A bill to provide for a feasibility study of alternatives to augment the water supplies of the Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District and cities served by the District.

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 April 25, 2007 at 9:30 a.m. in SD-106. The title of this committee hearing is, ``Challenges and Opportunities Facing American Agriculture Producers Today, Part III.''

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation be authorized to hold a business meeting during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, April 25, 2007, at 2:30 p.m., in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building.

The purpose of this meeting will be to consider and approve the following legislation following bills: S. 294, S. 428, S. 924, S. 311, S. 675, S. 1142, the Identity Theft Prevention Act, and the promotion of Mr. Gribbin, in the United States Coast Guard.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be authorized to meet to conduct a markup on Wednesday, April 25, at 10 a.m. in Dirksen Room 226.

I. Committee Authorization: Authorization of Subpoenas in Connection with Investigation into Replacement of U.S. Attorneys.

II. Bills: S. 376, Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2007; Leahy, Specter, Grassley, Kyl, Sessions, Cornyn, S. 119, War Profiteering Prevention Act of 2007; Leahy, Feinstein, Feingold, Schumer, Durbin, Cardin, S. 1079, Star-Spangled Banner and War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission Act; Cardin, Warner, Kennedy, S. 735, Terrorist Hoax Improvements Act of 2007; Kennedy, Kyl, Coleman, Schumer, Leahy, Grassley, Cornyn, H.R. 740, Preventing Harassment through Outbound Number Enforcement (PHONE) Act of 2007; Scott, Conyers, Forbes, Boucher, Jackson-Lee, Gutierrez, Sherman, S. 221, Fair Contracts for Growers Act of 2007; Grassley, Feingold, Kohl, Leahy, Durbin, S. 495, Personal Data Privacy and Security Act of 2007; Leahy, Specter, Feingold, Schumer, S. 239, Notification of Risk to Personal Data Act of 2007; Feinstein, S. 879, No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act of 2007; (Kohl, Specter, Leahy, Grassley, Feingold, Schumer, Coburn, Durbin.

III. Nominations: Robert Gideon Howard, Jr. to be United States Marshal for the Eastern District of Arkansas; Frederick J. Kapala to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois; Benjamin Hale Settle to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Washington; John Roberts Hackman to be United States Marshal for the Eastern District of Virginia.

IV. Resolutions: S. Res. 125, designating May 18, 2007 as ``Endangered Species Day''; Feinstein, Collins, Feingold, Biden, S. Res. 116, designating May 2007 as ``National Autoimmune Disease Awareness Month''; Biden, S. Res. 146, designating June 20, 2007, as ``American Eagle Day''; Alexander, Byrd, Kennedy, Feinstein, S. Res. 162, commemorating and acknowledging the dedication and sacrifice made by the men and women who have lost their lives while serving as law enforcement officers; Leahy, Specter, Biden, Grassley, Cornyn, Durbin.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, April 25, 2007 to hold a hearing on mental health issues. The hearing will take place in room 418 of the Russell Senate Office Building beginning at 2 p.m.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Airland be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, April 25, 2007, at 10 a.m., in open session to receive testimony on whether the army is properly sized, organized, and equipped to respond to the most likely missions over the next two decades while retaining adequate capability to respond to all contingencies along the spectrum of combat in review of the Defense Authorization request for fiscal year 2008 and the Future Years Defense Program.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, April 25, 2007, at 10 a.m. in room 406 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

The agenda to be considered: Oversight Hearing on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities be authorized to meet during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, April 25, 2007, at 2 p.m., to receive testimony on efforts to improve the Department of Defense's language and cultural awareness capabilities.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces be authorized to meet in open session during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, April 25, 2007, at 3:30 p.m., to receive testimony on Department of Energy atomic energy defense programs in review of the defense authorization request for fiscal year 2008.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Subcommittee on Water and Power be authorized to hold a hearing during the session of the Senate on Wednesday, April 25, 2007 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. 175, to provide for a feasibility study of alternatives to augment the water supplies of the Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District and cities served by the District; S. 324, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study of water resources in the State of New Mexico; S. 542, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct feasibility studies to address certain water shortages within the Snake, Boise, and Payette River systems in the State of Idaho, and for other purposes; S. 752, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the implementation of the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program for Endangered Species in the Central and Lower Platte River Basin and to modify the Pathfinder Dam and Reservoir; S. 1037, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to assist in the planning, design, and construction of the Tumalo Irrigation District Water Conservation Project in Deschutes County, OR; S. 1116 and H.R. 902, to facilitate the use for irrigation and other purposes of water produced in connection with development of energy resources; and S. 1112 and H.R. 235, to allow for the renegotiation of the payment schedule of contracts between the Secretary of the Interior and the Redwood Valley County Water District, and for other purposes.

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

The hearing will be held on April 23, 2007 at 3 p.m. in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on S. 1115, a bill to promote the efficient use of oil, natural gas, and electricity, reduce oil consumption, and heighten energy efficiency standards for consumer products and industrial equipment, 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.

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 Water and Power of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The hearing will be held on April 25, 2007, at 2:30 p.m. in room 366 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC.

The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on the following bills: S. 175, to provide for a feasibility study of alternatives to augment the water supplies of the Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District and cities served by the District; S. 324, to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study of water resources in the State of New Mexico; S. 542, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct feasibility studies to address certain water shortages within the Snake, Boise, and Payette River systems in the State of Idaho, and for other purposes; S. 752, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the implementation of the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program for Endangered Species in the Central and Lower Platte River Basin and to modify the Pathfinder Dam and Reservoir; S. 1037, to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to assist in the planning, design, and construction of the Tumalo Irrigation District Water Conservation Project in Deschutes County, Oregon; S. 1116 and H.R. 902, to facilitate the use for irrigation and other purposes of water produced in connection with development of energy resources; and H.R. 235, to allow for the renegotiation of the payment schedule of contracts between the Secretary of the Interior and the Redwood Valley County Water District, 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 it to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510-6150, or by email to Gina Weinstock@energy.senate.gov.

Mr. President, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources has reported over 70 individual bills and resolutions this Congress. Most of these bills are authorizations for specific projects and activities in the Department of the Interior, although we have also reported several measures involving National Forest lands under the jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture, as well as a few authorizations related to the Department of Energy.

Typically these bills would be considered in the Senate under a unanimous consent procedure. Unfortunately, although all of these bills are noncontroversial and all were reported unanimously by the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, we have been unable to get consent to pass these bills.

In an effort to facilitate passage of these bills, today I am introducing two bills which contain the individual measures reported by the committee. The first bill, the National Forests, Parks, Public Land, and Reclamation Projects Authorization Act of 2007, includes the text of 25 bills and 1 resolution which have been passed by the House of Representatives and which were reported, or their Senate companion measure was reported, without substantive amendment by the committee. If considered as individual bills, upon passage in the Senate, these bills would have been cleared for the President. Since they will now be included as part of this comprehensive bill, it will require additional action by the House of Representatives, but I am hopeful that because all of the measures included in this bill were previously approved by the other body that they will be able to approve this bill expeditiously.

The second bill, the Natural Resource Projects and Programs Authorization Act of 2007, includes the text of 44 bills which originated in the Senate, or which passed the House of Representatives and were substantively amended in committee. Like the previous bill, all of the individual bills were reported unanimously by the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. While the House of Representatives has not previously acted on all of the individual components of this new bill, I believe these bills are non-controversial, and I hope that the House will be able to consider this bill in a timely manner as well.

Mr. President, I have prepared a table identifying the individual measures that are included in both comprehensive bills, including references to the corresponding calendar numbers. I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record the table to which I just referred.

Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public that the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will hold a hearing entitled ``Transit Benefits: How Some Federal Employees Are Taking Uncle Sam For A Ride.'' In 2006, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, at Senator Coleman's request, initiated an investigation into possible abuses of the Federal Transit Benefit Program. Under this program, the Federal Government provides qualified Federal employees with benefits for use on public transportation systems in order to reduce air pollution and decrease traffic congestion. For instance, employees living in the Washington, D.C. area receive a paper card, called a Metrochek or Metro Smartrip, with a magnetically encoded value that can be used on Metrorail or exchanged for an equivalent value in train or bus tickets. The April 24th Subcommittee hearing will examine whether transit benefits are being misused, program rules are being violated, and agency oversight requires strengthening. Witnesses for the upcoming hearing will include the Government Accountability Office, the Department of Transportation (DOT), the DOT Inspector General, the Department of Defense (DOD), as well as the

DOD Inspector General. A final witness list will be available on Friday, April 20, 2007.

The Subcommittee hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, April 24, 2007, at 2:30 p.m. in Room 342 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. For further information, please contact Elise J. Bean, of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources--Revised

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Elizabeth Goitein, a detailee from the Department of Justice in Senator Feingold's Judiciary Committee office, be granted floor privileges for the remainder of this session of Congress.