Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, on October 17, 2003, I submitted a personal explanation for rollcall votes No. 553-No. 561. In that personal explanation, I inadvertently listed incorrectly how I would have voted on rollcall No. 558, rollcall No. 560 and rollcall No. 561. I respectfully request that the Record now reflect how I would have voted on the following rollcall votes:

Rollcall No. 558--``yes''; rollcall No. 560--``no''; and rollcall No. 561--``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, under rule XXII, clause 7(c), I hereby announce my intention to offer a motion to instruct on H.R. 1, the Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act.

The form of the motion is as follows:

Mrs. Capps of California moves that the managers on the

part of the House at the conference on the disagreeing votes

of the two Houses on the Senate amendment to the bill H.R. 1

be instructed as follows:

One, to reject the provision of subtitle C of title II of

the House bill.

Two, to reject the provisions of section 231 of the Senate

amendment.

Three, within the scope of the conference, to increase

payments for physician services by an amount equal to the

amount of savings attributable to the rejection of

aforementioned provisions.

Four, to insist upon section 601 of the House bill.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and fellow nurse for

yielding and also for her motion to instruct conferees on the Energy Policy Act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this motion. It is a real shame that at the 11th hour the Republican conferees have added a new provision to this energy bill which weakens the Clean Air Act and harms public health. This new provision will allow polluted cities to avoid having to clean up their dirty air.

Right now cities can get extended deadlines to meet their requirements under the Clean Air Act, but in exchange for the time extension, within the Clean Air Act, cities with dirty air have to meet specific goals and specific timetables. This is EPA's bump-up policy that is supposed to ensure that dirty air is cleaned up. And the policy is designed to work with cities, to make sure that this can happen in a timely fashion. But under the new energy provisions being proposed, cities that have not met their clean air requirements will just be given a pass. That means that cities with dirty air will not have to institute stronger pollution controls to clean up their act for a much longer time.

People living in these cities and people living downwind will suffer longer from dirty air and its damaging health effects. We cannot afford this, not in our health care and not in our economy.

As a public health nurse, I am so concerned with this very provision and its impact on the state of our air quality. The argument is that it is hard for these polluted areas to clean up due to dirty air blown in from elsewhere. That case has been made. But in many of these areas it is been demonstrated that these areas that would be exempted, transported pollution is only a small part of the problem.

Now, what about continued local clean-up efforts which are demonstrated to be necessary? And, in addition, this new provision provides a special break for certain areas of Texas and Louisiana. That is blatantly unfair to all the cities and their businesses that have worked so hard to meet pollution control deadlines, to provide healthy air for their citizens.

This added change also harms all the areas downwind of those that get the extension as more air pollution will continue to blow downwind for so many years longer.

The truth is this last minute change was never approved by either the House or the Senate. In fact, this provision, and I was at the hearing that we held in July, but it has never been debated upon. Alternatives have never been able to be proposed in a committee setting.

This change weakens the Clean Air Act and overturns three appellate court rulings upholding current law. This is an end run around the courts which have repeatedly held that the EPA does not have the authority to extend air quality deadlines without following the Clean Air Act requirements.

Mr. Speaker, EPA reports that 133 million Americans in our country live where air is unhealthy to breathe because of ozone pollution. The provisions in this bill are denying these Americans their right to breathe clean air.

The provision in this bill is going to be denying these Americans their right to breathe clean air. The provision in the energy bill is a bad idea. The end result will be a delay in cleanup, continued unhealthy air, and more asthma attacks, respiratory illnesses and other health problems. It is going to affect health and productivity of American companies and American workers. Our children and our families have waited too long for clean air.

So I urge my colleagues to support this motion and oppose any energy bill that contains this shameful provision.

Mr. Speaker, I was not able to be present for the following rollcall votes and would like the Record to reflect that I would have voted as follows: Rollcall No. 562--``no''; rollcall No. 563--``yes''; rollcall No. 564--``yes''; rollcall No. 565--``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, I was not able to be present for the following rollcall votes and would like the Record to reflect that I would have voted as follows: Rollcall Nos. 553--``yes''; 554--``yes''; 555--``yes''; 556--``yes''; 557--``yes''; 558--``no''; 559--``no''; 560--``yes''; 561--``no.''

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to this bill.

Last year I voted against the war in Iraq because I believed this administration had overstated its case for this preemptive war, rushed us unilaterally into this conflict, and ultimately had no real plan for the postwar reconstruction. Despite the President's protests, these concerns have proved legitimate.

Iraq is still in chaos. American soldiers, international diplomats, and Iraqi civilians are being killed every day. And the administration is still a long way from pacifying Iraq or setting up a stable government.

Mr. Chairman, when U.S. soldiers are in harm's way, the first concern of Americans is how to best support our troops. We want to be sure they have the material and equipment they need to protect themselves and complete their mission. And we want to know that our troops are being used appropriately and that the administration is doing everything feasible to keep them as safe as possible.

Mr. Chairman, the American people have their doubts about the progress in Iraq and the administration's wisdom in handling this situation. So do I.

The administration clearly did little or no planning for postwar Iraq. It has proven to be unprepared for the complexities and dangers of restoring Iraqi stability. And we have not yet realized the success in Iraq that the administration claimed it delivered when it declared the mission accomplished five months ago. In their rush to get public support for the war administration officials scoffed at experts who predicted that more troops and more money would be needed.

Now the President has requested a staggering $87 billion in taxpayer money to fund his efforts in Iraq. I am amazed at the audacity of the President's request.

While I do believe we will have to make a substantial financial commitment to the rebuilding of Iraq, I am concerned that this administration is starving efforts to solve problems here at home. The size of this package, on top of the trillions of dollars in tax cuts mostly for the wealthiest Americans, will significantly add to the budget deficit, already the largest in history. And yet the Administration has said over and over again that there is not enough money for Medicare, for education, for housing, or for any of our domestic priorities.

And Americans seem to be bearing this burden in Iraq alone. The President has failed to get international support or give the UN a prominent role in this mission. And the Administration has not shown the Congress or the American people a plan for completing the reconstruction. Nor does it show any signs of having a plan that will reduce the threat to our soldiers in the near future. In fact, the Administration seems to be in denial that anything is wrong in Iraq.

I support giving our troops the funding they need. And I understand and agree with our responsibility to rebuild Iraq. I firmly believe that after dismantling the Iraqi government we cannot pull out until we have restored stability. But sometimes the best way to achieve our goals and support our troops is to send a strong message that the current policy is not working.

This Administration needs a wake-up call on its Iraq policy. Defeating this supplemental would be that wake-up call.

The proposal I support would be much better for the troops than the President's request. It allocates more resources to improve the quality of life for the men and women serving in Iraq. It would have provided for much more accountability for the Administration's efforts in Iraq. And it would have paid for this huge amount of spending so it would not increase the budget deficit.

It is time for the Administration to reexamine its policy in Iraq. It is time for the US to make changes to assure success. And it is time for the President to swallow his pride, admit that things are not going well in Iraq and ask for international support.

Let's send him this message by defeating this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion to instruct.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 5 minutes.

This motion does two things: First, it instructs conferees to include in the conference report House provisions concerning consistency determinations under the Coastal Zone Management Act. Under the CZMA, States can review projects, like offshore oil and gas development, which impact their coastal zones.

While a State can reject a project not found to be in its best overall interest, that rejection can still be appealed to the Secretary of Commerce. Currently, there is no limit on the time the Secretary can use to develop the record to make a decision in an appeals case.

During consideration of the energy bill, a bipartisan compromise to impose a reasonable time frame on this appeals process was developed and included in the legislation that passed in the House. The House should respect this bipartisan, commonsense compromise, and so should the conference committee.

Second, the motion instructs conferees to confine themselves to matters in the House bill regarding any offshore preleasing, leasing, or development moratorium. Mr. Speaker, you may remember during consideration of the energy bill, that the House agreed to a bipartisan amendment I offered with the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Davis) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller). That amendment struck from H.R. 6 a provision to require a so-called ``inventory'' of oil and gas resources in the Outer Continental Shelf.

This inventory would be taken in areas of the OCS currently off limits to

any new drilling, which includes, and this is very important, any predrilling activities. These areas include the coastal areas of California, Florida, Oregon, Washington, Alaska's Bristol Bay, and the entire East Coast. The inventory language that was struck out of the House bill, unanimously, would have required seismic surveys and other invasive technologies in the OCS areas now off limits to new drilling.

Mr. Speaker, these are predrilling activities not permissible under current law. The House unanimously struck this inventory because it is a bad idea for the following reasons:

First, it is completely unnecessary. Proponents of the inventory are going to come to the floor, and they are going to tell us how important it is to know what resources are out there in the OCS. They are going to say we just want to know what is out there. The only problem with that argument is that we already know what is out there. The Minerals Management Service already conducts a survey every 5 years, and the latest assessment was done in the year 2000.

This assessment includes estimates of undiscovered oil and natural gas that is conventionally and economically recoverable. So if we know what is out there, why the inventory provision?

That brings us to the second reason this inventory is a bad idea. It is really just the first step in drilling in these areas now off limits. The inventory is an attempt to overturn the Presidential and congressional moratoria on new drilling in these sensitive coastal areas, and that is really what this is all about.

It is a push on behalf of the oil companies to start drilling in coastal areas of the United States where there is not a whole lot of oil and where tens of millions of our citizens have made it clear that they do not want any more drilling.

Mr. Speaker, a little history might be in order. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush announced an executive moratorium ending new drilling off California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska's Bristol Bay, Florida, and the entire east coast. President Clinton extend this action to 2012. Both actions were met with widespread acclaim by a public that knows how valuable, environmentally and economically, our coastlines are. And Congress has supported these actions for the last 20 years by restricting MMS from spending funds to support any new drilling or predrilling activities in these areas.

In addition, President George W. Bush endorsed both moratoria in his fiscal year 2004 budget. State officials, including Governors Jeb Bush and Christie Whitman, have endorsed the moratoria. The House has voted twice in recent years to stop new drilling in the waters off Florida and California.

So despite that, there is no need of an inventory since we know what is out there. Despite that the House unanimously rejected the call for this unnecessary inventory, despite that the inventory violates long- standing moratoria enacted by Republican and Democratic Presidents, Republican and Democratic Congresses, and endorsed by the current Republican President, what are the energy conferees doing, they are putting the so-called inventory provision back into the bill.

That is why we are offering this motion to instruct, to send a message to the conferees that this inventory is an unnecessary and inappropriate addition to the energy bill, and it should be dropped. Coastal communities have spoken repeatedly in strong, bipartisan voices to protect their States' sensitive coastal resources and productive coastal economies. These areas are too economically valuable to risk with more oil drilling. It takes only one accident or spill to devastate the local marine environment and economy.

Last year, 67 Republicans and 184 Democrats voted to end new drilling off California. In that vote, the House demonstrated its commitment to protecting our vital coastal communities. A vote for this motion is the same thing, a vote to protect coastal areas from new drilling. We need to reject these attempts to weaken existing protections for our coastal waters. I urge support for this motion.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Etheridge), who cares a great deal about the North Carolina coastline.

(Mr. ETHERIDGE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller) who himself worked out the bipartisan agreement with the chairman of the Committee on Resources on the CZMA.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from the great State of New Jersey (Mr. Pallone).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 40 seconds to respond to some comments that have been made on the other side.

You have been saying that you just want to allow an inventory of oil and gas off our coasts; it will not hurt. But taking an inventory of what lies beneath the sea floor is not like taking an inventory of office supplies.

Looking for oil and gas off our coasts is an invasive process. The process itself carries risk. It harms marine life and can create serious environmental economic damage.

The language we struck from the House bill allowed exploration or drilling in part of the OCS. We already know, for instance, that 80 percent of the Nation's undiscovered economically-recoverable OCS gas is located in the central and western part of the Gulf of Mexico. This is MMS's most recent study to indicate this.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) who represents the beautiful coastline of Oregon.

Mr. Speaker, moving up the Pacific Coast, I am happy to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Inslee).

(Mr. INSLEE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey).

Mr. Speaker, at this time I wish to enter into the Record in support of this motion a letter signed by 100 Members of Congress, bipartisan, in support of removing this kind of provision from the energy bill.

Congress of the United States,

Washington, DC, September 12, 2003.

Hon. Pete V. Domenici,

Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Dirksen

Senate Office Building, Washington, DC

Hon. W.J. ``Billy'' Tauzin,

Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce, Rayburn House

Office Building, Washington, DC

Dear Chairman Domenici and Chairman Tauzin: As the Senate

and House conference the omnibus Energy bill, we request that

you maintain the longstanding bipartisan moratorium on new

mineral leasing activity on submerged lands of the Outer

Continental Shelf (OCS). In addition, we ask that a provision

requiring the Secretary of the Interior to inventory the

potential oil and gas resources of the entire OCS, including

those areas now off-limits to new drilling, not be included

in the final bill. Such a provision would seriously undermine

current protections for these environmentally sensitive and

economically important coastal and marine areas.

As you know, the House of Representatives spoke forcefully

on this issue when it unanimously passed the Capps-

Miller(FL)-Davis(FL) amendment to the Energy bill. This

amendment removed language that would require an unnecessary

``inventory'' of resources on the OCS, including exploratory

drilling in areas now under the OCS moratorium. This was the

fourth time strong, bipartisan majorities in the House have

come together in recent years to protect sensitive coastal

areas from new drilling. In addition, the Senate passed

version of the Energy bill did not contain this provision.

A comprehensive inventory of OCS oil and gas resources is

inconsistent with the moratorium which currently exists in

California, Florida and the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, Oregon,

Washington, Bristol Bay, New England, and the entire Atlantic

Coast. For more than twenty years, bipartisan legislative and

administrative actions that have enhanced protection of

moratoria areas from offshore oil and gas development.

Beginning in 1982, the OCS moratorium on new offshore oil and

gas activity of the OCS has been included in every annual

Interior Appropriations bill. In addition, in 1990 President

George H. W. Bush signed an executive memorandum placing a

ten-year moratorium on new leasing on the OCS. In 1998, this

moratorium was renewed by President Bill Clinton and extended

until 2012. The proposed inventory would also contradict the

moratorium contained in the President's budget to enable

continued protection of the OCS. These actions have all been

met with public acclaim and as necessary steps to preserve

the economic and environmental value of our nation's coasts.

Additionally, an inventory is not needed. The Minerals

Management Service already compiles estimates of Outer

Continental Shelf oil and gas resources every 5 years. In

fact, the last one was completed in the year 2000, and

includes estimates of undiscovered conventionally and

economically recoverable oil and natural gas. We already

know, for instance, that 80 percent of the Nation's

undiscovered, economically recoverable OCS gas is located in

the Central and Western part of the Gulf of Mexico, which is

currently not subject to the moratorium. Therefore, it

appears such a provision of this energy bill is duplicative

and unnecessary.

Tourism is a major industry for coastal states and a staple

of their coastal economies. The money spent by tourists pay

the bills and put food on the table for the people living in

these communities. Offshore oil and gas drilling directly

threatens this economic engine and the people of these

communities know it.

We urge you to protect our vital coastal communities by

ensuring that provisions that would weaken the OCS moratorium

on new drilling off our coasts are not included in the final

Energy bill. Thank you for your prompt attention to this

matter.

Sincerely,

Lois Capps, Jim Davis, Jim Saxton, Rosa DeLauro, Earl

Blumenauer, Bob Etheridge, Chris Van Hollen, Anna

Eshoo, Jeff Miller, Randy ``Duke'' Cunningham, Frank

LoBiondo, Jim Oberstar, Peter Deutsch, Rahm Emanuel,

William Delahunt, Katherine Harris.

Frank Pallone, Joe Hoeffel, Stephen Lynch, Adam Schiff,

Lucille Roybal-Allard, Elton Gallegly, Steven Rothman,

Carolyn Cheeks-Kilpatrick, Jim McDermott, Rush Holt,

Gary Ackerman, Juanita Millender-McDonald, Pete Stark,

E. Clay Shaw, Chris Smith, Lynn Woolsey, Peter DeFazio,

Michael Honda, Grace Napolitano, Kendrick Meek, David

Wu, John Olver, Ginny Brown-Waite, Brad Miller.

Brad Sherman, Barbara Lee, Diane Watson, Sam Farr, Susan

Davis, Bob Filner, Xavier Becerra, Anibal Acevedo-Vila,

Allen Boyd, Mark Foley, Michael Michaud, Tom Lantos,

Maxine Waters, Nancy Pelosi, Mike Thompson, George

Miller, Ellen Tauscher, Loretta Sanchez, Zoe Lofgren,

Jim Langevin, Porter Goss, Dennis Cardoza, Robert

Matsui, Jane Harman.

Tom Allen, Bill Pascrell, Maurice Hinchey, Carolyn

McCarthy, Alcee Hastings, Jim McGovern, Louise

Slaughter, Jerrold Nadler, Ed Case, Jan Schakowsky,

Richard Neal, Ben Cardin, Nita Lowey, Dale Kildee, Jay

Inslee, Bart Stupak, Tammy Baldwin, John Tierney,

Robert Wexler, Corrine Brown, Carolyn Maloney, Ed

Towns, Robert Menendez, Eliot Engel.

John Larson, Betty McCollum, Hilda Solis, Walter Jones,

Patrick Kennedy, Howard Berman, Raul Grijalva, Barney

Frank, Ric Keller, Linda Sanchez, Madeline Bordallo,

Lane Evans.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that graciousness. As my colleagues can see, I have more speakers than the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutsch).

Again, I thank my colleague from Texas for being so generous with his time.

Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Farr), my neighbor on the California coast and a strong advocate in this arena.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the remaining time.

In closing, I want to take a few seconds to underscore what this word ``inventory'' really means. It sounds innocuous; it sounds harmless. But surveying of the outer continental shelf would result in millions of seismic cannon blasts in our coastal waters from testing vessels. Research has found that an average modern 3D seismic survey requires a blast every 25 meters or every few seconds as a ship, a vessel that is surveying, cruises along. Calculations based on this rate of seismic blast find that it would take at least 285 million seismic blasts to inventory the outer continental shelf. The total cost of such a survey could approach $50 billion for the entire OCS, not including costly analyses to actually find potential oil and gas deposits.

These estimates come from discussions with MMS officials and survey companies. So my question, again, why does the Congress want to waste taxpayers' money on a duplicative process, inventory of areas off limits to oil and gas exploration?

Mr. Speaker, as the list of our speakers and co-sponsors of this motion indicates, these issues are by no means regional or partisan. By allowing this harmful language in the energy bill, our coasts will be threatened, commercial fishing jobs will be at risk, tourism will be at risk, States' economies will be threatened, and the beauty of our coastline will be seriously undermined. That goes for every single coastal State.

The House has shown wisdom in removing the inventory requirement. I ask the conference committee to do the same. We should be seeking long- term solutions that make sense for energy development and that balance environmental protection and economic growth.

The provisions to roll back the moratorium on oil and gas drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf and to weaken the States' rights under the Coastal Zone Management Act fall far short of a balanced approach.

So I urge my colleagues to support this motion, to stop an attack on the laws that protect our sensitive coastal and marine areas.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, subject to rule XXII, clause 7(c), I hereby

announce my intention to offer a motion to instruct on H.R. 6, the Energy Policy Act.

The form of the motion is as follows:

Mrs. Capps of California moves that the managers on the

part of the House at the conference on the disagreeing votes

of the two Houses on the Senate amendment to the bill, H.R.

6, be instructed as follows:

(1) The House conferees shall be instructed to include in

the conference report the provision of the House bill

(section 30215) that concerns consistency determinations

under the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972.

(2) The House conferees shall be instructed to confine

themselves to matters committed to conference in accordance

with clause 9 of rule XXII of the House of Representatives

with regard to any offshore preleasing, leasing, or

development moratorium.

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to pay tribute to an extraordinary citizen of the Santa Barbara community, Mr. James Marshall Stanley. On August 1, 2003, Jim Stanley passed away in Santa Barbara, California. His years of service and dedication leave a great legacy among many individuals and organizations in this community and beyond.

James Marshall Stanley was born on April 2, 1907 in Oregon, graduated from high school in Portland, Oregon and went on to graduate from Portland Engineering School in 1927. Jim married in 1930 and moved with his wife's family to Santa Barbara in 1931.

During World War II, Mr. Stanley worked at a San Pedro shipbuilding yard and in 1943 joined the Merchant Marines as a Chief Radio Operator. He took part in numerous convoys during the War, supplying cargo, ammunitions and oil on board US Liberty and Victory ships. On August 15, 1945, James M. Stanley was honorably discharged from the Armed Forces of the United States and in 1949 was discharged from the US Merchant Marines. As a WWII hero, James M. Stanley was honored by the American, British, Russian and Finnish Governments for his participation in the fight against Nazism.

Following the War, James returned to his family in Santa Barbara where he owned and operated many small businesses before his retirement in 1972. Jim Stanley was a member of SCORE and worked as a Regional Director for Region IX of the U.S. Small Business Administration as well as worked as an advocate for the Los Angeles District of the Veterans Administration.

In addition to service to his country, service to his local community through volunteerism was an important part of Jim Stanley's life. Mr. Stanley was very active in the International Lions Club, which he joined in 1957. Not only was James Stanley the permanent President of the Tri-Counties Lions Sight and Hearing Center at St. Francis Medical Center for over 30 years, but also served as the International President of Lions Sight and Hearing Centers. Following his passion of providing sight to those less fortunate, Mr. Stanley helped found the non-profit S.E.E International, which organizes surgical eye expeditions and provides free services to the people of developing countries suffering from curable eye diseases. For his service in these areas, James Stanley was awarded a ``Golden Apple'' award in 1991 and a ``Golden Oak Leaf' award in 1998 by the Santa Barbara County School District.

In addition to his strong dedication to the Lions organization and S.E.E. International, Jim Stanley was a member of the US Navy League and the North Russia Club (which unites the veterans from the North Atlantic convoys from various countries). Mr. Stanley also supported such organizations as UNICEF, the International Red Cross, Paralyzed Veterans of America, SS Lane Victory Project, the Wilcox-Douglas Family Preservation Project and the SBCC Choir.

James Marshall Stanley was a person of great honor, serving his local community, his country, and truly touching the whole world. Through the years that I have known Jim Stanley I not only consider him a community hero, but a friend. His service and dedication has been appreciated by many throughout the world over the years and we will honor his memory for many years into the future.

Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

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

I understand that the majority has agreed to accept this amendment, and I am very grateful. Briefly, I would state that the amendment would increase Federal efforts to clean up leaking underground storage tanks by $7.3 million. The amendment pays for this increase by transferring the same amount from the EPA's Science and Technology account. The hope is that we can increase our attention to the problem that MTBE contamination is causing to drinking water across this country.

When MTBE gets into groundwater, even at very low levels, it makes water smell and taste like turpentine. This contamination has resulted in closing important drinking water supplies all over the country. To be sure, owners and operators of underground tanks are responsible for cleanup, and that is where this responsibility should lie, but the Federal Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund provides additional cleanup resources, enforces corrective action and steps in when responsible parties cannot be found.

The LUST fund has a $2.2 billion balance. The bill before us, the underlying bill, only appropriates $73 million of that amount to support cleanup efforts for leaking tanks, and I think we can do better than that.

My amendment today is only a small step toward addressing those cleanup

needs. Perhaps one day we can take a giant leap. So I urge my colleagues to support this common-sense amendment.

I yield to the gentleman from New York.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak regarding H.R. 2210, because in these desperate economic times Head Start needs to be strengthened, not weakened.

Offered By: Mrs. Capps

Amendment No. 7: In title III, in the item relating to

``Environmental Protection Agency; science and technology'',

after the last dollar amount, insert the following:

``(reduced by $7,300,000)''.

In title III, in the item relating to ``Environmental

Protection Agency; leaking underground storage tank trust

fund'', after the last dollar amount, insert the following:

``(increased by $7,300,000)''.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.

I rise in support of the bipartisan DeFazio-Bradley amendment to remove the bill's provision extending the recreation fee demonstration program. I rise also in support of the conversation which has just occurred and am happy to follow my California colleague, the Chair of the authorizing committee, first to note that this is not just an Oregon issue. There are thousands of miles of public lands, a lot of that in the western States, which are not national parks, but which are national forests and have multiple access points.

In my district on the central coast of California where Los Padres National Forest is in our backyard, few issues have galvanized such opposition as what we have come to call the recreational fee demonstration program known locally as the Adventure Pass.

There are many takes on that word by many of my constituents.

As the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio) has said, this Recreation Fee Demonstration Program was passed into law without hearings in authorizing committees and without public debate. It sounds like it now will get a full hearing within an authorizing committee, which is a good thing. The program should not be blindly extended, however, another 2 years without oversight or debate.

I support full funding, as all of us do, for our national parks and recreation areas. I recognize there is a serious backlog of maintenance and recreation needs on our Nation's public lands, and a lot of that exists within these beautiful forests on the central coast of California.

The mismanagement of the program by the Forest Service as it exists today is staggering. The program was created to address the maintenance backlog on public land facilities, but only 50 cents of every dollar collected goes toward maintaining or improving our public lands. The rest is eaten up by administrative and collection costs and also litigation costs. Fifty percent overhead costs does not make an effective government program.

Let us find more equitable sources for this money. Americans should not be charged twice, our constituents say that over and over again, first through their taxes and then again through these fees to go and have a picnic in their backyard, to take a hike, getting out of their car and see a sunset in our national forests. Big logging companies are receiving subsidies for their activities on these very same lands.

Our national forests are natural treasures to be enjoyed today and to be preserved for future generations. I think we can accomplish this goal, but we should end the Adventure Pass misadventure. Let us go back to the drawing board, it sounds like we may be doing that, have hearings on this demonstrations program and conduct a full and open debate. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mr. Chairman, today it is my pleasure to join with my colleagues in strong support of this critical amendment to increase funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities; and I thank my colleagues, the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter), the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays), the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Dicks) and the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach), for their leadership on this amendment to the Interior appropriations bill.

The arts are our cultural language. They bring our communities together. They serve to define who we are as a people, as a society, and they help us to link with other communities around the world our cultural heritages and our vast resources of our diversity.

Both the NEA and the NEH broaden public access to the arts and the humanities for all Americans. They improve the quality of our lives, those of ourselves and our children and our families.

I have spent a good deal of my career in our public schools. I have seen firsthand the positive impacts that arts have in our children's education. The arts teach our children rhythm, design, creativity and critical thinking skills. The arts have also been shown to deter delinquent behavior of at-risk youth, to help dramatically improve the academic performance, truancy rates and other critical skills, crucial skills, among our young people.

Today's economy demands a workforce that can think and work innovatively. Arts education provides a crucial part of those skills, skills that are not learned in academics of other kinds, in college, but in the child's elementary school class trip to the museum, art projects, experience with musical instruments and all of the vast array of art opportunities.

In my district on the central coast of California, students have been exposed to the virtues of music, art, poetry and dance as a result of NEA and NEH support through a grant, for example, to Art Resources Transfer in New York. The Distribution to Underserved Communities program places books on art and culture into public schools and libraries free of charge. To help rebuild collections diminished from budget cuts, local librarians choose from a long list of available books, videos and interactive materials. The Laguna Middle School Library in San Luis Obispo receives materials from this program, and they are grateful for them.

A grant to the University of California at Santa Barbara supports a partnership project of artist-led activities that provides positive alternatives for youth. I have seen our young college students interact with our elementary students in Santa Barbara, and it is a wonderful sight to behold.

Through a partnership with the American Architectural Foundation in Washington, D.C., the Mayor's Institute on City Design hosts a series of symposiums attended by mayors, urban designers and developers. The Institute is designed to provide mayors with new perspectives on creative solutions to design issues in their communities. The mayor, Marty Blum of Santa Barbara, participates in this program.

Finally, through a grant to California-based L.A. Theatre Works, audio plays that serve the visually impaired are distributed to libraries throughout the country. L.A. Theatre Works records in front of live studio audiences and features classic and contemporary works, for example, Arthur Miller's The Crucible and Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez. L.A. Theatre Works distributes these audio recordings to the Buena High School in Ventura, California.

These examples illustrate to me and to my constituents the value of the dollars we appropriate here that are multiplied as they are extended into partnerships throughout our country. I urge my colleagues to vote for our children, to support the Slaughter-Shays-Dicks-Leach amendment to strengthen both the NEA and the NEH.

I will include a document about the arts programs in my district at this point in the Record.

Congressional District 22

A partnership grant to the California Arts Council in

Sacramento supports statewide programming in arts education,

cultural development, artistic preservation, increased access

to the arts in underserved areas, and funding for artists and

arts organizations throughout the state.

new cuyama

Through a grant to Art Resources Transfer in New York, the

Distribution to Underserved Communities program places books

on art and culture into public and school libraries free of

charge. To help rebuild collections diminished from budget

cuts, local librarians choose from a long list of available

books, videos and interactive materials. The Cuyama Valley

High School Library in New Cuyama receives materials from

this program.

san luis obispo

Through a grant to the Group I Acting Company in New York

City, a touring production of Mark Twain's comedy Pudd'nhead

Wilson is performed at the Performing Arts Center in San Luis

Obispo.

In partnership with regional arts organizations, the NEA

Regional Touring Program (RTP) support high-quality

performances and related educational activities in

communities across the country. As part of this program,

Elizabeth Streb and Company perform contemporary dance at

California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.

Through a grant to Art Resources Transfer in New York, the

Distribution to Underserved Communities program places books

on art and culture into public and school libraries free of

charge. To help rebuild collections diminished from budget

cuts, local librarians choose from a long list of available

books, videos and interactive materials. The Laguna Middle

School Library in San Luis Obispo receives materials from

this program.

santa barbara

A grant to the University of California at Santa Barbara

supports the post-production phase of Mary Anthony: A Life in

Modern Dance.

A grant to the University of California at Santa Barbara

supports a partnership project of artist-led activities that

provides positive alternatives for youth.

Through a grant to the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at

Cornell University, the touring exhibition Byrdcliffe: An

American Arts and Crafts Colony celebrates the centennial of

Byrdcliffe, a colony founded as a center for artists and

craftsmen in Woodstock, NY, in 1902. The exhibition travels

to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.

Through a grant to New York's Orpheus Chamber Orchestra,

the orchestra tours with guest artists Dawn Upshaw and

Richard Goode to national venues such as the Arlington

Theatre in Santa Barbara.

Through a grant to the Group I Acting Company in New York

City, a touring production of Mark Twain's comedy Pudd'nhead

Wilson is performed at Campbell Hall at the University of

California in Santa Barbara.

Through a grant to California-based L.A. Theatre Works,

audio plays that serve the visually impaired are distributed

to libraries throughout the country. L.A. Theatre Works

records in front of live studio audiences and features

classic and contemporary works (e.g., Arthur Miller's The

Crucible and Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez). L.A. Theatre Works

distributes these audio recordings to the Eastside Branch

Library in Santa Barbara.

In partnership with regional arts organizations, the NEA

Regional Touring Program (RTP) supports high-quality

performances and related educational activities in

communities across the country. As part of this program,

Anoushka Shankar performs Indian sitar music at University of

California in Santa Barbara.

Through a grant to the New England Foundation for the Arts

in Boston, the National Dance Project supports touring

performances of contemporary dance. As part of this project,

the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and the Orion

String Quartet perform at University of California in Santa

Barbara.

Through a grant to New York's Meet the Composer for its

Commissioning Music/USA program, composer Miles Green and

choreographer Elizabeth Streb present their new work Ripped

at the University of California in Santa Barbara.

Through a grant to Ballet Hispanico of New York, the

company travels on a nationwide tour. Known as the foremost

dance interpreter of Latino culture in the United States,

Ballet Hispanico's innovative repertory blends ballet and

ethnic dance forms into a spirited image of contemporary

Hispanic-American culture. The company's tour includes

performances at the University of California in Santa

Barbara.

Through a grant to L.A. Freewaves in Los Angeles, the

experimental media arts festival Appropriate/Appropriated

showcases artists working in the medium of film, video, web

sites, and multimedia installations. Films screen for the

general public in galleries, museums and other venues across

Southern California, including the Contemporary Arts Forum in

Santa Barbara.

Through a partnership with the American Architectural

Foundation in Washington, D.C., the Mayor's Institute on City

Design hosts a series of symposiums attended by mayors, urban

designers, and developers. The Institute is designed to

provide mayors with new perspectives on creative solutions to

design issues in their communities. Marty Blum, Mayor of

Santa Barbara, participates in this program.

Congressional District 23

A partnership grant to the California Arts Council in

Sacramento supports statewide programming in arts education,

cultural development, artistic preservation, increased access

to the arts in underserved areas, and funding for artists and

arts organizations throughout the state.

Camarillo

Through a grant to California-based L.A. Theatre Works,

audio plays that serve the visually impaired are distributed

to libraries throughout the country. L.A. Theatre Works

records in front of live studio audiences and features

classic and contemporary works (e.g., Arthur Miller's The

Crucible and Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez). L.A. Theatre Works

distributes these audio recordings to the Frontier High

School in Camarillo.

Through a grant to Ririe-Woodbury Dance in Salt Lake City,

the company offers creative movement classes, performance

demonstrations and teacher workshops at Camarillo High

School.

In partnership with regional arts organizations, the NEA

Regional Touring Program (RTP) supports high-quality

performances and related educational activities in

communities across the country. In Camarillo, the Ventura

County Superintendent of Schools presents the Footworks

Percussive Dance Company and the Ririe-Woodbury Dance

Company.

coalinga

Through a grant to Art Resources Transfer in New York, the

Distribution to Underserved Communities program places books

on art and culture into public and school libraries free of

charge. To help rebuild collections diminished from budget

cuts, local librarians choose from a long list of available

books, videos and interactive materials. The Coalinga

District Library receives materials from this program.

malibu

Through a grant to Inside Out Community Arts in Venice, the

School Project program is an after-school theater-based arts

program serving middle and high school students. Students

participating in the program attend a camping/rehearsal

retreat at Grindling Hilltop Camp in Malibu.

ojai

A grant to the Ojai Festival supports the 2002 Ojai Music

Festival and the theme Last Thoughts: Beethoven, Shostakovich

and Others.

In partnership with regional arts organizations, the NEA

Regional Touring Program (RTP) supports high-quality

performances and related educational activities in

communities across the country. In Ojai, Performances To Grow

On presents the Princely Players, who sing and recite poetry

from the earliest sources of African-American music in this

country to the civil war and the civil rights movement.

simi valley

Through a grant to Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City,

the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition

and Festival distributes, free of charge, specially arranged

compositions of Duke Ellington's music and related

educational materials to schools throughout the country,

including Santa Susana High School in Simi Valley.

Through a grant to California-based L.A. Theatre Works,

audio plays that serve the visually impaired are distributed

to libraries throughout the country. L.A. Theatre Works

records in front of live studio audiences and features

classic and contemporary works (e.g., Arthur Miller's The

Crucible and Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez). L.A. Theatre Works

distributes these audio recordings to the Santa Susana High

School in Simi Valley.

ventura

Through a grant to California-based L.A. Theatre Works,

audio plays that serve the visually impaired are distributed

to libraries throughout the country. L.A. Theatre Works

records in front of live studio audiences and features

classic and contemporary works (e.g., Arthur Miller's The

Crucible and Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez). L.A. Theatre Works

distributes these audio recordings to the Buena High School

in Ventura.

Through a grant to Art Resources Transfer in New York, the

Distribution to Underserved Communities program places books

on art and culture into public and school libraries free of

charge. To help rebuild collections diminished from budget

cuts, local librarians choose from a long list of available

books, videos and interactive materials. The Ventura County

Library receives materials from this program.

Madam Chairman, I urge this House to reject the Smith amendment.

Slashing our contribution to the United Nations Population Fund would sacrifice the health and safety of some of the poorest women and children around the world. This program provides critical maternal health, emergency assistance for refugees, reproduction education, prevention and treatment for HIV and AIDS, and critical care for infants and children.

I saw with my own eyes recently in South Africa that this program is the only health care that many families receive. This Congress should know that each year we hold our funding hostage to the divisive politics we cost impoverished women and children their lives. Defeating this amendment is essential for child survival and AIDS prevention. Millions of orphans around the world are pleading with us.