Watershed Restoration and Enhancement Agreements Act of 2006

Mr. President, I am introducing a bill to strengthen our Nation's firewalls against prion diseases. This bill would prevent the spread of mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, BSE. It also addresses other forms of prion disease that affect humans and animals.

For many years, we thought that we didn't have BSE in the United States. But now we have to assume that the disease does exist in our cattle, though it has been detected only twice.

In June 2005, U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA, officials announced that a Texas cow had tested positive for BSE.

It is troubling that the USDA and Food and Drug Administration, FDA, investigation could not pin down how the cow became infected. Reports compiled for the Texas Animal Health Commission and obtained by The Dallas Morning News showed that 85 percent of the cattle traced in the investigation had already been sent for slaughter.

We should not settle for half-measures in BSE control. Yet nearly two years after USDA and FDA announced efforts to strengthen our nation's firewalls against BSE, critical gaps remain in our defenses.

Just last week, the Government Accountability Office released a study that found that testing of cattle feed is at times too slow to prevent cattle from eating feed that might be contaminated.

Poultry litter, plate waste, and pet food can still be fed to cattle, creating loopholes in the ruminant feed ban.

In addition, the USDA Office of the Inspector General has raised concerns about the design of USDA's surveillance program, including whether the Agency is appropriately selecting animals for testing and testing an adequate number of older cattle.

To fully protect animal and public health, I am reintroducing my bill to strengthen our Nation's firewalls against prion diseases like BSE. My bill would close loopholes in the ruminant feed ban. It would ensure that all older cattle are tested for BSE. In addition, my bill would improve enforcement of the feed ban and take steps to ensure that meat intended for human

consumption is free of tissues that could harbor infectious prions.

The bill also would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to assess the risk of transmission of human prion diseases through blood and surgical equipment and strengthen surveillance of prion diseases in humans.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry be authorized to conduct a full committee hearing during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 at 10 a.m. in SH-216, Hart Senate Office Building. The purpose of this hearing will be to review the implementation of the Sugar Provisions of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 10, 2006, at 5:45 p.m., in closed session for a discussion on the situation in Afghanistan.

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, May 10 at 11:30 a.m. The purpose of this meeting is to consider the nomination of Dirk Kempthorne to be Secretary of the Interior.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session on Wednesday, May 10, 2006, at 10 a.m., in 215 Dirksen Senate Office Building, to hear testimony on ``Fostering Permanence: Progress Achieved and Challenges Ahead for America's Child Welfare System''.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Foreign Relations authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, May 10, 2006, at 9:30 a.m. to hold a hearing on nominations.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Indian Affairs be authorized to meet on Wednesday, May 10, 2006, at 9:30 a.m. in Room 485 of the Russell Senate Office Building to conduct an oversight hearing on Economic Development in Indian Country.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Select Committee on Intelligence be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on May 10, 2006 at 2:30 p.m. to hold a closed Business Meeting.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a hearing on ``Modern Enforcement of the Voting Rights Act'' on Wednesday, May 10, 2006, at 9:30 a.m. in Room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Mr. President, the legislation I introduce today reauthorizes a very successful cooperative watershed restoration program that I originally sponsored, and that was originally enacted for the Forest Service, in the fiscal year 1999 Interior Appropriations bill. The original legislation lasted through fiscal year 2001 after which it was reauthorized by the Appropriations Committees, at my request, through fiscal year 2005 and then again through fiscal year 2011. It is time this legislation had a full hearing in the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and was made a permanent authority.

The bill making what is commonly referred to as the Wyden amendment permanent authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to use appropriated Forest Service funds for watershed restoration and enhancement agreements that benefit the ecological health of National Forest System lands and watersheds. The Wyden Amendment does not require additional funding, but allows the Forest Service to leverage scarce restoration dollars thereby allowing the Federal dollars to stretch farther. During the 7 years the program has existed the Forest Service has leveraged three dollars for every Forest Service dollar spent on these agreements.

The Wyden amendment has resulted in countless Forest Service cooperative agreements with neighboring State and local land owners to accomplish high priority restoration, protection and enhancement work on public and private watersheds. The projects authorized by these agreements have improved watershed health and fish habitat through the control of invasive species, culvert replacement, and other riparian zone improvement projects. In addition to ecological restoration, use of the Wyden amendment has improved cooperative relationships between the Forest Service, private land owners, State agencies and other federal agencies.

I am hopeful that my colleagues on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee will have a hearing on this program soon to highlight its successes and that thereafter this legislation can pass the Senate expeditiously.

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

Mr. President, the legislation I introduce today reauthorizes a very successful cooperative watershed restoration program that I originally sponsored, and that was originally enacted for the Forest Service, in the fiscal year 1999 Interior Appropriations bill. The original legislation lasted through fiscal year 2001 after which it was reauthorized by the Appropriations Committees, at my request, through fiscal year 2005 and then again through fiscal year 2011. It is time this legislation had a full hearing in the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and was made a permanent authority.

The bill making what is commonly referred to as the Wyden amendment permanent authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to use appropriated Forest Service funds for watershed restoration and enhancement agreements that benefit the ecological health of National Forest System lands and watersheds. The Wyden Amendment does not require additional funding, but allows the Forest Service to leverage scarce restoration dollars thereby allowing the Federal dollars to stretch farther. During the 7 years the program has existed the Forest Service has leveraged three dollars for every Forest Service dollar spent on these agreements.

The Wyden amendment has resulted in countless Forest Service cooperative agreements with neighboring State and local land owners to accomplish high priority restoration, protection and enhancement work on public and private watersheds. The projects authorized by these agreements have improved watershed health and fish habitat through the control of invasive species, culvert replacement, and other riparian zone improvement projects. In addition to ecological restoration, use of the Wyden amendment has improved cooperative relationships between the Forest Service, private land owners, State agencies and other federal agencies.

I am hopeful that my colleagues on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee will have a hearing on this program soon to highlight its successes and that thereafter this legislation can pass the Senate expeditiously.

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

Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public that a hearing has been scheduled before the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

The hearing will be held on Wednesday, May 10, at 2:30 p.m. in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on the following bills:

S. 906, to promote wildland firefighter safety; S. 2003, to make permanent the authorization for watershed restoration and enhancement agreements; H.R. 585, to require Federal land managers to support, and to communicate, coordinate, and cooperate with, designated gateway communities, to improve the ability of gateway communities to participate in Federal land management planning conducted by the Forest Service and agencies of the Department of the Interior, and to respond to the impacts of the public use of the Federal lands administered by these agencies, and for other purposes; and H.R. 3981, to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out certain land exchnges involving small parcels of National Forest System land in the Tahoe National Forest in the State of California, 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, Washington, DC 20510-6150.

For further information, please contact Frank Gladics at 202-224-2878 or Sara Zecher 202-224-8276.