Department of the Interior Volunteer Recruitment 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.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 584) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to recruit volunteers to assist with, or facilitate, the activities of various agencies and offices of the Department of the Interior.

Mr. 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. 584.

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 584, introduced by the gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo), would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to establish voluntary programs in the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Bureau of Reclamation and the Office of the Secretary. With this authority, these four bureaus would be able to parallel the successful volunteer programs in the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to recruit volunteers to assist with or facilitate the activities within the agencies.

Over 200,000 volunteers annually serve as campground hosts, clear trails, help with seasonal bird surveys, collect new information for maps and assist with many other day-to-day activities. Simply put, volunteers provide the Department of the Interior vital services to help it meet its mission responsibilities. Volunteer programs within the Department also provide outstanding opportunities for community service and public involvement in conservation programs.

H.R. 584 is identical to legislation that was supported by the majority and minority and passed the House of Representatives with a voice vote during the 108th Congress. I urge adoption of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

(Mrs. CHRISTENSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, the majority has explained the purpose of this legislation which the gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo) introduced at the administration's request. The gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo) succeeded in moving this legislation through the House during the last Congress, including several changes made at the request of the minority. We appreciate the chairman's decision to include those changes in H.R. 584 as well, and urge our colleagues to support this legislation.

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