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As early as Monday night or Tuesday morning, the full Senate may begin floor action on S. 1292, the FY 01 funding bill for the Department of Interior and Related Agencies. The bill would provide $13.98 billion in FY'00 for natural resource agencies funded by the bill, including the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Minerals Management Service, the Forest Service, and the Office of Surface Mining. The Senate measure would provide the agencies included in the bill with far less than the $15.048 billion requested the Clinton Administration, but $19 million more than FY 99 funding levels. The House passed its $14.1 billion FY 00 funding bill for Interior and Related Agencies (H.R. 2466) by a vote of 377-47. Even though the dollar figure for the bill was higher than the original allocation of $11.341 billion, it still came up $200 million short of current funding levels and about $1 billion below the Clinton Administration s request.
During floor debate, the Senate will consider an amendment offered by Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) to reverse the Interior Solicitor s decision regarding the general mining law. The decision focuses on the ration of mill sites to lode claims and resulted in the Department of Interior's rejection of an operating plan for Battle Mountain Gold's proposal for the Crown Jewel Mine on mostly federal lands in Washington near the Canadian border (for more information on this issue, see
The Senate Appropriations Committee voted 16-9 to reverse the solicitor's decision. Senator s Patty Murray (D-WA) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) are expected to offer a motion to strike the Craig amendment during Senate floor action on the bill. During floor action, the House approved by a large margin to uphold the Interior Solicitor s decision, setting the stage for a struggle between the House and Senate if the Senate retains the Craig amendment.
Members of the Senate will also debate a number of other amendments during floor action on the Interior funding bill. Senator Richard Bryan (D-NV) offered an amendment to cut the Forest Service s logging and timber budget by $33 million, reducing those programs to the level requested by the Administration, and shifting that money into road maintenance and removal ($11.3 million), inland fish habitat management ($3 million), threatened and endangered species habitat management ($3 million), wildlife habitat management ($1.6 million), anadromous fish habitat management ($1.6 million), and deficit reduction ($13 million). The House defeated a similar amendment offered by Representative David Wu (D-OR) by a 250-174 vote.
Senators Chuck Robb (R-VA) and Max Cleland (R-GA) may propose an amendment to strike language that would give the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service total discretion over whether or not to conduct wildlife population surveys when making decisions about land management. The amendment would overturn a decision by a circuit court judge in February requiring the Forest Service to conduct wildlife population studies for proposed, endangered, threatened, and management indicator species for each forest plan or revision.
Because of the mining law amendment and a number of other controversial measures attached to the Senate bill, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt wrote to Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Ted Stevens (R-AK) saying he would recommend a veto of the bill as approved by the committee.
For a comparison of the Senate and House bills, see
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Members of the House Appropriations Committee will try to take up the FY 00 funding bill for the departments of Commerce, Justice, and State and the Judiciary late this week. The bill would provide NOAA with $1.96 billion, $208 million below FY 99 funding levels and $547 million below the Clinton Administration request.
The House bill would not provide any funding for the Clinton Administration s new Pacific coast salmon recovery initiative and support a new salmon agreement with Canada. The White House had requested $100 million for a salmon recovery effort in the Pacific Northwest, announced last January. The National Marine Fisheries Service has listed 15 salmon populations as threatened or endangered since 1991. The Administration had also requested $60 million for implementation of programs related to the June 3 Pacific salmon agreement signed with Canada. In its version of the appropriations bill, the Senate would provide $100 million for the salmon recovery efforts, but require that the money be paid as direct grants to the states of California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska. $20 million of the total would go towards treaty-related programs.
The House markup is tentatively scheduled for Friday.
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The House has scheduled floor action on the FY 00 funding bill for Energy and Water Development (H.R. 2605) for Tuesday or later this week. The House Appropriations Committee approved the $20.2 billion Energy and Water Appropriations bill for FY 00 on July 20. On June 16, the Senate approved its $21.7 billion version of the energy and water funding bill. Both House and Senate versions of the FY 00 funding bill cut funding for Corps habitat restoration programs.
The House bill would provide the Corp with $4.19 billion for civil works programs such as flood control, shoreline protection, and navigation -- $282.6 million more than the Clinton Administration request and $91.2 million above current spending levels. The Senate bill includes $3.76 billion for the Corps.
H.R. 2605 includes only $5 million for the Missouri River Fish and Wildlife Mitigation Project, well below the funding level sought by conservation groups, the lower Missouri River states, and members of the U.S. House of Representatives from those states. Congressman Doug Bereuter (R-NE) and eight other House members requested $15 million for the mitigation project in FY 00. The Missouri River Fish and Wildlife Mitigation Project is the Missouri River's primary habitat restoration program between Sioux City and St. Louis. Using mitigation funds, the Army Corps acquires land from willing sellers along the lower Missouri River and restores natural habitat such as side channels, wetlands, and backwaters. For more information on the project, see
H.R. 2605 also funds a number of Department of Interior and Independent Agency projects. Among these, the bill would provide $37 million for the Central Utah Project (down from $43 million in FY 99 and $2 million below the Administration s FY 00 request), $75 million for the California Bay-Delta Ecosystem Restoration project (level with FY 99 funding and $20 million below the Administration s FY 00 request), $47 million for the Central Valley project restoration fund (up from $33 million in FY 99 and level with the Administration s FY 00 request), and $60 million for the Appalachian Regional Commission ($6 million below FY 99 funding and the Administration s FY 00 request).
VA-HUD-Independent Agencies Funding Bill on Move in House:
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on VA-HUD-Independent Agencies plans to mark up its FY 00 funding bill sometime this week. Funding for the massive bill, which includes money for the Environmental Protection Agency, is in question. The Subcommittee was allocated $65.3 billion in discretionary funds for the bill, but it has been directed to mark up a spending plan with $72 billion, the minimum level budget officials believe is needed to sustain programs at the FY 99 funding level without any allowance for inflation or future emergencies. The Clinton Administration requested $73.8 billion for in its FY 00 bill, including $2.6 billion for the EPA s Office of Water, down from the FY 99 appropriation level of $3.4 billion. EPA is also seeking less money for the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund -- $800 million for FY 00 as compared to $1.4 billion appropriated in FY 99. The revolving fund is used for low-interest loans for communities seeking to improve wastewater treatment plants.
The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on VA-HUD-Independent Agencies hopes to mark up its version of the FY 00 funding bill before the August recess.
The hearing is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. on Monday, July 26 in H-140 of the Capitol.
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On Wednesday, July 21, the House Resources Committee approved by voice vote Senator Doc Hasting s (R-WA) resolution that argues against dam removal in federal efforts to restore threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead runs on the Columbia and Snake Rivers (H. Con. Res. 63). The non-binding resolution, introduced in March, weighs in on the ongoing public debate about the merits of removing dams on the Lower Snake River. The resolution could come before the full House at any time.
The vote was Congress first on how the nation should deal with the demise of Snake River salmon and steelhead. Largely because of four federal dams on the Lower Snake River, every single species of Snake River salmon is now listed under the Endangered Species Act. This December, the National Marine Fisheries Service will release its long-term recovery plan for Snake River salmon, and partial removal of these four dams is one of the options being studied. Science has shown that removing the four dams is the only option under consideration by the Clinton Administration that can save these legendary fish from extinction.
For more information on the Snake River and saving wild salmon through dam removal, see the
To see the text of H. Con. Res. 63, see
and type in H.Con. Res. 63.
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On Wednesday, the Senate Energy Committee will mark up the Conservation and Reinvestment Act of 1999 (S. 25), introduced by Senators Frank Murkowski (R-AK) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA). The bill calls for the federal government to use half of its annual receipts from oil and gas development on the outer continental shelf (OCS) currently $3.5 billion a year to aid impacted coastal states and to increase funds for federal land acquisition and state fish and game programs in all fifty states. Specifically, S. 25 calls for the fifty percent of federal OCS to be divided between coastal states for air and water quality, wetlands, coastal restoration, shoreline protection, infrastructure, and public service needs (27%); a revamped Land and Water Conservation Fund for federal land acquisition, grants to states, and urban park and recreation programs (16%); and state fish and game departments to increase fish and wildlife populations and improve habitat (7%).
Representative Don Young (R-AK) introduced a companion bill (H.R. 701) in the House. For more information on open space initiatives, see
The hearing will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 28 in 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
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On Thursday, July 22, the House and Senate appointed their respective conferees on the 1999 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). The leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hope complete the House-Senate conference before the August recess which begins August 7th.
The purpose of the conference is to reconcile the differences between the Senate's $3.0 billion WRDA (S. 507) and the House's $4.3 billion version of the legislation (H.R. 1480). To view the bills, visit
and type in the bill numbers.
The conferees are as follows:
Senate: Environment Committee Chair John Chafee (R-RI), Ranking Minority Member Max Baucus (D-MT), and Senators John Warner (R-VA), Bob Smith (I-NH), George Voinovich (R-OH), Daniel Moynihan (D-NY), and Barbara Boxer (D-CA).
House: Transportation Committee Chair Bud Schuster (R-PA), Ranking Minority Member James Oberstar (D-MN), and Representatives Don Young (R-AK), Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), Richard Baker (R-LA), John Doolittle (R-CA), Don Sherwood (R-PA), Robert Borski (D-PA), Ellen Tauscher (D-CA), and Brian Baird (D-WA).
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The Senate Energy Subcommittee on Water and Power will discuss a number of water projects at a hearing on Wednesday, July 28. The bills in question focus on water project construction, extension, or transfer. S. 642, introduced in March by Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT) would provide drinking water to the Assiniboine and Sioux tribe members living on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, which lacks a source of drinkable water. The Montana reservation is one of the largest in the nation and is home to more than 10,000 people. If approved, the bill would also provide drinking water for Roosevelt, Sheridan, Daniels, and Valley counties. The federal government would cover all of the costs of the $163 million project, which would draw water from the Missouri River near Poplar, Montana.
S. 1211, introduced by Senator Robert Bennett (R-UT) to increase the authorized funding ceiling for the Colorado River basin salinity control program to $175 million annually. In 1995, Congress passed a comprehensive grant program aimed at encouraging salinity projects in the Colorado River Basin. Twenty-three million people rely on the Colorado River for water supplies, and the river also provides irrigation water for four million acres.
The other bills under consideration are Senators Harry Reid (D-NV) and Richard Bryan s (D-NV) proposal (S. 986) to direct the Bureau of Reclamation to turn over to the Southern Nevada Water Authority the Griffith water project and S. 1337 by Senator Robert Bennett (R-UT) to amend the Central Utah Project Completion Act to permit the use of savings in certain areas to be spent on other projects and programs as needed.
The hearing will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 28 in 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
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For more information or to see the text of any of the bills listed below, go to the Thomas website at
H.R. 2383: Introduced by Representative Bob Stump (R-AZ), the Hoover Dam Miscellaneous Sales Act would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to produce and sell products and to sell publications relating to the Hoover Dam and to deposit revenues generated from the sales into the Colorado River Dam fund. In 1997, more than 1,000,000 visitors, including 300,000 from foreign countries, toured the Hoover Dam and hundreds of thousands of additional visitors stopped to view the dam. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Resources.
H.R. 2536: Introduced by Representative George Miller (D-CA), the San Francisco Bay Shipping and Fisheries Enhancement Act of 1999 seeks to remove hazards to navigation to allow greater separation of vessels carrying oil or other hazardous substances to reduce substantially the risk of oil pollution, improve the safety of navigation, and reduce threats to the fish, wildlife, and environment of San Francisco Bay. The proposal would direct the Secretary of the Army to develop and carry out a navigation project in San Francisco Bay, California, to remove underwater hazards to navigation in the vicinity of Alcatraz Island, minimize the risk of an oil or hazardous substance spill resulting from collisions between vessels or with an underwater hazard, and minimize, to the maximum extent practicable, impacts on the environment and on commercial and recreational fisheries. The bill was referred to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation
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The following bills could come up on the Senate floor at any time:
H.R. 154 to allow the Interior Department and US Department of Agriculture to establish a fee system for commercial filming activities on areas within their jurisdictions.
S. 109 to improve protection and management of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.
H.R. 15 to designate a portion of the Otay Mountains in California as wilderness.
S. 762 to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a feasibility study on the inclusion of the Miami Circle in Biscayne National Park.
H.R. 149 to make technical corrections to the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1966.
S. 953 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain lands in South Dakota to the Terry Peak Ski Area.
S. 1088 to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain administrative sites in national forests in Arizona to the city of Sedona.
S. 938 to eliminate restrictions on the acquisition of certain land contiguous to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
S. 501 to require the National Park Service to continue to allow subsistence fishing and gathering, as well as commercial marine fishing regulated by the state, in Glacier Bay National Park in southeast Alaska.
Tuesday, July 27
9:30 a.m.: Senate Environment Committee markup of S. 1090, a superfund reform bill. Location: 406 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
2:30 p.m.: Senate Energy Subcommittee on Forests and Public Land Management hearing on bills affecting public lands in Nevada, Wyoming, and New Mexico (S. 719, S. 930, and S. 1288). Location: 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Wednesday, July 28
9:30 a.m.: Senate Energy Committee markup of the Conservation and Reinvestment Act of 1999. Location: 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
11:00 a.m.: House Resources Committee hearing on Representative Don Young s (R-AK) bill (H.R. 2547) to grant the Native Alaskan corporation of Chugach an easement across part of the nation s second largest national park, turn over to the corporation several tracts purchased by the Exxon Valdez oil spill settlement trustees from a local village corporation, and grant Native corporations throughout Alaska additional opportunities to participate in the forest planning process. Environmental groups and the Clinton Administration oppose the bill because it would damage salmon streams in the Copper River delta and harm important waterfowl feeding areas. Location:
1324 Longworth House Office Building.
2:30 p.m.: Senate Energy Water and Power Subcommittee hearing on various water projects. Location: 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
Thursday, July 29
9:30 a.m.: Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Oceans and Fisheries oversight hearing on the 1976 Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which is due for reauthorization in September. Location: 253 Russell Senate Office Building.
2:00 p.m.: Senate Energy Subcommittee hearing on S. 1349 to allow the National Park Service to study nine areas for possible inclusion in the national park service. Location: 366 Dirksen Senate Office Building.
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QUESTIONS? Contact Suzy McDowell, Conservation Outreach Coordinator, at smcdowell@amrivers.org or 202-347-7550x3040.
Legislative information taken from many sources including Thomas, Congressional Greensheets, Greenwire, and Roll Call.
Suzy McDowell
Outreach Coordinator
American Rivers
1025 Vermont Ave, NW, #720 Washington, DC 20005
202-347-7550 x3040
smcdowell@amrivers.org OR send online mail right now to: Suzy McDowell
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