To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of designating Castle Nugent Farms located on St. Croix, Virgin Islands, as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 8, 2006, at 2:30 p.m., to receive testimony on the Department of Defense Quadrennial Defense Review.

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 8 at 10:00 a.m. to consider pending calender business.

Agenda

Agenda Item 3: S. 476--To authorize the Boy Scouts of America to exchange certain land in the State of Utah acquired under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act.

Agenda Item 8: S. 1131--To authorize the exchange of certain Federal land within the State of Idaho, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 9: S. 1288--To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to enter into cooperative agreements to protect natural resources of units of the National Park System through collaborative efforts on land inside and outside of units of the National Park System.

Agenda Item 10: S. 1346--To direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study of maritime sites in the State of Michigan.

Agenda Item 11: S. 1378--To amend the National Historic Preservation Act to provide appropriation authorization and improve the operations of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.

Agenda Item 13: S. 1913--To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to lease a portion of the Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center for use as a visitor center for the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 14: S. 1970--To amend the National Trails System Act to update the feasibility and suitability study originally prepared for the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail and provide for the inclusion of new trail segments, land components, and campgrounds associated with that trail, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 15: S. 2197--To improve the global competitiveness of the United States in science and energy technology, to strengthen basic research programs at the Department of Energy, and to provide support for mathematics and science education at all levels through the resources available through the Department of Energy, including at the National Laboratories.

Agenda Item 16: S. 2253--To require the Secretary of the Interior to offer the 181 Area of the Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas leasing.

Agenda Item 17: S. Con. Res. 60--Designating the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, MO, as America's National Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

Agenda Item 18: S.J. Res. 28--Approving the location of the commemorative work in the District of Columbia honoring former President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Agenda Item 19: H.R. 318--To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of designating Castle Nugent Farms located on St. Croix, Virgin Islands, as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 20: H.R. 326 (S. 505)--To amend the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area Act of 2000 to adjust the boundary of the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area.

Agenda Item 21: H.R. 409 (S. 179)--To provide for the exchange of land within the Sierra National Forest, CA, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 23: H.R. 1129 (S. 100)--To authorize the exchange of certain land in the State of Colorado.

Agenda Item 24: H.R. 1728 (S. 323)--To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of designating the French Colonial Heritage Area in the State of Missouri as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 25: H.R. 2107--To amend Public Law 104-329 to modify authorities for the use of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Maintenance Fund, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 26: H.R. 3443 (S. 1498)--To direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain water distribution facilities to the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District.

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 8, 2006, at 10 a.m., in 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building, to hear testimony on ``Taking a checkup on the nation's health care tax policy: a prognosis''.

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 8, 2006, at 10 a.m. to hold a hearing on Nominations.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations' Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, and Narcotics Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, March 8, 2006, at 2:30 p.m. to hold a hearing on The Impact on Latin America of the American Servicemembers' Protection Act.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions meet in executive session during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, March 8, 2006, at 10 a.m. in SD-430.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet on Wednesday, March 8, 2006, at 9:30 a.m. for a hearing titled, ``Hurricane Katrina: Recommendations for Reform.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Indian Affairs be authorized to meet on Wednesday, March 8, 2006, at 9:30 a.m. in Room 485 of the Russell Senate Office Building to conduct a hearing on S. 2078, Indian Gaming Regulatory Act Amendments of 2005.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a markup on Wednesday, March 8, 2006, at 9:30 a.m. in Senate Dirksen Building Room 226.

Agenda

I. Nominations: Steven G. Bradbury to be an Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel; John F. Clark to be Director of the United States Marshals Service; Donald J. DeGabrielle, Jr. to be U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas; John Charles Richter to be U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma; Amul R. Thapar to be U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Mauricio J. Tamargo to be Chairman of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States.

II. Bills: S. , Comprehensive Immigration Reform [Chairman's Mark]; S. 1768, a bill to permit the televising of Supreme Court proceedings; Specter, Leahy, Cornyn, Grassley, Schumer, Feingold, Durbin; S. 829, Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2005; Grassley, Schumer, Cornyn, Leahy, Feingold, Durbin, Graham, DeWine, Specter; S. 489, Federal Consent Decree Fairness Act; Alexander, Kyl, Cornyn, Graham, Hatch; S. 2039, Prosecutors and Defenders Incentive Act of 2005; Durbin, Specter, DeWine, Leahy, Kennedy, Feinstein, Feingold; S. 2292, A bill to provide relief for the Federal judiciary from excessive rent charges; Specter, Leahy, Cornyn, Feinstein, Biden.

III. Matters: S.J. Res. 1, Marriage Protection Amendment; Allard, Sessions, Kyl, Hatch, Cornyn, Coburn, Brownback.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 8, 2006 at 2:30 p.m. to hold a closed briefing.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, and International Security be authorized to meet on Wednesday, March 8, 2006, at 2:30 p.m. for a hearing regarding ``Crime Victims Fund Rescission: Real Savings or Budget Gimmick?''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on International Trade and Finance be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on March 8, 2006, at 10 a.m., to conduct a hearing on ``Reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank of the United States.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the subcommittee on Trade, Tourism, and Economic Development be authorized to meet on Wednesday, March 8, 2006, at 2:30 p.m., on the ``Impact of Piracy and Counterfeiting of American Goods and Intellectual Property in China.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on February 16, 2006, at 9:30 a.m., in open session to receive testimony on the priorities and plans for the atomic energy defense activities of the Department of Energy and to review the fiscal year 2007 President's budget request for atomic energy defense activities of the Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration.

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, February 16, 2006, at 10 a.m. to conduct an oversight hearing on the semi-annual monetary policy report of the Federal Reserve.

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 Thursday, February 16 at 10 a.m. The purpose of this hearing is to receive testimony regarding S. 2253, to require the Secretary of the Interior to offer certain areas of the 181 areas of the Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas leasing.

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 Thursday, February 16 at 2:30 p.m. The purpose of this hearing is to discuss the Energy Information Administration's 2006 annual energy outlook on trends and issues affecting the United States energy market.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session on Thursday, February 16, 2006, at 10:30 a.m., in 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building, to hear testimony on ``Administration's Trade Agenda for 2006''.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, February 16, 2006, at 10 a.m. to hold a hearing on Nominations.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be authorized to hold a hearing during the session of the Senate on Thursday, February 16, 2006 at 10 a.m. in SD-G50.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a markup on Thursday, February 16, 2006, at 9:30 a.m. in the Senate Dirksen Building Room 226.

Agenda

I. Nominations: Timothy C. Batten, Sr. to be U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Georgia; Thomas E. Johnston to be U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of West Virginia; Aida M. Delgado-Colon to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Puerto Rico; Leo Maury Gordon to be a Judge of the United States Court of International Trade; Carol E. Dinkins to be Chairman of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board; Alan Charles Raul to be Vice Chairman of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board; Paul J. McNulty to be Deputy Attorney General; Steven G. Bradbury to be an Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel; Reginald Lloyd to be U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina; Stephen King to be a Member of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States.

II. Bills: H.R. 683, Trademark Dilution Revision Act of 2005 Smith-- TX; S. 1768, A bill to permit the televising of Supreme Court proceedings Specter, Leahy, Cornyn, Grassley, Schumer, Feingold, Durbin; S. 829, Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2005 Grassley, Schumer, Cornyn, Leahy, Feingold, Durbin; Graham, DeWine;

S.__, Comprehensive Immigration Reform [Chairman's Mark]; S. 489, Federal Consent Decree Fairness Act Alexander, Kyl, Cornyn, Graham, Hatch.

III. Matters: S.J. Res. 1, Marriage Protection Amendment Allard, Sessions, Kyl, Hatch, Cornyn, Coburn, Brownback.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Thursday, February 16, 2006, for a committee hearing on the Administration's proposed fiscal year 2007 Department of Veterans Affairs budget. The hearing will take place in room 418

of the Russell Senate Office Building at 10:30 a.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on February 16, 2006 at 2:30 p.m. to hold a closed business meeting.

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 Thursday, February 16 at 1:30 p.m.

The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on the following bills: S.J. Res. 28, a joint resolution approving the location of the commemorative work in the District of Columbia honoring former President Dwight D. Eisenhower; S. 1870, a bill to clarify the authorities for the use of certain National Park Service properties within Golden Gate National Recreation Area and San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, and for other purposes; S. 1913, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to lease a portion of the Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center for use as a visitor center for the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, and for other purposes; S. 1970, a bill to amend the National Trials System Act to update the feasibility and suitability study originally prepared for the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail and provide for the inclusion of new trail segments, land components, and campgrounds associated with that trail, and for other purposes; H.R. 562, a bill to authorize the Government of Ukraine to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia to honor the victims of the manmade famine that occurred in Ukraine in 1932-1933; and H.R. 318, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of designating Castle Nugent Farms located on St. Croix, Virgin Islands, as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the National Ocean Policy Study be authorized to meet on Thursday, February 16, 2006, at 2:30 p.m., on the NOAA Budget.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased that the House today is considering H.R. 318, legislation that I introduced to provide for a study to determine the feasibility and suitability of designating Castle Nugent Farms in the United States Virgin Islands as a unit of the National Park System.

Castle Nugent Farms is a unique 1,350-acre property located on the southeastern shore of my home island of St. Croix. It contains natural and cultural resources which could provide an unparalleled insight into the plantation period of the Virgin Islands.

Castle Nugent Farms is presently operated as a cattle ranch by owners who are very interested in preserving and interpreting the natural and cultural resources of the area. Caroline Gasperi, whose family members have been stewards of this land for more than 50 years, has been an enthusiastic supporter for the preservation of this site. The passage of this bill today would bring her one step closer to her long-held and also hard-fought-for dream.

The owners are justifiably proud of their ranch, which contains more than 4 miles of pristine oceanfront with a large and healthy fringing coral reef. The interior of the property consists of Caribbean dry forest and pasture lands with cultural resources from both pre- Colombian and post-European settlement.

A large Danish estate house, dating to the 1730s, sits on the property. That house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

At various points in its history, Castle Nugent Farm has been operated as a cotton plantation and a sugar cane plantation. Its current use as a cattle ranch involves raising unique Senepol cattle, a breed which is well suited to the climate and vegetation of the area.

H.R. 318 is a noncontroversial bill. Identical language, as we have heard, passed the House in the last Congress. The National Park Service has no objections to the legislation, and the property's owners not only support a park study of the site but are enthusiastic about the opportunity to preserve the natural and cultural resources of the farm.

Mr. Speaker, it is my hope that the park study will provide the blueprint by which we can preserve and interpret this unique piece of island history and resources for the benefit of present and future generations.

I thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for their support, and I strongly support the adoption of this bill by the House today.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to an immediate en bloc consideration of the following bills: Calendar No. 393 to 400, 403 to 410, 420, 533, and 584.

Mr. President, I respectfully ask the Senator from Oklahoma if I could do the other two pending unanimous-consent requests and then allow the Senator from Oklahoma to speak for 15 minutes; and then, after that allow either Senator Cornyn or Senator Leahy, or both, along with myself, to speak on the previously agreed to bill for up to 15 minutes.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that we finish the unanimous-consent requests that have been cleared on both sides, that there be speakers recognized in the following order: Senator Coburn, Senator Chambliss, Senator Conrad, and a Republican slot; further, that Senator Cornyn and Senator Leahy and myself be allowed to have 15 minutes following that to discuss legislation previously passed.

Mr. President, I amend my unanimous-consent request to put Senator Dorgan following the Republicans.

That is correct.

I object.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous-consent that the two agreed-to energy en bloc requests be granted first; following that, Senator Coburn for 15 minutes, Senator Chambliss for 10 minutes, Senator Conrad for up to 30 minutes, a Republican slot for 10 minutes, and Senator Dorgan for 20 minutes. I need to also have time reserved for Senator Leahy, Senator Cornyn, and myself following that order for up to 30 minutes.

It would be approximately an hour and half before that would occur unless there would be a unanimous consent agreement that the colloquy could be moved up.

Mr. President, I amend my unanimous consent to allow us to do the two energy en banc requests that have been agreed to by both sides; Senator Cornyn and Senator Leahy for up to 5 minutes; Senator Coburn for 15 minutes; Senator Chambliss for 10 minutes; Senator Conrad for up to 30 minutes; a Republican slot for 10 minutes; Senator Dorgan for 20 minutes; and Senator Hutchison for 15 minutes.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate en bloc consideration of the following bills: Calendar Nos. 393 to 400, 403 to 410, 420, 533, and 584.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendments at the desk be agreed to; the committee-reported amendments as amended, if amended, be agreed to; the bills as amended, if amended, be read a third time and passed en bloc; the resolution be agreed to; and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public that a hearing has been rescheduled before the Subcommittee on National Parks.

The hearing originally scheduled for Thursday, February 16, 2006 at 2:30 p.m. in Room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building will now be held at 1:30 p.m. on February 16, 2006 in the same room.

The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on the following bills: S.J. Res. 28, a joint resolution approving the location of the commemorative work in the District of Columbia honoring former President Dwight D. Eisenhower; S. 1870, a bill to clarify the authorities for the use of certain National Park Service properties within Golden Gate National Recreation Area and San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, and for other purposes; S. 1913, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to lease a portion of the Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center for use as a visitor center for the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, and for other purposes; S. 1970, a bill to amend the National Trails System Act to update the feasibility and suitability study originally prepared for the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail and provide for the inclusion of new trail segments, land components, and campgrounds associated with that trail, and for other purposes; H.R. 562, a bill to authorize the Government of Ukraine to establish a memorial on Federal land in the District of Columbia to honor the victims of the manmade famine that occurred in Ukraine in 1932-1933; H.R. 318, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of designating Castle Nugent Farms located on St. Croix, Virgin Islands, as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes.

Because of the limited time available for the hearing, witnesses may testify by invitation only. However, those wishing to submit written testimony for the hearing record should send two copies of their testimony to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, SD-364 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510-6150.

For further information, please contact Tom, Lillie at (202) 224-5161 or David Szymanski at (202) 224-6293.

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources