Floor Statements

Mr. President, today I rise with my good friend Senator Ensign to introduce the White Pine County Conservation, Recreation and Development Act of 2006. This bill creates economic opportunity for the people of White Pine County, improves public land management, and protects some of Nevada's most incredible wild lands. It also makes needed changes to the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act.

The White Pine County Conservation, Recreation and Development Act is the product of many years of work. Ranchers, land managers, conservationists, off-highway vehicle advocates, tribal members, city and county officials, wilderness advocates and many others have contributed to this effort. Meetings and tours focused on a White Pine County land bill have been taking place for more than 5 years.

The result of these many years of dialogue can be found in the sturdy compromise contained in this legislation. Our bill resolves wilderness study areas, provides a reasonable expansion of local tribal lands, authorizes a study and possible designation of an off-highway vehicle trail, provides for competitive Federal land sales, makes common sense transfers of land between Federal agencies, expands State parks, conveys two small tracts of land to the county for economic development, funds an

important landscape scale restoration project in eastern Nevada, and establishes a national heritage route in eastern Nevada and western Utah.

Like similar legislation that we have worked on and passed for Clark County and Lincoln County, we do not expect anyone to endorse every title in this bill. When it comes to the topics of growth, conservation and stewardship in rural Nevada there are many strong and often opposing views. We believe that this legislation offers a solid middle ground and a path forward for the people of White Pine County.

In order to understand why this legislation is necessary, it is important to first put Nevada and White Pine County in context. Unlike most states in our Union, nearly nine out of every ten acres in Nevada are managed by Federal agencies. In White Pine County the number is even higher. Of the 5.7 million acres that make up White Pine County, 94 percent are managed by the Bureau of Land Management, BLM, the Forest Service, the National Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service Federal agencies.

This means that local decisions are not always local. Even the simplest land and stewardship decisions can involve multiple Federal land agencies, and the associated rules that come along with each agency. All too frequently, congressional action is needed to bridge the divide. This is a reality in many parts of the West, but in no place is it more true than in Nevada.

Moving beyond the borders of White Pine County, our legislation also makes essential changes to the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act that was first passed in 1998. This law has served Nevada well over the last 8 years, yet changes are needed to ensure that the legislation is able to meet the many and complex needs of our fast growing State. I will briefly describe each of these amendments, in addition to the other major titles of this legislation.

But before moving on to the specifics of each section of this bill, let me thank my colleagues for their willingness to work with us on this legislation. Senator Ensign and I have crafted this bill through a hands-on, ground level process that we think you will appreciate and support. Throughout this effort we have aspired to make well-reasoned, beneficial and necessary changes to land management in Nevada.

The first title in this bill creates a mechanism to increase the amount of privately held land in White Pine County. Currently, 94 percent of the land in the county is managed by Federal agencies. By increasing the total amount of private land in White Pine Country, we create essential opportunities for growth and economic development that will also allow the county to provide greater support to its residents through an expanded tax base.

Our bill calls for up to 45,000 acres of land currently managed by the BLM to be made available for sale in reasonable increments. Each year a portion of the total acreage will be made available for public auction after a joint selection is made by the county and the BLM. This system has worked well in Clark County and Lincoln County, and we believe that it will greatly enhance the ability of White Pine County to help plan and shape the long-term growth of its many communities. As part of the land sale authority, the county may elect to halt the annual disposal of land when and if appropriate.

Like the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act and the Lincoln County Conservation, Recreation and Development Act, this bill directs the Secretary of Interior to reinvest the proceeds from these land sales into essential Federal, State, and local environmental protection, infrastructure development, and recreational enhancements in the areas and communities where the lands are sold.

These funds also provide an additional revenue source for fulfilling the various mandates of this bill, including an off-highway vehicle trail study, designation of new wilderness areas, and the conveyance of lands into trust for tribal use.

In 1985 when I visited White Pine County to discuss possible wilderness designations in the Schell Creek and Currant Ranges and the north and south ends of the Snake Range, I heard from many local residents who opposed any effort to designate wilderness. Now in 2006, when I hear from the citizens of White Pine County they are most often strongly supportive of wilderness designation, particularly in the areas that they and their families have visited and cherished for generations.

I believe that much of this change can be attributed to the successful management of the Mt. Moriah and Currant Mountain wilderness areas, designated in 1989, where we were able to protect truly wild lands while still allowing hunting, grazing and other historical uses to continue. Equally important, many White Pine County residents have noted that as new waves of people discover the incredible backcountry of the Great Basin, the identification and protection of lands that are untouched by permanent development has become a priority.

Accordingly, in this bill we have identified roughly 545,000 acres for wilderness designation and the release of 67,000 acres of BLM wilderness study areas. We have benefited greatly from the careful suggestions of the White Pine County Commission, the Nevada Department of Wildlife, the Nevada Wilderness Project, hunters, ranchers, miners, Friends of Nevada Wilderness, and other White Pine County residents during this process.

We have worked to make careful decisions on the wilderness boundaries in this bill. Based on feedback from grazers and other users of the Mount Moriah wilderness area, a number of boundary adjustments have been included to remove small pipelines and other encumbrances from the original wilderness area designated in 1989. We have also made careful choices like along the north end of Red Mountain where the wilderness boundary follows the banks of the White River so that a number of primitive campsites between the stream and a nearby road are excluded from the wilderness area.

While this proposal will surely be criticized as too conservative, others will see it as too expansive. Senator Ensign and I have both made important compromises to reach the proposal that we are presenting today and we stand by the middle ground that we have reached. We are committed to continue listening to all parties and taking into account their many and divergent needs.

The third title of this bill makes two important transfers of land between Federal agencies that will improve public land management in White Pine County. The first of these changes is a transfer of approximately 645 acres from the BLM to the Fish and Wildlife Service, FWS, to be managed as part of the Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge. This land became an inholding within the boundaries of the refuge after the Fish and Wildlife Service purchased the lands surrounding the BLM parcel in 2002. Management of this area by the Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge will improve oversight on the land and strengthen the holdings of this popular refuge.

Our legislation also transfers administrative jurisdiction of roughly 117,000 acres from the Forest Service to the BLM. These lands can be easily identified on a map as the donut shaped configuration of Forest Service land currently surrounding Great Basin National Park. Under the present arrangement, the Park Service, the Forest Service and the BLM manage an awkward patchwork of lands. In some areas, land managed by each of the three agencies can be found within a single linear mile. This division of management and labor makes proper stewardship of this area complicated and often times unworkable.

In addition to moving the identified lands to the BLM to improve management efficiency, we also withdraw roughly 50,000 acres of this land from mineral and land laws and require a management plan for the roads and trails through the area. These added protections will not only compliment Great Basin National Park and its mission, but will also ensure that popular hunting areas remain open and accessible. The additional 70,000 acres transferred to the BLM will be designated as the Highland Ridge Wilderness Area.

This title conveys land to expand two existing state parks and one state wildlife management area. The Charcoal Ovens State Park will receive approximately 650 acres of BLM land to expand its current holdings. The land to be conveyed is already managed by the

state through a Recreation and Public Purposes lease for the operation of a camping area and trail system. Cave Lake State Park will also receive a conveyance of land to help improve management of that site, although the exact boundaries of this designation have not yet been finalized. This park is exceptionally popular, receiving nearly 100,000 visitors each year, most of which are from southern Nevada.

In addition to expanding these two State parks, this bill conveys roughly 6,200 acres to the State of Nevada for an expansion of the Steptoe Valley Wildlife Management Area. The State acquired the 3C Ranch in 1999 and now manages it as the Steptoe Valley Wildlife Management Area. The conveyance of BLM land to this popular hunting and bird watching area will maximize management options while also creating a safety buffer between hunters and future residential and commercial development.

Further, our legislation makes two small but important conveyances to provide for the future economic growth of White Pine County. These include up to 200 acres for the expansion of the White Pine County Industrial Park and up to 1,500 acres for the planned expansion of the White Pine County Airport. The county has been working with the Federal Aviation Administration on this airport expansion for a number of years. When completed, it will allow larger jets to land at the airport, further expanding the economic reach of White Pine County. The conveyance also allows for the airport to expand and accommodate additional business tenants. Any funds collected from the lease, sale or conveyance of either the industrial park or airport lands will be directed for public uses.

Building on the designation of the Silver State Off-Highway Vehicle Trail in Lincoln County, this bill authorizes a 3-year study for a possible extension of the trail into and through White Pine County. If the Secretary of Interior, working with local citizens and other stakeholders, is able to identify a route for the trail that would not significantly impact wildlife, natural or cultural resources, an extension of the Silver State Trail will be designated at the conclusion of the study.

Off-highway vehicle use in Nevada has grown exponentially in recent years, and this rise in use has led to the pioneering of hundreds of miles of additional trails and roads across Nevada's frontier. The longer this uncontrolled use continues, the fewer areas we will have in Nevada that are truly wild and untouched. And when these places are gone, we will have lost something that cannot be replaced.

With this in mind, the study authorized by this bill is an effort to recognize that the use of off-highway vehicles is a popular form of recreation that is here to stay. Many people use their off-highway vehicles responsibly and we are creating a process with this legislation that will put advocates for off-highway vehicles, wildlife, grazing and other land users around the same table.

Perhaps no issue addressed by this legislation has been more discussed and debated than the conveyance of BLM land to be held in trust by the United States for the Ely Shoshone Tribe. Currently, the tribe holds 100 acres in two separate parcels within the city limits of Ely. For 3 years meetings have been taking place in White Pine County to discuss possible configurations and areas for a tribal expansion. Local residents and interested parties have expressed strong feelings on all sides of this issue, and our proposal is better as a result of this dialog.

This bill transfers roughly 3,500 acres in four separate parcels into trust for the benefit of the Ely Shoshone Tribe. Over half of this acreage is contained in one parcel to the west of Ward Mountain. This large area is designated exclusively for traditional tribal uses, such as ceremonial celebrations and gatherings and pine nut picking.

The conveyance also includes two parcels to the south of Ely and one approximately 10 miles north of McGill on highway 93. These lands are available to be used by the tribe for residential and commercial purposes.

The placement of these conveyances will allow the tribe to be a partner in the growth and economic development of White Pine County while also ensuring that the city of Ely has sufficient room to grow south along highway 93. We have taken special care to ensure that existing developments, like the KOA, have room to expand.

This conveyance represents a tough compromise between many important interests. Some have proposed that the tribe should receive in excess of 20,000 acres of land in and around Ely. Others have fought to block the tribe from receiving a single acre. We do not expect that the conveyance in this bill will please anyone completely, but we do believe it is a fair compromise that addresses the main concerns of all the concerned parties.

The invasion of non-native species like cheat grass and red brome and the overgrowth of pinon and juniper woodlands has begun to fundamentally alter the ecosystems in eastern Nevada. This landscape level change threatens to bring catastrophic fire to this area while also destroying essential habitat for many of Nevada's native species.

In order to address the challenges, this legislation makes funds from the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act special account available for the implementation of the Eastern Nevada Landscape Restoration Project in White Pine and Lincoln Counties. In addition to funding this vital program, we have authorized the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to work with Eastern Nevada Landscape Coalition and the Great Basin Institute in carrying out the landscape- scale restoration efforts necessary to restore the health of eastern Nevada's rangelands. In the interest of understanding and fully addressing the ecosystem changes that are taking place all across the Great Basin, this bill also authorizes a feasibility study for an interagency research facility and experimental rangeland in eastern Nevada.

In addition to preventing major and repeated fires, this restoration initiative will benefit ranchers, sportsmen, private land owners, communities of all sizes, and of course the wildlife and rangelands on which we depend. It is my sincere hope that this program will make a long lasting and beneficial change in the health of the ecosystems in eastern Nevada.

Since the passage of the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act, SNPLMA, in 1998, thousands of acres of BLM land have been auctioned in southern Nevada. These sales have produced significant funding for conservation efforts, enhancements to our most prized public lands, and the acquisition of sensitive lands throughout our State.

Now, 8 years after its passage, we are seeking to update the legislation so that it continues to serve the full interests of the people of Nevada, our public lands, and the federal agencies that administer the programs funded by the original legislation.

In this bill we provide funding for two separate 10-year hazardous fuels reduction programs, one for the Spring Mountains and one for the Lake Tahoe Basin including the adjacent lands in the Carson Range in Washoe and Douglas Counties and Carson City. We also provide funding for the implementation of the Clark County Multispecies Habitat Conservation Plan, allow SNPLMA to be used for improvements to state parks in Clark County, authorize reimbursement for water saving landscaping undertaken by public institutions, and make the Clean Water Coalition eligible for funding to implement an essential wastewater project that will improve the water quality in Lake Mead and provide a sustainable future for the Las Vegas Wash.

In order to make SNPLMA more manageable for the agencies and municipalities that administer the special account and its many programs, we have included authority that allows all federal agencies that carry out SNPLMA projects to get reimbursed for their direct costs. We have also provided an important authority for the BLM to use SNPLMA funds to properly clear and protect vacant parcels in the Las Vegas Valley from dumping. The current practice of providing funding for approved projects only through reimbursement is also brought to an end. Under this legislation the Department of Interior is required to distribute funds for approved SNPLMA projects no later than 60 days after a transfer of funds is requested.

Of special note, these amendments also include a 5-year authorization for Washoe County to acquire up to 250

acres of land for a county park. The residents of Washoe County have been and remain strong advocates for open space and we hope that they will take advantage of this opportunity.

Perhaps the most important change that we make to SNPLMA is a complete rewrite of the legislation's affordable housing title. While language was included in the original legislation that allows for land to be acquired at less than fair market value for the development of affordable housing, it took the BLM over 4 years to promulgate the guidelines for implementing this provision. Since that time no eligible party has successfully used these guidelines to secure land and build affordable housing anywhere in Nevada.

With an estimated 170,000 housing units needed in southern Nevada for affordable and workforce housing in the next 10 years, immediate action is needed. As a result, we have struck the largely unworkable language from the original legislation. We have replaced it with an authority allowing all legitimate interested parties to work with the BLM to pursue land for the development of affordable and workforce housing. We also take a further step and require that any parcel of Federal land over 200 acres in size that is auctioned in the Las Vegas Valley must include at least 5 percent affordable and workforce housing.

These new affordable and workforce housing provisions are by no means a complete answer to the housing crisis facing southern Nevada, but they are a step in the right direction. I applaud the work that has been done at the local and State levels to address this issue and I am committed to continuing to work on broad based solutions to ensure that we can meet the affordable housing needs in all of Nevada's communities.

The last title of this bill establishes the Great Basin National Heritage Route. Encompassing Millard County, Utah; the Duckwater Indian Reservation in Nevada; and White Pine County, Nevada, this historic area includes historic mining camps and ghost towns, Mormon and other pioneer settlements, as well as Native American communities. The Route passes through classic Great Basin country along the trails of the Pony Express and the Overland Stage. Cultural resources within the route include highly valued and culturally important Native American archaeological sites dating back to the Fremont Culture.

Designation of the corridor as a heritage route will ensure long-term protection of key educational and recreational opportunities while also bringing attention to the Great Basin's rich natural wonders like the bristlecone pine, the old living things on Earth, and the rare Bonneville cutthroat trout. In short, the Great Basin National Heritage Route will provide a framework for celebrating eastern Nevada's and western Utah's rich historic, archaeological, cultural, and natural resources for both visitors and residents.

I have been proud to support the designation of the Great Basin Heritage Route for many years and have helped pass legislation through both the Senate and the House calling for establishment of the route. Unfortunately, in each instance the legislation was included in a larger package of bills that failed to reach the President for signature. Having received the approval of both bodies of Congress for this measure, it is my hope that we can finally make this route a reality as part of this comprehensive legislative package for White Pine County.

The White Pine County Conservation, Recreation and Development Act of 2006 is an ambitious, timely and complex piece of legislation. By making long-term and forward looking improvements to public land management and the stewardship of our shared natural resources, we believe we have crafted a bill that will serve the best interests of the people of White Pine County, eastern Nevada and our entire State.

I look forward to working with the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to ensure timely review and passage of this bill.

Mr. President, today I rise with my good friend Senator Ensign to introduce the White Pine County Conservation, Recreation and Development Act of 2006. This bill creates economic opportunity for the people of White Pine County, improves public land management, and protects some of Nevada's most incredible wild lands. It also makes needed changes to the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act.

The White Pine County Conservation, Recreation and Development Act is the product of many years of work. Ranchers, land managers, conservationists, off-highway vehicle advocates, tribal members, city and county officials, wilderness advocates and many others have contributed to this effort. Meetings and tours focused on a White Pine County land bill have been taking place for more than 5 years.

The result of these many years of dialogue can be found in the sturdy compromise contained in this legislation. Our bill resolves wilderness study areas, provides a reasonable expansion of local tribal lands, authorizes a study and possible designation of an off-highway vehicle trail, provides for competitive Federal land sales, makes common sense transfers of land between Federal agencies, expands State parks, conveys two small tracts of land to the county for economic development, funds an

important landscape scale restoration project in eastern Nevada, and establishes a national heritage route in eastern Nevada and western Utah.

Like similar legislation that we have worked on and passed for Clark County and Lincoln County, we do not expect anyone to endorse every title in this bill. When it comes to the topics of growth, conservation and stewardship in rural Nevada there are many strong and often opposing views. We believe that this legislation offers a solid middle ground and a path forward for the people of White Pine County.

In order to understand why this legislation is necessary, it is important to first put Nevada and White Pine County in context. Unlike most states in our Union, nearly nine out of every ten acres in Nevada are managed by Federal agencies. In White Pine County the number is even higher. Of the 5.7 million acres that make up White Pine County, 94 percent are managed by the Bureau of Land Management, BLM, the Forest Service, the National Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service Federal agencies.

This means that local decisions are not always local. Even the simplest land and stewardship decisions can involve multiple Federal land agencies, and the associated rules that come along with each agency. All too frequently, congressional action is needed to bridge the divide. This is a reality in many parts of the West, but in no place is it more true than in Nevada.

Moving beyond the borders of White Pine County, our legislation also makes essential changes to the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act that was first passed in 1998. This law has served Nevada well over the last 8 years, yet changes are needed to ensure that the legislation is able to meet the many and complex needs of our fast growing State. I will briefly describe each of these amendments, in addition to the other major titles of this legislation.

But before moving on to the specifics of each section of this bill, let me thank my colleagues for their willingness to work with us on this legislation. Senator Ensign and I have crafted this bill through a hands-on, ground level process that we think you will appreciate and support. Throughout this effort we have aspired to make well-reasoned, beneficial and necessary changes to land management in Nevada.

The first title in this bill creates a mechanism to increase the amount of privately held land in White Pine County. Currently, 94 percent of the land in the county is managed by Federal agencies. By increasing the total amount of private land in White Pine Country, we create essential opportunities for growth and economic development that will also allow the county to provide greater support to its residents through an expanded tax base.

Our bill calls for up to 45,000 acres of land currently managed by the BLM to be made available for sale in reasonable increments. Each year a portion of the total acreage will be made available for public auction after a joint selection is made by the county and the BLM. This system has worked well in Clark County and Lincoln County, and we believe that it will greatly enhance the ability of White Pine County to help plan and shape the long-term growth of its many communities. As part of the land sale authority, the county may elect to halt the annual disposal of land when and if appropriate.

Like the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act and the Lincoln County Conservation, Recreation and Development Act, this bill directs the Secretary of Interior to reinvest the proceeds from these land sales into essential Federal, State, and local environmental protection, infrastructure development, and recreational enhancements in the areas and communities where the lands are sold.

These funds also provide an additional revenue source for fulfilling the various mandates of this bill, including an off-highway vehicle trail study, designation of new wilderness areas, and the conveyance of lands into trust for tribal use.

In 1985 when I visited White Pine County to discuss possible wilderness designations in the Schell Creek and Currant Ranges and the north and south ends of the Snake Range, I heard from many local residents who opposed any effort to designate wilderness. Now in 2006, when I hear from the citizens of White Pine County they are most often strongly supportive of wilderness designation, particularly in the areas that they and their families have visited and cherished for generations.

I believe that much of this change can be attributed to the successful management of the Mt. Moriah and Currant Mountain wilderness areas, designated in 1989, where we were able to protect truly wild lands while still allowing hunting, grazing and other historical uses to continue. Equally important, many White Pine County residents have noted that as new waves of people discover the incredible backcountry of the Great Basin, the identification and protection of lands that are untouched by permanent development has become a priority.

Accordingly, in this bill we have identified roughly 545,000 acres for wilderness designation and the release of 67,000 acres of BLM wilderness study areas. We have benefited greatly from the careful suggestions of the White Pine County Commission, the Nevada Department of Wildlife, the Nevada Wilderness Project, hunters, ranchers, miners, Friends of Nevada Wilderness, and other White Pine County residents during this process.

We have worked to make careful decisions on the wilderness boundaries in this bill. Based on feedback from grazers and other users of the Mount Moriah wilderness area, a number of boundary adjustments have been included to remove small pipelines and other encumbrances from the original wilderness area designated in 1989. We have also made careful choices like along the north end of Red Mountain where the wilderness boundary follows the banks of the White River so that a number of primitive campsites between the stream and a nearby road are excluded from the wilderness area.

While this proposal will surely be criticized as too conservative, others will see it as too expansive. Senator Ensign and I have both made important compromises to reach the proposal that we are presenting today and we stand by the middle ground that we have reached. We are committed to continue listening to all parties and taking into account their many and divergent needs.

The third title of this bill makes two important transfers of land between Federal agencies that will improve public land management in White Pine County. The first of these changes is a transfer of approximately 645 acres from the BLM to the Fish and Wildlife Service, FWS, to be managed as part of the Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge. This land became an inholding within the boundaries of the refuge after the Fish and Wildlife Service purchased the lands surrounding the BLM parcel in 2002. Management of this area by the Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge will improve oversight on the land and strengthen the holdings of this popular refuge.

Our legislation also transfers administrative jurisdiction of roughly 117,000 acres from the Forest Service to the BLM. These lands can be easily identified on a map as the donut shaped configuration of Forest Service land currently surrounding Great Basin National Park. Under the present arrangement, the Park Service, the Forest Service and the BLM manage an awkward patchwork of lands. In some areas, land managed by each of the three agencies can be found within a single linear mile. This division of management and labor makes proper stewardship of this area complicated and often times unworkable.

In addition to moving the identified lands to the BLM to improve management efficiency, we also withdraw roughly 50,000 acres of this land from mineral and land laws and require a management plan for the roads and trails through the area. These added protections will not only compliment Great Basin National Park and its mission, but will also ensure that popular hunting areas remain open and accessible. The additional 70,000 acres transferred to the BLM will be designated as the Highland Ridge Wilderness Area.

This title conveys land to expand two existing state parks and one state wildlife management area. The Charcoal Ovens State Park will receive approximately 650 acres of BLM land to expand its current holdings. The land to be conveyed is already managed by the

state through a Recreation and Public Purposes lease for the operation of a camping area and trail system. Cave Lake State Park will also receive a conveyance of land to help improve management of that site, although the exact boundaries of this designation have not yet been finalized. This park is exceptionally popular, receiving nearly 100,000 visitors each year, most of which are from southern Nevada.

In addition to expanding these two State parks, this bill conveys roughly 6,200 acres to the State of Nevada for an expansion of the Steptoe Valley Wildlife Management Area. The State acquired the 3C Ranch in 1999 and now manages it as the Steptoe Valley Wildlife Management Area. The conveyance of BLM land to this popular hunting and bird watching area will maximize management options while also creating a safety buffer between hunters and future residential and commercial development.

Further, our legislation makes two small but important conveyances to provide for the future economic growth of White Pine County. These include up to 200 acres for the expansion of the White Pine County Industrial Park and up to 1,500 acres for the planned expansion of the White Pine County Airport. The county has been working with the Federal Aviation Administration on this airport expansion for a number of years. When completed, it will allow larger jets to land at the airport, further expanding the economic reach of White Pine County. The conveyance also allows for the airport to expand and accommodate additional business tenants. Any funds collected from the lease, sale or conveyance of either the industrial park or airport lands will be directed for public uses.

Building on the designation of the Silver State Off-Highway Vehicle Trail in Lincoln County, this bill authorizes a 3-year study for a possible extension of the trail into and through White Pine County. If the Secretary of Interior, working with local citizens and other stakeholders, is able to identify a route for the trail that would not significantly impact wildlife, natural or cultural resources, an extension of the Silver State Trail will be designated at the conclusion of the study.

Off-highway vehicle use in Nevada has grown exponentially in recent years, and this rise in use has led to the pioneering of hundreds of miles of additional trails and roads across Nevada's frontier. The longer this uncontrolled use continues, the fewer areas we will have in Nevada that are truly wild and untouched. And when these places are gone, we will have lost something that cannot be replaced.

With this in mind, the study authorized by this bill is an effort to recognize that the use of off-highway vehicles is a popular form of recreation that is here to stay. Many people use their off-highway vehicles responsibly and we are creating a process with this legislation that will put advocates for off-highway vehicles, wildlife, grazing and other land users around the same table.

Perhaps no issue addressed by this legislation has been more discussed and debated than the conveyance of BLM land to be held in trust by the United States for the Ely Shoshone Tribe. Currently, the tribe holds 100 acres in two separate parcels within the city limits of Ely. For 3 years meetings have been taking place in White Pine County to discuss possible configurations and areas for a tribal expansion. Local residents and interested parties have expressed strong feelings on all sides of this issue, and our proposal is better as a result of this dialog.

This bill transfers roughly 3,500 acres in four separate parcels into trust for the benefit of the Ely Shoshone Tribe. Over half of this acreage is contained in one parcel to the west of Ward Mountain. This large area is designated exclusively for traditional tribal uses, such as ceremonial celebrations and gatherings and pine nut picking.

The conveyance also includes two parcels to the south of Ely and one approximately 10 miles north of McGill on highway 93. These lands are available to be used by the tribe for residential and commercial purposes.

The placement of these conveyances will allow the tribe to be a partner in the growth and economic development of White Pine County while also ensuring that the city of Ely has sufficient room to grow south along highway 93. We have taken special care to ensure that existing developments, like the KOA, have room to expand.

This conveyance represents a tough compromise between many important interests. Some have proposed that the tribe should receive in excess of 20,000 acres of land in and around Ely. Others have fought to block the tribe from receiving a single acre. We do not expect that the conveyance in this bill will please anyone completely, but we do believe it is a fair compromise that addresses the main concerns of all the concerned parties.

The invasion of non-native species like cheat grass and red brome and the overgrowth of pinon and juniper woodlands has begun to fundamentally alter the ecosystems in eastern Nevada. This landscape level change threatens to bring catastrophic fire to this area while also destroying essential habitat for many of Nevada's native species.

In order to address the challenges, this legislation makes funds from the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act special account available for the implementation of the Eastern Nevada Landscape Restoration Project in White Pine and Lincoln Counties. In addition to funding this vital program, we have authorized the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to work with Eastern Nevada Landscape Coalition and the Great Basin Institute in carrying out the landscape- scale restoration efforts necessary to restore the health of eastern Nevada's rangelands. In the interest of understanding and fully addressing the ecosystem changes that are taking place all across the Great Basin, this bill also authorizes a feasibility study for an interagency research facility and experimental rangeland in eastern Nevada.

In addition to preventing major and repeated fires, this restoration initiative will benefit ranchers, sportsmen, private land owners, communities of all sizes, and of course the wildlife and rangelands on which we depend. It is my sincere hope that this program will make a long lasting and beneficial change in the health of the ecosystems in eastern Nevada.

Since the passage of the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act, SNPLMA, in 1998, thousands of acres of BLM land have been auctioned in southern Nevada. These sales have produced significant funding for conservation efforts, enhancements to our most prized public lands, and the acquisition of sensitive lands throughout our State.

Now, 8 years after its passage, we are seeking to update the legislation so that it continues to serve the full interests of the people of Nevada, our public lands, and the federal agencies that administer the programs funded by the original legislation.

In this bill we provide funding for two separate 10-year hazardous fuels reduction programs, one for the Spring Mountains and one for the Lake Tahoe Basin including the adjacent lands in the Carson Range in Washoe and Douglas Counties and Carson City. We also provide funding for the implementation of the Clark County Multispecies Habitat Conservation Plan, allow SNPLMA to be used for improvements to state parks in Clark County, authorize reimbursement for water saving landscaping undertaken by public institutions, and make the Clean Water Coalition eligible for funding to implement an essential wastewater project that will improve the water quality in Lake Mead and provide a sustainable future for the Las Vegas Wash.

In order to make SNPLMA more manageable for the agencies and municipalities that administer the special account and its many programs, we have included authority that allows all federal agencies that carry out SNPLMA projects to get reimbursed for their direct costs. We have also provided an important authority for the BLM to use SNPLMA funds to properly clear and protect vacant parcels in the Las Vegas Valley from dumping. The current practice of providing funding for approved projects only through reimbursement is also brought to an end. Under this legislation the Department of Interior is required to distribute funds for approved SNPLMA projects no later than 60 days after a transfer of funds is requested.

Of special note, these amendments also include a 5-year authorization for Washoe County to acquire up to 250

acres of land for a county park. The residents of Washoe County have been and remain strong advocates for open space and we hope that they will take advantage of this opportunity.

Perhaps the most important change that we make to SNPLMA is a complete rewrite of the legislation's affordable housing title. While language was included in the original legislation that allows for land to be acquired at less than fair market value for the development of affordable housing, it took the BLM over 4 years to promulgate the guidelines for implementing this provision. Since that time no eligible party has successfully used these guidelines to secure land and build affordable housing anywhere in Nevada.

With an estimated 170,000 housing units needed in southern Nevada for affordable and workforce housing in the next 10 years, immediate action is needed. As a result, we have struck the largely unworkable language from the original legislation. We have replaced it with an authority allowing all legitimate interested parties to work with the BLM to pursue land for the development of affordable and workforce housing. We also take a further step and require that any parcel of Federal land over 200 acres in size that is auctioned in the Las Vegas Valley must include at least 5 percent affordable and workforce housing.

These new affordable and workforce housing provisions are by no means a complete answer to the housing crisis facing southern Nevada, but they are a step in the right direction. I applaud the work that has been done at the local and State levels to address this issue and I am committed to continuing to work on broad based solutions to ensure that we can meet the affordable housing needs in all of Nevada's communities.

The last title of this bill establishes the Great Basin National Heritage Route. Encompassing Millard County, Utah; the Duckwater Indian Reservation in Nevada; and White Pine County, Nevada, this historic area includes historic mining camps and ghost towns, Mormon and other pioneer settlements, as well as Native American communities. The Route passes through classic Great Basin country along the trails of the Pony Express and the Overland Stage. Cultural resources within the route include highly valued and culturally important Native American archaeological sites dating back to the Fremont Culture.

Designation of the corridor as a heritage route will ensure long-term protection of key educational and recreational opportunities while also bringing attention to the Great Basin's rich natural wonders like the bristlecone pine, the old living things on Earth, and the rare Bonneville cutthroat trout. In short, the Great Basin National Heritage Route will provide a framework for celebrating eastern Nevada's and western Utah's rich historic, archaeological, cultural, and natural resources for both visitors and residents.

I have been proud to support the designation of the Great Basin Heritage Route for many years and have helped pass legislation through both the Senate and the House calling for establishment of the route. Unfortunately, in each instance the legislation was included in a larger package of bills that failed to reach the President for signature. Having received the approval of both bodies of Congress for this measure, it is my hope that we can finally make this route a reality as part of this comprehensive legislative package for White Pine County.

The White Pine County Conservation, Recreation and Development Act of 2006 is an ambitious, timely and complex piece of legislation. By making long-term and forward looking improvements to public land management and the stewardship of our shared natural resources, we believe we have crafted a bill that will serve the best interests of the people of White Pine County, eastern Nevada and our entire State.

I look forward to working with the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to ensure timely review and passage of this bill.

Thank you very much, Mr. President.

Very difficult thing to get anything out of this . . . Congress. They don't want to do anything for the people. They are awful anxious to do things to the people, and they have done a lot of things to the people . . . and it's beginning to hurt.

That is a quote of Harry Truman.

Again:

Very difficult thing, to get anything out of this . . .

Congress. They don't want to do anything for the people. They

are awful anxious to do things to the people, and they have

done a lot of things to the people . . . and it's beginning

to hurt.

Those are the words of Harry Truman in 1948. He was referring to the 80th Congress, but those remarks are directly in tune with the 109th Congress.

Like the ``do-nothing Congress'' of 1948, it is ``very difficult'' to get anything out of this Republican Congress. The things they are doing are ``beginning to hurt.''

Look at national security. The majority's rubberstamping of President Bush in Iraq has made America less safe and emboldened our enemies such as Iran, North Korea, and al-Qaida. For the third week in a row, Iraq and the Middle East are plunging further into crisis, and what is the response of this Republican Congress? The estate tax, repeal of the estate tax.

Look at our economy. The majority's reckless fiscal policies have created a $9 trillion debt, placing a birth tax on our children and our children's children. In recent years, the poor have gotten poorer and the rich have gotten richer, and the middle class have been squeezed.

What is the response of the Republicans? Repeal the estate tax-- hundreds of billions of dollars to go to a small group of Americans, a very small group of Americans, a country with 300 million people. This repeal of the estate tax may affect 10,000 people--less than two-tenths of 1 percent of the American people.

Look how divided America has become. The majority's focus on issues such as marriage and flag desecration has divided our country and distracted this body from more pressing concerns, problems in health care, ignoring global warming, energy and gas prices.

I appreciate the distinguished majority leader saying he believes we should move to energy independence--and we certainly should. I support this drilling bill. President Clinton supported it. It allows drilling in the gulf coast. And it is important because it allows coastal restoration--and money goes to that. But it has little to do with energy independence.

With energy and gas prices and the rising cost to the middle class, what is the response of the Republicans? Repeal the estate tax.

There are just 15 legislative days left this year. Everyone knows that Mondays and Fridays are not voting days in this Republican Senate. That leaves us with 3 days this week and 12 when we return. What is the response of the Republicans today in the U.S. Senate? Move to repeal the estate tax. Fifteen days ahead of us, and behind us 19 wasted months. The truth is this Republican Congress is actually worse than the famous ``do-nothing Congress'' of 1948. That Congress worked almost a month longer than we have.

Republicans ought to be ashamed of their dismal record, but it is clear from press reports that they are not. I got up to read the Washington Post yesterday morning and was really appalled when I read a quote from the House Republican leader in which he actually bragged about how little this Congress has done.

I quote:

Republican leaders shrug off the ``do-nothing'' charge.

``You get used to hearing that nonsense,'' said House

Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH).

He went to say:

As for beating the 1948 Congress' record for lethargy, he

joked, ``Most Americans will be pretty happy with that.''

I don't know what his congressional district is like and how people feel there, but in the rest of the country, that is not how they feel. Americans aren't ``happy'' that they are paying hundreds of dollars more for gasoline--sometimes every month--because this Republican Congress refuses to pass relief measures and won't investigate the surging profits of big oil. Exxon is going to make $40 billion net profit this year--$40 billion; British Petroleum, the best year they have ever had.

They will not be investigating the surging profits of big oil because this administration is the most oil-friendly administration in the history of the country.

This Congress doesn't have the political will necessary to rapidly make us more energy independent. And what is the Republican response? Repeal the estate tax for two-tenths of 1 percent of the American people, the richest of the rich.

Americans aren't ``happy'' that our troops are in the middle of a civil war in Iraq because the Republican Congress won't demand the President change course.

That is the law which passed on a bipartisan basis. The law, as we speak, is there should be a change of course in Iraq. The law says that the year 2006 will be a year of significant transition in Iraq. Not happening.

I get a report on my way to work every morning from my stalwart staffers. I talked to Nathan this morning on the way to work. He said:

Senator, I don't know where to start with Iraq. We know at

least four American soldiers have been killed, as

mentioned on page A10 of the Washington Post. It doesn't

make the front page anymore.

The death and destruction of Iraq, as Nathan said, is hard to keep up with. In the past 24 hours, scores dead. Today, there were a dozen Iraqis beheaded. In the last month alone, 1,200 Iraqis have been killed, murdered. We tried to offer the military in Iraq a strategy for success, but Republicans chose instead to rubberstamp the President.

What is the response to date to all these problems? Repeal the estate tax. We have spent more time on repealing the estate tax than any other one issue for the entire Congress, in this Senate. It should be clear who the majority favors. We have spent all this time on less than .2 percent of the American people, costing the country hundreds of billions of dollars.

Americans are not happy this President has worn down, exhausted, overstretched our military. In a paper I don't read very often, the Washington Times today reported that the military is in a state of disrepair. If you are not on the front lines, you are using equipment that does not work, equipment that is in need of repair. As Senator Jack Reed has said for months and months, we have a military infrastructure that is failing. The soldiers are

fighting valiantly. The Washington Times reports our military is showing the wear of 5 years of war.

Rather than doing the Defense appropriations bill, we are going to work on the estate tax repeal. Think about that. The Defense appropriations bill should take a few days. Readiness levels for the Army are at lows not seen since Vietnam as virtually no active nondeployed combat brigade is prepared to perform its wartime mission. The Army has asked for $17 billion in emergency funds, but the President has not submitted that. His military leaders in the field have said $17 billion is what we need.

We do not hear anything from the President on this except ``repeal the estate tax.'' Can anyone imagine that? Rather than doing what we should do to help our valiant soldiers, we are going to move this week to repealing the estate tax. Talk about dangerous incompetence from the administration and Congress, as well as making us less safe.

America is not happy with our borders remaining unsecure 6 years after September 11, but this Republican Congress cannot pass comprehensive immigration reform. Rather than the President pushing on this--he says he is in favor of it--we still have this bill in the House that makes a felon of everyone, including health care workers, preachers, Catholic priests, and undocumented people in this country.

What is the answer to that in the Senate today? Repeal the estate tax, giving hundreds of billions of dollars to a few of the richest people in the world.

Contrary to Majority Mr. Leader Boehner, Americans are not happy with this Republican Congress which has bowed to the radical right and refused to override a Presidential veto of legislation to allow our best and brightest scientists to explore the promise of stem cell research. On the news today it was reported Prime Minister Blair is going to California to do a deal with the State of California to do stem cell research in Great Britain. We have farmed out hope for the most desperate of the sick, people who have suffered injuries, who are paralyzed from the neck down, the waist down.

And what is the answer of this Congress, this Senate? Repeal the estate tax. Contrary to what my friend says, the majority leader in the House, Americans are not happy. This Republican Congress has concentrated all its efforts on the well-off, well-connected few and done nothing to assist America's middle-class families who are struggling to pay the rising costs of health care, education, energy, with paychecks that keep shrinking. If you are college educated in America today, you have lost 5 percent of your earning power under this administration. What is the answer of this Senate, led by the Republicans? Repeal the estate tax.

Americans are not happy this Republican Congress has virtually ignored the health care crisis. I have talked about stem cell research. That is only part of it. Forty-six million Americans have no health care. During this administration, 1 million people every month have been added to the roll of those who have no health insurance, and millions of others have inadequate health insurance. The Republicans have sat on their hands for 6 years as millions and millions have lost their insurance, while companies such as Ford and General Motors, companies that used to drive this economy, staples of the U.S. economy, have been crippled by the rising costs. What are we doing to help them? We are being asked to repeal the estate tax.

Americans are not happy with this Republican Congress that has pushed its investigation of the President's manipulation of Iraq intelligence until after the election. We were promised--promised--we would do all five investigations. No way. Nine months after Democrats sent the Senate into a closed session over this issue, it has been announced the Republican-led Intelligence Committee will not complete its work before November. And I bet they don't do it even after that. Vice President Cheney will not let them. He runs the Intelligence Committee; we all know that.

The only conclusion to draw is that the investigation is too embarrassing to Republicans to make public before the November 7 election. What is the answer? I repeat, repeal the estate tax.

Even though my friend Congressman Boehner thinks Americans are happy, Americans are not happy with this Republican Congress's cynical plan to play politics with minimum wage and pensions later this week. For 10 years, American workers have waited for the Republican Congress to raise the minimum wage. Isn't it interesting, even though it is in a convoluted legislative package--and that is an understatement--when we said there would be no congressional pay raises until the minimum wage is increased, they are suddenly interested? During the 10 years that poor Americans have been waiting for a wage increase, Congress has given itself $30,000 in pay increases. In that time, the cost of everything--from gas to housing to heat--has gone up. And the answer of the Republicans? Repeal the estate tax.

The Federal minimum wage has stayed the same, $5.15 an hour. For someone earning $10,000 a year, it is hard to live. Oprah did a story on that. Maybe that is one reason--in addition to Congress not further getting pay raises--for this bill. This issue is about to catch up with them. But they are afraid to come forward on a straight minimum wage vote. They stick it in with everything else. To think they have stuck the minimum wage package into the estate tax repeal. The majority does understand that elections are just around the corner and they are about to pay the price for ignoring America's workers. In a most transparent and cynical trick, Republicans have offered to give America a raise if, and only if, their wealthiest friends also get billions of dollars in tax breaks. It is such an unbelievable ploy, let me say it again: Republicans are threatening to deny a $2.10 raise for 11 million Americans unless they can give away hundreds of billions to less than .2 of 1 percent of the American people. The $2.10 raise is over a period of years. It should be immediate. The $2.10 an hour raise occurs if the richest of the rich get billions of dollars. It is political blackmail that reeks of desperation. It should fail. The estate tax has been defeated before in the Senate. Democrats have been willing to deal with the estate tax and change it. We are willing to do that.

Now Republicans have backed off and only about 80 percent agree. This is the most contemptuous election year trick I have ever seen. It has nothing to do with giving workers a raise and everything to do with providing Republicans political cover. Everything we have done in this Senate has been directed toward repealing the estate tax.

We had a deal we worked for a year on a conference on pensions. It was all done. They were ready to sign the papers. It was a bipartisan agreement. It is gone because of the estate tax. Now we have a freestanding bill on pensions coming to the Senate.

To make matters worse, Republicans are willing to put the defense of our Nation on the back burner. I talked about the deterioration of our military. It was recorded in the news today all over the country. I read it in the Washington Times. The Senate has not acted on a Defense appropriations bill even though the President's own military leaders have said they need an emergency supplemental appropriation of $17 billion to take care of the equipment that has gone to pieces as a result of the war.

The Defense appropriations bill funds our national security policy and includes money for our troops and our equipment and determines how we address our national security challenges around the world. What are they doing? Not the Defense appropriations bill, but how can they get to the meat of repealing the estate tax?

With all the problems we have in this country, where are their priorities? We see what their priorities are. In a time of war, one would think this bill would be priority No. 1, that we would do everything in our power to ensure the Senate has ample time to debate and pass this important legislation, but Republicans are threatening to jeopardize Senate passage of this bill so they can focus on their million-dollar friends. It is an insult that the American people can see through, as they can see through the tricks Republicans are playing with the pension bill.

As I indicated, the conferees have worked to reconcile this House pension bill for more than a year. They basically have completed it, and now the wealthy few are ahead of the retirement security of millions of working

Americans, further evidence that America needs a new direction. Cry as they might, Republicans cannot escape the record. History will record this as the do-nothing Congress of 2006 and it will be forever, most likely, the 1948 do-nothing Congress. No one is happy about this situation, contrary to what Republican leaders say.

We have 15 days left. I respectfully suggest to the other side it is time to get to work on the real problems, not the estate tax.

Mr. DURBIN addressed the Chair.

I have not yielded the floor. I still have the floor.

I yield for a question.

I say to my friend, the distinguished minority whip, the time we have spent on this Senate floor dealing with estate tax, think what we could have done in energy, health care, education, the debt, but they are spending it on this massive debt increase. Hundreds of billions of dollars we will increase the debt--this year's deficit--the debt over the next 10 years. I have never seen anything like it.

This increases the national debt by hundreds of billions of dollars. I ask my friends on the other side of the aisle, how could you let this happen? I say that. I plead: How can you let this happen?

We will try to stop it. We would like a little help. How can you let this happen? I am really troubled. I cannot understand how they would even have the audacity to bring this up: a $2.10 increase over 2 or 3 years--it is not all at once--and a massive, immediate cessation of the richest of the rich having to pay basically any taxes on their estates.

I will use my leader time.

Legislative heaven, obviously, for the Republicans in this Congress is the estate tax.

Madam President, I have expressed to the majority leader my disappointment in not allowing amendments on this bill. We had agreed to just have five, with time agreements on each of those. The leader decided not to do that. I think that is unfortunate. I hope that, moving beyond that, we can have a better idea of what we are going to do for the rest of the work period.

The majority leader indicated to me that he has a very important meeting shortly after lunch, and he will indicate to me at that time more of a direction as to what we can expect this afternoon, tomorrow, and the rest of the work period before the August recess.

I also want the record to reflect, as I said yesterday, that I appreciate the cooperation of Senator Bingaman. Without his agreement, this parliamentary situation we find ourselves in would not have occurred until late this evening. This will allow us this afternoon the possibility of doing other work. So I appreciate very much Senator Bingaman being his normal cooperative person. He has strong feelings about this legislation. He expressed them to me personally and on the Senate floor. But he is always someone who works for the good of the Senate. I appreciate that very much.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

I ask that the time during the quorum call be charged equally against both sides.

Madam President, the Senator from Kentucky has been working on this matter for years. I appreciate his vigilance and diligence. I also say to my friend from Arizona, for the Senator from Arizona to stand and talk about brutality and suppression means a lot. He understands it. We all know he understands it, having been a victim of that for years when he was a prisoner of war. I appreciate the leadership of these two fine Senators moving this matter forward.

I am going to speak on another issue at this time, Madam President. Are there others from either side who are going to speak on this matter?

Then we should pass it, and I will get the floor and move on.

I yield all of our time.

Madam President, today the Senate is considering a bill that represents a positive step for our Nation's energy security. The Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act can play a role in building a better energy future for our country and especially a better future for the people of the gulf coast.

I want the record to reflect my deep appreciation to Senator Bingaman, who is the ranking member of this Energy Committee, for working with us on this issue. Senator Bingaman has--at least to my understanding--no problems with where this bill will allow drilling. He has concerns as to how the money is going to be allocated following the drilling. I understand his concern and appreciate it. Senator Bingaman is the epitome of a gentleman. Even though he has concerns about how we are moving this bill forward, he has not been an impediment, and we are moving forward as quickly as we can so, again, I want the record to reflect my deep appreciation for Senator Bingaman, what a good friend he is and a good Member of the Senate.

I am going to say more about the specifics of this legislation. Prior to doing that, I ask unanimous consent that during the consideration of S. 3711, there be a limitation of five first-degree amendments, energy- related amendments, in order on each side.

Madam President, I am disappointed that the majority has objected. I think the proposal I made would permit the Senate to make improvements to the bill. We limited the number of amendments and we certainly would be willing to limit the time on them. But I understand the objection of the majority.

This legislation opens approximately the same area President Clinton proposed when he was President. This would be opening an area of oil and gas exploration in the Gulf of Mexico. But when President Bush came into office, he narrowed the consideration at the request of his brother, the Governor of Florida. This bill moves us back closer to President Clinton's proposal with some additional deepwater acreage opened south of the 181 area. It satisfies the concerns of the State of Florida. It is also a positive step for those who want to see the restoration of the gulf coast wetlands. I can remember the first time Senator Breaux spoke to me about the State of Louisiana and what was happening to his State.

During the time I am going to be here on the floor, which will be a few minutes--I came here 15 minutes ago and listened to the remarks of the two Senators from Kentucky and Arizona, and I hope to leave in 10 or 15 minutes--there will be an area the size of three football fields washed into the gulf, gone forever. Huge tracts of land are being washed into the ocean every day. We must have coastal restoration. We can do this, but it is not easy.

We learned with Katrina that had Katrina hit several decades ago--50 years ago--the damage would have been much less than it was because it would have had a barrier and the storm would not have hit the City of New Orleans as it did, and other coastal areas. I have been there. I saw what happened in New Orleans. I have been there a number of times. I saw what happened in Pass Christian, MS. I will always remember that in my mind's eye--the devastation from the wind.

But this legislation gives New Orleans, LA, hope because it provides a source of money to restore the wetlands that are being devastated. That is the basis for my strong support of this piece of legislation. This bill will help them get the resources which are needed to rebuild in a sustainable manner.

Everyone in Louisiana should know that they have a tireless champion in Senator Mary Landrieu. I wish I could express to her father, Moon Landrieu, former mayor of New Orleans, a Cabinet Secretary here in Washington, as I have done in the past. I wish I could express my support and admiration of his daughter Mary Landrieu, a wonderful family of 10 children. She has done so much work in this regard. If it weren't for her efforts, without any question the Senate would not be considering and passing this bill, which we will do in a few days. I am not going to be able to say this to Moon Landrieu today, but I am sure I will in the near future, and tell him about the good work his daughter has done here. Her whole family should be proud of her, and the whole State of Louisiana should be happy and satisfied with the work she has done in this regard.

For the first time in the history of this country, the delta area of the Mississippi River, because of the work we have done on it through the Corps of Engineers, and all the other governmental entities, which is one of the reasons the gulf is washing away, that we will be able to for the first time have a long-term project to restore the coastland. It is expensive and hard, but it is so important for our country.

Having said all the good things about this bill and about Senator Landrieu, I want it to be very clear in my remarks here today that this bill is not going to fix America's energy needs. It is not going to solve America's energy crisis. We have a failed energy policy in this country. The Bush-Cheney failed energy policies--simply more for big oil--won't work.

British Petroleum announced yesterday that their profits have gone up. In Reno, NV, the price of gasoline is $3.12 a gallon today. The price of gasoline in Nevada on an average has gone up more than 50 cents a gallon in the last year. The Bush-Cheney energy policies do nothing to alleviate the problems we are having in Nevada and around the country.

This bill will do nothing to bring down the price of gasoline or diesel. It won't come down as long as demand keeps growing and big oil companies are not investing their billions and billions of dollars in profits in new American energy jobs and manufacturing and in developing alternatives to oil.

As my friend from Oregon said better than I, we are marinating ourselves in oil. The country is being marinated with fossil fuel. We need to bring much

more fuel-efficient cars and trucks quickly to market and to promote as a country energy efficiency and conservation.

That is the one real difference between Democrats and Republicans-- speed. We have been ready for months and months and months, going into years, to fund and uphold a project like energy. If we can get to the Moon, we can solve our energy crisis. But we can't do it by continuing to do something we have done for 50 years. The Sun is there producing energy every day. The wind is there blowing every day and producing energy. We need to capture that energy. We need to capture geothermal energy. We are not doing it.

It appears to me the majority is not interested. The Republicans have proposed emergency spending on energy and underfunded even the mediocre Energy bill from last year. The administration still has not gotten around to issuing loan guarantees to build new biofuels plants.

Democrats want to transform the Nation's energy policy, and we want to do it now. But the Bush administration and the Republican Congress is content to let the market and Big Oil crush consumers, squeezing every last coin out of their pockets.

I had a press event across the hall in the LBJ Room this morning. I had with me a family from Colorado. They have a little 5-year-old boy. He is little, but he is a husky little kid, Johnathan. They have to fill their two vehicles. One drives a lot to his job, and the other doesn't drive as much. But they fill their cars on average of twice a week. It costs them $45 every time they fill their gas tank. It is $180 a month which they cannot afford. They have no health insurance. It is true all over America.

This morning the majority leader said there was a lot more we can do relating to energy, and we should do it in the future. I make this point to the majority leader through the Republicans and to the President, the future is now. Americans are suffering from an energy crisis, and have been since well before last year's energy bill.

In Reno, NV, it's $3.12 a gallon for regular unleaded. The future is now. What are we waiting for? Is this the best we can do? I hope we can do better before we finish this congressional term. We are not going to do it before August. That is what we have demanded, but we have tomorrow and a few days next week, and that is it.

We have good ideas. In May, the Democrats introduced the Clean EDGE bill. That stands for Energy Development for a Growing Economy. That describes the problems we have in America today. We need to do energy development. We have to do it if we want to keep our economy growing. It is a bill to accelerate development in commercialization of energy efficiency technologies, renewable energy production and alternative fueled vehicle market penetration.

Isn't it a shame that the Federal fleet, the biggest we have in America, is not one which we are using with alternative energy? And we are not. The Clean EDGE bill adds important provisions to make the Federal Government a real leader in energy instead of just the largest consumer.

The Clean EDGE bill contains important provisions to set a national oil savings goal, increases penalties to punish price gouging, and reigns in energy market speculators who are driving up the price of natural gas.

Let me say this. On public radio this morning--I enjoy listening to public radio every morning; I love that medium--I can't remember the name of the man who was there in ANWR, but he was there 50 years ago with the people who first pushed to set that aside as pristine wilderness. What he said today was remarkable. He said, I was there more than 50 years ago. He said it is the same today as it was then. He is 73 years old now. He was a young man 53 years ago when he was there.

I know how strongly the Presiding Officer feels about that. America feels just as strongly that we did the right thing in protecting ANWR. In listening to that radio program, I felt in my heart we had done the right thing.

We need to move forward with innovative, good legislation. The Clean EDGE bill does that. A few days ago, 41 Democratic Senators sent a letter to the majority leader stating our desire to move legislation such as the Clean EDGE bill before we recess to bring down prices and give consumers affordable alternatives. Unfortunately, it seems we will have to continue looking for other legislative opportunities since we need to pass S. 3711 as soon as possible, and send it to the House where they can send it to the President.

But let us not kid ourselves; this bill is good for the gulf coast and will contribute to the Nation's energy security and, more importantly, for coastal restoration. It will not affect gas prices and just extends our addiction to oil.

I again compliment the very good work of Mary Landrieu in moving this bill forward.

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the 25th anniversary of the Tahoe Rim Trail Association--an organization of volunteers that came

together to build one of the world's premier trails--the Tahoe Rim Trail. This Saturday, the association will hold a Silver Anniversary Celebration to honor this occasion, and I am pleased to acknowledge their efforts here today.

The Tahoe Rim Trail Association is a successful public-private partnership that was founded in 1981. The original idea was to bring together community leaders, volunteers, and government agencies such as the Forest Service and the Nevada Division of State Parks to establish a trail around the Lake Tahoe Basin. Working hand-in-hand, volunteers created the incredible 165-mile trail that now exists around Lake Tahoe, allowing visitors a new way to experience one of the most magnificent places in America.

Visitors to the Tahoe Rim Trail are struck by the incredible diversity of the landscape and the wealth of wildlife. From the wildflowers of our alpine meadows to the soaring mountain peaks of the Sierra Nevada, the Tahoe Rim Trail offers something for everyone. Visitors to the trail enjoy a diverse range of opportunities from hiking and backpacking to horseback riding and mountain biking. Portions of the trail are also handicapped accessible so that everyone may enjoy this important piece of our State's rich natural heritage.

Although the trail is now complete, the Tahoe Rim Trail Association continues to educate visitors about the trail. Every Tuesday and Saturday during the summer months, the association organizes a group of volunteers to maintain and enhance the trail. These important efforts and community partnerships ensure that Nevadans, Californians, and people from around the world will be able to enjoy the beauty of the Lake Tahoe Basin for generations to come.

I am pleased to recognize the 25th anniversary of the Tahoe Rim Trail Association, and I hope that all of my colleagues will have the opportunity to visit this incredible part of Nevada.

Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Madam President, I didn't mention this in our private conversation, but we are going to do the Defense bill hopefully before we leave, and the one thing we haven't talked about is the Intelligence authorization bill. That has been reported out of the committee. I think we could have a very short time agreement--I mean very short. Is there a way the leader would try to work that into the schedule before we go? Because this would be the second year without an intelligence authorization bill.

Yes.

Madam President, 1 month ago on June 22, the Senate held a debate about the raging and intractable war in Iraq. That debate, Democrats--led by Senators Levin and Jack Reed--gave voice to the concerns of the American people and advocated that the Bush administration change course in Iraq.

We argued that the administration follow the law of the land. The law of the land is that the year 2006 will be a year of significant transition. That is the law. We argued that this year should be a year of transition, that we should follow the law with Iraqis taking charge of their own security and their own government so that American forces could be redeployed by the end of this year.

Our plan would have given the Iraqi people their best chance for success, while also giving America the best chance to confront the growing threats of North Korea, Iraq, and terrorism around the world.

Our plan would have engaged regional powers to help bring stability to Iraq and would have reminded the countries of the world of their commitment to invest in Iraq's long-term economic prosperity which seems to have been lost.

Our plan would have refocused America's military, diplomatic, and economic might on terrorist threats that face us in Iraq and globally, including Osama bin Laden, who remains free after 5 years.

Our plan would have tracked closely with the plan of our commanders on the ground in Iraq today, led namely by General Casey, who on their own have developed a similar strategy for success.

Despite that fact, the majority of the Republicans chose not to join the Democrats in serious debate about Iraq. I think they put their political needs ahead of America's security.

As they have in nearly every Iraq war debate, Republicans have blindly rubberstamped the President's mismanagement of this war and fell in line with his failed policy.

One month later, after the debate on Levin-Reid, the consequence of ``staying the course'' in Iraq is evident in every place.

In the last month in Iraq, more than 3,000 Iraqis have been killed-- an average of 100 a day. And more than 100 were killed just yesterday.

Pick up any newspaper. Here is today's. ``Bombings Kill at Least 66 in Iraq.''

If you read the article, it is a lot more than 66. The intense violence made last week one of the deadliest in Iraq.

Read the article: 348 people killed, 6 of them police officers. Read the article: 34 dead. Read the article: 60 killed. Read the article: 24 civilians killed.

It doesn't talk about the hundreds and hundreds who have been wounded and injured, many of them for life.

This is a civil war. As I said last week, I tepidly talked about civil war. But I decided that there was no reason to be tepid about it--that there is a civil war going on in Iraq.

Take the New York Times from yesterday. There are lots of other places you could go to find the same thing. ``It's Official: There Is Now a Civil War in Iraq.''

This wasn't written by somebody who is just passing by deciding to write an op-ed piece and they stick the headline on. He is Nicholas Sambanis, a professor of political science at Yale, author of ``Making War and Building Peace.'' He says, among other things:

The question of whether a country has fallen into civil war

is often deliberately muddled for political reasons.

We have had some muddling here.

He goes on to say:

But if the term ``civil war'' seeks to convey the condition

of a divided society engaged in destructive armed conflict,

then Iraq sadly fits the bill.

The consequences of staying the course in Iraq is a full-blown civil war.

In the last month, nearly 3,000 additional Iraqis have been killed, 50 American soldiers have been killed, 250 have been wounded, $13 billion of taxpayer money has been spent since that debate. The price of gasoline is now, as reported in this morning's news, the highest ever, averaging more than $3 a gallon.

Staying the course, North Korea, on July 4, tested new long-range missiles.

In the last month, Hezbollah has terrorized Israel.

In the last month, al-Qaida found a new sanctuary, it appears, in large swaths of Somalia.

These are the costs of ``staying the course'' in Iraq and of a Senate which rubberstamps what the President does.

My question today is, how long will America be forced to pay these costs? The longer it takes for this Republican Congress to hold President Bush accountable for his mistakes, the less safe America becomes.

Democrats have asked for another Iraq debate before the August recess. I hope we have that opportunity because

the Republican leader said today that we are going to take up the Defense appropriations bill. I hope we would have an opportunity to do it there.

We want to give rubberstamping Republicans another chance to demand that President Bush change course in Iraq--not because of any political point scoring but because national security clearly demands it.

We live in a dangerous world, but nearly everywhere you look, from the Middle East to Asia, America's enemies have been emboldened by this administration's mismanagement of this conflict in Iraq. They are taking advantage of our damaged reputation in the world and the fact that Iraq has tied our hands to redouble their efforts and threaten us and our allies.

The Middle East has faced problems, as we know, for decades. Every American President since World War II has struggled to bring freedom, stability, and prosperity to this region. The President washed his hands of what was going on with the Palestinians and the Israelis until the Intifada became so complex, with so much conflict, that he had to step in. But that took years into his first term of office.

The war in Iraq has destabilized the Middle East and taken our attention and our resources away from other threats. That is without question. So far, the result of the Iraq war has been instability and no security. One of the biggest winners so far has been Iran. They continue to thumb their nose at our country. The war in Iraq has given it exactly what it wants: greater influence in Iraq and throughout the Middle East. The longer we go without a strategy for success in Iraq the stronger Iran gets and the more confident it is in supporting terrorist organizations like Hezbollah, which is now terrorizing Lebanon and Israel.

I believe Israel has every right to defend itself from these terrorist acts. While it defends itself, the United States should be standing by its side.

Unfortunately, because Iraq has tied our hands and exhausted our resources and our reputation, the Bush administration has had to sit on the sidelines. The President was ineffective in finding any solution during the G8 Summit, and he went nearly 2 weeks without dispatching his Secretary of State to the region. Finally, yesterday, Secretary of State Rice left for the Middle East. Hopefully her surprise visit to Lebanon is not a continuation of the Bush photo-op foreign policy. ``Mission Accomplished,'' ``Bring `em On.'' I hope it is not a photo-op again but a serious effort to follow the call for American leadership.

The Bush administration's--as reported on the face of a major weekly magazine last week--cowboy diplomacy cannot be replaced by couch potato diplomacy where we sit and do nothing.

Democrats have called for a special envoy to emphasize the need for full-time leadership. We need to do the hard work to put Iran back in the box and bring stability back to the Middle East. That job can be started but can't be finished by the Secretary of State during a brief visit there this week. What we need is a full-time special envoy-- someone who can work around the clock with Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the Europeans, and, yes, Russia and Israel.

Together, we can bring some good out of this terrible situation by finding ways to support the Lebanese Government, continue our support for Israel, and disarm Hezbollah and ultimately contain the Iranian power. The challenge will be for this administration and its Republican rubberstamp allies in Congress to step up and do the job. We need a new direction.

This week, the Iraqi Prime Minister will meet with President Bush and address a Joint Session of Congress here in Washington. When he is here, we need President Bush to communicate that our commitment in Iraq is not unlimited. He needs to announce a change of course in his failing policy.

If we hope to live in a world that is safe and secure, we must end the open-ended commitment in Iraq that is costing this Nation $3 billion each week and requires the deployment as we speak of at least 125,000 of America's finest troops.

We must transition the mission in Iraq so that we can marshal our resources to the other threats America faces such as Bin Laden, who, as I said, remains free after 5 years, Iran, North Korea, and many other troubled spots in the world.

We must insure that the Senate is more than a rubberstamp for the executive branch. There are only 2 weeks before the August recess-- really just 6 voting days left. There are a number of important subjects that deserve our attention but none more important than the intractable war in Iraq.

The Senate can no longer turn a blind eye to what is happening in Iraq. It is costing too many American lives, too many Iraqi lives, too many dollars, and too much of our national security.

I would be happy to yield to my friend.

I say to my friend, this was on a bipartisan vote. On a bill cosponsored by the two people who take care of our armed services, Senators Levin and Warner, 79 Senators voted for that, and the law of the country as we speak is that the year 2006 is to be a year of significant transition in Iraq, and the President, I believe, should follow that law and he is not doing that. I agree with my friend.

I say to my friend, that is what is so concerning to me, that they are following--they, the Republican Senators, are following President Bush, stay the course, stay the course in Iraq. It breaks my heart, frankly. Every day I get up. This is just one page of the paper. I went through the deaths--hundreds of them. I didn't read here, but in the past week 1,000 people in Iraq have moved out; they are afraid. They move out of their neighborhoods. We have probably now estimated 200,000 people in Iraq since the first of the year have had to move their homes. They have no place to go. They want to try to stay alive. The turmoil, the civil strife in that country, is unbelievable, and to think that this country's policy is to stay the course is not sensible.

First, my coming here is just as the Senator indicated. How can we, the Senate of our country, leave here with the raging civil war going on and our troops are right in the middle of it? How can we leave here without changing the course in Iraq? That is why I am here. It is a cry for help. We need our Republican colleagues to speak out. This blind allegiance to the President is not good for our country.

Mr. President, there may be other Members of the Senate who have served as police officers during their careers, sitting Members of the Senate. But I served as a Capitol police officer when I was going to school back here. I worked the swing shift. I have a great affection and feel very affiliated with the Capitol police.

Officer Gibson was killed along with Officer Chestnut on the House side. Not long before this terrible act occurred, the Democratic Senate had a retreat in Virginia. My wife got sick during the night. We had to call the Capitol police who were standing by. I can remember Officer Gibson running. He had to run from where the headquarters was, in a different part of the hotel, to our room--it was spread out a long way--carrying all this emergency equipment. When he came, he was perspiring so hard. He was so gentle and nice with my wife. Every time I hear this recounted, how he and Officer Chestnut were killed, I remember this man so clearly. I can see his face very plainly.

I have expressed to his family my personal appreciation, as I tried to do for Officer Chestnut, whom I did not know except in passing--but I felt some affinity toward Officer Gibson. These two men were at one of the entrances to this Capitol. The crazed man came in and killed both of them. While we have this terrible event in the history of the Capitol 8 years ago today--1998--if there could be a positive side, and that is hard to find, the one place you would have to go is the Visitors Center. That is because as a result of this tragic event the decision was finally made, after years and years of treading water, to go ahead and take care of a new visitors center for this Capitol complex. That will be completed in less than 1 year.

It is going to be a wonderful addition to the Capitol for people who are visiting the Capitol. Millions of people

come to visit the Capitol every year. Right now they come through these doors, just like the ones Officers Chestnut and Gibson were guarding. There have been improvements made, but it is hard to do that because of the doorways as you come into the Capitol itself. With the new Visitors Center, there will be an entry over by the Supreme Court. People coming in will be able to be screened for weapons and other dangerous materials.

There will be two beautiful auditoriums where they can watch a 12- minute film to acquaint them with what is in the Capitol. There will be restrooms which are still lacking with the present situation. There will be places for them to eat, get snacks, and buy food. It will be a wonderful experience for them to come to the Capitol. It is a good experience now, but the new situation will make the experience much better.

After 8 years, we still remember these two fine men. We do so not only because of their personal sacrifice, but the fact that every day in this Capitol--as I look around, there are plain-clothes officers. A lot of people do not know who they are, but they are here. And they would give their lives protecting the Presiding Officer, the distinguished majority leader, and the assistant leader, those in the back rooms, or any other Senator. That is their job. They know it. While we sometimes take them for granted--and I hope we don't--these are some of the finest trained police officers in the world.

When we stand for Chestnut and Gibson in a moment of silence, our thoughts are also with these valiant men and women who protect this beautiful facility and the people who are in it--Senators, staff, and visitors.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, wildfires have already burned almost 300,000 acres in Nevada this year, and over 1.7 million acres were destroyed by fire last year. One particularly devastating fire last year burned over 500,000 acres in southern Nevada.

Well-established science indicates small, normally occurring wildfires are part of the healthy life-cycle of forests. Large, catastrophic fires, though, can sometimes cause extreme and irreversible damage to the delicate ecosystems in the West.

People in Nevada have always been concerned about wildfires and their ability to destroy homes, businesses, and our State's natural beauty. Recently, though, Nevadans and people throughout the West have begun to notice and ask questions about the dramatic changes in wildfire intensity and frequency.

The Congressional Research Service has concluded that many factors contribute to the threat of wildfires. These factors include unnaturally high fuel loads, the urban-wildland interface, the increase of invasive plant species, unnatural wildfire suppression, and grazing and logging practices.

A recent scholarly article titled ``Warming and Earlier Spring Increases Western U.S. Forest Wildfire Activity'' published online on July 6, 2006, in the Journal of Science focuses on the previously unexplored correlation between climate change and wildfires. The article found that the frequency and intensity of wildfires in the West are growing as the climate gets hotter.

Two of the most telling parts of the article found that ``robust statistical associations between wildfire and hydro-climate in western forests indicate that increased wildfire activity over recent decades reflects subregional responses to changes in climate.'' In addition, the authors assert that ``large increases in wildfire driven by increased temperatures and earlier spring snowmelts in forests where land use history had little impact on fire risks indicates that ecological restoration and fuels management alone will not be sufficient to reverse current wildfire trends.''

Mr. President, I do not believe that the issue of climate change should be a partisan issue. I hope the mountain of scientific evidence that is piling up on climate change will compel my colleagues on both sides and the administration to treat climate change as a moral issue and quickly enact mandatory reductions in global greenhouse emissions.

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

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