Caribbean National Forest Act of 2005

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to meet on Wednesday, September 28, 2005, at 10 a.m., on S. 1114--Professional Athletes Drug Testing bill and S. 1334--Professional Sports Integrity and Accountability Act, in Hart 216.

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, September 28, at 11:30 a.m. to consider pending calendar business.

Agenda

Agenda Item 3: S. 166--To amend the Oregon Resource Conservation Act of 1996 to reauthorize the participation of the Bureau of Reclamation in the Deschutes River Conservancy, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 4: S. 206--To designate the Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 5: S. 213--To direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain Federal land to Rio Arriba County, NM.

Agenda Item 6: S. 242--To establish four memorials to the Space Shuttle Columbia in the State of Texas.

Agenda Item 7: S. 251--To authorize the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation, to conduct a water resource feasibility study for the Little Butte/Bear Creek Sub-basins in Oregon.

Agenda Item 8: S. 592--To extend the contract for the Glendo Unit of the Missouri River Basin Project in the State of Wyoming.

Agenda Item 9: S. 652--To provide financial assistance for the rehabilitation of the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial in Philadelphia, PA, and the development of an exhibit to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the birth of Benjamin Franklin.

Agenda Item 11: S. 761--To rename the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area in the State of Idaho as the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area in honor of the late Morley Nelson, an international authority on birds of prey, who was instrumental in the establishment of this National Conservation Area, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 12: S. 777--To designate Catoctin Mountain Park in the State of Maryland as the ``Catoctin Mountain National Recreation Area,'' and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 13: S. 819--To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to reallocate costs of the Pactola Dam and Reservoir, SD, to reflect increased demands for municipal, industrial, and fish and wildlife purposes.

Agenda Item 14: S. 891--To extend the water service contract for the Ainsworth Unit, Sandhills Division, Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program,

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Environment and Public Works be authorized to meet Wednesday, September 28, 2005, at 9:30 a.m. to conduct a hearing to discuss the role of science in environmental policy making.

Mr. President I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session on Wednesday, September 28, 2005, at 10 a.m., to hear testimony on ``Hurricane Katrina: Community Rebuilding Needs and Effectiveness of Past Proposals.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on

Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, September 28, 2005, at 9:30 a.m. to hold a hearing on Darfur Revisited: The International Response.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs be authorized to meet on Wednesday, September 28, 2005, at 9:30 a.m. for a hearing titled, ``Recovering from Hurricane Katrina: Responding to the Immediate Needs of Its Victims.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee Indian Affairs be authorized to meet on Wednesday, September 28, 2005, at 2:30 p.m. in Room 485 of the Russell Senate Office Building to conduct an oversight hearing on Indian Housing.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a hearing on ``Protecting Copyright and Innovation in a Post-Grokster World'' on Wednesday, September 28, 2005 at 9:30 a.m. in the Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 226.

Witness List

Panel I: The Honorable Mary Beth Peters, U.S. Register of Copyrights, Copyright Office, Washington, DC; and the Honorable Debra Wong Yang, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California and Chair of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee on Cyber/Intellectual Property Subcommittee, Los Angeles, CA.

Panel II: Marty Roe, Lead Singer, Diamond Rio, Nashville, TN; Cary Sherman, President, Recording Industry Association of America, Washington, DC; Gary Shapiro, President and Chief Executive Officer, Consumer Electronics Association, Arlington, VA; Mark Lemley, William H. Neukom, Professor of Law, Stanford University Law School and Director Stanford Program in Law, Science and Technology Stanford, CA; Ali Aydar, Chief Operating Officer, SNOCAP, San Francisco, CA; and Sam Yagan, President, MetaMachine, Inc. (developer of eDonkey and Overnet) New York, NY.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, September 28, at 2:30 p.m.

The purpose of the hearings is to review the Grazing programs of the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service, including proposed changes to grazing regulations, and the status of grazing regulations, and the status of grazing permit renewals, monitoring programs and allotment restocking plans.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 539) to designate certain National Forest System land in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 539, the bill under consideration.

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

H.R. 539 would designate approximately 10,000 acres in the Caribbean National Forest as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System.

This bipartisan proposal is supported by the people of Puerto Rico, the administration and a number of national organizations. The legislation will ensure that this special land will be available for my children and for all the children of Puerto Rico for generations to come.

The El Toro Wilderness will be one of our Nation's most significant wilderness areas. Located 25 miles east of San Juan, the forest is biologically rich and diverse. The Caribbean National Forest ranks number one among all national forests in the number of species of native trees with 240. In addition, the Caribbean National Forest has a wide variety of orchids and over 150 species of ferns. There are over 100 species of vertebrates in the forest.

Of particular note is the endangered Puerto Rican parrot. At the time Columbus set sail for the New World, there were approximately one million of these distinctive parrots. Today, there are under 50. This rich diversity will be protected through wilderness designation, and El Toro will be the only tropical rainforest wilderness in our national forest system.

The future of the Caribbean National Forest is of the utmost importance to my constituents. For Puerto Ricans, the Caribbean National Forest is more than a national forest. It is an integral part of our lives. The Spanish Crown proclaimed much of the current Caribbean National Forest as a forest reserve in 1824. President Theodore Roosevelt reasserted the protection of the Caribbean National Forest by designating the area as a forest reserve over 100 years ago. The real history of the Caribbean National Forest, however, predates those recent actions. The prehistoric Taino Indians considered the area a holy place and named it after an Indian spirit, Yuquiye, which means ``Forest of Clouds.'' Today, it is called, ``El Yunque.''

The importance of El Yunque continues to modern times. The forest is a key component of Puerto Rico's everyday life and economic vitality.

El Yunque and the proposed El Toro wilderness area are a crucial source for the lifeblood of Puerto Rico, fresh water. The forest receives up to 240 inches of rainfall each year, more than 100 billion gallons of it. This water is crucial for our people and our future. It provides clean drinking water to over 800,000 residents and ensures adequate water for our economic viability.

In closing, I would like to thank the gentleman from California (Chairman Pombo) and the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden), the gentleman from West Virginia (Ranking Member Rahall) and the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Udall) and the committee staff for their support and fine work on this measure. I urge my colleagues to join with me in supporting the passage of H.R. 539.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

Madam Speaker, as the majority has explained, H.R. 539 would designate approximately 10,000 acres of land in the Caribbean National Forest in Puerto Rico as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System to be named the El Toro Wilderness.

The Caribbean National Forest is the only tropical rainforest in the National Forest System. It is home to one of the most endangered birds in the world, the Puerto Rican parrot.

The El Toro Wilderness would become the first tropical forest in the National Forest Wilderness System, as well as the first wilderness area in Puerto Rico. It is, in a host of respects, a natural treasure and a national treasure that merits a designation befitting its unique status in America.

Madam Speaker, I want to commend the gentleman from Puerto Rico (Mr. Fortuno), my colleague and neighbor, for his work in securing the passage of this bill. We support adoption of H.R. 539, and I would add that the gentleman from West Virginia (Ranking Member Rahall) has personally also advocated the consideration of this measure.

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