A bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain land in the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Nevada, to the Secretary of the Interior, in trust for the Washoe Indian Tribe of Nevada and California.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, June 25, 2003, at 9:30 a.m., in open session to consider the nomination of Lieutenant General John P. Abizaid, USA, for appointment to the grade of General and to be commander, United States Central Command.

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, June 25 at 10:00 a.m. to consider pending calendar business.

On Wednesday, June 25, at 10:00 a.m., the Committee will hold a Business Meeting in Room SD-366 to consider the following items on the Agenda:

Agenda Item #3: S. 470--A bill to extend the authority for the construction of a memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr.

Agenda Item #4: S. 490--A bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain land in the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Nevada, to the Secretary of the Interior, in trust for the Washoe Indian Tribe of Nevada and California.

Agenda Item #6: S. 546--A bill to provide for the protection of paleontological resources on Federal lands, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item #7: S. 643--A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation with the University of New Mexico, to construct and occupy a portion of the Hibben Center for Archaeological Research at the University of New Mexico.

Agenda Item #8: S. 651--A bill to amend the National Trails System Act to clarify Federal authority relating to land acquisition from willing sellers for the majority of the trails in the System, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item #9: S. 677--A bill to revise the boundary of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area in the State of Colorado, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item #10: S. 924--A bill to authorize the exchange of lands between an Alaska Native Village Corporation and the Department of the Interior, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item #13: S. 1076--A bill to authorize construction of an education center at or near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Agenda Item #14: H.R. 255--To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to grant an easement to facilitate access to the Lewis and Clark Interpretative Center in Nebraska City, Nebraska.

Agenda Item #15: H.R. 1577--To designate the visitor center in Organ Pipe National Monument in Arizona as the ``Kris Eggle Visitor Center'', 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 Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, June 25, 2003 at 9:30 a.m. to hold a hearing on The African Growth and Opportunity Act.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, June 25, 2003 at 2:00 p.m. to hold a hearing on Constitutionalism, Human Rights and the Rule of Law in the Nation of Iraq.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, June 25, 2003, at 2:30 p.m. to hold a hearing on The Successor States to Pre-1991 Yugoslavia: Progress & Challenges.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet on Wednesday, June 25, 2003, at 9:30 a.m. to consider the nomination of the Joshua B. Bolton to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be authorized to meet in Executive Session during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, June 25, 2003. The following agenda will be considered:

Agenda

S. 1248, Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2003.

Any nominees that have been cleared for action.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a hearing on ``Oversight Hearing: Lessons Learned--The Inspector General's Report on the 9/11 Detainees'' on Wednesday, June 25, 2003, at 10:00 a.m. in the Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 226.

Tentative Witness List

Panel I: The Honorable Glenn A. Fine, Inspector General, Department of Justice, Washington, DC.

Panel II: Harley G. Lappin, Director, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Department of Justice, Washington, DC; Michael E. Rolince, Assistant Director in Charge, Washington Field Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington, DC; and David Nahmias, Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, Department of Justice, Washington, DC.

THE PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Committee on the Judiciary

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a hearing on ``Department of Justice and Judicial Nominations'' on Wednesday, June 25, 2003, at 2:00 p.m. in the Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 215 [Finance Committee Hearing Room].

Revised Tentative Agenda

Panel I: Senators.

Panel II: Allyson K. Duncan to be United States Circuit Judge for the Fourth Circuit.

Panel III: Robert C. Brack to be United States District Judge for the District of New Mexico; Samuel Der-Yeghiayan to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois; Louise W. Flanagan to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of North Carolina; Lonny R. Suko to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Washington; and Earl Leroy Yeakel III to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Texas.

Panel IV: Karen P. Tandy to be Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Department of Justice; and Christopher A. Wray to be Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, United States Department of Justice.

THE PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

subcommittee on the constitution, civil rights, and property rights

subcommittee on near eastern and south Asian affairs

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights and the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs be authorized to meet to conduct a joint hearing on ``Constitutionalism, Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Iraq,'' on Wednesday, June 25, 2003, at 2:00 p.m. in SD226.

Tentative Witness List

Panel I: Mr. Sermid Al-Sarraf, Iraqi Jurists Association, Los Angeles, CA; Dr. Khaled Abou El Fadl, Professor of Law, The Omar and Azmeralda Alfi Distinguished Fellow in Islamic Law, UCLA School of Law, Los Angeles, CA; Mr. Bernard Haykel, Assistant Professor of Middle Eastern Studies and History, New York University, New York, NY; Dr. Kenneth M. Pollack, Director of Research, Saban Center for Middle East Policy, Brookings Institution, Washington, DC; and Ms. Zainab Salbi, President and Founder, Women for Women International, Washington, DC.

Panel II: Mr. Naoyuki Agawa, Former Professor of Constitutional Law, Keio University, Minister and Director of the Japan Information and Culture Center, Embassy of Japan, Washington, DC; Mr. A. E. Dick Howard, White Burkett Miller Professor of Law and Public Affairs, Roy L. and Rosamond Woodruff Morgan Research Professor, University of Virginia School of Law, Charlottesville, VA; Dr. Donald P. Kommers, Joseph and Elizabeth Robbie Professor of Government and International Studies, University of Notre Dame, Professor of Law, Notre Dame Law School, Notre Dame, IN; Mr. Neil J. Kritz, Director, Rule of Law Program, U.S. Institute of Peace, Washington, DC; and Mr. John C. Yoo, Professor of Law, Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley, Visiting Fellow, American Enterprise Institute, Washington,

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the subcommittee on economic policy of the committee on banking, housing, and urban affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on June 25, 2003, at 2:00 p.m. to conduct a hearing on ``Jumpstarting the Economy: Rural America.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, and Water be authorized to meet on Wednesday, June 25th at 9:30 am to examine the consulting process required by Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.

The hearing will take place in SD 406 (Hearing Room).

subcommittee on public lands and forests

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, June 25, at 2:30 p.m. in room SD-366. The purpose of this oversight hearing is to gain an understanding of the grazing programs of the Bureau of Land Management and the United States Forest Service. The subcommittee will receive testimony on grazing permit renewal, BLM's potential changes to grazing regulations, range monitoring, drought and other grazing issues.

Mr. President, I rise today to reintroduce the Washoe Tribe Land Conveyance Act.

I introduced this bill in both the 106th and 107th Congress, and it passed the Senate unanimously in 2000 and 2002. The bill has also been favorably received in the House: in the 106h Congress, it passed the House with unrelated amendments. Unfortunately, due to a shortage of time, the two versions of the bill were never reconciled and neither version became law.

In 1997, I helped convene the Lake Tahoe Presidential Forum to discuss the future of the Lake Tahoe Basin. At that Forum a diverse group of federal, state, and local government leaders considered the challenges facing the extraordinary natural, recreational, and ecological resources of the Lake Tahoe region. I am pleased to note that the Forum provided the basis for the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act that Senator Feinstein and I introduced and President Clinton signed into law. This law authorizes $300 million of federal investment to protect and rehabilitate the Lake over a ten-year period. In addition, I have been able to steadily increase the federal investment in the Basin. We are well on our way to fulfilling the promises of the Forum.

During the Forum a commitment was made to support the traditional

and customary sues of the Lake Tahoe Basin by the Washoe Tribe, most importantly, to provide the Tribe access to the shore of Lake Tahoe for cultural purposes. In short, this is not a controversial bill. It is a good bill, and it is the right thing to do.

The ancestral homeland of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California included an area of over 5,000 square miles in and around the Lake Tahoe Basin. My bill ensures that members of the Tribe will have the opportunity to engage in their traditional and customary cultural practices at the Lake in the future as they have done in the past. This will help the tribe meet the needs of spiritual renewal, land stewardship and general reunification of the Tribe with its aboriginal lands--forever. The participants in the Lake Tahoe Presidential Forum endorsed the concept of this bill, and nearly five years later that concept continues to enjoy broad support. The land conveyed by this bill to the Washoe Tribe would be managed in accordance with the Lake Tahoe Regional Plan, would not be commercially developed, and would not preclude or hinder public access around the Lake.

This Act will convey 24.3 acres from the Secretary of Agriculture to the Secretary of the Interior to be held in trust for the Washoe. This is not an expansive tract of land, but it is of profound significance to the Washoe people. I would like to point out a particular provision of the bill and explain the history behind it. Subsection (e) prohibits any type of development on the land. This provision was added at the request of the Washoe Tribe to guarantee that this land remains in its present unspoiled state for traditional and customary cultural uses. Tribal elders have indicated to me that these purposes could not be accomplished if the land were commercially developed, so I am pleased to include a provision ensuring that this land will remain in its natural state. I think this provision serves as a testimonial to the tribe's integrity and to how important the return of this land is to the Washoe people.

Finally, I would like to note that Senator Ensign joins me today to introduce this important bill. I know that Senator Ensign values and works to protect the wonders of Lake Tahoe. His support for this bill will help ensure that the third time is the charm and that we make good on this important promise to the Washoe Tribe.

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

Mr. President, I rise today for myself, Mr. Cochran, and our other cosponsors to re-introduce the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Act, which will advance our knowledge of this serious health condition and our ability to treat people suffering from it.

Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are chronic disorders of the gastrointestinal tract which represent the major causes of morbidity from digestive illness. Because they behave similarly, these disorders are collectively known as Inflammatory Bowel Disease. This devastating, yet seldom discussed illness can cause severe abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, and bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract. Moreover, complications related to the disease can include arthritis, osteoporosis, anemia, eczema, liver disease, and even colon cancer.

We do not know the cause of Inflammatory Bowel Disease. There is no medical cure. An estimated 1 million Americans, including many children and young adults, suffer from it. In 1990, the total annual medical costs for patients suffering from Crohns Disease and ulcerative colitis amounted to over 1.6 billion dollars.

Recent medical breakthroughs, however, are opening up exciting new pathways for research to understand underlying disease mechanisms and to improve therapies for those who suffer from Inflammatory Bowel Disease. The gene for Crohn's Disease was recently discovered, and other research demonstrates that strong linkages exist between Inflammatory Bowel Disease and functions of the immune system.

Our legislation enhances research on Inflammatory Bowel Disease within the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. Among the promising areas to be advanced are studies that translate findings from basic genetic and animal model research. The bill will also establish an Inflammatory Bowel Disease prevention and epidemiology program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This program is needed to generate an accurate analysis of the make-

up of the IBD population in the United States, thereby obtaining invaluable clues to the potential causes and risks associated with the disease.

The bill also will inform public and private health coverage policy providers by providing for a study of the coverage standards of Medicare, Medicaid, and private health insurance for therapies for Inflammatory Bowel Disease. It will be conducted by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science. In addition, the bill calls for a General Accounting Office study of the problems patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease encounter when applying for disability insurance benefits.

This bill will benefit millions of Americans who suffer from or who are at risk of developing Inflammatory Bowel Disease. It promises to alleviate much suffering, to assist patients in accessing sound and effective medical treatment, and to benefit those who are debilitated by Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

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

Mr. President, I returned this week from my 12th trip to Haiti. As my colleagues are aware, I have many long-standing concerns about the dire political, economic, and humanitarian situation in Haiti.

In a nation just over an hour's flight from Miami, there is abject poverty, suffering, and disease. We absolutely must pay closer attention to what is happening to our neighbors in our hemisphere. We must be engaged.

That is why I am so pleased to be joining several of my Senate and House colleagues in introducing the ``Haiti Economic Recovery Opportunity Act of 2003.'' I'd like to thank our Senate Co-sponsors, who include Senators Graham of Florida, Lugar, Durbin, Nelson of Florida, and Representatives Congressmen Shaw and Conyers for their leadership in getting support for this bill, as well as our other House Co-sponsors, Representatives Crane, Rangel, Watson, Lee of California, Lee of Texas, Meek, Goss, Foley, Waters, and Delegate Christensen of the Virgin Islands.

Our bill would take a major step in improving the economic and political situation in Haiti through an important tool of our foreign policy--and that is trade.

As my colleagues, Senators Durbin, Nelson, and Chafee, and Representative Meek--all of whom traveled with me to Haiti over the course of this last month--the situation in Haiti is bleak. Haiti is the poorest country in our Hemisphere, with approximately 70 percent of its population out of work and 80 percent living in abject poverty. Less than one-half of Haiti's 7 million people can read or write. Haiti's infant mortality rate is the highest in our hemisphere. And one in four children under the age of five are malnourished.

roughly one in 12 Haitians has HIV/AIDS and, according to the Centers for Disease Control projections, Haiti will experience up to 44,000 new HIV/AIDS cases this year--that's 4,000 more than the number expected here in the United States, where our population is 35 times that of Haiti's. AIDS already has orphaned over 200,000 children, and this number is expected to skyrocket to between 323,000 and 393,000 over the next ten years.

The violence, corruption, and instability caused by the flow of drugs through Haiti cannot be overstated. An estimated 15 percent of all cocaine entering the United States passes through Haiti, the Dominican Republic, or both.

All of this creates an environment where the logical course of action for many Haitians is simply to flee. We have seen this in the past, and we may see it again. So far this fiscal year, the Coast Guard has interdicted and rescued over 813 Haitian migrants at sea--compared to 1,113 during the entire fiscal year 2000. And, according to the State Department, migrants recently interdicted and repatriated to Haiti have cited economic conditions as their reason for attempting to migrate by sea. I do not think that a mass exodus is imminent, but we cannot ignore any increase in migrant departures from Haiti. In addition to being an immigration issue for the United States, these migrant departures frequently result in the loss of life at sea.

When I visited Haiti last month, we toured a textile assembly factor. What we saw was that this operation was providing about 800 Haitian laborers with jobs and giving them an income to help support their families. This is in a country that went from having 100,000 assembly jobs to only 30,000 today. There is no reason we can't reverse that trend.

The bill we are introducing today attempts to change the economic situation by granting limited duty-free treatment on certain Haitian apparel articles if--and only if--the President is able to certify that the Haitian government is making serious market, political, and social reforms. The bill would correct a glitch or oversight in U.S. trade law that recognized the special economic needs of least developed countries in Africa, but did not recognize those needs for the least developed country in the Western Hemisphere--Haiti.

Specifically, the bill would allow duty-free entry of Haitian apparel articles assembled from fabrics from countries with which the U.S. has a free trade or a regional trade agreement. It also would grant duty- free status on articles, regardless of the origin of the fabrics and yarns, if the fabrics and yarns were not commercially available in the United States.

The bill would cap duty-free apparel imports made of fabrics and yarns from the designated countries at 1.5 percent of total U.S. apparel imports. This limit grows modestly over time to 3.5 percent.

The enactment of this legislation would promote employment in Haitian industry by allowing the country to become a garment production center. While the benefits of bill would be modest by U.S. standards, in Haiti they are substantial. It is estimated that the bill could create thousands of jobs, thereby reducing the unemployment rate and breaking the shackles of poverty. Before the 1991 coup, Haiti was one of the largest apparel suppliers in the Caribbean. Today, Haitian apparel accounts for less than one percent of all apparel imports into the United States.

The type of assembly carried out in Haiti would have minimal impact on employment in the United States. Actually, it would encourage the emigration of jobs from the Far East back to our hemisphere, including the United States, because most Haitian foreign exchange earnings, unlike in the Far East, are utilized to purchase American products. And, the ``Trade and Development Act'' already includes strong safeguards against transshipment.

In order for Haiti to be eligible for the trade benefits under the bill, the President must certify that Haiti is making progress on matters like the rule of law. This will not be an easy task for the Haitian government. However, I believe that because of the incentives provided in the bill, it would be more and more apparent to them that it is in their interest to reform.

Adopting the Haiti Economic Recovery Opportunity Act of 2002 would be a powerful demonstration of our commitment to helping reverse the downward spiral in Haiti. I encourage my colleagues to join in support of this legislation.

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 Thursday, June 12, 2003. The purpose of this hearing is to discuss the United States Department of Agriculture's implementation of the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 and related crop insurance issues.

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 June 12, 2003, at 10:00 a.m. to conduct a hearing on ``expanding homeownership opportunities.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet on Thursday, June 12, 2003, at 9:30 a.m. on Global Overfishing.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet in open Executive Session during the session on Thursday, June 12, 2003, at 9:00 a.m., to consider an original bill entitled, The Prescription Drug and Medicare Improvement Act of 2003; to consider S. 312, ``Availability of SCHIP Allotments for Fiscal Years 1998 through 2001''.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, June 12, 2003, at 9:30 a.m., to hold a Hearing on Beyond Iraq: Repercussions of Iraq Stabilization and Reconstruction Policies.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be authorized to meet for a hearing on TWA/American Airline Workforce Integration during the session of the Senate on Thursday, June 12, 2003 at 2:00 p.m. in SD- 430.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a markup on Thursday, June 12, 2003, at 9:30 a.m. in Dirksen Room 226.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights be authorized to meet to conduct a markup on Thursday, June 12, 2003, immediately following the Full Committee markup scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. in Dirksen Room 226.

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 Thursday, June 12, at 2:30 p.m. in Room SD-366 to receive testimony on S. 434--a bill to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to sell or exchange all or part of certain parcels of National Forest System land in the State of Idaho and use the proceeds derived from the sale or exchange for National Forest System resources; S. 435--a bill to provide for the conveyance by the Secretary of Agriculture of the Sandpoint Federal Building and adjacent land in Sandpoint, Idaho, and for other purposes; S. 490--a bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain land in the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit Nevada, to the Secretary of the Interior, in trust for the Washoe Indian Tribe of Nevada and California; H.R. 762--to amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 and the Mineral Leasing Act and for other purposes; S. 1111--a bill to provide suitable grazing arrangements on National Forest System land to persons that hold a grazing permit adversely affected by the standards and guidelines contained in the record of decision of the Sierra Nevada Forest Plan Amendment and pertaining to the Willow Flycatcher and the Yosemite Toad; and H.R. 622--to provide for the exchange of certain lands in the Coconino and Tonto National Forests in Arizona, and for other purposes.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space be authorized to meet on Thursday, June 12, 2003, at 2:30 p.m. on Cloning.

Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce the Medicare Patient Access to Physical Therapists Act of 2003, which allows Medicare beneficiaries direct access to qualified physical therapists without a physician referral, as allowed by State law. I am proud to be joined in this effort today by my friends Senators Specter, Landrieu, and Ensign.

Currently, 35 States, including my home State of Arkansas, allow for direct access to physical therapists without the added cost of a physician referral. Direct access is an important change that physical therapists and their patients are seeking to the Medicare program. The National Rural Health Association, Easter Seals, and the Brain Injury Association of America join with us today in expressing their support for this important legislation.

Currently, seniors and disabled Medicare beneficiaries must first visit a physician before being allowed to visit a physical therapist. This burdensome requirement in Medicare is simply no longer necessary and limits access to timely and medically necessary physical therapists' services. Providing Medicare beneficiaries with direct access to physical therapists should be a critical component of any Medicare reform.

Congress must consistently balance patient safety, accessibility of services from qualified providers, and costs to the Medicare program when evaluating services. State boards that regulate physical therapy confirm that patient safety is not compromised by the elimination of the referral requirement because malpractice incidents and costs are not markedly higher in States that allow direct access.

Second, direct access to physical therapists would allow for improved access to quality health care services, particularly in rural and urban underserved communities. It is a burden for elderly and disabled patients with chronic conditions to drive back and forth to a physician's office simply to obtain another referral for physical therapy. This not only disrupts patient access to timely therapy treatment but creates a needless administrative expense for the Medicare program.

Finally, a study of BlueCross/BlueShield insurance claims in Maryland indicates that services are not over-utilized when a patient has direct access to physical therapists. In fact, the study indicates significantly lower costs when care is initiated without a physician referral. With this in mind, a policy that improves access to physical

therapists is a positive reform for the Medicare program and its beneficiaries.

The Medicare program should not impose arbitrary administrative barriers to patients who need physical therapy services, especially when States have an entirely different standard for access. I encourage my colleagues to support this Medicare modernization plan to ensure the best access to physical therapy for America's most vulnerable population--senior and disabled patients.