Wind Cave National Park Boundary Revision Act of 2003

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

Mr. President, today I am introducing the Wind Cave National Park Boundary Revision Act of 2003. The Senate unanimously approved this legislation late last fall, but it was not considered by the House of Representatives before Congress adjourned for the year. I hope that my colleagues will again support this effort and that we can see this bill signed into law.

Wind Cave National Park, located in southwestern South Dakota, is one of the Park System's precious natural treasures and one of the Nation's first national parks. The cave itself, after which the park is named, is one of the world's oldest, longest and most complex cave systems, with more than 103 miles of mapped tunnels. The cave is well known for its exceptional display of boxwork, a rare, honeycomb-shaped formation that protrudes from the cave's ceilings and walls. While the cave is the focal point of the park, the land above the cave is equally impressive, with 28,000 acres of rolling meadows, majestic forests, creeks, and streams. As one of the few remaining mixed-grass prairie ecostytems in the country, the park is home to abundant wildlife, such as bison, deer, elk and birds, and is a National Game Preserve.

The Wind Cave National Park Boundary Revision Act will help expand the park by approximately 20 percent in the southern ``keyhole'' region. This land is currently owned by a ranching family that wants to see it protected from development and preserved for future generations. The land is a natural extension of the park, and boasts the mixed-grass prairie and ponderosa pine forests found in the rest of the park, including a dramatic river canyon. The addition of this land will enhance recreation for hikers who come for the solitude of the park's back country. It will also protect archaeological sites, such as a buffalo jump, over which early native Americans once drove the bison they hunted, and improve fire management.

This plan to expand the park has strong, but not universal, support in the surrounding community. The community's views were expressed during a recent 60-day public comment period on the proposal. Most South Dakotans recognize the value in expanding the park, not only to encourage additional tourism in the Black Hills, but to permanently protect these extraordinary lands for future generations of Americans to enjoy. Understandably, however, some are legitimately concerned about the potential loss of hunting opportunities and local tax revenue.

Governor Janklow has expressed his conditional support for the park expansion, stating that there must be no reduction in the amount of lands with public access that can currently be hunted, that there must be no loss of tax revenue to the county from the expansion, and that chronic wasting disease issue must be dealt with effectively. These are reasonable conditions that should be met as this process moves forward.

The legislation I am introducing today protects hunting opportunities for sportsmen by excluding 880 acres of School and Public Lands property from the expansion. In addition, Wind Cave National Park and the Trust for Public Lands are working with interested parties to find a way to offset the loss of local county tax revenues. Finally, I understand that the South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks Department has reached an agreement with Wind Cave officials to expand research into chronic wasting disease, which will benefit wildlife populations nationwide. I am satisfied that the legitimate concerns about the potential expansion have been effectively addressed and today am moving forward to begin the legislative phase of this process.

In conclusion, Wind Cave National Park has been a valued American treasure for nearly 100 years. We have an opportunity with this legislation to expand the park and enhance its value to the public so that visitors will enjoy it even more during the next 100 years. It is my hope that my colleagues will again support this expansion of the park and pass this legislation in the near future.

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

Mr. President, today I am introducing the Blunt Reservoir and Pierre Canal Land Conveyance Act of 2003. This proposal is the culmination of more than 4 years of discussion with local landowners, the South Dakota Water Congress, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, local legislators, representatives of South Dakota sportsmen groups and affected citizens. It lays out a plan to convey certain parcels of land acquired for the Blunt Reservoir and Pierre Canal features of the Oahe Irrigation Project in South Dakota to the Commission of School and Public Lands of the State of South Dakota for the purpose of mitigating lost wildlife habitat, and provides the option to preferential leaseholders to purchase their original parcels from the Commission.

The bill I'm introducing today is the result of consultations with the Energy and Natural Resources Committee when it considered the bill last July. The committee incorporated changes to the legislation that will ensure a smooth transition of land from federal to private ownership, increase county tax revenues, as well as provide the tools and future funding necessary to help the state of South Dakota improve wildlife habitat and public hunting opportunities. The Senate unanimously approved this legislation late last fall, but it was not considered by the House of Representatives before Congress adjourned for the year. I hope that my colleagues will once again support this effort, and that we can see this bill signed into law.

To more fully understand the issues addressed by the legislation, it is necessary to review some of the history related to the Oahe Unit of the Missouri River Basin project in South Dakota.

The Oahe Unit was originally approved part of the overall plan for water development in the Missouri River Basin that was incorporated in the Flood Control Act of 1944. Subsequently, Public Law 90-453 authorized construction and operation of the initial stage of this unit. The purposes of the Oahe Unit, as authorized, were to provide for the immigration of 190,000 acres of farmland, conserve and enhance fish and wildlife habitat, promote recreation and meet other important goals.

The project came to be known as the Oahe Irrigation Project. The principal features of the initial stage of the project included the Oahe pumping plant, located near Oahe Dam, to pump water from the Oahe Reservoir; a system of main canals, including the Pierre Canal, running east from the Oahe Reservoir; and, the establishment of regulating reservoirs, including the Blunt Dam and Reservoir, located approximately 35 miles east Pierre, SD.

Under the authorizing legislation, 42,155 acres were to be acquired by the Federal Government in order to construct and operate the Blunt Reservoir feature of the Oahe Irrigation Project. Land acquisition for the proposed Blunt Reservoir feature began in 1972 and continued through 1977. A total of 17,878 acres usually were acquired from willing sellers.

The first land for the Pierre Canal feature was purchased in July 1975 and included the 1.3 miles of Reach 1B. An additional 21-mile reach was acquired from 1976 through 1977, also from willing sellers.

Organized opposition to the Oahe Irrigation Project surfaced in 1973 and continued to build until a series of public meetings were held in 1977 to determine if the project should continue. In late 1977, the Oahe project was made a part of Presidents Carter's Federal Water Project review process.

The Oahe project construction was then halted on September 30, 1977, when Congress did not include funding in the fiscal year 1978 appropriations. Thus, all major construction contract activities ceased, and land acquisition was halted.

The Oahe Project remained an authorized water project with a bleak future and minimal chances of being completed as authorized. Consequently, the Department of Interior, through the Bureau of Reclamation, gave those persons who willingly had sold their lands to the project, and their descendants, the right to lease those lands and use them as they had in the past until they were needed by the Federal Government for project purposes.

During the period from 1978 until the present, the Bureau of Reclamation has administered these lands on a preferential lease basis for those original landowners or their descendants, and on a non- preferential basis for lands under lease to persons who were not preferential leaseholders. Currently, the Bureau of Reclamation administers 12,978 acres as preferential leases and 4,304 acres as non- preferential leases in the Blunt Reservoir.

As I noted previously, the Oahe Irrigation Project is related directly to the overall project purposes of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin program authorized under the Flood Control Act of 1944. Under this program, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed four major dams across the Missouri River in South Dakota. The two largest reservoirs formed by these dams, Oahe Reservoir and Sharpe Reservoir, cause the loss of approximately 221,000 acres of fertile, wooded bottomland that constituted some of the most productive, unique and irreplaceable wildlife habitat in the State of South Dakota. This included habitat for both game and non-game species, including several species now listed as threatened or endangered. Meriwether Lewis, while traveling up the Missouri River in 1804 on his famous expedition, wrote in his diary, ``Song birds, game species and furbearing animals abound here in numbers like none of the party has ever seen. The bottomlands and cottonwood trees provide a shelter and food for a great variety of species, all laying their claim to the river bottom.''

Under the provisions of the Wildlife Coordination Act of 1958, the State of South Dakota has developed a plan to mitigate a part of this lost wildlife habitat as authorized by Section 602 of Title VI of Public Law 105-277, October 21, 1998, known as the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Lower Brule Sioux Tribe,

and State of South Dakota Terrestrial Wildlife Habitat Restoration Act. The State's habitat mitigation plan has received the necessary approval and interim funding authorizations under Sections 602 and 609 of Title

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, March 12 at 10:00 a.m. to consider pending calendar business.

Agenda Item No. 1.--To consider the nomination of Joseph T. Kelliher to be a Member of the Federal Electricity Regulatory Commission.

Agenda Item No. 2: S. 164--To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of sites associated with the life of Cesar Estrada Chavez and the farm labor movement.

Agenda Item No. 3: S. 212--To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to cooperate with the High Plains Aquifer States in conducting a hydrogeologic characterization, mapping, modeling, and monitoring program for the High Plains Aquifer and for other purposes.

Agenda Item No. 4: S. 278--To make certain adjustments to the boundaries of the Mount Naomi Wilderness Area, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item No. 7: S. 347--To direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a joint special resources study to evaluate the suitability and feasibility of establishing the Rim of the Valley Corridor as a unit of the Santa Monica

Mountains National Recreation Area, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item No. 8: S. 425--To revise the boundary of the Wind Cave National Park in the State of South Dakota.

Agenda Item No. 9: H.R. 397--To reinstate the license and extend the deadline for commencement of construction of a hydroelectric project in the State of Illinois.

Staff is working on amendments to Agenda Item No. 6: S. 328--To designate Catoctin Mountain Park in the State of Maryland as the ``Catoctin Mountain National Recreation Area'', and for other purposes. If a resolution can be achieved this item will be considered.

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, March 12, 2003, at 10:00 a.m., to hear testimony on Welfare Reform: Building on Success.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, March 12, 2003 at 11:30 a.m. to hold a Committee Business Meeting.

Agenda

The Committee will consider and vote on the following agenda items:

Treaties: Treaty Doc. 107-19, Tax Convention with the United Kingdom; Treaty Doc. 107-20, Protocol Amending Tax Convention with Australia; Treaty Doc. 108-3, Protocol Amending Tax Convention with Mexico.

FSO appointment/promotion list: 1. Sebranek, Lyle J., et al, dated January 28, 2003.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, March 12, 2003 at 2:30 p.m. to hold a hearing on Regional Implications of the Changing Nuclear Equation on the Korean Peninsula.

Agenda

Witnesses

Panel 1: The Honorable James A. Kelly, Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Department of State, Washington, DC.

Panel 2: The Honorable James Lilley, American Enterprise Institute, Washington, DC; Dr. Victor D. Cha, Associate Professor, Department of Government and the Edmund Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Washington, DC; Dr. Bates Gill, Freeman Chair in China Studies, CSIS, Washington, DC.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a judicial nominations hearing on Wednesday, March 12, 2003, at 2 p.m. in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 226.

Tentative Agenda

Panel I: The Honorable Richard G. Lugar, United States Senator (R- IN); The Honorable Evan Bayh, United States Senator (D-IN); The Honorable John W. Warner, United States Senator (R-VA); The Honorable George F. Allen, United States Senator (R-VA); The Honorable Dianne Feinstein, United States Senator (D-CA); The Honorable Kay Bailey Hutchison, United States Senator (R-TX); The Honorable John Cornyn, United States Senator (R-TX).

Panel II: Comac J. Carney to be United States District Judge for the Central District of California; James V. Selna to be United States District Judge for the Central District of California; Philip P. Simon to be United States District Judge for the North District of Indiana; Theresa Lazar Springmann to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Indiana. Mary Ellen Coster Williams to be Judge for the Court of Federal Claims; Victor J. Wolski to be Judge for the Court of Federal Claims.

Panel III: Ricardo H. Hinojosa to be U.S. Sentencing Commissioner; Michael E. Horowitz to be U.S. Sentencing Commissioner.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, March 12, 2003, for a joint hearing with the House of Representatives' Committee on Veterans' Affairs, to hear the legislative presentation of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

The hearing will take place in room 345 of the Cannon House Office Building at 10:00 a.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Airland of the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, March 12, 2003, at 3 p.m., in open session to receive testimony on Army Transformation, in review of the defense authorization request for fiscal year 2004 and the future years defense program.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, and Fisheries be authorized to meet on Wednesday, March 12, 2003, at 2:30 p.m., in SR-253, for a hearing on the Coast Guard and NOAA fiscal year 2004 budget requests.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces of the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, March 12, 2003, at 9:30 a.m., in open session to receive testimony on national security space programs and management in review of the defense authorization request for fiscal year 2004.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittees on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security and on Border Security, Immigration and Citizenship be authorized to meet to conduct a joint hearing on ``Border Technology: Keeping Terrorists out of the United States--2003'' on Wednesday, March 12, 2003, at 10:00 a.m. in Room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Tentative Witness List

Panel I: The Honorable Asa Hutchinson, Undersecretary for Border and Transportation, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Washington, DC; Accompanied by: Robert Mocny, Director of Entry-Exit Program, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Washington, DC; Woody Hall, Interim Director, Office of Information & Technology, Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, Washington, DC.

Panel II: Nancy Kingsbury, Managing Director of Applied Research and Methods, U.S. General Accounting Office, Washington, DC; Stephen E. Flynn, Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Senior Fellow in National Security Studies, Council on Foreign Relations, New York, NY.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003. I am joined in introducing this bill by 38 of my colleagues, over a third of the Senate. This bill is written to prohibit one particularly gruesome, inhumane, and medically unaccepted late term abortion method, except when the procedure is necessary to save the life of the mother. Partial birth abortion is a procedure that is performed over a 3-day period in the second or third trimester of pregnancy. In this particular abortion technique, the physician delivers all but the head of a living baby through the birth canal, stab the baby in the base of the skull with curved scissors, and the uses a suction catheter to remove the child's brain. This procedure kills the baby. After collapsing the skull, the doctor completes the procedure. According to Ron Fitzsimmons of the National Coalition of Abortion Providers, this procedure is performed on a healthy mother with a healthy fetus that is 20 weeks or more along in the vast majority of cases.

The American public finds this procedure repugnant. A recent CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll indicated that 70 percent of Americans favored laws making it illegal to perform partial birth abortions, except when necessary to save the life of the mother. This procedure is also unrecognized by the mainstream medical community as a valid abortion procedure. The American Medical Association has said this procedure is ``not good medicine,'' is ``ethically wrong,'' and ``not an accepted `medical practice'.''

As far back as the 104th Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives both acted to ban this procedure. Unfortunately, President Clinton vetoed that bill. The House voted to override that veto, but the Senate fell short. Likewise, during the 105th Congress, the House and Senate acted to pass a bill banning this procedure. Again, President Clinton vetoed that bill banning an abortion procedure that occurs as the child is inches from being completely outside the mother. The House subsequently overrode his veto. The Senate failed to override by just three votes. In the 106th Congress as well, the Senate and the House both acted to overwhelmingly pass legislation banning this procedure.

A little over two years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court, in its Stenberg versus Carhart decision, struck down a similar, but not identical, law in the state of Nebraska that banned partial birth abortions. The Stenberg majority opinion voiced concern that the description of the abortion procedure as described in the Nebraska law was vague and might apply to other types of late-term abortions. A second concern was that the law did not provide an exception for those instances when the banned procedure was judged necessary to preserve the health of the mother.

Last year, during the 107th Congress, Representative Steve Chabot of Ohio introduced a bill responding to those concerns. This bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 274-151. Unfortunately, the Senate was kept from considering this bill.

Today, I introduced a similar bill banning the horrific procedure of partial birth abortion, except when necessary to save the life of a mother. To respond to the Supreme Court's concerns in Stenberg, this bill provides a very precise definition of the partial birth abortion procedure to make it very clear what procedure is meant.

Second, the Court based its decision in Stenberg on the federal district court's factual findings regarding the safety of the partial birth abortion procedure. These findings were highly disputed and inconsistent with the overwhelming weight of authority on the issue-- including evidence presented at the Stenberg trial, other trials challenging partial birth abortion bans, and at the extensive Congressional hearings that have been held over the years. Despite the lack of evidence supporting the district court's findings, the Supreme Court was required to accept them because of the ``clearly erroneous'' standard that is applied to lower court factual findings. However, under well-settled Supreme Court jurisprudence, the Congress is not required to accept these ``factual findings,'' but is entitled to reach its own factual findings--findings that the Supreme Court accords great deference--and may enact legislation based on these findings. The bill I introduce today includes a series of findings from congressional hearings held over the years and from expert testimony that demonstrates that a partial birth abortion is never necessary to preserve the health of the mother, poses significant health risks to the woman, and is outside the standard of medical care.

Over the years, during the consideration of this ban, proponents of partial birth abortion have supported their arguments for this procedure with myth and misinformation. When the time comes for the full Senate to consider this bill, I look forward to again countering those untruths with the truth, and I ask my colleagues to vote to ban partial birth abortion.

It is long past time for the U.S. Senate to again pass a bill banning partial birth abortion. I am pleased that the Senate leadership has seen this as a legislative priority for the 108th Congress. The House and Senate have overwhelming supported such a ban time and time again. President Bush has asked us to send him a bill to end the practice of partial birth abortion. The American people clearly believe this is a procedure that should be prohibited. I appreciate the support of so many of my colleagues who have joined me in introducing this bill. And I am hopeful--very hopeful--that the 108th Congress will not end before this bill becomes law, before children in the very process of being born are protected by the laws of this great nation of ours.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry be authorized to conduct a hearing during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, March 4, 2003. The purpose of this hearing will be to review the Federal Government's initiatives regarding the school lunch and school breakfast programs.

Committee on Armed Services

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, March 4, 2003, at 9:30 a.m., in closed session to receive a classified briefing on current operations.

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 March 4, 2003, at 10 a.m. to conduct a hearing on ``The Administration's Proposed Fiscal Year 2004 Budget for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet on March 4, 2003, at 10 a.m. on the nomination of Dr. Charles McQueary to be Under Secretary for Science and Technology, Department of Homeland Security; Jeffrey Shane to be Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy, Department of Transportation; Emil Frankel to be Assistant Secretary of Transportation, Department of Transportation; and Robert Sturgell, Deputy Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration.

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, March 4 at 10 a.m. to receive testimony on the financial condition of the electricity market.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, March 4, 2003 at 9:30 a.m. to hold a hearing on the Millennium challenge Account: A New Way to Aid.

Witnesses

Panel 1: The Honorable Alan Larson, UnderSecretary of State of Economic, Business & Agricultural Affairs, Department of State, Washington, DC,

The Honorable John Taylor, Under Secretary for International Affairs, Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC,

The Honorable Andrew S. Natsios, Administrator, Agency for International Development, Washington, DC.

Panel 2: Dr. Steven Radelet, Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development, Washington, DC;

Ms. Mary E. McClymont, President and CEO, Interaction, Washington,

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, March 4, 2003, for a hearing to consider the nomination of: Mr. Bruce E. Kasold to be a Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans' Claims; and Brigadier General John W. Nicholson, USA (ret.), to be Under Secretary Memorial Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs.

The hearing will take place in room 418 of the Russell Senate Office Building at 2:30 p.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Tuesday, March 4, 2003 at 2:30 p.m. to hold a closed hearing.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on National Parks, Historic Preservation and Recreation, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate, on Tuesday, March 4 at 2:30 p.m. to receive testimony on S. 164, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of sites associated with the life of Cesar Estrada Chavez and the Farm Labor Movement; S. 328 a bill to designate Catoctin Mountain Park in the State of Maryland as the ``Catoctin Mountain National Recreation Area,'' and for other purposes; S. 347 a bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a joint special resources study to evaluate the suitability and feasibility of establishing the Rim of the Valley Corridor as a unit of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, and for other purposes; S. 425 a bill to revise the boundary of the wind Cave National Park in the State of South Dakota.

Mr. President, today I am introducing the Wind Cave National Park Boundary Revision Act of 2003. The Senate unanimously approved this legislation late last fall, but it was not considered by the House of Representatives before Congress adjourned for the year. I hope that my colleagues will again support this effort and that we can see this bill signed into law.

Wind Cave National Park, located in southwestern South Dakota, is one of the Park System's precious natural treasures and one of the Nation's first national parks. The cave itself, after which the park is named, is one of the world's oldest, longest and most complex cave systems, with more than 103 miles of mapped tunnels. The cave is well known for its exceptional display of boxwork, a rare, honeycomb-shaped formation that protrudes from the cave's ceilings and walls. While the cave is the focal point of the park, the land above the cave is equally impressive, with 28,000 acres of rolling meadows, majestic forests, creeks, and streams. As one of the few remaining mixed-grass prairie ecostytems in the country, the park is home to abundant wildlife, such as bison, deer, elk and birds, and is a National Game Preserve.

The Wind Cave National Park Boundary Revision Act will help expand the park by approximately 20 percent in the southern ``keyhole'' region. This land is currently owned by a ranching family that wants to see it protected from development and preserved for future generations. The land is a natural extension of the park, and boasts the mixed-grass prairie and ponderosa pine forests found in the rest of the park, including a dramatic river canyon. The addition of this land will enhance recreation for hikers who come for the solitude of the park's back country. It will also protect archaeological sites, such as a buffalo jump, over which early native Americans once drove the bison they hunted, and improve fire management.

This plan to expand the park has strong, but not universal, support in the surrounding community. The community's views were expressed during a recent 60-day public comment period on the proposal. Most South Dakotans recognize the value in expanding the park, not only to encourage additional tourism in the Black Hills, but to permanently protect these extraordinary lands for future generations of Americans to enjoy. Understandably, however, some are legitimately concerned about the potential loss of hunting opportunities and local tax revenue.

Governor Janklow has expressed his conditional support for the park expansion, stating that there must be no reduction in the amount of lands with public access that can currently be hunted, that there must be no loss of tax revenue to the county from the expansion, and that chronic wasting disease issue must be dealt with effectively. These are reasonable conditions that should be met as this process moves forward.

The legislation I am introducing today protects hunting opportunities for sportsmen by excluding 880 acres of School and Public Lands property from the expansion. In addition, Wind Cave National Park and the Trust for Public Lands are working with interested parties to find a way to offset the loss of local county tax revenues. Finally, I understand that the South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks Department has reached an agreement with Wind Cave officials to expand research into chronic wasting disease, which will benefit wildlife populations nationwide. I am satisfied that the legitimate concerns about the potential expansion have been effectively addressed and today am moving forward to begin the legislative phase of this process.

In conclusion, Wind Cave National Park has been a valued American treasure for nearly 100 years. We have an opportunity with this legislation to expand the park and enhance its value to the public so that visitors will enjoy it even more during the next 100 years. It is my hope that my colleagues will again support this expansion of the park and pass this legislation in the near future.

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