Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 2691) making appropriations for the Department of the Interior and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2004 and for other purposes.

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

Mr. Chairman, today we bring before the House for fiscal year 2004 appropriations a bill for the Department of the Interior and related agencies. This is a good bill that balances many competing needs and stays within the 302(b) allocations for budget authority.

Mr. Chairman, this bill is fiscally responsible, providing about $100 million more than the budget request but nearly $200 million less than the fiscal year 2003 level. The bill takes care of our public lands, the national parks, wildlife refuges, forests, and lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management. It has been increased not as much as some would like; and I pledge that in conference, we will try to increase that as much as possible.

The bill focuses on conservation initiatives, including operation and maintenance of Federal lands, stateside grants for land preservation and recreation, State wildlife grants, habitat improvements on both public and private lands, eradication of invasive species, and protection of endangered species.

We hear arguments that we are not doing enough for the conservation program in this bill. I disagree. There is nearly $1 billion in the bill for programs in the conservation spending category. But more to the point, there are a great number of critically important conservation programs in this bill that have never been included in the conservation spending category but are equally important.

We provide increases of $73 million for national parks, $30 million for national wildlife refuges, and $93 million for wildlife restoration and forest health. I would argue that most of the funding in this bill is for conservation activities.

Some Members will argue that we need to buy more Federal lands. What we really need is to do a better job of taking care of lands we have and this bill does that.

Fire fighting needs are addressed in this bill. In addition to providing the necessary funding for suppressing wildfires, we continue support for the National Fire Plan with the investment of $2.5 billion. We support preparedness activities so that we have the people and equipment in place to handle wildfires. We provide funding increases for hazardous fuels reduction, State fire assistance, and forest health programs. I am proud of the balance we have achieved in these critical programs that are important to all Americans.

The bill ensures that energy research programs are adequately funded and that we maintain a proper mix between research on improvements to existing technologies and longer-term higher-risk research on new technologies. We need to keep all of our options open and not fall into the trap of picking winners and losers.

When it comes to energy research, ultimately the consumer and not the government will determine what energy technologies will be successful in the marketplace.

The bill provides for the continued construction of critically needed schools and hospitals for the American Indians and Alaskan Natives. It is included in a resolution to the contentious litigation between the United States and the American Indians dealing with the individual Indian trust monies. This bill provides prompt, fair, and reasonable resolution of those long-standing claims. This lawsuit has been diverting scarce resources away from critical programs that benefit the Indian people. We need to stop spending hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions, on litigation support and redirect those funds to Indian education, health, wildlife, law enforcement and other important Indian programs.

My good friend, the gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo), chairman of the Committee on Resources, will move to strike this provision on jurisdictional grounds. He has committed to resolving this conflict through the authorizing process. Mr. Chairman, if we do not do this, we will literally be spending perhaps $2.4 billion in continuous accounting measures that will do nothing to solve this problem. It will be taken away from Indian health and education.

Finally, the bill takes care of our cultural agencies and provides the funding needed to ensure that the Smithsonian Institution maintains its responsibility for providing quality visitor services and world- renowned research. It provides the administration's request for the National Gallery of Art and for the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2004 is a bill that I believe strikes an appropriate balance among competing funding needs, and I ask for support for the bill.

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

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Sherwood), a valued member of the committee.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Boehlert).

(Mr. BOEHLERT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Boehlert).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula) former chairman and valued member of the subcommittee.

(Mr. REGULA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 1 minute to enter into a colloquy with the gentleman from Pennsylvania.

I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania.

Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, the gentleman, as usual, is correct in his assessment of the situation. It has been restored.

Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for his leadership on this program. The Hackensack Meadowlands are indeed an important resource and a reasonable priority for the service.

I am advised that the unanticipated budgetary delays have hindered the prompt hiring of the personnel the gentleman mentioned. I will look forward to working with the gentleman as we move forward towards conference to ensure that the service has the resources it needs to continue its consultative role on the Army Corps' meadowlands ecosystem restoration study.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Kentucky (Mrs. Northup).

Mr. Chairman, will the gentlewoman yield?

Mr. Chairman, I would say to the gentlewoman from Kentucky that I know she has worked long and hard on this project, and it will be my intent to see that it is funded, working with her and the Senate.

Mr. Chairman, I wish to assure the gentleman that I agree with his assessment of the situation. I am not sure that the interior bill is the appropriate place to provide this funding, but I will work with the gentleman to address these needs in future appropriations bills.

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

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

Mr. Chairman, I was a member of the Subcommittee on the Interior, was not a member of this agreement that Members are talking about being made. No Congress can bind another Congress to an agreement because each Congress changes.

I would point out that given our funds, we have done a great deal in the area of conservation spending. We are putting in more than $1 billion in this program. In addition, we have spending categories that were not even established in 2001, and there are many billions of dollars in this bill that address conservation. Neither this administration nor this committee has failed in our effort to address the question of conservation. We have, however, tried to balance the bill given the fact that we have a deficit this year.

I am sure the gentleman will soon be addressing us and criticizing us in a few months about the deficit. This is the only time we can address it in our appropriations area.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Gilchrest) for a colloquy.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for his interest in the Chesapeake Bay and his leadership in addressing the threat posed by invasive species to our public. The committee intends that the funds appropriated for the Nutria Eradication and Control Project in Maryland be applied to the eradication strategy, as authorized, and not to be limited to activities within the boundaries of the refuge.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden).

Let me assure the gentleman that I will convey his concerns to the Department of the Interior. I agree with his assessment of the situation relating to access to private inholdings.

Within the current budget constraints we will do our best to address the gentleman's concerns.

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

We have a lot of concerns about all legislation that comes before Congress. There is never enough money, we feel, to spend all the money for all the needs that we have. This year we have a deficit. We have a balanced bill in this Interior bill. We think it addresses adequately all concerns within our ability to spend. I want to thank the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Dicks) and the committee, both the majority and the minority, for the work that they have done on this.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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

Mr. Chairman, I reserve a point of order on the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I make a point of order against the amendment because it proposes to change existing law and constitutes legislation in an appropriations bill and, therefore, violates clause 2 of rule XXI.

I ask for a ruling from the Chair.

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent that the remainder of the bill through page 92, line 14, be considered as read, printed in the Record, and open to amendment at any point.

Mr. Chairman, I concede the point of order.

Mr. Chairman, the gentleman raises a legitimate point. The Indian trust settlement language is an authorizing issue, but before I concede the point of order, let me point out the rationale behind this important provision.

Last year, this House debated a provision limiting funding for the historical accounting of the individual Indian money accounts. During debate over this provision, both the majority and the minority members of the authorizing committee assured us that legislation would be developed forthwith to address the Indian trust issues. This did not happen.

However, this year, the new chairman of the Committee on Resources, which is the legislative committee of jurisdiction for Native American issues, has held a hearing on this critical issue and has informed me of his intention to develop legislation to resolve the Indian trust issue this year. I am convinced that, without intervention by the Congress, this issue will continue to drag on for years at the expense of other important programs in the Interior bill.

The committee proposed what I believe is a prompt, fair and reasonable resolution of these long-standing claims. To date, hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent on lawyers and accountants and not a single dollar has gone to Indian country.

Mr. Chairman, if this contentious litigation continues, we will be forced to redirect resources away from Indian education, health, wildlife, law enforcement and other important Indian programs.

Let me point out a few facts for Members to keep in mind as legislation is developed to resolve this litigation. Of the approximately 260,000 individual Indian accounts, 68 percent have balances of less than $100. Thousands of accounts have less than $1 and often less than one penny. Since 1909, a total of $13 billion has flowed through these accounts, with the majority of the money deposited after 1970. This is a far cry from the $137 billion claimed by the litigants.

Today, there are 4 million different owners of the 10 million acres of individually-owned trust lands, which makes the management of trust assets very difficult. It is important that we finally tackle this issue. I pledge my help in crafting a legislative solution.

Mr. Chairman, we have no objection to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, the bill maintains the largest increases to NEA and NEH since 2002 and provides small increases for fixed costs this year. We also provide a $10 million increase for the NEH American History initiative.

Mr. Chairman, this bill must take care of our huge responsibilities for

managing Federal lands. Now, this amendment reduces administrative costs, and I would remind my colleagues that over the past 10 years we have reduced the number of personnel in departmental management by 40 percent. I would like to cut overhead further, but this amendment would damage the government's ability to properly manage our lands and programs.

This amendment would impair on-the-ground operations for environmental protection and Indian programs. It would reduce the Department's funding, including hearings and appeals in support for Indian trust reform.

My committee is watching carefully the use of funding for travel and other excessive administrative costs, and my colleagues can count on our oversight, but this amendment will not help. The bill strikes a fair balance between the needs of the arts and humanities programs and our responsibility to land management, Indian programs, and industry bills. I ask my colleagues to join me in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise.

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mr. Chairman, today it is my pleasure to join with my colleagues in strong support of this critical amendment to increase funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities; and I thank my colleagues, the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter), the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays), the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Dicks) and the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach), for their leadership on this amendment to the Interior appropriations bill.

The arts are our cultural language. They bring our communities together. They serve to define who we are as a people, as a society, and they help us to link with other communities around the world our cultural heritages and our vast resources of our diversity.

Both the NEA and the NEH broaden public access to the arts and the humanities for all Americans. They improve the quality of our lives, those of ourselves and our children and our families.

I have spent a good deal of my career in our public schools. I have seen firsthand the positive impacts that arts have in our children's education. The arts teach our children rhythm, design, creativity and critical thinking skills. The arts have also been shown to deter delinquent behavior of at-risk youth, to help dramatically improve the academic performance, truancy rates and other critical skills, crucial skills, among our young people.

Today's economy demands a workforce that can think and work innovatively. Arts education provides a crucial part of those skills, skills that are not learned in academics of other kinds, in college, but in the child's elementary school class trip to the museum, art projects, experience with musical instruments and all of the vast array of art opportunities.

In my district on the central coast of California, students have been exposed to the virtues of music, art, poetry and dance as a result of NEA and NEH support through a grant, for example, to Art Resources Transfer in New York. The Distribution to Underserved Communities program places books on art and culture into public schools and libraries free of charge. To help rebuild collections diminished from budget cuts, local librarians choose from a long list of available books, videos and interactive materials. The Laguna Middle School Library in San Luis Obispo receives materials from this program, and they are grateful for them.

A grant to the University of California at Santa Barbara supports a partnership project of artist-led activities that provides positive alternatives for youth. I have seen our young college students interact with our elementary students in Santa Barbara, and it is a wonderful sight to behold.

Through a partnership with the American Architectural Foundation in Washington, D.C., the Mayor's Institute on City Design hosts a series of symposiums attended by mayors, urban designers and developers. The Institute is designed to provide mayors with new perspectives on creative solutions to design issues in their communities. The mayor, Marty Blum of Santa Barbara, participates in this program.

Finally, through a grant to California-based L.A. Theatre Works, audio plays that serve the visually impaired are distributed to libraries throughout the country. L.A. Theatre Works records in front of live studio audiences and features classic and contemporary works, for example, Arthur Miller's The Crucible and Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez. L.A. Theatre Works distributes these audio recordings to the Buena High School in Ventura, California.

These examples illustrate to me and to my constituents the value of the dollars we appropriate here that are multiplied as they are extended into partnerships throughout our country. I urge my colleagues to vote for our children, to support the Slaughter-Shays-Dicks-Leach amendment to strengthen both the NEA and the NEH.

I will include a document about the arts programs in my district at this point in the Record.

Congressional District 22

A partnership grant to the California Arts Council in

Sacramento supports statewide programming in arts education,

cultural development, artistic preservation, increased access

to the arts in underserved areas, and funding for artists and

arts organizations throughout the state.

new cuyama

Through a grant to Art Resources Transfer in New York, the

Distribution to Underserved Communities program places books

on art and culture into public and school libraries free of

charge. To help rebuild collections diminished from budget

cuts, local librarians choose from a long list of available

books, videos and interactive materials. The Cuyama Valley

High School Library in New Cuyama receives materials from

this program.

san luis obispo

Through a grant to the Group I Acting Company in New York

City, a touring production of Mark Twain's comedy Pudd'nhead

Wilson is performed at the Performing Arts Center in San Luis

Obispo.

In partnership with regional arts organizations, the NEA

Regional Touring Program (RTP) support high-quality

performances and related educational activities in

communities across the country. As part of this program,

Elizabeth Streb and Company perform contemporary dance at

California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.

Through a grant to Art Resources Transfer in New York, the

Distribution to Underserved Communities program places books

on art and culture into public and school libraries free of

charge. To help rebuild collections diminished from budget

cuts, local librarians choose from a long list of available

books, videos and interactive materials. The Laguna Middle

School Library in San Luis Obispo receives materials from

this program.

santa barbara

A grant to the University of California at Santa Barbara

supports the post-production phase of Mary Anthony: A Life in

Modern Dance.

A grant to the University of California at Santa Barbara

supports a partnership project of artist-led activities that

provides positive alternatives for youth.

Through a grant to the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at

Cornell University, the touring exhibition Byrdcliffe: An

American Arts and Crafts Colony celebrates the centennial of

Byrdcliffe, a colony founded as a center for artists and

craftsmen in Woodstock, NY, in 1902. The exhibition travels

to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.

Through a grant to New York's Orpheus Chamber Orchestra,

the orchestra tours with guest artists Dawn Upshaw and

Richard Goode to national venues such as the Arlington

Theatre in Santa Barbara.

Through a grant to the Group I Acting Company in New York

City, a touring production of Mark Twain's comedy Pudd'nhead

Wilson is performed at Campbell Hall at the University of

California in Santa Barbara.

Through a grant to California-based L.A. Theatre Works,

audio plays that serve the visually impaired are distributed

to libraries throughout the country. L.A. Theatre Works

records in front of live studio audiences and features

classic and contemporary works (e.g., Arthur Miller's The

Crucible and Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez). L.A. Theatre Works

distributes these audio recordings to the Eastside Branch

Library in Santa Barbara.

In partnership with regional arts organizations, the NEA

Regional Touring Program (RTP) supports high-quality

performances and related educational activities in

communities across the country. As part of this program,

Anoushka Shankar performs Indian sitar music at University of

California in Santa Barbara.

Through a grant to the New England Foundation for the Arts

in Boston, the National Dance Project supports touring

performances of contemporary dance. As part of this project,

the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and the Orion

String Quartet perform at University of California in Santa

Barbara.

Through a grant to New York's Meet the Composer for its

Commissioning Music/USA program, composer Miles Green and

choreographer Elizabeth Streb present their new work Ripped

at the University of California in Santa Barbara.

Through a grant to Ballet Hispanico of New York, the

company travels on a nationwide tour. Known as the foremost

dance interpreter of Latino culture in the United States,

Ballet Hispanico's innovative repertory blends ballet and

ethnic dance forms into a spirited image of contemporary

Hispanic-American culture. The company's tour includes

performances at the University of California in Santa

Barbara.

Through a grant to L.A. Freewaves in Los Angeles, the

experimental media arts festival Appropriate/Appropriated

showcases artists working in the medium of film, video, web

sites, and multimedia installations. Films screen for the

general public in galleries, museums and other venues across

Southern California, including the Contemporary Arts Forum in

Santa Barbara.

Through a partnership with the American Architectural

Foundation in Washington, D.C., the Mayor's Institute on City

Design hosts a series of symposiums attended by mayors, urban

designers, and developers. The Institute is designed to

provide mayors with new perspectives on creative solutions to

design issues in their communities. Marty Blum, Mayor of

Santa Barbara, participates in this program.

Congressional District 23

A partnership grant to the California Arts Council in

Sacramento supports statewide programming in arts education,

cultural development, artistic preservation, increased access

to the arts in underserved areas, and funding for artists and

arts organizations throughout the state.

Camarillo

Through a grant to California-based L.A. Theatre Works,

audio plays that serve the visually impaired are distributed

to libraries throughout the country. L.A. Theatre Works

records in front of live studio audiences and features

classic and contemporary works (e.g., Arthur Miller's The

Crucible and Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez). L.A. Theatre Works

distributes these audio recordings to the Frontier High

School in Camarillo.

Through a grant to Ririe-Woodbury Dance in Salt Lake City,

the company offers creative movement classes, performance

demonstrations and teacher workshops at Camarillo High

School.

In partnership with regional arts organizations, the NEA

Regional Touring Program (RTP) supports high-quality

performances and related educational activities in

communities across the country. In Camarillo, the Ventura

County Superintendent of Schools presents the Footworks

Percussive Dance Company and the Ririe-Woodbury Dance

Company.

coalinga

Through a grant to Art Resources Transfer in New York, the

Distribution to Underserved Communities program places books

on art and culture into public and school libraries free of

charge. To help rebuild collections diminished from budget

cuts, local librarians choose from a long list of available

books, videos and interactive materials. The Coalinga

District Library receives materials from this program.

malibu

Through a grant to Inside Out Community Arts in Venice, the

School Project program is an after-school theater-based arts

program serving middle and high school students. Students

participating in the program attend a camping/rehearsal

retreat at Grindling Hilltop Camp in Malibu.

ojai

A grant to the Ojai Festival supports the 2002 Ojai Music

Festival and the theme Last Thoughts: Beethoven, Shostakovich

and Others.

In partnership with regional arts organizations, the NEA

Regional Touring Program (RTP) supports high-quality

performances and related educational activities in

communities across the country. In Ojai, Performances To Grow

On presents the Princely Players, who sing and recite poetry

from the earliest sources of African-American music in this

country to the civil war and the civil rights movement.

simi valley

Through a grant to Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City,

the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition

and Festival distributes, free of charge, specially arranged

compositions of Duke Ellington's music and related

educational materials to schools throughout the country,

including Santa Susana High School in Simi Valley.

Through a grant to California-based L.A. Theatre Works,

audio plays that serve the visually impaired are distributed

to libraries throughout the country. L.A. Theatre Works

records in front of live studio audiences and features

classic and contemporary works (e.g., Arthur Miller's The

Crucible and Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez). L.A. Theatre Works

distributes these audio recordings to the Santa Susana High

School in Simi Valley.

ventura

Through a grant to California-based L.A. Theatre Works,

audio plays that serve the visually impaired are distributed

to libraries throughout the country. L.A. Theatre Works

records in front of live studio audiences and features

classic and contemporary works (e.g., Arthur Miller's The

Crucible and Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez). L.A. Theatre Works

distributes these audio recordings to the Buena High School

in Ventura.

Through a grant to Art Resources Transfer in New York, the

Distribution to Underserved Communities program places books

on art and culture into public and school libraries free of

charge. To help rebuild collections diminished from budget

cuts, local librarians choose from a long list of available

books, videos and interactive materials. The Ventura County

Library receives materials from this program.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 5 minutes.

Mr. Chairman, I want to again thank our new chairman, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Taylor), for the way he has approached the process this year. He and the staff have worked with us and tried to craft a balanced bill within a limited allocation. And I want to also commend the staff of the committee, Debbie Weatherly, Chris Topic, Loretta Bowman, Joel Kaplan, Greg Kanadle, Mike Stevens and Lesley Turner. We have a very collegial working relationship, and it is something that, I think, the House would be proud of.

During committee consideration, I offered two important amendments that I felt would have significantly improved this bill. The first amendment sought to add money for wildland fire accounts in an attempt to lessen the massive borrowing to fight forest fires. I was extremely pleased that the administration came forward last week with a $289 million request as part of an emergency supplemental, and I plan to strongly support those funds being provided as quickly as possible.

The second amendment that I offered related to the conservation funding and the shortfall in the Conservation Trust Fund. The amendment was not adopted, and the Committee on Rules would not allow a similar amendment to be offered by the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) on the House floor today. I find that unfortunate because the issue of the Conservation Trust Fund is enormously important to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) and I, as co-authors of the trust fund with the former chairman, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula).

We reached a deal in 2000 as a compromise to the CARA legislation that would have created a new $3 billion mandatory program and instead created this trust fund to elevate funding levels for critical programs without a new entitlement.

The new trust fund raised conservation spending for key programs in this bill from $514 million up to $1.2 billion and added built-in increases that would have brought conservation spending in this bill to $2 billion in 2006. I was pleased that the committee stuck to its word for the first 2 years of the agreement.

This year, however, the interior bill falls $569 million short. The shortfall impacts each and every program under the trust fund: both Federal and State programs under Land and Water Conservation Fund; the Forest Legacy Program; Cooperative Endangered Species; the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund; State Wildlife Grants, Historic Preservation, Payments in Lieu of Taxes; and the Urban Parks Program.

Most of these programs are either below the President's request or below last year, despite the fact that the trust funds provided for increases. And while I am deeply disappointed in the funding levels for conservation programs, there are other aspects of this bill that I strongly support.

The bill provides $115 million above the President's request for the National Fire Plan, which I strongly support. It includes money to continue two national environmental restoration projects by the National Park Service, the Everglades Restoration Project in Florida and the Elwha River Recovery Project in the State of Washington.

Additionally, the bill contains important language related to the Everglades that protects the Federal interest and ensures that the State of Florida is meeting its obligations to improve the quality of water entering the Everglades.

The bill also contains language relating to competitive sourcing that I believe is necessary to ensure that Congress has a clear understanding of what the administration's intentions are in this area. This committee recently learned that both the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service had plans to spend several million dollars on these activities without following standard reprogramming guidelines and without clear direction from Congress.

I consider this bill a work in progress and am hopeful that we can work together on areas of this bill that I believe still need improvement.

At the appropriate time, I intend to offer an amendment with my colleague, the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter), to increase money for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. We were successful with a similar amendment last year, and I hope this year we can again come together and show the full support of the House for the two endowments.

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

Mr. Chairman, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), the ranking Democratic member of the full committee.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Hinchey), a member of the subcommittee.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), a valued member of the House and a person who is very interested in environmental issues in the Pacific Northwest.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Rothman), a valued member of the Committee on Appropriations to engage in a colloquy with the chairman of the subcommittee.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Olver), our distinguished colleague and member of the Committee on Appropriations.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller), one of the leading environmental advocates in the House of Representatives.

Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. Chairman, I ask the gentleman if it is true that the President of the United States when he ran for President said we were going to have full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, $450 million for Federal, $450 million for state-side, and now we are down at $197 million for both programs?

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hall).

(Mr. HALL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Chairman, I want to be heard on the point of order.

I would just say that I, first of all, want to associate myself with the remarks of the chairman. I think he has made very clear why the committee felt it must do what it did do. I would also say to the new chairman of the authorizing committee, it is time for action on this issue. We can no longer let this slide or neglect or not bring this to attention, because millions and millions of dollars are being wasted on lawyers and accountants instead of going out for Indian health service and all the other issues.

I concur with the chairman. We have to concede the point of order, but I would urge the chairman, please do not let us down again this year. We need action on this issue. I know the gentleman has taken over, and I urge him to take action and get a settlement. We cannot let this thing go on and on and on. I concede the point of order.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment.

I want to commend the delegation from Florida for working on this issue. This has been something that I have personally taken an interest in, gone down to Florida, seen the work on this incredible project, the work of the Park Service and all of the Federal agencies. This is truly a national environmental restoration objective, and many of us were concerned who followed this issue about the actions of the Florida legislature earlier this year; but I want to commend the gentleman from Florida (Chairman Young) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Goss) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Shaw) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mario Diaz-Balart), our new member, for the work they have done in crafting this legislation. We even out in the West are concerned about the Everglades, and we want to see them restored; and we want to see the commitments kept between the State and Federal Government. We need to go year by year, and I think the funding for this project depends on moving the ball forward and keeping things moving in the right direction. So I commend all of the work that has been done to straighten this out, and we look forward to the first report.

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words, and I rise in support of the Slaughter amendment and am proud to be a cosponsor of this amendment.

We have offered this amendment successfully over the last 4 years, and I just want to say to my colleagues that I was on this committee when we were funding the arts and humanities at a much more robust level, and I agree, it is amazing that the endowments do as well as they do with the reduced funding that Congress has given them.

This modest amendment, in my judgment, will do a great deal with the Challenge America program and at the Endowment for Humanities. In fact, the President asked for more money in humanities than we are giving him this year. So I think this is a very modest amendment.

I can tell from my own State of Washington the appreciation of the arts organizations for the grants that they get from the National Endowment for the Arts, the universities, the people, the professors, teachers, all those who apply to the National Endowment for the Humanities, who also does an outstanding job, but at a time when our country needs to support job creation, the charts that were shown earlier, the number of people that are employed by the nonprofits that work in the arts is very substantial.

This is an important part of our economy. This is not just in New York or Chicago or San Francisco. This is also in many of the smaller communities like my hometown of Bremerton, Washington. The Admiral Theater, they are having a group come in from Missoula, Montana.

Arts education was mentioned. I can remember Jane Alexander taking me to Garfield High School in Seattle to see a whole group of African American youth working in an arts program. Dale Chihuly with glass in Tacoma, his hometown, one of the most prolific glass artists in the world.

I think this is such a small part of the budget but such an important part,

and I am so pleased that so many of my colleagues stayed this evening after the last vote to express their support. I hope that tomorrow morning we will be able to have another victory, and I urge everyone to be here early and to help work the body and get the same great vote that we had last year when we won by 42 votes, with bipartisan support.

I urge everyone who is watching this back in their offices to be here early to support this amendment tomorrow morning when we will vote on it.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman of the subcommittee for yielding me the time.

I want to express my strong support for the fiscal year 2004 Interior appropriations bill. As a member of the Subcommittee on Interior and Related Agencies, I believe this is a balanced bill that addresses many of our most urgent needs. I want to express my appreciation to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Taylor) and his staff for their hard work in putting together a good bill under very tight budget constraints.

Mr. Chairman, this bill addresses a number of important national priorities. It provides funding increases for our four land management agencies, the National Park Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, which provide wonderful recreation opportunities for the American people.

To improve the visitor experience, the bill provides focused funding to address the continuing backlog of maintenance on these public lands, including $682 million for our national parks and a restoration of $47 million for our national forests.

During my past tenure as chairman of the committee, I made reducing of the maintenance backlog a top priority. We created the Recreational Fee Demonstration Program, which allows the land management agencies to raise additional revenues to further address their maintenance needs. Most of the fee stays at the site where it is collected and is used for maintenance and other enhancements to the visitor's experience.

This demo program, which would be extended under this bill, continues to be a success. We have collected over $1 billion thus far, which was put most largely into maintenance and enhancing the visitor's experience. It has provided a real benefit for those Americans who have visited our parks, forests and other public lands.

The bill restores deep cuts made in the President's budget to the U.S. Geological Survey and further provides a $16 million increase over the fiscal year 2003 level. This funding will enable USGS scientists to better understand the Earth's processes and allow them to provide first-rate scientific data to those responsible for managing and conserving our natural resources.

In particular, I want to highlight funding included for the America View program which allows universities to collect remote sensing data and analyze it for both educational and land planning purposes.

This bill continues our strong support in Congress for the restoration of the Everglades, providing $68 million toward this project. However, I remain concerned that recent actions taken by the Florida legislature undermine the Federal-State commitment, and it is a Federal-State commitment, to restoration. It is my understanding that we will consider an amendment to condition Federal funding on assurances that the State of Florida is meeting its prior commitments to improve water quality. I ask my colleagues to support this amendment when it is considered.

I am pleased that the committee has worked to restore a number of serious cuts in the President's budget for important programs at the Department of Energy. The bill specifically restores funding for fuel cell research in fossil energy to current enacted levels. This will allow the Solid State Energy Conversion Alliance initiative, which is developing standardized fuel cell components that would be used in many different types of fuel cell applications, to continue to move forward.

I also appreciate the committee's efforts to restore cuts in the President's budget to the Industries of the Future program within Energy Conservation, particularly those relating to steel and metal- casting.

These programs support technological advances that make our domestic industries more energy efficient and, as a result, more competitive in the global marketplace.

The bill continues our commitment in Congress to implement the National Fire Plan, which is very timely given the serious situation in the West. It provides $115 million above the President's request, including substantive increases for readiness, hazard fuels reduction and forest health. These are commonsense measures that will help us both prevent and more adequately contain wildfires.

Lastly, I am encouraged by the committee's work to develop a coordinated national plan for the acquisition of Federal lands. I believe the Federal Government needs to focus less on acquiring new lands and more on taking care of the property and facilities it already has. Under this bill, the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture would develop a plan outlining clear acreage goals and conservation objectives for lands acquisition. I believe this reevaluation will provide for better and more focused use of limited funding resources.

Mr. Chairman, this is a very balanced bill that Chairman Taylor has produced in the subcommittee, and it

funds many important national priorities. I urge its expeditious consideration and passage.

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this compromise amendment, which I believe will help ensure that the efforts of Congress to restore the Everglades will be successful. In agreeing to the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, the Federal Government and the State of Florida made an $8 billion commitment, equally cost shared, to restore this national treasure. Congress, on behalf of the American people, has already committed $1 billion over the last 9 years toward this effort, and throughout this process the subcommittee has maintained strong oversight of the project to ensure that these funds are spent wisely and true environmental restoration will be achieved.

Mr. Chairman, water quality is an absolute key to the success of this restoration. If we fail to address water quality issues upfront, we could potentially invest $20 billion of the taxpayers' dollars on a new plumbing system that pours tainted water into the

Everglades, and that is of course why this compromise is vitally important.

This amendment was crafted in response to the passage of a law in Florida. It seeks to ensure that the State of Florida will not fail to meet its water quality goals. It will put a string on the Federal dollars that Congress has approved, tying them to compliance with agreements the State has already made. Every year the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of the Army, the Attorney General, and the EPA administrator will have to file a joint report certifying that the State of Florida is meeting its prior commitments to improve water quality. If the report indicates that the State is failing to work toward that goal, they have to take another look at the funding issue.

It is unfortunate that Congress has been put into a place that they are requiring these new assurances. However, in order to ensure that Federal funds are truly going towards our shared goal, and this is the money of all the people in these United States and this is a treasure that belongs to all the people, that the environmental restoration, we have to condition their release on assurances that the State of Florida is living up to agreements it has already made. Otherwise, we risk not only wasting billions of taxpayer dollars but also further polluting the Everglades. And I commend the gentleman from Florida for agreeing to this amendment. I realize this is his district, but it is a treasure of all the American people, and I would urge support of the amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I thank the gentleman from Washington for yielding me the customary 30 minutes.

(Ms. SLAUGHTER asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, former President Theodore Roosevelt,

one of the fathers of American conservation, said, ``In utilizing and conserving the national resources of the Nation, the one characteristic more central than any other is foresight.''

Unfortunately, in many areas H.R. 2691 is a myopic bill, lacking this essential foresight. H.R. 2691 does not protect our natural resources, America's lands and its native animals. This appropriations bill breaks promises of funds for conservation, and the bill abandons the conservation trust agreement reached and enacted into law in response to the 315 Members of the House who voted for the Conservation and Reinvestment Act.

The agreement provided for adequate funding for conservation programs that protect public lands and cultural artifacts and preserve endangered and threatened species and that assist States in their own conservation and recreation programs.

Unfortunately, this bill breaks that promise by underfunding the conservation efforts by approximately $569 million less than funding levels promised in the conservation trust agreement. Funding levels for conservation are an even $208 million less than the appropriations for fiscal year 2003. This seriously jeopardizes conservation programs like the Federal Land Acquisition, which is funded at its lowest level in 20 years. City parks are the anchors of our neighborhoods. They provide a variety of activities for youth, and the city of Rochester wrote to me requesting that Congress fund the Urban Parks Program at $50 million. The program provides supplemental funding needed by city parks and recreation departments to strengthen the recreation opportunities. But, unfortunately, the Urban Parks Program gets no funding, despite the request by 104 Members that it be restored.

We have heard a lot about the terrible plight of our national parks. This bill will do nothing to ease that. H.R. 2691 does not protect our seniors and low-income families with children. The Department of Energy's Weatherization Assistance Program reduces the energy costs for low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities. These savings are gone and they are critical because low-income households spend 14 percent of their total income on energy compared with 33.5 percent for other households.

Since the creation of the weatherization program, 395,000 homes in the State of New York have been weatherized, but 1.5 million more are eligible and waiting for assistance. I have spent more than a few winters in New York, and I know the importance of weatherizing your house against the icy gales of winter. With the weatherization program funded at $63 million below the level requested by the President, millions of Americans will literally be left in the cold.

H.R. 2691 does not protect our American culture and history. Back in 1992, funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities and for the National Endowment for the Arts reached its funding zenith, $176 million for each agency.

Over the years the NEA and NEH budgets have been slashed again and again, and for several years the body has voted to increase the funding for the arts and humanities; but, unfortunately, the strong statement of the will of the body has been ignored. Even the President requested $152 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities, but the allocation in this bill is $15 million dollars less than the President's request.

The funding for NEA is only minimally increased and this insubstantial sum will pay for administrative overhead costs; no new grants will be created. The National Endowment for the Arts enriches our Nation and establishes cultural heritage by supporting the works of artistic excellence, advancing learning in the arts, and, importantly, strengthening the arts in communities throughout the country. They benefit our children and over and over the education given in art has proven to increase academic performance, regardless of socio-economic background.

The NEA provides grants for local arts activities in every State and every congressional district. In Buffalo, New York, the NEA provided a small $10,000 grant to a community arts group to support a program to offer weekend classes in visual arts and jazz music for African American children in Buffalo's low-income inner-city east side. Another small community grant to a group in Buffalo provided weekly workshops in media literacy and digital arts for girls ages 9 to 15.

In my colleague's home State of Washington, an 8-week summer residency program that provided psychiatrically and emotionally impaired children with instruction in creative writing, mask-making, and theatrical improvisation received a community arts grant from the

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), a member of the Committee on Rules.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller).

(Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Dicks).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio).

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

Mr. Speaker, shortly I will ask Members to vote no on the previous question. If the previous question is defeated, I will offer an amendment to the rule that will make in order the Obey amendment to restore funding for the conservation programs that have been shortchanged in the bill.

This amendment would add $569 million to the bill's conservation programs in order to bring them up to their authorized spending levels. The Obey amendment offsets this spending increase with a 3.21 percent reduction in the tax breaks received by taxpayers earning more than $1 million a year. This amendment was submitted to the Committee on Rules last night and rejected by the majority.

The cost of this amendment is fully paid for. The money would come by slightly reducing the 2004 tax cut for those with incomes in excess of $1 million. It seems to me these millionaires could easily spare a small part of their very large tax breaks to help protect our precious national resources.

So I will urge Members on both sides of the aisle to vote no on the previous question. A no vote will not stop the House from taking up the Interior appropriations bill. However, a yes vote will prevent the House from considering the Obey amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.