El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail Act

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, May 19, 2004. The purpose of this meeting will be to mark up legislation to reauthorize child nutrition programs.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 19, 2004, at 8:30 a.m., in open session, to continue to receive testimony on allegations of mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, May 19, 2004, at 10:00 a.m. to conduct a hearing on ``Congressional Oversight of the IMF and World Bank.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet on Wednesday, May 19, 2004, at 9:30 a.m. on from public service to private sector: Spinning the Revolving Door for Personal Gain.

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, May 19 at 11:30 a.m., to consider pending calendar business.

Agenda

Agenda Item 1: S. 155--A bill to convey to the town of Frannie, WY, certain land withdrawn by the Commissioner of Reclamation.

Agenda Item 2: S. 180--A bill to establish the National Aviation Heritage Area, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 3: S. 203--A bill to open certain withdrawn land in Big Horn County, WY, to locatable mineral development and bentonite mining.

Agenda Item 4: S. 211--A bill to establish the Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area in the State of New Mexico, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 5: S. 323--A bill to establish the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area, LA.

Agenda Item 9: S. 1241--A bill to establish the Kate Mullany National Historic Site in the State of New York, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 13: S. 1467--A bill to establish the Rio Grande Outstanding Natural Area in the State of Colorado, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 14: S. 1521--A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain land to the Edward H. McDaniel American Legion Post 22 in Phrump, NV, for the construction of a post building and memorial park for use by the American Legion, other veterans' groups, and the local community.

Agenda Item 16: S. 1727--A bill to authorize additional appropriations for the Reclamation Safety of Dams Act of 1978.

Agenda Item 17: S. 2046--A bill to authorize the exchange of certain land in Everglades National Park.

Agenda Item 18: 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 20: S. 2180--A bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to exchange certain lands in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests in the State of Colorado.

Agenda Item 21: S. 2319--A bill to authorize and facilitate hydroelectric power licensing of the Tapoco Project.

Agenda Item 23: H.R. 961--To promote Department of the Interior efforts to provide a scientific basis for the management of sediment and nutrient loss in the Upper Mississippi River Basin, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 25: H.R. 1446--To support the efforts of the California Missions Foundation to restore and repair the Spanish colonial and mission-era missions in the State of California and to preserve the artworks and artifacts of these missions, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 26: H.R. 1658--To amend the Railroad Right-of-Way Conveyance Validation Act to validate additional conveyances of certain lands in the State of California that form part of the right-of-way granted by the United States to facilitate the construction of the transcontinental railway, and for other purposes.

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 during the session on Wednesday, May 19, 2004, at 10 a.m., in 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building, to hear testimony on Oversight and Nomination Hearing: The Treasury Department and Terrorism Financing; and, to consider the nominations of John O. Colvin, to be Judge of the U.S. Tax Court; Juan C. Zarate, to be Assistant Secretary for Terrorism Finance, U.S. Department of the Treasury; and, Stuart Levey to the Under Secretary for Enforcement, U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, May 19, 2004 at 9:30 a.m. to hold a hearing on Iraq's Transition--The Way Ahead (Part II).

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Indian Affairs be authorized to meet on Wednesday, May 19, 2004, at 10 a.m. in Room 485 of the Russell Senate Office Building to conduct a business meeting on S.J. Res. 37, resolution to acknowledge a long history of official depredations and ill-conceived polices by the United States Government regarding Indian Tribes and offer an apology to all Native peoples on behalf of the United States, and S. 2277, a bill to amend the Act of November 2, 1966 (80 Stat. 1112) to allow binding arbitration clauses to be included in all contracts affecting the land within the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Reservation; to be followed immediately by a hearing on S. 1696, a bill to amend the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to provide further self government by Indian tribes.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Special

Committee on Aging be authorized to meet Wednesday, May 19, 2004 from 2:30 p.m.-5 p.m. in Dirksen 628 for the purpose of conducting a hearing.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the subcommittee on Water and Power of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, May 19th, at 2:30 p.m.

The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on S. 900, a bill to convey the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation Project, the savage unit of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, and the Intake Irrigation Project to the pertinent irrigation districts; S. 1876, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain lands and facilities of the Provo River Project; S. 1957, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to cooperate with the States on the border with Mexico and other appropriate entities in conducting a hydrogeologic characterization, mapping, and modeling program for priority transboundary aquifers, and for other purposes; S. 2304 and H.R. 3209, bills to amend the Reclamation Project Authorization Act of 1972 to clarify the acreage for which the North Loup division is authorized to provide irrigation water under the Missouri River Basin Project; S. 2243, a bill to extend the deadline for commencement of construction of a hydroelectric project in the State of Alaska; H.R. 1648, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain water distribution systems of the Cachuma Project, California, to the Carpinteria Valley water district and the Montecito water district; and H.R. 1732, a bill to amend the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the Williamson County, TX, Water Recycling and Reuse Project, and for other purposes.

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 thank the gentlewoman from Guam for yielding me this time, and I am honored to rise to support Senate bill 2052, the Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail Act.

This bill is the Senate version of the legislation I introduced, recognizing the historical and cultural heritage of what has become known as the Camino Real de los Tejas. The Camino Real de los Tejas is a series of trails extending from the Rio Grande through San Antonio, and ending in Louisiana, covering nearly 2,600 miles in all.

For more than 150 years, these trail systems served as critical trade routes, post roads, cattle trails and military highways. These roads were also, prior to the Spanish, were the trails the Native Americans utilized for almost 500 years.

The history of the United States is often taught as the western migration and the settlements of this continent. That history is, of course, central to our national experience. But there is another history that deserves our attention and recognition. That history is the south-to-north migration of the Spanish, the Native Americans, and the peoples of Mexico and Latin America.

The Spanish and the Mexican exploration and development of Texas followed these patterns from the late 1600s to the time of Texas independence in 1836. Even today, that pattern continues as people from Latin America trade with the United States, visit our country, and migrate here seeking new lives.

The Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail will give us the tools to remember that critical history and will provide local communities and organizations with the opportunity to develop cultural tourism in cooperation with the National Park Service. The Camino Real de los Tejas trail system was an important commercial and cultural trade corridor that helped define the history of Texas.

Mr. Speaker, I first introduced the legislation to establish El Camino de los Tejas Trail in 1998. During these past 6 years, I and my staff have worked closely with local community leaders and other Members of Congress to craft a bill that would recognize the history of the trail while absolutely protecting the private property rights. I am proud this legislation enjoys bipartisan support in both the Senate and House.

I want to recognize the support and the work of Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, the senior Senator from Texas, who introduced this companion bill earlier this year and successfully negotiated its passage in the Senate. I want to personally thank her, because without her efforts, we would not be where we are at now.

I also want to thank the staff who worked on this bill in the committee and in our personal offices, including Laura Marquez of my office, and I especially want to thank my chief of staff, Jeff Mendelsohn, who has spearheaded our efforts to pass this bill during the past 6 years. His focus and dedication to the project has made today's passage possible.

I also want to thank Al Notzon, back home in San Antonio, who has worked and gotten some 30 or 40 letters from cities and counties and a multitude of individuals throughout the State of Texas and Louisiana to come forth.

The beauty of this piece of legislation is that it allows us to get a good recognition of our history. One important thing I would like to mention, Mr. Speaker, is that during the War of 1812, whether you know it or not, through this trail came 10,000 head of cattle. If it had not been for those Mexican cows coming through there, no telling what would have happened in 1812. But we were able to pull it off in that war, and that is one of the little tidbits of history that is there regarding this trail and which was so significant to the making of this country.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on April 27, 2004, at 9:30 a.m., in open session to consider the following nominations: Tina Westby Jonas to be Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller); Dionel M. Aviles to Under Secretary of the Navy; and Jerald S. Paul to be Principal Deputy Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet on Tuesday, April 27, 2004, at 9:30 a.m. on Telecommunications Policy Review: Lessons learned from the Telecommunications Act of 1996, in SR- 253.

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 Tuesday, April 27 at 10:00 a.m.

The purpose of the hearings is to receive testimony regarding sustainable, low emission, electricity generation.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session on Tuesday, April 27, 2004, at 10:00 a.m., in 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building, to hear testimony on ``International Trade and Pharmaceuticals.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the sessio of the Senate on Tuesday, April 27, 2004 at 10:00 a.m. to hold a Nomination hearing.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a hearing on Tuesday, April 27, 2004 at 10:00 a.m. on ``Judicial Nominations'' in the Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 226.

Brett M. Kavanaugh, to be United States Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Special Committee on Aging be authorized to meet Tuesday, April 27, 2004 from 10:00 a.m-12:00 p.m. in Dirksen 628 for the purpose of conducting a hearing.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on National Parks of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, April 27 at 2:30 p.m. in room SD-366.

The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on the following bills: S. 1064, to establish a Commission to Commemorate The Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War, and for other purposes; S. 1092, to authorize the establishment of a National Database for purposes of identifying, locating, and cataloging the many memorials and permanent tributes to America's veterans; S. 1748, to establish a program to award grants to improve and maintain sites honoring Presidents of the United States; S. 2046, to authorize the exchange of certain land in Everglades National Park; S. 2052, to amend the National Trails, System Act to designate El Camino Real De Los Tejas as a National Historic Trail; and S. 2319, to authorize and facilitate hydroelectric power licensing of the Tapoco Project.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space be authorized to meet on Tuesday, April 27, 2004, at 3:30 p.m., on the International Space Exploration Program, in SR-253.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation to recognize the oldest highway in Texas and establish the El Camino Real de Los Tejas National Historic Trail.

This bill will preserve a vital piece of Texas history for generations to come. The El Camino Real trail established a key corridor for settlers, immigrants and militaries helping lay the groundwork for our state's future. It also served as a path for such Texas heroes as Davy Crockett and Sam Houston who both fought in the struggle for Texas independence from Mexico.

The 300-year-old corridor also served as a critical trade route, a post road, cattle trail and a military highway. The trail opened America to Texas and Texas to the world. Still today the trail collectively represents a series of roads and paths extending more than 2,500 miles in length from the Rio Grande River near Eagle Pass and Laredo through San Antonio, Bastrop, and Nacogdoches, Texas to Natchitoches, Louisiana. While 2,500 miles of the trail are in 40 Texas counties, the last 80 miles are in Louisiana.

The El Camino Real served as a strategic corridor during Texas' struggle for independence. Critical supplies made their way via the El Camino Real for the Republic of Texas Army as they victoriously forged ahead to defeat the Mexican Army in the Texas Revolution.

This legislation will recognize the significance of the El Camino Real and preserve its historic importance, as well as direct the National Park Service to establish the El Camino Real trail as a National Historic Trail. It will also allow our state agencies such as the Texas Historical Commission to participate in the establishment and designation of the trail, while protecting the private property of landowners along its route. This legislation will allow Texans and the thousands who visit our state each year to learn more of the rich history that forged the Lone Star State.

I am proud to offer this legislation to pay homage to an important piece of Texas and U.S. History, and I urge my colleagues to support the El Camino Real de Los Tejas National Historic Trail Act.

I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.