Big Horn Bentonite Act

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, 2005, 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 Wednesday, February 16 at 11:30 a.m., to consider pending calendar business.

Agenda

Agenda Item 1: S. 48--A bill to reauthorize appropriations for the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 2: S. 52--A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey a parcel of real property to Beaver County, Utah.

Agenda Item 3: S. 54--A bill to amend the National Trails System Act to require the Secretary of the Interior to update the feasibility and suitability studies of four national historic trails, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 4: S. 55--A bill to adjust the boundary of Rocky Mountain National Park in the State of Colorado.

Agenda Item 5: S. 56--A bill to establish the Rio Grande Natural Area in the State of Colorado, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 6: S. 57--A bill to further the purposes of the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site Establishment Act of 2000.

Agenda Item 7: S. 97--A bill to provide for the sale of bentonite in Big Horn County, Wyoming.

Agenda Item 8: S. 99--A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to contract with the city of Cheyenne, Wyoming, for the storage of the city's water in the Kendrick Project, Wyoming.

Agenda Item 9: S. 101--A bill to convey to the town of Frannie, Wyoming, certain land withdrawn by the Commission of Reclamation.

Agenda Item 10: S. 128--A bill to designate certain public land in Humboldt, Del Norte, Mendocino, Lake, and Napa Counties in the State of California as wilderness, to designate certain segments of the Black Butte River in Mendocino County, California as a wild or scenic river, and for other purposes.

The PRESIDING OFFICIER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

Agenda Item 11: S. 136--A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide supplemental funding and other services that are necessary to assist certain local school districts in the State of California in providing education services for students attending schools located within Yosemite National Park, and to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to adjust the boundaries of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Agenda Item 12: S. 152--A bill to enhance ecosystem protection and the range of outdoor opportunities protected by statute in the Skykomish River valley of the State of Washington by designating certain lower-elevation Federal lands as wilderness, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 13: S. 161--A bill to provide for a land exchange in the State of Arizona between the Secretary of Agriculture and Yavapai Ranch Limited Partnership.

Agenda Item 14: S. 164--A bill to provide for the acquisition of certain property in Washington County, Utah.

Agenda Item 15: S. 182--A bill to provide for the establishment of the Uintah Research and Curatorial Center for Dinosaur National Monument in the States of Colorado and Utah, and for other purposes.

Agenda Item 16: S. 272--A bill to designate certain National Forest System land in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System.

Agenda Item 17: S. 276--A bill to revise the boundary of the Wind Cave National Park in the State of South Dakota.

Agenda Item 18: S. 301--A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance in implementing cultural heritage, conservation, and recreational activities in the Connecticut River watershed of the States of New Hampshire and Vermont. 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 Environment and Public Works be authorized to meet on Wednesday, February 16, 2005, at 9:30 a.m., to conduct a hearing regarding S. 131, Clear Skies Act 2005 and S. 125 to designate the United States courthouse at 501 I Street in Sacramento, CA as the ``Robert T. Matsui United States Courthouse''.

The hearing will be held in SD 406.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be authorized to meet during the session on Wednesday, February 16, 2005, at 10 a.m., to hear testimony on the President's budget 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, February 16, 2004, at 10 a.m., to hold a meeting on the foreign affairs budget.

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 Wednesday, February 16, 2005, 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, February 16, 2005, at 10 a.m., for a hearing titled ``Transforming Government for the 21st Century.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Indian Affairs be authorized to meet on Wednesday, February 16, 2005, at 9:30 a.m., in room 485 of the Russell Senate Office Building to conduct an oversight hearing on the President's fiscal year 2006 budget request for Indian programs.

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, 2005, at 10 a.m., to hold an open hearing.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights be authorized to meet to conduct a hearing on ``Obscenity Prosecution and the Constitution'' on Wednesday, February 16, 2005, at 3 p.m., in

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a concurrent resolution which expresses the goal of the United States to provide 25 percent of the Nation's energy needs from renewable resources by 2025. I am pleased to be joined in this effort by Senators Salazar, Lugar, Harkin, DeWine and Obama.

The goal of this 25 by 25 resolution is quite simple: to replace 25 percent of our total energy needs with renewable resources like wind, hydropower, solar, geothermal, biomass and biofuels by 2025. This is a bold goal, but given our current energy situation in the U.S., it is a necessary goal.

In the past few years, we have seen the price of crude oil skyrocket from $25 a barrel to nearly $75 a barrel. This has caused prices at the pump to escalate beyond $3 a gallon. Natural gas, used for electricity generation and industrial uses, has hovered above $6 per million BTU's, while hitting over $15 following the devastating hurricanes along the gulf coast.

The impact of these increased prices is being felt around the country by working families, farmers, businesses and industries. The increased cost for energy at the pump, in home heating and for industrial uses has the potential to jeopardize our economic security and vitality.

And, because we are dependent upon foreign countries for over 60 percent of our crude oil, our dependence is a threat to our national security. President Bush heightened the awareness of the problem by stating in his 2006 State of the Union Address that we are addicted to foreign oil. He highlighted as his goal to reduce our dependence on oil from the Middle East by 75 percent by 2025.

Our effort with this concurrent resolution is to signal to America's farmers, ranchers and forestry industry, that we believe they have the ability and resources to generate 25 percent of our energy needs. An that it is in our economic and national security interest to do so.

There are many inherent virtues in producing our own domestic energy from renewable resources. It is good for our environment. It is good for our national and economic security. It will provide an economic boost for our rural economies. And perhaps most importantly, it will ensure a stable, secure, domestic supply of affordable energy.

Already, our farmers and ranchers are working hard to use their resources to produce electricity from wind, biomass and other agricultural wastes. In addition, corn, soybeans and other crops are being used to produce transportation fuels like ethanol and biodiesel. It is evident that rural America has the drive to achieve this goal.

While this concurrent resolution states our renewable energy goal, it does not prescribe a way to achieve the goal. Rather, it recognizes the benefit of implementing supportive policies and incentives to stimulate the development and use of renewable energy. It also identifies the benefits of technological improvements to the cost and market appeal of renewable energy. The supporters of this goal commit to support sensible policies and proper incentives to work toward the goal.

I am hopeful that my colleagues will recognize the importance and timeliness of this effort, and will consider supporting us in this goal to produce 25 percent of our energy needs from renewable resources by 2025.