To facilitate a land exchange involving certain National Forest System lands in the Inyo National Forest, and for other purposes.

Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public, that a business meeting has been scheduled before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. The business meeting will be held on Thursday, November 13, 2014, at 3 p.m. in room SD-366 of the Dirksen Senate Building.

The purpose of the Business Meeting is to consider the following legislation:

1. S. 2638, a bill to amend the Natural Gas Act to provide

certainty with respect to the timing of Department of Energy

decisions to approve or deny applications to export natural

gas. (Mr. Hoeven)

2. S. 2379, a bill to approve and implement the Klamath

Basin agreements, to improve natural resource management,

support economic development, and sustain agricultural

production in the Klamath River Basin in the public interest

and the interest of the United States, and for other

purposes. (Mr. Wyden)

3. S. 1784, a bill to improve timber management on Oregon

and California Railroad and Coos Bay Wagon Road grant land,

and for other purposes. (Mr. Wyden)

4. S. 2602, a bill to establish the Mountains to Sound

Greenway National Heritage Area in the State of Washington.

(Ms. Cantwell)

5. S. 182, a bill to provide for the unencumbering of title

to non-Federal land owned by the city of Anchorage, Alaska,

for the purposes of economic development by conveyance of the

Federal reversion interest to the City. (Ms. Murkowski)

6. S. 776, a bill to establish the Columbine-Hondo

Wilderness in the State of New Mexico, to provide for the

conveyance of certain parcels of National Forest System land

in the State, and for other purposes. (Mr. Udall of New

Mexico)

7. S. 841, a bill to designate certain Federal land in the

San Juan National Forest in the State of Colorado as

wilderness, and for other purposes. (Mr. Bennet)

8. S. 1419, a bill to promote research, development, and

demonstration of marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy

technologies, and for other purposes. (Mr. Wyden)

9. S. 1971, a bill to establish an interagency coordination

committee or subcommittee with the leadership of the

Department of Energy and the Department of the Interior,

focused on the nexus between energy and water production,

use, and efficiency, and for other purposes. (Ms. Murkowski).

10. S. 398, a bill to establish the Commission to Study the

Potential Creation of a National Women's History Museum, and

for other purposes. (Ms. Collins)

11. S. 2031, a bill to amend the Act to provide for the

establishment of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in

the State of Wisconsin, and for other purposes, to adjust the

boundary to that National Lakeshore to include the lighthouse

known as Ashland Harbor Breakwater Light, and for other

purposes. (Ms. Baldwin)

12. S. 1750, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the

Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into

agreements with States and political subdivisions of States

providing for the continued operation, in whole or in part,

of public land, units of the National Park System, units of

the National Wildlife Refuge System, and units of the

National Forest System in the State during any period in

which the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of

Agriculture is unable to maintain normal level of operations

at the units due to a lapse in appropriations, and for other

purposes. (Mr. Flake)

13. S. 1966, a bill to provide for the restoration of the

economic and ecological health of National Forest System land

and rural communities, and for other purposes. (Mr. Barrasso)

14. S. 2104, a bill to require the Director of the National

Park Service to refund to States all State funds that were

used to reopen and temporarily operate a unit of the National

Park System during the October 2013 shutdown. (Mr. Flake)

15. H.R. 1526, an Act to restore employment and educational

opportunities in, and improve the economic stability of,

counties containing National Forest System land, while also

reducing Forest Service management costs, by ensuring that

such counties have a dependable source of revenue from

National Forest System land, to provide a temporary extension

of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination

Act of 2000, and for other purposes. (Rep. Hastings)

16. H.R. 885, an Act to expand the boundary of the San

Antonio Missions National Historical Park, and for other

purposes. (Rep. Doggett)

17. S. 1328, an bill to authorize the Secretary of the

Interior to conduct a special resource study of the

archeological site and surrounding land of the New

Philadelphia town site in the State of Illinois, and for

other purposes. (Mr. Kirk and Mr. Durbin)

18. H.R. 1241, an Act to facilitate a land exchange

involving certain National Forest System lands in the Inyo

National Forest, and for other purposes. (Rep. Cook)

19. S. 1437, a bill to provide for the release of the

reversionary interest held by the United States in certain

land conveyed in 1954 by the United States, acting through

the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, to the State

of Oregon for the establishment of the Hermiston Agriculture

Research and Extension Center of Oregon State University in

Hermiston, Oregon. (Mr. Wyden)

20. S. 2873, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the

Interior to acknowledge contributions at units of the

National Park System. (Mr. Coburn)

Because of the limited time available for the Business Meeting, witnesses may testify by invitation only. However, those wishing to submit written testimony for the business meeting record should send it to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, 304 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510-6150, or by email to Sam_Fowler@energy.senate.gov.

For further information, please contact Sam Fowler at (202) 224-7571.

Mr. President, I would like to announce for the information of the Senate and the public that a hearing has been scheduled before Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. The hearing will be held on Wednesday, July 30, 2014, at 9:30 a.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. 1049 and H.R. 2166, to direct the Secretary of the

Interior and Secretary of Agriculture to expedite access to

certain Federal lands under the administrative jurisdiction

of each Secretary for good Samaritan search-and-recovery

missions, and for other purposes;

S. 1437, to provide for the release of the reversionary

interest held by the United States in certain land conveyed

in 1954 by the United States, acting through the Director of

the Bureau of Land Management, to the State of Oregon for the

establishment of the Hermiston Agricultural Research and

Extension Center of Oregon State University in Hermiston,

Oregon;

S. 1554, to direct the heads of Federal public land

management agencies to prepare reports on the availability of

public access and egress to Federal public land for hunting,

fishing, and other recreational purposes, to amend the Land

and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to provide funding

for recreational public access to Federal land, and for other

purposes;

S. 1605, for the relief of Michael G. Faber;

S. 1640, to facilitate planning, permitting,

administration, implementation, and monitoring of pinyon-

juniper dominated landscape restoration projects within

Lincoln County, Nevada, and for other purposes;

S. 1888 and H.R. 1241, to facilitate a land exchange

involving certain National Forest System land in the Inyo

National Forest, and for other purposes;

S. 2123, to authorize the exchange of certain Federal land

and non-Federal land in the State of Minnesota;

S. 2616, to require the Secretary of the Interior to convey

certain Federal land to Idaho County in the State of Idaho,

and for other purposes;

H.R. 1684, to convey certain property to the State of

Wyoming to consolidate the historic Ranch A, and for other

purposes; and,

H.R. 3008, to provide for the conveyance of a small parcel

of National Forest System land in Los Padres National Forest

in 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 it to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, 304 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510-6150, or by email to John Assini@energv.senate.gov.

For further information, please contact Meghan Conklin (202)-224-8046 or John Assini (202)-224-9313.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1241, obviously, would facilitate a land exchange in Mono County, California. It would allow the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area to obtain the 21 acres surrounding the Mammoth Mountain Inn that it currently leases from the National Forest Service. In return, Mammoth Mountain would transfer 1,500 acres of land along with a cash equalization payment to the National Forest Service. This would allow Mammoth Mountain to replace and rebuild the Mammoth Mountain Inn. After more than 50 years of use, the Inn suffers from poor, deteriorated construction, and its replacement would allow Mammoth Mountain to continue operating California's premier ski area.

This bill is a jobs bill. Mammoth Mountain's employment fluctuates between a high of 2,500 employees during the winter to down to 650 in the summer. Mono County has a population of only 14,000 people. Thus, this area is by far and above the largest employer in the country. This would help facilitate and would create new construction jobs, but it would also allow the ski area to expand, creating more permanent jobs.

It's also an environmental bill. The 1,500 acres that Mammoth Mountain would be transferring to the Forest Service has long been desired for protection by local environmentalists and the Forest Service. It will end what the Inyo National Forest supervisor described as a ``very, very imminent threat to the scenic basin.''

The legislation is supported by the Mono County Board of Supervisors, the town council, the various chambers of commerce and the Eastern Sierra Land Trust.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this vital local bill.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1241) to facilitate a land exchange involving certain National Forest System lands in the Inyo National Forest, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

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

H.R. 1241 authorizes the Forest Service to acquire two parcels of land outside the boundary of the Inyo National Forest in exchange for a parcel of national forest land conveyed to the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area.

The ski area has been operating its main base under a special-use permit. However, acquiring ownership of that parcel under this legislation would allow the ski area to conduct desperately needed renovations to its facilities. At the same time, the Forest Service would be able to acquire land that it currently leases to operate the facilities outside the boundary of the Inyo National Forest.

I urge adoption of this sensible measure authored by Congressman Paul Cook and reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am now pleased to yield such time as he may consume to my colleague from California, Congressman Paul Cook, the author of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, again, I thank the gentleman for his support of the measure and urge its adoption. I yield back the balance of my time.

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 has scheduled a 2 day hearing entitled, ``Wall Street Bank Involvement With Physical Commodities.'' After a 2 year bipartisan investigation, the subcommittee will hold a hearing examining the extent to which banks and their holding companies own physical commodities like oil, natural gas, aluminum and other industrial metals, as well as own or control businesses like power plants, oil and gas pipelines, and commodity warehouses.

The Subcommittee hearings have been scheduled for Thursday, November 20, 2014, and Friday, November 21, 2014. The hearing will begin on both days at 9:30 a.m. in room SD-106 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. A witness list will be available on Monday, November 17, 2014. For further information, please contact Elise Bean of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations at (202) 224-9505.