A bill to amend the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to extend the date after which surplus funds in the wildlife restoration fund become available for apportionment.

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 Wednesday, July 20, 2005 at 10 a.m. in SR-328A, Russell Senate office building. The purpose of this hearing will be to review bio-security preparedness and efforts to address agroterrorism threats.

Mr. President, I would like to ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Environment and Public Works be authorized to meet to hold a Business Meeting on July 20, 2005 at 9:30 a.m. on the following agenda:

Resolutions: To authorize GSA's fiscal year 06 Capital Investment and Leasing Program; to authorize a lease prospectus for the General Services Administration headquarters; committee resolution on the Delaware River and its Tributaries, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; committee resolution on the Beneficial Use of Dredged Material on the Delaware River, Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania; committee resolution on the South Fork of the South Branch of the Chicago River, IL; and committee resolution on the Grand and Tiger Passes and Baptiste Collette Bayou, LA.

Nominations: Marcus A. Peacock, of Minnesota, to be Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; and Granta Y. Nakayama, of Virginia, to be Assistant Administrator, Office of Enforcement & Compliance Assurance, Environmental Protection Agency.

Legislation: H.R. 1428 National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Reauthorization Act of 2005; S. 1250 Great Apes Bill; S. 1409 Alaska Native Villages reauthorization; S. 1265 Diesel Emissions Reduction Act of 2005; S. 1339 Duck Stamp bill; S. 1340 Pittman-Robertson extension; S. 158 Long Island Sound; S. 1410 Neotropical Birds reauthorization; S. 1415 Lacey Act technical correction; and S. 1400 Water Infrastructure Bill.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session on Wednesday, July 20, 2005, at 10 a.m., in 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building, to consider the nominations of Robert M. Kimmitt, to be Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. Department of the Treasury; Randal Quarles, to be Under Secretary of the Treasury, Domestic Finance, U.S. Department of the Treasury; Sandra L. Pack, to be Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Management, U.S. Department of the Treasury; Kevin I. Fromer, to be Deputy Under Secretary of the Treasury, Legislative Affairs, U.S. Department of the Treasury.

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

committee on foreign relations

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, July 20, 2005, at 10:15 a.m. to hold a hearing on Accelerating Economic Progress in Iraq.

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, July 20, 2005 at 9:30 a.m. in SD-430.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a hearing on Reporters' Privilege Legislation: Issues and Implications'' on Wednesday, July 20, 2005 at 9:30 a.m. in Dirksen Senate Office Building Room 226.

Panel I: The Honorable James Comey, Deputy Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC.

Panel II: Matthew Cooper, White House Correspondent, Time Magazine Inc., Washington, DC.

Norman Pearlstine, Editor-in-Chief, Time Inc., New York City, NY.

William Safire, Political Columnist, New York Times Company, New York City, NY.

Floyd Abrams, Partner, Cahill Gordon and Reindel LLP, New York City,

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Commmittee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on July 20, 2005 at 2:30 p.m. to hold a briefing.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Special Commmittee on Aging be authorized to meet Wednesday, July 20, 2005 at 2:30 p.m.-5 p.m. in Dirksen 106 for the purpose of conducting a hearing.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Global Climate Change and Impacts be authorized to meet on Wednesday, July 20, 2005 at 10 a.m. on A Review of United States Climate Policy and the $5 Billion Budget Request for Climate Related Science and Technology in fiscal year 2006.

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, July 20, 2005 at 2 p.m.

The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on S. 703, to provide for the conveyance of certain Bureau of Land Management land in the State of Nevada to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and for other purposes; S. 997, to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain land in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge Forest, MT, to Jefferson County, MT, for use as a cemetery; S. 1131, to authorize the exchange of certain Federal land within the State of Idaho, and for other purposes; S. 1170, to establish the Fort Stanton-Snowy River National Cave Conservation area; S. 1238, to amend the Public Lands Corps Act of 1993 to provide for the conduct of projects that protect forests, and other purposes; and H.R. 1101, to revoke a public land order with respect to certain lands erroneously included in the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge, CA.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 1340) to amend the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to extend the date after which surplus funds in the wildlife restoration fund become available for apportionment.

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 the bill under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, I support S. 1340 introduced by the distinguished chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Senator James

Inhofe. This legislation can help fund repairs to the environmental damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina to the gulf coast, as well as help other high priority wetlands throughout the United States.

When the North American Wetlands Conservation Act was enacted in 1989, it directed that money appropriated to this program was to be deposited into an interest-bearing account and that the interest earned could be used for conservation purposes.

In the past 16 years the interest has amounted to $235 million or nearly one-third of the total Federal investment in the North American Wetlands Conservation Program.

As a result of this money, millions of acres of critical wetlands habitat has been conserved, maintained, purchased and restored. Those wetlands are essential to the survival of not only millions of migratory waterfowl, but, more importantly, to the people who live along our coasts.

Most of southern Louisiana, including New Orleans, is wetlands. And those communities, as well as Gulfport and Biloxi, Mississippi and Mobile, Alabama, can benefit from the projects funded under this bill. Unfortunately, the authority to retain earned interest expires on September 30 of 2005.

S. 1340 extends that provision until 2016, and this legislation is supported by the Bush administration, a host of conservation groups, including Ducks Unlimited, the Congressional Sportsman Foundation, and the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a yea vote so that we can send this conservation measure to the President.

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

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

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

(Ms. BORDALLO asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, the purpose of S. 1340 is to extend for 10 years the authorization to use surplus funds in the Pittman-Robertson wildlife restoration account to support wetlands restoration projects, coordinated under the North American Wetlands Conservation Act.

The accrued interest generated by funds deposited in the Pittman- Robertson account since 1989 has provided over $235 million to fund North American wetlands conservation projects across the country.

This extension will ensure the continuation of this valuable conservation funding source, and will be important to our future efforts to restore protected wetland habitats in the region devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

I urge Members to support this worthy legislation.

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

I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar 196, S. 1340.

I ask unanimous consent the bill be read the third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements be printed in the Record.