupak) for offering this legislation.

As an avid Great Lakes sailor, I have been privileged to enjoy the natural beauty of our shoreline of my home State from both the land as well as the water. I am committed to preserving and protecting our lakeshore so that others can come to see the breathtaking splendor that we know as Michigan.

No part of our lakeshore is more spectacular than the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes. Congress established the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes National Lakeshore in 1970 to preserve this national treasure along the shores of Lake Michigan for all time.

For generations, Michigan citizens and tourists from around the Nation and the world have come to the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes to enjoy the spectacular beauty of our shoreline and to enjoy the forest and the wildlife that this area does have to offer.

The Sleeping Bear Dunes were actually created by the retreat of the glaciers from the area, and they rise 400 feet above Lake Michigan. They offer an incredible view of this wonderful lake, and it is difficult, I think, to imagine a more beautiful view anywhere in the Nation.

In addition to the view offered atop the dunes, families can also explore beech and maple forests, beautiful meadows, wetlands lakes and streams. Wildlife is bountiful all over the park there. We have over 160 different species of birds nesting in the area, as well as red fox, coyotes, and our Michigan white-tailed deer.

The expansion of this park, I believe, is needed to preserve even more of the surrounding beach front for future generations to enjoy. Most people do not know that in Michigan, actually, we have 2,242 miles of shoreline and another 879 miles, if the islands are included as well. We actually have the longest shoreline, outside of Alaska. This actually equals the length of the Atlantic coast, if you think about it, from Maine to Florida. So the Great Lakes shoreline is an important part of our identity.

I just want to demonstrate how important the Sleeping Bear Dunes actually are to the State of Michigan. This is a children's book. At one time it was the best-selling children's book in the entire State of Michigan. It tells the old Indian legend of the Sleeping Bear Dunes, where the mother bear and her two cubs were swimming across Lake Michigan, and the mother bear made it to the Sleeping Bear Dunes area, and the two cubs did not. They became North and South Manitou. But this is a wonder, wonderful children's book. It is the kind of children's story that we talk to our children about in Michigan when we put them to sleep at night.

So, really, the Sleeping Bear Dunes is such a critical part of our identity in Michigan. I certainly urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.