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.

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Agenda Item 9: S. 101--A bill to convey to the town of Frannie, Wyoming, certain land withdrawn by the Commission of Reclamation.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 resolution that is vital to the protection of our oceans' large whale populations. Representatives from 69 nations will gather this month in St. Kitt's for the 58th meeting of the International Whaling Commission. The debates in which they will engage will address the future of the moratorium on commercial whaling and other limitations on worldwide whale hunting. For many years, the United States and our allies in the fight to conserve whales have held a majority position in this body, but indications suggest that this year our majority may be lost. In light of this, it is more imperative than ever that the United States clearly expresses its adamant opposition to any resumption of commercial whaling and continues to set an example as a leader in the fight to uphold whale conservation policies.

Before the current commercial ban was instituted in 1982, member states attempted to manage whaling with a quota system. Due to ineffective reporting of catches by whaling nations, this program was an abject failure, and it directly necessitated implementation of the commercial ban. Yet over the past year, countries that favor lifting the ban on commercial whaling have continued their efforts to convince nations with no inherent interest in whaling to join the IWC and support measures to reduce whaling restrictions. The ultimate goal of these member states is to lift the moratorium on commercial whaling. While it appears that the prowhaling states may have a majority at this year's meeting, they likely lack the three-quarters majority required to lift the ban. However, a majority would enable these states to make procedural changes that could facilitate their efforts in years to come. Any efforts to remove or weaken the prohibition would set whale conservation efforts back decades and fly in the face of the United States and other like-minded countries' well-established position in support of sound, effective whale conservation.

My colleagues and I introduce this resolution to express our ardent support for the U.S. negotiators as they work to prevent prowhaling states from lifting the ban, and as our delegates attempt to enhance existing conservation methods. Even now, with commercial whaling prohibited, certain IWC member states plan to continue to expand their killing of large numbers of whales--including some endangered species-- for so-called scientific purposes. However, the IWC and leading marine mammal scientists have found that lethal whaling is no longer necessary to advance scientific research. In addition, some member states continue to whale commercially, harvesting an increasing number of whales with every passing year, by taking reservations to the moratorium.

Such activities directly undermine the effectiveness of the IWC as a whole and weaken our hard-fought conservation efforts.

Although opponents of the commercial whaling ban are unlikely to overturn the moratorium this year, we understand that such a ban is unlikely to last forever. To this end, the IWC may again consider a movement towards a revised management scheme, or RMS, to govern future whaling conservation and management decisions, including a framework for a sustainable harvest. But certain provisions must be part of any RMS if the United States is to support such an action. We must ensure that any RMS contains an increased reliance on sustainability of populations and legitimate scientific knowledge and research. It must also close any existing loopholes--such as the scientific exception-- that allow take of whales outside the scheme, had include appropriate compliance, enforcement, and transparency measures.

I thank my colleagues who have signed on as cosponsors of this resolution for their ongoing support of marine conservation: Senators Cantwell, Kerry, Dole, Boxer, Feingold, Reed, Lautenberg, McCain, Lieberman, Collins, Wyden, Dodd, Feinstein, Menendez, Levin, Biden, Dayton, Jeffords, and Landrieu. Their actions will help ensure that whale populations, so critical to our marine ecosystems, continue to grace our oceans for generations to come.

We must continue to support and strengthen the international agreements that govern activities detrimental to the well-being of some of the world's most threatened large mammals. Changes in the political climate have made our commitment to the protection of these species more vital than ever before, and I urge my colleagues to support swift passage of this resolution.

Mr. President, as ranking member of the Fisheries and Coast Guard Subcommittee of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, I am pleased to join the chairwoman of the subcommittee, Senator Snowe, in submitting a resolution regarding the policy of the United States at the upcoming 58th Annual Meeting of the International Whaling Commission, IWC. I wish to also thank my Senate colleagues Mr. Kerry, Mrs. Dole, Ms. Boxer, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Reed, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. McCain, Mr. Lieberman, Ms. Collins, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Dodd, Ms. Feinstein, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Levin, Mr. Biden, Mr. Dayton, Mr. Jeffords, Ms. Landrieu, and Mr. Kennedy for cosponsoring as well.

The resolution we introduce today comes at a time when the United States and other like-minded nations are facing new and intensifying challenges within the IWC to adopt policies detrimental to our stated opposition to commercial and lethal scientific whaling.

In 1982, due to the severe impacts of whaling on the populations of large whale species, the IWC adopted an indefinite moratorium on all commercial whaling. Although Japan, Iceland, Norway, and other countries in favor of commercial whaling do not yet have the necessary three-quarters majority on the IWC to lift the moratorium, for the first time they may have the simple majority needed to control procedure and to adopt resolutions contrary to the longstanding positions of the IWC. Policies that the United States has opposed in the past, such as secret ballots and statements supporting lethal scientific whaling, could be adopted under a simple majority.

As Japan and Iceland have gained support for their prowhaling position within the IWC, they have become even more aggressive in their utilization of a provision in the convention that allows countries to issue themselves permits for ``scientific whaling''. These permits are currently being used to justify killing whales in the name of science and then later selling the meat commercially. More than 9,150 whales have been killed in lethal scientific whaling programs since the adoption of the commercial whaling moratorium, and Japan has plans for a major new program that would more than double its takes of minke whales and expand such whaling to Byrde's, sei, fin, sperm and humpback whales. Furthermore, Japan plans to hunt in the commission's designated Southern Ocean Sanctuary, an area set aside off Antarctica to facilitate whale conservation and recovery.

The IWC has repeatedly stated that such lethal takes are not necessary for scientific research. Sei, sperm, humpback, and fin whales are all endangered species, and hunting these species undermines the IWC's whale conservation program.

As was the case last year, discussions are ongoing in the IWC to establish a framework, or ``revised management scheme,'' RMS, for any future commercial whaling, should it ever occur. In this resolution, we urge the U.S. delegation to the IWC to insist that any RMS negotiations are distinct from decisions on whether to lift the moratorium on commercial whaling and that an RMS contain provisions on accountability, transparency, and compliance. As part of any RMS language, lethal scientific whaling must immediately cease upon the commencement of any commercial whaling. The resolution also recognizes the rights of indigenous people to whale for subsistence purposes and directs the U.S. delegation to reject any attempts to compromise or equate such rights to commercial whaling.

I thank Chairwoman Snowe for her collaboration on this resolution. I will continue to work with my colleagues on this issue to ensure that whales are protected under the International Whaling Commission.