Floor Statements

Mr. President, there will be some rollcall votes during tomorrow's session, the extent of which has not been determined at this time. Cloture motions were filed earlier on the committee substitute amendment and on the bill itself. As a result, there is a filing deadline for first-degree amendments to H.R. 2996 of 1 p.m. tomorrow.

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

Mr. President, following leader remarks, if any, the Senate will proceed to a period of morning business until 3 p.m., with Senators permitted to speak for up to 10 minutes each. Following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of the Interior appropriations bill. There will be no rollcall votes today. Senators should expect a vote or votes prior to the caucuses tomorrow.

At 3 o'clock, we will, as I have announced, return to the appropriations bill dealing with the interior. At that time, the two managers of the bill, Senator Feinstein and Senator Alexander, will be available to listen to Senators who want to speak on the bill or offer amendments. It is my understanding that Senator Bingaman has some amendments he wants to offer.

Senator Feinstein was unable to be here on Friday because of the Jewish holiday. She will be here at 4 p.m. today. Between 3 and 4, whenever she gets here, Senator Alexander, who is managing the bill with her, will be here to accept amendments. They have total trust of one another; that is, Feinstein and Alexander, and her not being here should not in any way alleviate the need for anyone to come and offer an amendment. We have all night tonight to offer amendments, and we have all day tomorrow.

We have to move past this bill, and we are going to do it fairly quickly because we have to move the Defense appropriations bill and other things before the end of the month. We would hope sometime this week the work on the Finance Committee health care bill will be far enough down the road they will report something out. I don't know if they will do it this week. It is anticipated it will be this week, but things always take longer than we expect. The main thing, though, is that in the next 24 hours people should be offering amendments on this Interior bill if they have any to offer.

Would the Chair be good enough to announce morning business.

Mr. President, I rise today in recognition of the 16th annual National Public Lands Day, which will be celebrated on Saturday, September 26. I am pleased to acknowledge the efforts of volunteers across our Nation who will come together to improve and restore one of America's most valuable assets, our public lands.

National Public Lands Day started in 1994 with 700 volunteers working in just a few locations. This year, over 130,000 volunteers will come together to work at more than 2,000 locations across all 50 States. These people come from all walks of life, holding a shared interest in protecting our public lands for the enjoyment of future generations.

Our Nation has a grand tradition of conservation. When Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872, it was the world's first national park. The idea of a national park was an American invention of historic proportions that led the way for global conservation efforts. President Teddy Roosevelt, one of our earliest and most energetic conservationists, dedicated 194 million acres of national parks and national preserves over the course of his Presidency. America has continued to build on this tradition with endeavors such as the operation of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s and 1940s, passage of the Wilderness Act in 1964, establishment of Earth Day in 1970, enactment of the National Wildlife Refuge Improvement Act in 1997, and the signing into law of this year's Omnibus Public Land Management Act, to name just a few examples. National Public Lands Day provides an annual opportunity for the American public to devote a day to conservation and to give back to the public lands that give so much to us.

Public lands make up over one-third of our country and are places of continuous discovery, where we go to find ourselves, to uncover our history, and to explore for new resources. Our public lands provide wide open spaces, deep

forests, dramatic vistas, and opportunities for solitude that not only fulfill us individually but form a fundamental part of the American character. Our public lands are part of who we are and the diversity of their uses, like the diversity of their landscapes, reflects our identity. In many areas, they provide timber, ore, and forage that are the economic bedrock of rural America. In other areas, Congress has designated them as wilderness, places ``untrammeled by man, where man is a visitor who does not remain.''

I recognize and thank the thousands of Federal employees who manage these lands year-round. The Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, and other Federal land management agencies ensure that public lands in Nevada and across the Nation meet the changing needs of our communities. They provide a vital, though rarely reported, service to our nation.

I would also like to acknowledge and thank the many Nevadans who will spend September 26 improving our public lands. Volunteers across northern Nevada will be working to improve our public lands in places like the Carson and Truckee Rivers, Cain Spring, the East Fork of the Walker River, Eight Mile Creek, Dry Mountain, and Sacramento Pass. At the same time, southern Nevada volunteers will work in sites like Ash Springs, Gold Butte, Lake Mead, Pittman Wash, Red Rock Canyon, and the Great Unconformity.

The focus of National Public Lands Day this year is water on the public lands. Clean water is essential to the health of our environment and the health of our citizens. Many parts of our Nation have faced severe droughts in recent years, and caring for our water resources is as important as it has ever been. In Nevada, as the driest State in our Nation, we are particularly aware that water is a precious resource.

The preservation of our public lands is a priority for me. Mr. President, our public lands are part of what makes the United States a great nation. I voice my gratitude to all who will participate in National Public Lands Day this year.

Madam President, following leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period for the transaction of morning business for 1 hour, with Senators allowed to speak for up to 10 minutes each. However, I ask unanimous consent that the full 30 minutes of the majority be controlled by the Senator from Pennsylvania, Mr. Specter.

The majority will control the first 30 minutes, the Republicans will control the second 30 minutes. Following morning business, the Senate will begin consideration of H.R. 2996, the Interior appropriations bill. Following the managers' opening statements, the floor will be open for Senators to offer amendments. At 2 p.m., we will resume consideration of H.R. 3288, the Transportation- HUD appropriations bill, and proceed to a series of up to six rollcall votes and complete action on that bill.

I think it is important to say to everyone that we are now in a mode of doing some legislation. I appreciate very much the cooperation of all Senators, Democrats and Republicans. We are now in the mode of, when a bill comes up, people can offer amendments. For a number of years, that simply was not the case. When there are circumstances and a decision is made not to allow amendments, I understand, after people are in the habit of being able to offer amendments, how concerned they become. We will approach that whenever it comes about, if there is a decision made to so-called fill the tree and not allow amendments.

In the way we are working, we are taking some tough votes. Democrats are offering some difficult amendments, Republicans are offering some difficult amendments. But that is OK. We are working through these bills. We could have been voting on cloture on the Transportation appropriations bill. We could have been invoking cloture on that bill this morning. It simply has not been necessary.

We have some nominations we are still working our way through. One Republican Senator has held up a nomination for quite some time. He came to me yesterday and said: You can go ahead and put that one through.

I am satisfied and confident this is the way the Senate should operate.

We have the health care bill on the horizon. If we are able to get 60 votes to proceed to it, it is going to take everyone's cooperation and patience to work through the amendments that will be necessary to go forward on that bill. I am hopeful and confident we can work through that bill. If not, we will have to go to reconciliation, which I hope we don't have to do, but if we have to, we have to do that.

Anyway, I feel good about what we have been able to accomplish this week. I repeat, it sets a pattern of how we should be legislating.

Behind me is Senator Specter. He came to me a number of times last year and said: Are there going to be amendments allowed? And I said yes. He said he would vote to move forward on the bill. I think there were other people who felt the same way, but they just were not as vocal as Senator Specter.

I appreciate the good work, including that of my colleague, the senior Senator from Kentucky, who is one of the people who has stressed how important it is to have amendments. I recognize he cannot control his Senators all the time, nor can I. In spite of that, we have been able to work through legislation.

I want to get the appropriations bills done, as does Senator McConnell. He and I have been members of the Appropriations Committee during our entire tenure in the Senate. It is important that we work through these bills. As of today, we will have completed five of them. We are going to do our utmost to do the conference reports before the first of October. We may have to--not may--we will have to have a short-term CR, and by the end of that short-term CR, hopefully we can complete all the appropriations bills.

Madam President, I wish to inform all Members, this will be the last vote today. Tomorrow is a Jewish holiday. We will not be in session tomorrow. We will be in session Monday for Senators to offer amendments on the Interior appropriations bill. There will be no votes on Monday. There will be a vote or two prior to the caucus on Tuesday. Members with a pent-up desire to offer amendments, the floor will be theirs all day Monday. We will come in as early as they want to start offering amendments. We need to move forward on these appropriations bills. I appreciate everyone's cooperation getting this Transportation bill done. This is the fifth one we have completed. We have seven more to go.

Mr. President, Cragin & Pike Insurance began on a hot, dusty day in August of 1909 when Peter Buol proudly opened his ``Real Estate and Insurance Office'' on what is now Main Street in Las Vegas. Buol eventually sold his business to Ernie Cragin and William Pike, whose names combined to brand the new company.

Ernie Cragin served as Las Vegas's mayor for 25 years and was instrumental in establishing Helldorado Days and bringing in the Army's Aerial Gunnery School, now known as Nellis Air Force Base. William Pike saw to the legalization of gambling and the construction of the Hoover Dam. Their combined efforts have contributed to the political, economic, and environmental history of the southern Nevada community.

After Pike passed away, Cragin brought in Paul McDermott as a partner, and following the unexpected passing of Cragin, McDermott partnered with Frank Kerestesi. McDermott and Kerestesi carried on the Cragin & Pike Insurance name and became well known throughout the valley with their catchy jingle that played on local radio stations. Both men were active in the community, especially with the establishment and growth of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, UNLV.

Cragin & Pike are celebrating their 100th anniversary of continuous business in southern Nevada this year. Their dedicated, professional staff continues to offer Las Vegas businesses the very best in personal service and attention. On behalf of all Nevadans, I am pleased to extend my best wishes to Cragin & Pike for another 100 years of success in Nevada.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that we proceed to S. Res. 273.

I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements be printed in the Record.

I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now proceed to S. Res. 274.

I ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I understand that there is a bill at the desk. I ask for its first reading.

I ask for a second reading but object to my own request.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

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

Mr. President, first of all, I appreciate very much the patience of the Presiding Officer and all the staff.

In prior years, before you arrived in the Senate, I used to spend a lot of time on the floor when I was the whip and we had one of the staff here who talked about how Senate time was dog time--1 minute is really 7 minutes. In fact, as his going away gift to me, my friend Jack, who was right down here, before he retired gave me a dog chain as a souvenir. I kept it in my desk here for years. But sometimes things take a long time to get worked out. It may not seem like much, but it took a long time to get this done.

Mr. President, as in executive session, I ask unanimous consent that the nomination of Erroll Southers to be Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security be referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation; that upon the reporting out or discharge of the nomination, it then be referred to the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee for a period not to exceed 30 calendar days; that if the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has not reported the nomination at that time, then the Committee be discharged and the nomination be placed on the Executive Calendar.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 2 p.m. on Monday, September 21; that following the prayer and the pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and the Senate proceed to a period of morning business until 3 p.m., with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each; that following morning business, the Senate resume consideration of Calendar No. 98, H.R. 2996, Interior appropriations.

Mr. President, there will be no rollcall votes on Monday, as previously announced. Senators should expect the next vote to begin before the caucus on Tuesday.

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order.