“STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS” published by Congressional Record on Oct. 19, 2005

Volume 151, No. 133 covering the 1st Session of the 109th Congress (2005 - 2006) was published by the Congressional Record.

The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.

“STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS” mentioning the Department of Interior was published in the Senate section on pages S11561-S11579 on Oct. 19, 2005.

The publication is reproduced in full below:

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

By Mr. KERRY (for himself, Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. Jeffords):

S. 1887. A bill to authorize the conduct of small projects for the rehabilitation or removal of dams; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, today I joined Senator Kennedy, Representative Frank, Governor Romney and Mayor Robert Nunes on a tour of the deteriorating dam in Taunton, MA. The dam buckled earlier this week under the pressure of heavy rain. Since the beginning of this month, Taunton has received 11\1/2\ inches of rain, with more than 7 inches of that from Friday through Sunday.

As of this morning, the city remained under a state of emergency and there was still a significant amount of water behind the Whittenton Pond Dam on the Mill River. In speaking with local officials, they expressed fear that a major break in the dam could send 6 feet of water surging through downtown Taunton, flooding businesses and destroying homes.

For now, the situation is under control but still extremely volatile. It appears we may have gotten lucky--but just because the waters are receding doesn't mean our work is through. Doing everything possible means the Federal Government has to give mayors and governors every tool they need to protect their communities.

Today, the Army Corps of Engineers can help in Taunton only because it's an emergency--and everyone who has been praying that the dam doesn't break knows just what an emergency this has been. But according to the law, it's only at that point of no return that the Corps can step in. The Army Corps of Engineers has no authority to try to prevent a situation like this. Before the water came pouring through and 2,000 people were evacuated from their homes, the Corps was powerless to fix this dam.

But it's not just on the Mill River--we have 3,000 privately-owned dams in Massachusetts. The Army Corps of Engineers shouldn't be handcuffed by bureaucratic red tape until we reach the point of a make-

it-or-break-it crisis. If Hurricane Katrina taught us anything, it's that we can't let bureaucracy get in the way of preventing a pending disaster or responding to a looming threat.

For that reason, I am introducing a bill to give the Army Corps of Engineers the ability to intervene to repair privately-owned dams for the sake of public safety. That way, the Corps can help in the kind of effort Governor Romney is now undertaking to inspect and strengthen dams across the State. Senator Kennedy is co-sponsoring this bill, and we will work together to make it law.

______

By Mr. JEFFORDS (for himself and Mr. Feingold):

S. 1888. A bill to provide for 2 programs to authorize the use of leave by caregivers for family members of certain individuals performing military service, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, today I am pleased to introduce the Military Family Support Act of 2005 with my colleague and friend from Wisconsin, Senator Russ Feingold. Our bill will help military families ease the stress caused by long-term absences due to deployments overseas.

I was contacted a few months back by a group of Vermonters looking for a way to help their coworkers with family in the Vermont National Guard. When a member of the armed forces is activated and deployed, family structures and daily functioning are severely affected. The day-

to-day life of families is, in many cases, more than a one-person job. Any absence, especially absences of several months due to a deployment overseas, can be debilitating to family life. The stories of soldiers and their families from Enosburg Falls, VT, were told very poignantly in a piece reported by the Los Angeles Times. Enosburg and neighboring communities have contributed a disproportionately high number of National Guard troops to Operation Iraqi Freedom. Because of this, Enosburg's men and women have felt the pains of separation and long deployments more than most. Enosburg and surrounding towns and villages should be proud of the sacrifices made by their men and women in uniform and by those employers and family members who remained at home. Vermont is a place where neighbors help neighbors and I am proud of all the people throughout the state who have given so much support to Guard families.

The Military Family Support Act of 2005 is a straightforward bill that proposes two pilot programs. The first pilot program, administered by the Office of Personnel Management, OPM, would authorize Federal employees, who have been designated by a member of the Armed Forces as

``caregivers'', as defined by the Department of Defense, DOD, to use their leave in a more flexible manner. No new leave would be conferred to any employees. This bill simply makes leave already available more useful during stressful times for military families. The second pilot program would be established by the Department of Labor, DOL, to solicit businesses to voluntarily take part in a program to offer more accommodating leave to their employees. This bill does not include in its scope the Family Medical Leave Act, FMLA, and it does not require any private sector entity to participate. The goal of the Military Family Support Act is to make life a little easier for those who are already giving so much to our country and to their communities.

I ask unanimous consent that a May 2, 2005, article from the Los Angeles Times be printed in the Record. I also ask unanimous consent that the text of the Military Family Support Act of 2005 be printed in Record.

There being no objection, the materials were printed in the Record, as follows:

[From the Los Angeles Times, May 2, 2005]

A Town Called to Duty

(By Elizabeth Mehren)

for a rural Vermont community, the conflict in Iraq hits home. With its guardsmen deployed, locals band together to cover their absence

For four years, Matt Tracy spent his days pumping gas and repairing car engines at Mark LaRose's Texaco on Main Street. At night, the 33-year-old father of two studied law. He fended off frequent entreaties from military recruiters and held fast to his dream of becoming a litigator.

Then in December, LaRose was called up for active duty, along with the entire National Guard unit in this remote, rural town of 1,473. The deployment of 88 men in Company B, 1st Battalion, 172nd Armor Regiment, 42nd Infantry Division--better known as Bravo Company--has touched just about everyone in the area.

For Tracy, it meant his plans to exchange his wrench for an attache case went on hold.

``Right now I am just going to be a well-educated mechanic,'' he said, his voice devoid of any emotion beyond simple resignation. ``There is a point where you just have to accept it. What Mark has to do over there is much worse and much more of a sacrifice than whatever I have to give up here.''

Two years into the war, many Americans have become numb to the conflict in Iraq. Though the war is a nightly news event, it is far away and is beyond any individual's control. But in this small Vermont town, the war could not be more personal.

Town meetings now take place without Selectman Brian Westcom, who also is the road commissioner. Chris Beaudry, who works for the state highway department, was not around to clear the roads during an especially snowy winter. Firefighter Shawn Blake is gone along with LaRose, the service station owner who also is the volunteer fire chief.

Dennis Sheridan will not be coaching soccer at the junior high his son Tyler attends, and the school does not know who will replace him. Jimmy Gleason, a school bus driver who also maintained the fleet, is absent. The hunter safety class held twice a year by Eric Chates--who also works as the mechanic for the Enosburg Armory--has been canceled.

Each day brings new evidence of the men's absence: Wives attend social functions alone. Children send sports scores by e-mail to fathers who never missed a game until now. Elderly parents arrange rides to doctors' appointments because their sons are not there to drive them.

Businesses are stretched thin. Matt Tracy says his workload at LaRose Texaco has tripled. Tammie Randall, hired strictly to pump gas, keeps the books, handles the payroll and washes the service vehicles.

Five of the 98 employees at Blue Seal Feeds are gone. An electric candle glows in their honor at the main entrance to the grain and animal feed company, and five enormous yellow ribbons hang from a six-story silo.

``Everyone is working extra hard, and we have gone to a temp agency to try to fill the vacancies,'' said plant manager Paul Adamczak. ``It affects us because we have lost people with years of experience. You can't replace that. We have lost skill, not just employees.''

Adamczak's son, Mike, 33, was among the plant workers deployed.

Like the town, the father remains stoic. ``We're Vermonters,'' Adamczak said. ``We're not the great vocal communicators. This is something you think about, something you feel every day--but something you don't say anything about.''

Quietly, neighbors pitch in to help the families of those who have left. Donna Magnant, a first-grade teacher's aide whose husband, Raymond, and son Jon were deployed, said the snow on her driveway and walkway seemed to magically disappear all winter, as friends dropped by to shovel and plow.

The Magnants were engaged to be married when Raymond went to Vietnam with the Army almost 40 years ago, right out of high school. Both have lived in Enosburg Falls their entire lives.

``Neither one of us, I am sure, thought we would have to face something like this again,'' said Magnant, 58.

All 63 assigned members of Bravo Company are in Iraq. Of the 25 support soldiers attached to the unit, most are training at Camp Shelby, Miss., and will head to the Middle East soon; a handful found they had medical conditions that prevented them from serving overseas. The unit is scheduled to be gone for 18 months. Though women have belonged to the unit in the past, Bravo Company is all male at this time.

Bravo Company joined about 1,400 other members of the Vermont Guard who had been called up in recent months, nearly half the state's roster--making Vermont second only to Hawaii in the per capita call-up of guardsmen. The Hawaiian units, however, include people from other states. The Vermont guardsmen come from their home state.

The average age of the men deployed from Bravo Company is 40, but some are old enough to have grandchildren. At least a third have served in the Guard for 20 years or more.

Answering the call of their country is something people in Enosburg Falls do, not something they question. If there is opposition to the war, people keep it to themselves, deferring to the prevailing sentiment of patriotism.

``Most people around here would go if they were asked,'' said Steve Tracy, who works at Blue Seal Feeds. ``Basically, it is how we were brought up.''

Tracy, 55--no relation to Matt Tracy--has five family members in the Guard: two sons, a nephew, a son-in-law and a brother-in-law.

``It has just become our community's price for the way we live,'' said Adamczak, his boss. ``If you look at it any other way, you are kidding yourself. Nobody is going to protect our lifestyle if we don't do it. This is a necessary, continuing commitment.''

As teller Jeannie West cashes paychecks and processes mortgage payments at Merchants Bank on Main Street, she glances at a snapshot thumbtacked to her work station. It shows four men in camouflage--all family members who have been called up. The last to be summoned was her son Joshua, 22, who left college in nearby Burlington when he was sent to Iraq in January.

West, 49, considers it an honor when customers ask about her son, and tell her they are proud that a boy from Enosburg Falls is representing the United States in Iraq.

``I could not imagine living somewhere where people did not feel like this,'' she said.

Still, West said: ``The town seems sadder because everybody talks about the guys who are gone. Everyone here went to school with somebody in the Guard. Everybody knows someone. Everyone is connected, somehow, to someone who is over there.''

As their fathers and grandfathers did, many young people here enlist in the military straight out of high school. When they return home, they often join the Guard--signing up for extra income, and for an opportunity to continue to serve.

Edward Grossman, principal of Enosburg Falls High School, said support for the military effort was so strong that when he surveyed his 375 students about starting an ROTC program, half said they wanted one. The program will begin in the fall.

When Bravo Company was deployed from St. Albans in December, the students pressed so hard to see the ceremony that Grossman arranged for a live broadcast in the school auditorium. As cameras panned on the unit, Grossman, 55, heard squeals of recognition: ``There's my cousin!''

``There's my brother!'' ``There's my dad!''

Enosburg Falls nestles in low hills in northwestern Vermont, 10 miles from the Canadian border. Most of the town was built in the 19th century, starting when the first dairy farm was settled in 1806. In a quarter-mile commercial district, Radio Shack and the Family Dollar store stand out as franchises among locally owned enterprises like Leon's Kitchen.

There is almost 100% employment. Three-quarters of the population graduates from high school, going on to earn an average annual income of $32,000. They are laborers at the feed company and a pulp mill. They drive trucks. They are mechanics, cashiers and office workers. Many work on dairy farms. Some have jobs at an IBM plant 45 minutes away.

Enosburg Falls is surrounded by villages, bringing the population of the region residents refer to as Enosburg to about 2,500.

The area's uncommon stability has helped it withstand the loss of the guardsmen. But there are signs everywhere that the men are not forgotten.

Yellow ribbons cling to door knockers, lampposts and bay windows. Nine houses on Duffy Hill, a 1\1/2\-mile road, are draped with blue-star banners, indicating a soldier on active duty. A nearby trailer boasts a sign: ``Gone to Iraq, Be Back in 18 Months.''

Jars filled with pennies, nickels and dimes sit on office counters. The coins pay for postage to send goodie boxes to the guardsmen. Cars and pickups sport magnets honoring Bravo Company. A busy local restaurant, the Abbey, offers 50% discounts to Guard families.

Every other Saturday, Lise Gates, 50, turns her arcade and bowling alley over to children of the guardsmen so their mothers can have a break. Gates, who has no relatives in Bravo Company, e-mails photographs of the kids at play to their dads.

They thank her and she wonders why.

``Why thank me, when they're the ones putting their lives on the line so we can be safe?'' Gates said. ``I think a majority of them wanted to go because they felt if they didn't, a war was going to happen right here. A lot of us here feel that way.''

The elementary school started its own support group for Guard children. An English teacher at Enosburg Falls High assigned her students to write an essay comparing a recent graduate--who has served twice in Iraq--to Beowulf, a great Scandinavian warrior from the 6th century. The graduate, Ben Pathode, has two brothers at the school.

School secretary Debbie Shover's 22-year-old nephew is in Iraq. Shover, 50, said that since the guardsmen shipped out townspeople thought in terms of days, not months or years.

Enosburg Falls, she said, has unofficially adopted a new way of telling time. ``Now, today, another day we can mark off. And then, when they come home. Nothing in between.''

When a fire broke out on Main Street one cold night in February, the guardsmen's absence seemed more glaring than usual. The blaze demolished an entire block of eight apartments and five businesses--among them, a furniture company.

Firefighters converged from as far as Quebec. But LaRose, the volunteer fire captain, was missing. LaRose, 49, Bravo Company's command sergeant major, is known for his ability to take charge in an emergency. He joined the Guard almost 30 years ago.

``We put the fire out,'' said Town Administrator Harold Foote. ``But we really missed him.''

Foote, 49, said he was worried about what would happen when the spring floods started. In the past, the Guard unit stacked sandbags to halt onrushing waters. The June Dairy Festival--the town's biggest event of the year--also concerns him, because guardsmen traditionally manage the crowds and traffic.

``It sounds like small things, but it really confuses a community when you are used to relying on a group of guys like this,'' Foote said. ``And we haven't gone through a whole year's cycle yet.''

LaRose's gas station, with its big red Texaco star sign, is a local landmark--the only service station for miles where customers can still get their gas pumped and their windshields cleaned without getting out of their cars.

``Mark kept it like that, religiously,'' Matt Tracy said. He has vowed to maintain his boss' high service standards:

``It is our responsibility to keep it like that until he gets back.''

Tracy said he and his boss used to confer on minor problems and emergencies alike. Now he has no one to turn to. ``Mark was a leader,'' he said, ``not just with the National Guard or the fire department. He was my leader too.''

As he tries to make the right decisions, Tracy asks himself: What would Mark do?

Until now, Tracy said, he never realized how one man's absence could make such a difference.

S. 1888

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Military Family Support Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. PROGRAMS FOR USE OF LEAVE BY CAREGIVERS FOR FAMILY

MEMBERS OF INDIVIDUALS PERFORMING CERTAIN

MILITARY SERVICE.

(a) Federal Employees Program.--

(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:

(A) Caregiver.--The term ``caregiver'' means an individual who--

(i) is an employee;

(ii) is at least 21 years of age; and

(iii) is capable of self care and care of children or other dependent family members of a qualified member of the Armed Forces.

(B) Covered period of service.--The term ``covered period of service'' means any period of service performed by an employee as a caregiver while the individual who designated the caregiver under paragraph (3) remains a qualified member of the Armed Forces.

(D) Family member.--The term ``family member'' includes--

(i) individuals for whom the qualified member of the Armed Forces provides medical, financial, and logistical support

(such as housing, food, clothing, or transportation); and

(ii) children under the age of 19 years, elderly adults, persons with disabilities, and other persons who are unable to care for themselves in the absence of the qualified member of the Armed Forces.

(E) Qualified member of the armed forces.--The term

``qualified member of the Armed Forces'' means--

(i) a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces as described under section 10101 of title 10, United States Code, who has received notice to report to, or is serving on, active duty in the Armed Forces in support of a contingency operation as defined under section 101(a)(13) of title 10, United States Code; or

(ii) a member of the Armed Forces on active duty who is eligible for hostile fire or imminent danger special pay under section 310 of title 37, United States Code.

(2) Establishment of program.--The Office of Personnel Management shall establish a program to authorize a caregiver to--

(A) use any sick leave of that caregiver during a covered period of service in the same manner and to the same extent as annual leave is used; and

(B) use any leave available to that caregiver under subchapter III or IV of chapter 63 of title 5, United States Code, during a covered period of service as though that covered period of service is a medical emergency.

(3) Designation of caregiver.--

(A) In general.--A qualified member of the Armed Forces shall submit a written designation of the individual who is the caregiver for any family member of that member of the Armed Forces during a covered period of service to the employing agency and the Office of Personnel Management.

(B) Designation of spouse.--Notwithstanding paragraph

(1)(A)(ii), an individual less than 21 years of age may be designated as a caregiver if that individual is the spouse of the qualified member of the Armed Forces making the designation.

(4) Use of caregiver leave.--Leave may only be used under this subsection for purposes directly relating to, or resulting from, the designation of an employee as a caregiver.

(5) Regulations.--Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Office of Personnel Management shall prescribe regulations to carry out this subsection.

(6) Termination.--The program under this subsection shall terminate on December 31, 2007.

(b) Voluntary Private Sector Leave Program.--

(1) Definitions.--

(A) Caregiver.--The term ``caregiver'' means an individual who--

(i) is an employee;

(ii) is at least 21 years of age; and

(iii) is capable of self care and care of children or other dependent family members of a qualified member of the Armed Forces.

(C) Employee.--The term ``employee'' means an employee of a business entity participating in the program under this subsection.

(D) Family member.--The term ``family member'' includes--

(i) individuals for whom the qualified member of the Armed Forces provides medical, financial, and logistical support

(such as housing, food, clothing, or transportation); and

(ii) children under the age of 19 years, elderly adults, persons with disabilities, and other persons who are unable to care for themselves in the absence of the qualified member of the Armed Forces.

(E) Qualified member of the armed forces.--The term

``qualified member of the Armed Forces'' means--

(ii) a member of the Armed Forces on active duty who is eligible for hostile fire or imminent danger special pay under section 310 of title 37, United States Code.

(2) Establishment of program.--

(A) In general.--The Secretary of Labor shall establish a program to authorize employees of business entities described under paragraph (3) to use sick leave, or any other leave available to an employee, during a covered period of service in the same manner and to the same extent as annual leave (or its equivalent) is used.

(B) Exception.--Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to leave made available under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993

(29 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.).

(3) Voluntary business participation.--The Secretary of Labor shall solicit business entities to voluntarily participate in the program under this subsection.

(4) Designation of caregiver.--

(B) Designation of spouse.--Notwithstanding paragraph

(1)(A)(ii), an individual less than 21 years of age may be designated as a caregiver if that individual is the spouse of the qualified member of the Armed Forces making the designation.

(5) Use of caregiver leave.--Leave may only be used under this subsection for purposes directly relating to, or resulting from, the designation of an employee as a caregiver.

(6) Regulations.--Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall prescribe regulations to carry out this subsection.

(7) Termination.--The program under this subsection shall terminate on December 31, 2007.

(c) GAO Report.--Not later than June 30, 2007, the Government Accountability Office shall submit a report to Congress on the programs under subsections (a) and (b) that includes--

(1) an evaluation of the success of each program; and

(2) recommendations for the continuance or termination of each program.

Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, today I am pleased to join with the Senator from Vermont, Mr. Jeffords, in introducing legislation that would bring a small measure of relief to the families of our men and women in uniform as they seek to maintain a sense of normalcy here at home while their loved ones are deployed in service to our country. Our ongoing large-scale deployments in Iraq continue to demand so much from our men and women in uniform and their families. Passing this measure is the least we can do.

As part of the pre-deployment process, military personnel with dependent children or other dependent family members, such as elderly parents who require care, designate a caregiver for their dependents. This person will act in the deployed personnel's place to provide care for these family members during the period of deployment. The caregiver could be a spouse, parent, sibling, or other responsible adult who is capable of caring for, and willing to care for, the dependents in question.

The bill that we are introducing today, the Military Family Support Act, would create two programs to provide additional leave options for persons who have been designated as caregivers. The first program would require the Office of Personnel Management, OPM, to create a program under which Federal employees who are designated as caregivers could use accrued annual or sick leave, leave bank benefits, and other leave available to them under Title 5 for purposes directly relating to or resulting from their designation as a caregiver.

This bill would also require the Secretary of Labor to establish a voluntary program under which private sector companies would create similar programs for their employees and to solicit participation from private sector companies. I commend the many employers around the country for their understanding and support when an employee or a family member of an employee is called to active duty, and I hope that companies in Wisconsin and around the country will participate in this voluntary program.

In addition, our bill would require the Government Accountability Office to report to Congress with an evaluation of both the OPM program and the voluntary Department of Labor program. It is my hope that this evaluation will demonstrate the utility of such a leave program for designated caregivers and that these pilot programs could then be expanded to the designated caregivers of additional deployed military personnel.

This legislation builds on a measure that I introduced earlier this year, S. 798, the Military Families Leave Act. This bill would provide a similar benefit to military families by allowing eligible employees whose spouses, parents, sons, or daughters are military personnel who are serving on or called to active duty in support of a contingency operation to use their Family and Medical Leave Act, FMLA, benefits for issues directly relating to or resulting from that deployment. These instances could include preparation for deployment or additional responsibilities that family members take on as a result of a loved one's deployment, such as child care. I also introduced this bill during the 108th Congress.

Let me be clear, that the legislation we are introducing today does not amend the FMLA in any way. In fact, FMLA benefits are specifically exempted from the types of leave that can be used by designated caregivers for purposes directly related to or resulting from their caregiver responsibilities. While I believe that the FMLA could serve as the basis for providing additional leave opportunities for designated caregivers, opposition in some quarters to the original FMLA makes this a difficult proposition. I am proud to have been a cosponsor of this landmark law, and I believe that the FMLA continues to provide much-needed assistance to millions of workers around the country as they seek to care for their own serious health condition or that of a family member or as they welcome the birth or adoption of a child. I will continue to support this law and efforts to ensure that the vital benefits that it provides are not eroded.

I thank the Senator from Vermont, Mr. Jeffords, for his work on this important measure, and I urge all of our colleagues to support it.

______

By Mr. HAGEL:

S. 1889. A bill to establish the Comprehensive Entitlement Reform Commission; to the Committee on Finance.

Mr. HAGEL. Mr. President, today I introduce legislation to create a bi-partisan Entitlement Reform Commission. The Commission will review America's three major entitlement programs, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and make comprehensive recommendations to Congress and the President that would sustain the solvency and stability of these three programs for future generations. Representative John Tanner, D-

TN, has joined me by introducing this legislation in the House of Representatives.

Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid have played a vital role for millions of Americans to cope with the financial burdens of retirement and health care costs. However, over the next 75 years these three programs represent a 42 trillion dollar unfunded commitment are on a trajectory that cannot be sustained. The Social Security Trust Fund faces a four trillion dollar unfunded commitment and will pay out more money than it takes in beginning in 2017; it will be exhausted in 2041. The Medicare Part A Trust Fund, hospital insurance, faces an 8.6 trillion dollar unfunded commitment and will be exhausted even sooner in 2020. The remainder of the 42 trillion dollar unfunded commitment includes 12.4 trillion dollars for Medicare Part B, supplementary medical insurance; 8.7 trillion dollars for Medicare Part D, prescription drugs; and 8.4 trillion dollars for Medicaid.

We have no idea where we are going to get the money to pay for these commitments. We must deal with these challenges today while we still have options so that our children will not be severely burdened with paying for huge entitlement commitments when they are competing in a far more competitive world than exists today. To leave future generations in this predicament would be an irresponsible and colossal failure of our generation.

Eight members will sit on the Commission established in my legislation. The House Speaker, House Minority Leader, Senate Majority Leader and Senate Minority Leader will each appoint two members. Members cannot be elected officials. The Commission will select two Co-

Chairmen from among its members and hire an Executive Director.

The Commission must submit its final report to the President and Congress one year after the selection of the two Co-Chairmen of the Commission and the Executive Director. Congress will hold Committee hearings to review the Commission's recommendations. The bill authorizes 1.5 million dollars to carry out the Commission's tasks.

In March 2005, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan urged Congress to act on modernizing entitlement programs, ``sooner rather than later.'' He warned that unless we act now to meet the huge unfunded commitments of our entitlement programs, there will be significant economic consequences for our nation. Dealing with this problem now means facing less dramatic and difficult choices down the road. The earlier we confront this reality, the more options we will have to pursue a wise and sustainable course of action.

I am 59 years old. I am at the front end of the ``baby boom'' generation. My daughter is 15 years old and my son is 13 years old. I don't want to fail their generation. That means addressing these entitlement programs now while we have time to do it in a responsible way. This is a defining debate for today's leaders. Doing nothing is irresponsible and cowardly. It is in every American's interest to deal with this challenge now. We have it in us to do what needs to be done. I invite my colleagues to cosponsor this legislation.

______

By Mr. BAUCUS (for himself, Mr. Grassley, and Mr. McCain):

S. 1890. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to deny a deduction for certain fines, penalties, and other amounts; to the Committee on Finance.

Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, today my good friends Senators Grassley and McCain and I are introducing the ``Government Settlement Transparency Act of 2005'', a bill that will put a stop to tax deductions for fines and penalties paid by companies to government agencies in connection with civil settlements. Over the past several years, we have become increasingly concerned about the approval of various settlements that allow penalty payments made to the government in settlement of a violation or potential violation of the law to be tax deductible. Our concerns were heightened this week upon the release of a Government Accountability Office Report that confirmed many companies deduct these settlements notwithstanding the tax code's prohibition against deducting fines and penalties. This abuse shifts the tax burden from the wrongdoer onto the backs of the American people. This is unacceptable.

Many government agencies enter into these settlement agreements after investigating companies for violations of the law. Every year thousands of violations are resolved with settlements totaling tens of billions of dollars paid to the Federal Government. Civil settlements serve to punish past wrongdoing and to deter future wrongdoing without protracted court proceedings. For example, in the past several years settlements of various SEC investigations into violations or potential violations of the securities laws have been front and center in the news. Through civil investigations, Federal and State regulators are working hard to hold these firms responsible for their actions. With these efforts to achieve greater accountability in the business community and ensure the integrity of our financial markets, it is important that the rules governing the appropriate tax treatment of settlements be clear and adhered to by taxpayers.

Section 162(f) of the Internal Revenue Code provides that no deduction is allowed as a trade or business expense under section 162(a) for the payment of a fine or penalty to a government for violation of any law. The enactment of section 162(f) in 1969 codified existing case law that denied the deductibility of fines and penalties as ordinary and necessary business expenses on the grounds that

``allowance of the deduction would frustrate sharply defined national or state policies proscribing the particular types of conduct evidenced by some governmental declaration thereof.'' Treasury regulations provide that a fine or penalty includes an amount paid in settlement of the taxpayer's actual or potential liability for a fine or penalty.

The legislation introduced today modifies the rules regarding the determination of whether payments are nondeductible payments of fines or penalties under section 162(f). In particular, the bill generally provides that amounts paid or incurred whether by suit, agreement, or otherwise, to, or at the direction of, a government in relation to the violation of any law or the investigation or inquiry in the potential violation of any law are nondeductible. The bill applies to deny a deduction for any such payments, including those where there is no admission of guilt or liability and those made for the purpose of avoiding further investigation or litigation.

An exception applies to payments that the taxpayer establishes are either restitution, including remediation of property, or amounts required to come into compliance with any law that was violated, and that are so identified in the settlement agreement. It is intended that a payment will be treated as restitution only if the payment is required to be paid to the specific persons, or in relation to the specific property, actually harmed by the conduct of the taxpayer that resulted in the payment. Restitution does not include reimbursement of government investigative or litigation costs, or payments to whistleblowers. It is intended that a payment will be treated as an amount required to come into compliance only if it directly corrects a violation with respect to a particular requirement of law that was under investigation. Amounts paid to educate consumers or customers about the risks of doing business with the taxpayer or about the field in which the taxpayer generally does business, and which are not specifically required under the law, are not deductible if required under a settlement agreement.

To ensure that companies do not take unallowable tax deductions for settlement payments, the bill requires government agencies to report to the IRS and to the taxpayer within thirty days of the settlement the amount of each settlement agreement, and to identify whether the payment is for fines, restitution, remediation or compliance, where the aggregate amount of the settlement is at least six hundred dollars, the Secretary of the Treasury will have the authority to adjust the amount and deadline for filing. Further, the IRS is encouraged to require taxpayers to separately identify such settlements on their tax returns.

The bill would be effective for amounts paid or incurred on or after the date of enactment unless the amounts were under binding order or agreement before such date.

I ask unanimous consent that the Joint Committee on Taxation Technical Description and the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

There being no objection, the materials were ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:

Denial of Deduction for Certain Fines, Penalties, and Other Amounts

Present Law

Under present law, no deduction is allowed as a trade or business expense under section 162(a) for the payment of a fine or similar penalty to a government for the violation of any law (sec. 162(f)). The enactment of section 162(f) in 1969 codified existing case law that denied the deductibility of fines as ordinary and necessary business expenses on the grounds that ``allowance of the deduction would frustrate sharply defined national or State policies proscribing the particular types of conduct evidenced by some governmental declaration thereof.''

Treasury regulation section 1.162-21(b)(1) provides that a fine or similar penalty includes an amount: (1) Paid pursuant to conviction or a plea of guilty or nolo contendere for a crime (felony or misdemeanor) in a criminal proceeding; (2) paid as a civil penalty imposed by Federal, State, or local law, including additions to tax and additional amounts and assessable penalties imposed by chapter 68 of the Code; (3) paid in settlement of the taxpayer's actual or potential liability for a fine or penalty (civil or criminal); or (4) forfeited as collateral posted in connection with a proceeding which could result in imposition of such a fine or penalty. Treasury regulation section 1.162-21(b)(2) provides, among other things, that compensatory damages (including damages under section 4A of the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 15a), as amended) paid to a government do not constitute a fine or penalty.

Reasons for Chanee

There is a lack of clarity and consistency under present law regarding when taxpayers may deduct payments made in settlement of government investigations of potential wrongdoing, as well as in situations where there has been a final determination of wrongdoing. If a taxpayer deducts payments made in settlement of an investigation of potential wrongdoing or as a result of a finding of wrongdoing, the publicly announced amount of the settlement payment does not reflect the true after-tax penalty on the taxpayer. Allowing a deduction for such payments in effect shifts a portion of the penalty to the Federal government and to the public.

Description of Proposal

The bill modifies the rules regarding the determination whether payments are nondeductible payments of fines or penalties under section 162(f). In particular, the bill generally provides that amounts paid or incurred (whether by suit, agreement, or otherwise) to, or at the direction of, a government in relation to the violation of any law or the investigation or inquiry into the potential violation of any law are nondeductible under any provision of the income tax provisions. The bill applies to deny a deduction for any such payments, including those where there is no admission of guilt or liability and those made for the purpose of avoiding further investigation or litigation. An exception applies to payments that the taxpayer establishes are either restitution (including remediation of property), or amounts required to come into compliance with any law that was violated or involved in the investigation or inquiry, and that are identified in the court order or settlement as restitution, remediation, or required to come into compliance. The IRS remains free to challenge the characterization of an amount so identified; however, no deduction is allowed unless the identification is made.

An exception also applies to any amount paid or incurred as taxes due.

The bill is intended to apply only where a government (or other entity treated in a manner similar to a government under the amendment) is a complainant or investigator with respect to the violation or potential violation of any law.

It is intended that a payment will be treated as restitution (including remediation of property) only if substantially all of the payment is required to be paid to the specific persons, or in relation to the specific property, actually harmed by the conduct of the taxpayer that resulted in the payment. Thus, a payment to or with respect to a class substantially broader than the specific persons or property that were actually harmed (e.g., to a class including similarly situated persons or property) does not qualify as restitution or included remediation of property. Restitution and included remediation of property is limited to the amount that bears a substantial quantitative relationship to the harm caused by the past conduct or actions of the taxpayer that resulted in the payment in question. If the party harmed is a government or other entity, then restitution and included remediation of property includes payment to such harmed government or entity, provided the payment bears a substantial quantitative relationship to the harm. However, restitution or included remediation of property does not include reimbursement of government investigative or litigation costs, or payments to whistleblowers.

It is intended that a payment will be treated as an amount required to come into compliance only if it directly corrects a violation with respect to a particular requirement of law that was under investigation. For example, if the law requires a particular emission standard to be met or particular machinery to be used, amounts required to be paid under a settlement agreement to meet the required standard or install the machinery are deductible to the extent otherwise allowed. Similarly, if the law requires certain practices and procedures to be followed and a settlement agreement requires the taxpayer to pay to establish such practices or procedures, such amounts would be deductible. However, amounts paid for other purposes not directly correcting a violation of law are not deductible. For example, amounts paid to bring other machinery that is already in compliance up to a standard higher than required by the law, or to create other benefits (such as a park or other action not previously required by law), are not deductible if required under a settlement agreement. Similarly, amounts paid to educate consumers or customers about the risks of doing business with the taxpayer or about the field in which the taxpayer does business generally, which education efforts are not specifically required under the law, are not deductible if required under a settlement agreement.

The bill requires government agencies to report to the IRS and to the taxpayer the amount of each settlement agreement or order entered where the aggregate amount required to be paid or incurred to or at the direction of the government under such settlement agreements and orders with respect to the violation, investigation, or inquiry is least $600 (or such other amount as may be specified by the Secretary of the Treasury as necessary to ensure the efficient administration of the Internal Revenue laws). The reports must be made within 30 days of entering the settlement agreement, or such other time as may be required by Secretary. The report must separately identify any amounts that are restitution or remediation of property, or correction of noncompliance.

The IRS is encouraged in addition to require taxpayers to identify separately on their tax returns the amounts of any such settlements with respect to which reporting is required under the bill, including separate identification of the nondeductible amount and of any amount deductible as restitution, remediation, or required to correct noncompliance.

Amounts paid or incurred (whether by suit, agreement, or otherwise) to, or at the direction of, any self-regulatory entity that regulates a financial market or other market that is a qualified board or exchange under section 1256(g)(7), and that is authorized to impose sanctions (e.g., the National Association of Securities Dealers) are likewise subject to the provision if paid in relation to a violation, or investigation or inquiry into a potential violation, of any law (or any rule or other requirement of such entity). To the extent provided in regulations, amounts paid or incurred to, or at the direction of, any other nongovernmental entity that exercises self-regulatory powers as part of performing an essential governmental function are similarly subject to the provision. The exception for payments that the taxpayer establishes are paid or incurred for restitution, remediation of property, or coming into compliance and that are identified as such in the order or settlement agreement likewise applies in these cases. The requirement of reporting to the IRS and the taxpayer also applies in these cases.

No inference is intended as to the treatment of payments as nondeductible fines or penalties under present law. In particular, the bill is not intended to limit the scope of present-law section 162(f) or the regulations thereunder.

Effective date

The bill is effective for amounts paid or incurred on or after the date of enactment; however the bill does not apply to amounts paid or incurred under any binding order or agreement entered into before such date. Any order or agreement requiring court approval is not a binding order or agreement for this purpose unless such approval was obtained before the date of enactment.

S. 1890

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Government Settlement Transparency Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. DENIAL OF DEDUCTION FOR CERTAIN FINES, PENALTIES, AND

OTHER AMOUNTS.

(a) In General.--Subsection (f) of section 162 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to trade or business expenses) is amended to read as follows:

``(f) Fines, Penalties, and Other Amounts.--

``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), no deduction otherwise allowable shall be allowed under this chapter for any amount paid or incurred (whether by suit, agreement, or otherwise) to, or at the direction of, a government or entity described in paragraph (4) in relation to the violation of any law or the investigation or inquiry by such government or entity into the potential violation of any law.

``(2) Exception for amounts constituting restitution or paid to come into compliance with law.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any amount which--

``(A) the taxpayer establishes--

``(i) constitutes restitution (including remediation of property) for damage or harm caused by or which may be caused by the violation of any law or the potential violation of any law, or

``(ii) is paid to come into compliance with any law which was violated or involved in the investigation or inquiry, and

``(B) is identified as restitution or as an amount paid to come into compliance with the law, as the case may be, in the court order or settlement agreement.

Identification pursuant to subparagraph (B) alone shall not satisfy the requirement under subparagraph (A). This paragraph shall not apply to any amount paid or incurred as reimbursement to the government or entity for the costs of any investigation or litigation.

``(3) Exception for amounts paid or incurred as the result of certain court orders.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any amount paid or incurred by order of a court in a suit in which no government or entity described in paragraph (4) is a party.

``(4) Certain nongovernmental regulatory entities.--An entity is described in this paragraph if it is--

``(A) a nongovernmental entity which exercises self-regulatory powers (including imposing sanctions) in connection with a qualified board or exchange (as defined in section 1256(g)(7)), or

``(B) to the extent provided in regulations, a nongovernmental entity which exercises self-regulatory powers

(including imposing sanctions) as part of performing an essential governmental function.

``(5) Exception for taxes due.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any amount paid or incurred as taxes due.''.

(b) Reporting of Deductible Amounts.--

(1) In general.--Subpart B of part III of subchapter A of chapter 61 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after section 6050T the following new section:

``SEC. 6050U. INFORMATION WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN FINES,

PENALTIES, AND OTHER AMOUNTS.

``(a) Requirement of Reporting.--

``(1) In general.--The appropriate official of any government or entity which is described in section 162(f)(4) which is involved in a suit or agreement described in paragraph (2) shall make a return in such form as determined by the Secretary setting forth--

``(A) the amount required to be paid as a result of the suit or agreement to which paragraph (1) of section 162(f) applies,

``(B) any amount required to be paid as a result of the suit or agreement which constitutes restitution or remediation of property, and

``(C) any amount required to be paid as a result of the suit or agreement for the purpose of coming into compliance with any law which was violated or involved in the investigation or inquiry.

``(2) Suit or agreement described.--

``(A) In general.--A suit or agreement is described in this paragraph if--

``(i) it is--

``(I) a suit with respect to a violation of any law over which the government or entity has authority and with respect to which there has been a court order, or

``(II) an agreement which is entered into with respect to a violation of any law over which the government or entity has authority, or with respect to an investigation or inquiry by the government or entity into the potential violation of any law over which such government or entity has authority, and

``(ii) the aggregate amount involved in all court orders and agreements with respect to the violation, investigation, or inquiry is $600 or more.

``(B) Adjustment of reporting threshold.--The Secretary may adjust the $600 amount in subparagraph (A)(ii) as necessary in order to ensure the efficient administration of the internal revenue laws.

``(3) Time of filing.--The return required under this subsection shall be filed not later than--

``(A) 30 days after the date on which a court order is issued with respect to the suit or the date the agreement is entered into, as the case may be, or

``(B) the date specified Secretary.

``(b) Statements to Be Furnished to Individuals Involved in the Settlement.--Every person required to make a return under subsection (a) shall furnish to each person who is a party to the suit or agreement a written statement showing--

``(1) the name of the government or entity, and

``(2) the information supplied to the Secretary under subsection (a)(1).

The written statement required under the preceding sentence shall be furnished to the person at the same time the government or entity provides the Secretary with the information required under subsection (a).

``(c) Appropriate Official Defined.--For purposes of this section, the term `appropriate official' means the officer or employee having control of the suit, investigation, or inquiry or the person appropriately designated for purposes of this section.''.

(2) Conforming amendment.--The table of sections for subpart B of part III of subchapter A of chapter 61 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 6050T the following new item:

``Sec. 6050U. Information with respect to certain fines, penalties, and other amounts.''.

(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall apply to amounts paid or incurred on or after the date of the enactment of this Act, except that such amendments shall not apply to amounts paid or incurred under any binding order or agreement entered into before such date. Such exception shall not apply to an order or agreement requiring court approval unless the approval was obtained before such date.

______

By Mr. McCAIN (for himself and Mr. Dorgan):

S. 1892. A bill to amend Public Law 107-153 to modify a certain date; to the Committee on Indian Affairs.

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, today I am introducing a measure with Senator Dorgan to amend P.L. 107-153, which deems that certain reports prepared for the Department of the Interior relating to Indian tribal trust accounts were received by the tribes no earlier than December 31, 1999. The intent of this law was to eliminate contentions that the tribes received notice of potential claims against the United States prior to that date for purposes of the statute of limitations. This amendment changes the date set forth in P.L. 107-153 to December 31, 2005, in order to facilitate discussions and negotiations between the Indian tribes and the United States regarding potential claims without pressure on the tribes to file lawsuits out of concern that the statute of limitations will run out on their claims. It is my understanding that this measure has support both among the Indian tribes and the administration.

______

By Mr. SANTORUM:

S. 1893. A bill to permit biomedical research corporations to engage in certain financings and other transactions without incurring limitations on net operating loss carryforwards and certain built-in losses, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.

Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, today I rise to introduce the Biotechnology Future Investment Expansion Act of 2005.

Biotechnology has resulted in some of the most important innovations of our time. Substantive research in agriculture, bioengineering, and medicine have given Americans a better life. From the discovery of DNA to the creation of synthetic insulin, biotechnology has improved the standard of living and has saved many lives. It is important that we encourage continued research to further advances in the biotech field.

The biotech industry is one of the most research-intensive industries in the world. The industry spent $17.9 billion on research and development in 2003 alone. The overwhelming majority of biotech companies engaged in this research are not profitable in the early years of development. Such companies may accumulate net operating losses NOLs, without earning income, for a decade or more. Unfortunately, a provision of the tax code, (Section 382), operates to severely limit the utilization of NOLs by many such biotech companies. Often, these limitations cause NOLs to expire before they can be used by these companies.

This legislation will modify the application of Section 382 to the biotech industry, with the goal of increasing that important sector's ability to leverage capital into high-tech, high-risk cutting-edge research. Specifically, the legislation will ensure that neither new investment into biotech companies nor a business-driven merger of two biotech loss companies will trigger the section 382 NOL limitation. Neither of these changes runs counter to the long-standing tax policy behind Section 382 of preventing corporations, from NOL trafficking.

My home State of Pennsylvania is a national leader in biotechnology innovation, and the biosciences are a significant economic driver in Pennsylvania's economy. Pennsylvania's support of the industry has made it a policy leader for the biosciences. More than 125 biopharmaceutical companies and 2,000 bioscience-related companies make Pennsylvania their home. For example, Philadelphia's BioAdvance focuses on bioinformatics, bio-pharmaceuticals and medical devices, and clinical trials. The Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse focuses on drug discovery tools, tissue and organ research, medical devices, and therapeutic strategies for neuropsychiatric disorders. The Central Pennsylvania Life Sciences Greenhouse is pursuing drug design and delivery systems, biomedical devices, and bio-nanotechnology. These and many other companies in Pennsylvania are developing ground-breaking therapies, devices, diagnostics and vaccines for once untreatable diseases and debilitating conditions, providing hope for millions of patients.

Additionally, top-of-the-line bioscience research takes place in Pennsylvania's academic institutions. Pennsylvania researchers garnered

$1.3 billion in funding through the I.-- National Institutes of Health in 2003, making the Commonwealth fourth in the Nation. And the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pittsburgh are in the top 10 nationally for NIH funding.

We must encourage continued research and the funding that supports it. Biotech companies are pursuing high-risk research projects to find cures for many deadly and debilitating diseases that afflict humanity. From cancer to AIDS, and from Alzheimer's Disease to Parkinson' Disease, the biotechnology industry will be in the center of finding cures to these life-ending illnesses. My legislation offers a little more support to an industry we depend upon. I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation and ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:

S. 1893

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Biotechnology Future Investment Expansion Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. RESTORING THE BENEFIT OF TAX INCENTIVES FOR

BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AND CLINICAL TRIALS.

(a) In General.--Subsection (l) of section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

``(9) Certain financing transactions of biomedical research corporations.--

``(A) General rule.--In the case of a biomedical research corporation, any owner shift involving a 5-percent shareholder which occurs as the result of a qualified investment or qualified transaction during the testing period shall be treated for purposes of this section (other than this paragraph) as occurring before the testing period.

``(B) Biomedical research corporation.--For purposes of this paragraph, the term `biomedical research corporation' means, with respect to any qualified investment, any domestic corporation subject to tax under this subchapter which is not in bankruptcy and which, as of the time of the closing on such investment--

``(i) holds the rights to a drug or biologic for which an investigational new drug application is in effect under section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and

``(ii) certifies that, as of the time of such closing, the drug or biologic is, or in the 3 month period before and after such closing has been, under study pursuant to an investigational use exemption under section 505(i) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

``(C) Qualified investment.--For purposes of this paragraph, the term `qualified investment' means any acquisition of stock by a shareholder (who after such acquisition is a less than 50 percent shareholder) in a biomedical research corporation if such stock is acquired at its original issue (directly or through an underwriter) solely in exchange for cash.

``(D) Qualified transaction.--For purposes of this paragraph, the term `qualified transaction' means any acquisition of stock in a biomedical research corporation if such stock is acquired as part of a merger or acquisition by another biomedical research corporation that is a loss corporation. If the acquiring loss corporation is a member of a controlled group of corporations under section 1563(a), the group must be a loss group.

``(E) Stock issued in exchange for convertible debt.--For purposes of this paragraph, stock issued by a biomedical research corporation in exchange for its convertible debt (or stock deemed under this section to be so issued) shall be treated as stock acquired by the debt holder at its original issue and solely in exchange for cash if the debt holder previously acquired the convertible debt at its original issue and solely in exchange for cash. In the case of an acquisition of stock in exchange for convertible debt, the requirements of this paragraph shall be applied separately as of the time of closing on the investment in convertible debt, and as of the time of actual conversion (or deemed conversion under this section) of the convertible debt for stock.

``(F) Biomedical research corporation must meet 3-year expenditure and continuity of business tests with respect to any qualified investment.--

``(i) In general.--This paragraph shall not apply to a qualified investment or transaction in a biomedical research corporation unless such corporation meets the expenditure test for each year of the measuring period and the continuity of business test.

``(ii) Measuring period.--For purposes of this subparagraph, the term `measuring period' means, with respect to any qualified investment or transaction, the taxable year of the biomedical research corporation in which the closing on the investment occurs, and the 2 preceding taxable years.

``(iii) Expenditure test.--A biomedical research corporation meets the expenditure test of this subparagraph for a taxable year if at least 35 percent of its expenditures for the taxable year (including, for purposes of this clause, payments in redemption of its stock) are expenditures described in section 41(b) or clinical and preclinical expenditures.

``(iv) Continuity of business test.--A biomedical research corporation meets the continuity of business test if, at all times during the 2-year period following a qualified investment or transaction, such corporation continues the business enterprise of such corporation.

``(G) Effect of corporate redemptions on qualified investments.--Rules similar to the rules of section 1202(c)(3) shall apply to qualified investments under this paragraph except that `stock acquired in a qualified investment' shall be substituted for `qualified small business stock' each place it appears therein.

``(H) Effect of other transactions between biomedical research corporations and investors making qualified investments.--

``(i) In general.--If, during the 2-year period beginning 1 year before any qualified investment, the biomedical research corporation engages in another transaction with a member of its qualified investment group and such biomedical research corporation receives any consideration other than cash in such transaction, there shall be a presumption that stock received in the otherwise qualified investment transaction was not received solely in exchange for cash.

``(ii) Qualified investment group.--For purposes of this subparagraph, the term `qualified investment group' means, with respect to any qualified investment, one or more persons who receive stock issued in exchange for the qualified investment, and any person related to such persons within the meaning of section 267(b) or section 707(b).

``(iii) Regulations.--The Secretary shall promulgate regulations exempting from this subparagraph transactions which are customary in the bioscience research industry and are of minor value relative to the amount of the qualified investment.

``(I) Regulations.--The Secretary may issue such regulations as may be appropriate to achieve the purposes of this paragraph, to prevent abuse, and to provide for treatment of biomedical research corporations under sections 383 and 384 that is consistent with the purposes of this paragraph.''.

(b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after the date of enactment of this Act.

______

By Mr. ENSIGN (for himself, Mr. Inhofe, and Mr. DeMint):

S. 1895. A bill to return meaning to the fifth amendment by limiting the power of eminent domain; to the Committee on Finance.

Mr. ENSIGN. Mr. President, I rise today on behalf of every person in America who owns property and to speak on behalf of everyone working toward the American dream of homeownership. That dream is being threatened today, and that threat comes from our own government and court system. Since the birth of our Nation, property ownership has been a fundamental and guarded right. The Founding Fathers went to great lengths to protect citizens from the heavy and greedy hand of government. This is why the Bill of Rights includes the fifth amendment's ``takings clause.''

Unfortunately, 200 years of upholding property rights was not enough to protect some Americans from the excessive use of government power. In Kelo v. City of New London, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that economic development was a sufficient reason to take a person's property. In this case, the city of New London, CT wanted to tear down private homes and redevelop private property into an industrial complex. It is important to understand that the city did not want to tear down these homes because the neighborhood was blighted. The city did not want to redevelop the property because the homes were being used by drug dealers. The homeowners were middle-class families living in a middle-class neighborhood. So why would the city want to redevelop these properties? City officials believed this would create jobs and increase the city's tax revenue. When the homeowners refused to sell to the city, the city began condemnation proceedings. The homeowners sued the city and argued that this ``taking'' violated their fifth amendment rights.

The fifth amendment states that private property cannot be taken except for a ``public use'' and only then if the owners are justly compensated. The owners believed, as I do, that creating jobs and increasing tax revenue is not a public use. The Supreme Court, despite the plain meaning of the fifth amendment, ruled against the homeowners. As bad as that is, it gets worse for these homeowners. The city of New London is demanding that the homeowners, those who fought to protect their fifth amendment rights, must now pay back rent. For the Kelo family, that means $57,000 in rent owed to the city.

This cannot be what the Founding Fathers intended when they adopted the Bill of Rights. The Kelo decision has highlighted a serious problem with how government has taken more power at the expense of the people. The Supreme Court's decision favors big corporations and persons with political clout over homeowners and regular people.

Congress is partly to blame. Congress has created incentives for government to redevelop property in a never-ending quest for more and more tax dollars. New London, CT is the perfect example of these incentives. To Americans, the Kelo decision means that no matter how hard you work and no matter how hard you save, government can come in and take it all away from you. No person's home will be safe if Congress does not act to restore the fifth amendment. The property owners who lost their homes as a result of the Kelo decision paid their Federal taxes, paid their State taxes, and paid their local taxes. They played by the rules. Ironically, it was these taxes that made it possible for their government to steal their homes. As a result, Congress must step in to limit the use of Federal dollars.

Just as our country's Founders sought to protect private property by amending the Constitution, I feel Congress must act to protect those rights. That is why I am introducing the Private Property Rights Protection Act, legislation to protect and preserve the American dream. This bill will curb government power and return it where it belongs, to the people.

______

By Mr. CORZINE (for himself and Mr. Dodd):

S. 1897. A bill to amend the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 and related laws to strengthen the protection of native biodiversity and ban clearcutting on Federal land, and to designate certain Federal land as Ancient forests, roadless areas, watershed protection areas, and special areas where logging and other intrusive activities are prohibited; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Mr. CORZINE. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Act to Save America's Forests. The purpose of this legislation is to protect our national forests from needless clearcutting, safeguard our roadless areas, and preserve the last remaining stands of ancient forests in this country.

At one time there was approximately billions of acres of forest on the land that is now the United States. Sadly, less than 10 percent of the original unlogged forests of the United States remain, and in the lower 48 States only 1 percent is in a form large enough to support all the native plants and animals. The 1 percent left is under constant threat, so we must act as soon as possible to keep us from losing these precious forest lands forever.

Our national forests also are under attack from clearcutting. The process of clearcutting, or removing huge groups of trees at once, devastates wildlife habitats, creates a blighted landscape, increases soil erosion, and degrades water quality. Over a quarter-million acres of our national forests were clearcut in the past decade alone. The process of clearcutting annihilates vibrant, ecologically diverse forests are usually replaced, if at all, with a single species tree farm. This is irresponsible forest management that ignores ecology and concentrates solely on flawed economics.

This bill utilizes a scientific approach to forest management. By banning all logging operations in roadless areas, ancient forests, and forests that have extraordinary biological, scenic, or recreational values, this bill seeks to protect our Nation's most precious and fragile ecosystems. In addition, this bill bans clearcutting in our national forests except in specific cases where complete removal of nonnative invasive tree species is ecologically necessary.

While the bill bans certain logging, it does not ban all logging in our national forests. Instead, it allows a method of logging called selection management, which cuts individual trees instead of the whole forest, leaving a healthy, biologically diverse forest ecosystem. This method reduces the devastation to the environment because it retains natural forest structure and function, focuses on long-term rather than short-term management, and allows new growth without completely destroying old growth. It is also less disturbing to people who enjoy the scenic beauty of our forests. Not only is selection management more environmentally friendly, but it also can be sustainable and even profitable, as demonstrated by a number of private forests around the country.

This legislation emphasizes biodiversity and sustainable management, allowing ecologically sound logging practices in some of our national forestland and fully protecting the rest. I am proud to reintroduce this legislation in the 109th Congress, which will be a major step in the protection of America's forests. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:

S. 1897

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Act to Save America's Forests''.

(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings and purposes.

TITLE I--LAND MANAGEMENT

Sec. 101. Committee of scientists.

Sec. 102. Continuous forest inventory.

Sec. 103. Administration and management.

Sec. 104. Conforming amendments.

TITLE II--PROTECTION FOR ANCIENT FORESTS, ROADLESS AREAS, WATERSHED

PROTECTION AREAS, AND SPECIAL AREAS

Sec. 201. Findings.

Sec. 202. Definitions.

Sec. 203. Designation of special areas.

Sec. 204. Restrictions on management activities in Ancient forests, roadless areas, watershed protection areas, and special areas.

TITLE III--EFFECTIVE DATE

Sec. 301. Effective date.

Sec. 302. Effect on existing contracts.

Sec. 303. Wilderness Act exclusion.

TITLE IV--GIANT SEQUOIA NATIONAL MONUMENT

Sec. 401. Findings.

Sec. 402. Definitions.

Sec. 403. Additions to Giant Sequoia National Monument.

Sec. 404. Transfer of administrative jurisdiction over the Giant

Sequoia National Monument.

Sec. 405. Additions to the Sierra National Forest and Inyo National

Forest.

Sec. 406. Authorization of appropriations.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--

(1) Federal agencies that permit clearcutting and other forms of even-age logging operations include the Forest Service, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Land Management;

(2) clearcutting and other forms of even-age logging operations cause substantial alterations in native biodiversity by--

(A) emphasizing the production of a limited number of commercial species, and often only a single species, of trees on each site;

(B) manipulating the vegetation toward greater relative density of the commercial species;

(D) requiring the planting, on numerous sites, of a commercial strain of the species that reduces the relative diversity of other genetic strains of the species that were traditionally located on the same sites;

(3) clearcutting and other forms of even-age logging operations--

(A) frequently lead to the death of immobile species and the very young of mobile species of wildlife; and

(B) deplete the habitat of deep-forest species of animals, including endangered species and threatened species;

(4)(A) clearcutting and other forms of even-age logging operations--

(i) expose the soil to direct sunlight and the impact of precipitation;

(ii) disrupt the soil surface;

(iii) compact organic layers; and

(iv) disrupt the run-off restraining capabilities of roots and low-lying vegetation, resulting in soil erosion, the leaching of nutrients, a reduction in the biological content of soil, and the impoverishment of soil; and

(B) all of the consequences described in subparagraph (A) have a long-range deleterious effect on all land resources, including timber production;

(5) clearcutting and other forms of even-age logging operations aggravate global climate change by--

(A) decreasing the capability of the soil to retain carbon; and

(B) during the critical periods of felling and site preparation, reducing the capacity of the biomass to process and to store carbon, with a resultant loss of stored carbon to the atmosphere;

(6) clearcutting and other forms of even-age logging operations render soil increasingly sensitive to acid deposits by causing a decline of soil wood and coarse woody debris;

(7) a decline of solid wood and coarse woody debris reduces the capacity of soil to retain water and nutrients, which in turn increases soil heat and impairs soil's ability to maintain protective carbon compounds on the soil surface;

(8) clearcutting and other forms of even-age logging operations result in--

(A) increased stream sedimentation and the silting of stream bottoms;

(B) a decline in water quality;

(D) as a result of the effects described in subparagraphs

(A) through (C), a depletion of the sport and commercial fisheries of the United States;

(9) clearcutting and other forms of even-age management of Federal forests disrupt natural disturbance regimes that are critical to ecosystem function;

(10) clearcutting and other forms of even-age logging operations increase harmful edge effects, including--

(A) blowdowns;

(B) invasions by weed species; and

(11) by reducing the number of deep, canopied, variegated, permanent forests, clearcutting and other forms of even-age logging operations--

(A) limit areas where the public can satisfy an expanding need for recreation; and

(B) decrease the recreational value of land;

(12) clearcutting and other forms of even-age logging operations replace forests described in paragraph (11) with a surplus of clearings that grow into relatively impenetrable thickets of saplings, and then into monoculture tree plantations;

(13) because of the harmful and, in many cases, irreversible, damage to forest species and forest ecosystems caused by logging of Ancient and roadless forests, clearcutting, and other forms of even-age management, it is important that these practices be halted based on the precautionary principle;

(14) human beings depend on native biological resources, including plants, animals, and micro-organisms--

(A) for food, medicine, shelter, and other important products; and

(B) as a source of intellectual and scientific knowledge, recreation, and aesthetic pleasure;

(15) alteration of native biodiversity has serious consequences for human welfare, as the United States irretrievably loses resources for research and agricultural, medicinal, and industrial development;

(16) alteration of biodiversity in Federal forests adversely affects the functions of ecosystems and critical ecosystem processes that--

(A) moderate climate;

(B) govern nutrient cycles and soil conservation and production;

(D) degrade wastes and pollutants;

(17)(A) clearcutting and other forms of even-age management operations have significant deleterious effects on native biodiversity, by reducing habitat and food for cavity-nesting birds and insectivores such as the 3-toed woodpecker and hairy woodpecker and for neotropical migratory bird species; and

(B) the reduction in habitat and food supply could disrupt the lines of dependency among species and their food resources and thereby jeopardize critical ecosystem function, including limiting outbreaks of destructive insect populations; for example--

(i) the 3-toed woodpecker requires clumped snags in spruce-fir forests, and 99 percent of its winter diet is composed of insects, primarily spruce beetles; and

(ii) a 3-toed woodpecker can consume as much as 26 percent of the brood of an endemic population of spruce bark beetle and reduce brood survival of the population by 70 to 79 percent;

(18) the harm of clearcutting and other forms of even-age logging operations on the natural resources of the United States and the quality of life of the people of the United States is substantial, severe, and avoidable;

(19) by substituting selection management, as required by this Act, for clearcutting and other forms of even-age logging operations, the Federal agencies involved with those logging operations would substantially reduce devastation to the environment and improve the quality of life of the people of the United States;

(20) selection management--

(A) retains natural forest structure and function;

(B) focuses on long-term rather than short-term management;

(D) permits the normal, natural processes in a forest to allow the forest to go through the natural stages of succession to develop a forest with old growth ecological functions;

(21) by protecting native biodiversity, as required by this Act, Federal agencies would maintain vital native ecosystems and improve the quality of life of the people of the United States;

(22) selection logging--

(A) is more job intensive, and therefore provides more employment than clearcutting and other forms of even-age logging operations to manage the same quantity of timber production; and

(B) produces higher quality sawlogs than clearcutting and other forms of even-age logging operations; and

(23) the judicial remedies available to enforce Federal forest laws are inadequate, and should be strengthened by providing for injunctions, declaratory judgments, statutory damages, and reasonable costs of suit.

(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to conserve native biodiversity and protect all native ecosystems on all Federal land against losses that result from--

(1) clearcutting and other forms of even-age logging operations; and

(2) logging in Ancient forests, roadless areas, watershed protection areas, and special areas.

TITLE I--LAND MANAGEMENT

SEC. 101. COMMITTEE OF SCIENTISTS.

Section 6 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604) is amended by striking subsection (h) and inserting the following:

``(h) Committee of Scientists.--

``(1) In general.--To carry out subsection (g), the Secretary shall appoint a committee composed of scientists--

``(A) who are not officers or employees of the Forest Service, of any other public entity, or of any entity engaged in whole or in part in the production of wood or wood products;

``(B) not more than one-third of whom have contracted with or represented any entity described in subparagraph (A) during the 5-year period ending on the date of the proposed appointment to the committee; and

``(C) not more than one-third of whom are foresters.

``(2) Qualifications of foresters.--A forester appointed to the committee shall be an individual with--

``(A) extensive training in conservation biology; and

``(B) field experience in selection management.

``(3) Duties.--The committee shall provide scientific and technical advice and counsel on proposed guidelines and procedures and all other issues involving forestry and native biodiversity to promote an effective interdisciplinary approach to forestry and native biodiversity.

``(4) Termination.--The committee shall terminate on the date that is 10 years after the date of enactment of the Act to Save America's Forests.''

SEC. 102. CONTINUOUS FOREST INVENTORY.

(a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, each of the Chief of the Forest Service, the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Director of the Bureau of Land Management

(referred to individually as an ``agency head'') shall prepare a continuous inventory of forest land administered by those agency heads, respectively.

(b) Requirements.--A continuous forest inventory shall constitute a long-term monitoring and inventory system that--

(1) is contiguous throughout affected Federal forest land; and

(2) is based on a set of permanent plots that are inventoried every 10 years to--

(A) assess the impacts that human activities are having on management of the ecosystem;

(B) gauge--

(i) floristic and faunistic diversity, abundance, and dominance; and

(ii) economic and social value; and

(c) Decennial Inventories.--Each decennial inventory under subsection (b)(2) shall be completed not more than 60 days after the date on which the inventory is begun.

(d) National Academy of Sciences.--In preparing a continuous forest inventory, an agency head may use the services of the National Academy of Sciences to--

(1) develop a system for the continuous forest inventory by which certain guilds or indicator species are measured; and

(2) identify any changes to the continuous forest inventory that are necessary to ensure that the continuous forest inventory is consistent with the most accurate scientific methods.

(e) Whole-System Measures.--At the end of each forest planning period, an agency head shall document whole-system measures that will be taken as a result of a decennial inventory.

(f) Public Availability.--Results of a continuous forest inventory shall be made available to the public without charge.

SEC. 103. ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT.

The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 is amended by adding after section 6 (16 U.S.C. 1604) the following:

``SEC. 6A. CONSERVATION OF NATIVE BIODIVERSITY; SELECTION

LOGGING; PROHIBITION OF CLEARCUTTING.

``(a) Applicability.--This section applies to the administration and management of--

``(1) National Forest System land, under this Act;

``(2) Federal land, under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); and

``(3) National Wildlife Refuge System land, under the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966

(16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.).

``(b) Native Biodiversity in Forested Areas.--The Secretary shall provide for the conservation or restoration of native biodiversity in each stand and each watershed throughout each forested area, except during the extraction stage of authorized mineral development or during authorized construction projects, in which cases the Secretary shall conserve native biodiversity to the maximum extent practicable.

``(c) Restriction on Use of Certain Logging Practices.--

``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:

``(A) Age diversity.--The term `age diversity' means the naturally occurring range and distribution of age classes within a given species.

``(B) Basal area.--The term `basal area' means the area of the cross section of a tree stem, including the bark, at 4.5 feet above the ground.

``(C) Clearcutting.--The term `clearcutting' means an even-age logging operation that removes all of the trees over a considerable portion of a stand at 1 time.

``(D) Conservation.--The term `conservation' means protective measures for maintaining native biodiversity and active and passive measures for restoring diversity through management efforts, in order to protect, restore, and enhance as much of the variety of species and communities as practicable in abundances and distributions that provide for their continued existence and normal functioning, including the viability of populations throughout their natural geographic distributions.

``(E) Even-age logging operation.--

``(i) In general.--The term `even-age logging operation' means a logging activity that--

``(I) creates a clearing or opening that exceeds \1/5\ acre;

``(II) creates a stand in which the majority of trees are within 10 years of the same age; or

``(III) within a period of 30 years, cuts or removes more than the lesser of--

``(aa) the growth of the basal area of all tree species

(not including a tree of a non-native invasive tree species or an invasive plantation species) in a stand; or

``(bb) 20 percent of the basal area of a stand.

``(ii) Inclusion.--The term `even-age logging operation' includes the application of clearcutting, high grading, seed-tree cutting, shelterwood cutting, or any other logging method in a manner inconsistent with selection management.

``(iii) Exclusion.--The term `even-age logging operation' does not include the cutting or removal of--

``(I) a tree of a non-native invasive tree species; or

``(II) an invasive plantation species, if native longleaf pine are planted in place of the removed invasive plantation species.

``(F) Genetic diversity.--The term `genetic diversity' means the differences in genetic composition within and among populations of a species.

``(G) High grading.--The term `high grading' means the removal of only the larger or more commercially valuable trees in a stand, resulting in an alteration in the natural range of age diversity or species diversity in the stand.

``(H) Invasive plantation species.--The term `invasive plantation species' means a loblolly pine or slash pine that was planted or managed by the Forest Service or any other Federal agency as part of an even-aged monoculture tree plantation.

``(I) Native biodiversity.--

``(i) In general.--The term `native biodiversity' means--

``(I) the full range of variety and variability within and among living organisms; and

``(II) the ecological complexes in which the living organisms would have occurred (including naturally occurring disturbance regimes) in the absence of significant human impact.

``(ii) Inclusions.--The term `native biodiversity' includes diversity--

``(I) within a species (including genetic diversity, species diversity, and age diversity);

``(II) within a community of species;

``(III) between communities of species;

``(IV) within a discrete area, such as a watershed;

``(V) along a vertical plane from ground to sky, including application of the plane to all the other types of diversity; and

``(VI) along the horizontal plane of the land surface, including application of the plane to all the other types of diversity.

``(J) Non-native invasive tree species.--

``(i) In general.--The term `non-native invasive tree species' means a species of tree not native to North America.

``(ii) Inclusions.--The term `non-native invasive tree species' includes--

``(I) Australian pine (Casaurina equisetifolia);

``(II) Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius);

``(III) Common buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica);

``(IV) Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus);

``(V) Glossy buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula);

``(VI) Melaleuca (Melaleuca quinquenervia);

``(VII) Norway maple (Acer platanoides);

``(VIII) Princess tree (Paulownia tomentosa);

``(IX) Salt cedar (Tamarix species);

``(X) Silk tree (Albizia julibrissin);

``(XI) Strawberry guava (Psidium cattleianum);

``(XII) Tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima);

``(XIII) Velvet tree (Miconia calvescens); and

``(XIV) White poplar (Populus alba).

``(K) Seed-tree cut.--The term `seed-tree cut' means an even-age logging operation that leaves a small minority of seed trees in a stand for any period of time.

``(L) Selection management.--

``(i) In general.--The term `selection management' means a method of logging that emphasizes the periodic, individual selection and removal of varying size and age classes of the weaker, nondominant cull trees in a stand and leaves uncut the stronger dominant trees to survive and reproduce, in a manner that works with natural forest processes and--

``(I) ensures the maintenance of continuous high forest cover where high forest cover naturally occurs;

``(II) ensures the maintenance or natural regeneration of all native species in a stand;

``(III) ensures the growth and development of trees through a range of diameter or age classes to provide a sustained yield of forest products including clean water, rich soil, and native plants and wildlife; and

``(IV) ensures that some dead trees, standing and downed, shall be left in each stand where selection logging occurs, to fulfill their necessary ecological functions in the forest ecosystem, including providing elemental and organic nutrients to the soil, water retention, and habitat for endemic insect species that provide the primary food source for predators (including various species of amphibians and birds, such as cavity nesting woodpeckers).

``(ii) Exclusion.--

``(I) In general.--Subject to subclause (II), the term

`selection management' does not include an even-age logging operation.

``(II) Felling age; native biodiversity.--Subclause (I) does not--

``(aa) establish a 150-year projected felling age as the standard at which individual trees in a stand are to be cut; or

``(bb) limit native biodiversity to that which occurs within the context of a 150-year projected felling age.

``(M) Shelterwood cut.--The term `shelterwood cut' means an even-age logging operation that leaves--

``(i) a minority of the stand (larger than a seed-tree cut) as a seed source; or

``(ii) a protection cover remaining standing for any period of time.

``(N) Species diversity.--The term `species diversity' means the richness and variety of native species in a particular location.

``(O) Stand.--The term `stand' means a biological community of trees on land described in subsection (a), comprised of not more than 100 contiguous acres with sufficient identity of 1 or more characteristics (including location, topography, and dominant species) to be managed as a unit.

``(P) Timber purpose.--

``(i) In general.--The term `timber purpose' means the use, sale, lease, or distribution of trees, including the felling of trees or portions of trees.

``(ii) Exception.--The term `timber purpose' does not include the felling of trees or portions of trees to create land space for a Federal administrative structure.

``(Q) Within-community diversity.--The term `within-community diversity' means the distinctive assemblages of species and ecological processes that occur in various physical settings of the biosphere and distinct locations.

``(2) Prohibition of clearcutting and other forms of even-age logging operations.--No clearcutting or other form of even-age logging operation shall be permitted in any stand or watershed.

``(3) Management of native biodiversity.--On each stand on which an even-age logging operation has been conducted on or before the date of enactment of this section, and on each deforested area managed for timber purposes on or before the date of enactment of this section, excluding areas occupied by existing buildings, the Secretary shall--

``(A) prescribe a shift to selection management; or

``(B) cease managing the stand for timber purposes, in which case the Secretary shall--

``(i) undertake an active restoration of the native biodiversity of the stand; or

``(ii) permit the stand to regain native biodiversity.

``(4) Enforcement.--

``(A) Finding.--Congress finds that all people of the United States are injured by actions on land to which subsection (g)(3)(B) and this subsection applies.

``(B) Purpose.--The purpose of this paragraph is to foster the widest and most effective possible enforcement of subsection (g)(3)(B) and this subsection.

``(C) Federal enforcement.--The Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Attorney General shall enforce subsection (g)(3)(B) and this subsection against any person that violates 1 or more of those provisions.

``(D) Citizen suits.--

``(i) In general.--A citizen harmed by a violation of subsection (g)(3)(B) or this subsection may bring a civil action in United States district court for a declaratory judgment, a temporary restraining order, an injunction, statutory damages, or other remedy against any alleged violator, including the United States.

``(ii) Judicial relief.--If a district court of the United States determines that a violation of subsection (g)(3)(B) or this subsection has occurred, the district court--

``(I) shall impose a damage award of not less than $5,000;

``(II) may issue 1 or more injunctions or other forms of equitable relief; and

``(III) shall award to the plaintiffs reasonable costs of bringing the action, including attorney's fees, witness fees, and other necessary expenses.

``(iii) Standard of proof.--The standard of proof in all actions under this subparagraph shall be the preponderance of the evidence.

``(iv) Trial.--A trial for any action under this subsection shall be de novo.

``(E) Payment of damages.--

``(i) Non-federal violator.--A damage award under subparagraph (D)(ii) shall be paid to the Treasury by a non-Federal violator or violators designated by the court.

``(ii) Federal violator.--

``(I) In general.--Not later than 40 days after the date on which judgment is rendered, a damage award under subparagraph

(D)(ii) for which the United States is determined to be liable shall be paid from the Treasury, as provided under section 1304 of title 31, United States Code, to the person or persons designated to receive the damage award.

``(II) Use of damage award.--A damage award described under subclause (I) shall be used by the recipient to protect or restore native biodiversity on Federal land or on land adjoining Federal land.

``(III) Court costs.--Any award of costs of litigation and any award of attorney fees shall be paid by a Federal violator not later than 40 days after the date on which judgment is rendered.

``(F) Waiver of sovereign immunity.--

``(i) In general.--The United States (including agents and employees of the United States) waives its sovereign immunity in all respects in all actions under subsection (g)(3)(B) and this subsection.

``(ii) Notice.--No notice is required to enforce this subsection.''.

SEC. 104. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

Section 6(g)(3) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resource Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604(g)(3)) is amended--

(1) in subparagraph (D), by inserting ``and'' after the semicolon at the end;

(2) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a period; and

(3) by striking subparagraph (F).

TITLE II--PROTECTION FOR ANCIENT FORESTS, ROADLESS AREAS, WATERSHED

PROTECTION AREAS, AND SPECIAL AREAS

SEC. 201. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that--

(1) unfragmented forests on Federal land, unique and valuable assets to the general public, are damaged by extractive logging;

(2) less than 10 percent of the original unlogged forests of the United States remain, and the vast majority of the remnants of the original forests of the United States are located on Federal land;

(3) large, unfragmented forest watersheds provide high-quality water supplies for drinking, agriculture, industry, and fisheries across the United States;

(4) the most recent scientific studies indicate that several thousand species of plants and animals are dependent on large, unfragmented forest areas;

(5) many neotropical migratory songbird species are experiencing documented broad-scale population declines and require large, unfragmented forests to ensure their survival;

(6) destruction of large-scale natural forests has resulted in a tremendous loss of jobs in the fishing, hunting, tourism, recreation, and guiding industries, and has adversely affected sustainable nontimber forest products industries such as the collection of mushrooms and herbs;

(7) extractive logging programs on Federal land are carried out at enormous financial costs to the Treasury and taxpayers of the United States;

(8) Ancient forests continue to be threatened by logging and deforestation and are rapidly disappearing;

(9) Ancient forests help regulate atmospheric balance, maintain biodiversity, and provide valuable scientific opportunity for monitoring the health of the planet;

(10) prohibiting extractive logging in the Ancient forests would create the best conditions for ensuring stable, well distributed, and viable populations of the northern spotted owl, marbled murrelet, American marten, and other vertebrates, invertebrates, vascular plants, and nonvascular plants associated with those forests;

(11) prohibiting extractive logging in the Ancient forests would create the best conditions for ensuring stable, well distributed, and viable populations of anadromous salmonids, resident salmonids, and bull trout;

(12) roadless areas are de facto wilderness that provide wildlife habitat and recreation;

(13) large unfragmented forests, contained in large part on roadless areas on Federal land, are among the last refuges for native animal and plant biodiversity, and are vital to maintaining viable populations of threatened, endangered, sensitive, and rare species;

(14) roads cause soil erosion, disrupt wildlife migration, and allow nonnative species of plants and animals to invade native forests;

(15) the mortality and reproduction patterns of forest dwelling animal populations are adversely affected by traffic-related fatalities that accompany roads;

(16) the exceptional recreational, biological, scientific, or economic assets of certain special forested areas on Federal land are valuable to the public of the United States and are damaged by extractive logging;

(17) in order to gauge the effectiveness and appropriateness of current and future resource management activities, and to continue to broaden and develop our understanding of silvicultural practices, many special forested areas need to remain in a natural, unmanaged state to serve as scientifically established baseline control forests;

(18) certain special forested areas provide habitat for the survival and recovery of endangered and threatened plant and wildlife species, such as grizzly bears, spotted owls, Pacific salmon, and Pacific yew, that are harmed by extractive logging;

(19) many special forested areas on Federal land are considered sacred sites by native peoples; and

(20) as a legacy for the enjoyment, knowledge, and well-being of future generations, provisions must be made for the protection and perpetuation of the Ancient forests, roadless areas, watershed protection areas, and special areas of the United States.

SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS.

In this title:

(1) Ancient forest.--The term ``Ancient forest'' means--

(A) the northwest Ancient forests, including--

(i) Federal land identified as late-successional reserves, riparian reserves, and key watersheds under the heading

``Alternative 1'' of the report entitled ``Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on Management of Habitat for Late-Successional and Old-Growth Forest Related Species Within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl, Vol. I.'', and dated February 1994; and

(ii) Federal land identified by the term ``medium and large conifer multi-storied, canopied forests'' as defined in the report described in clause (i);

(B) the eastside Cascade Ancient forests, including--

(i) Federal land identified as ``Late-Succession/Old-growth Forest (LS/OG)'' depicted on maps for the Colville National Forest, Fremont National Forest, Malheur National Forest, Ochoco National Forest, Umatilla National Forest, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, and Winema National Forest in the report entitled ``Interim Protection for Late-Successional Forests, Fisheries, and Watersheds: National Forests East of the Cascade Crest, Oregon, and Washington'', prepared by the Eastside Forests Scientific Society Panel (The Wildlife Society, Technical Review 94-2, August 1994);

(ii) Federal land east of the Cascade crest in the States of Oregon and Washington, defined as ``late successional and old-growth forests'' in the general definition on page 28 of the report described in clause (i); and

(iii) Federal land classified as ``Oregon Aquatic Diversity Areas'', as defined in the report described in clause (i); and

(i) Federal land identified as ``Areas of Late-Successional Emphasis (ALSE)'' in the report entitled, ``Final Report to Congress: Status of the Sierra Nevada'', prepared by the Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project (Wildland Resources Center Report #40, University of California, Davis, 1996/97);

(ii) Federal land identified as ``Late-Succession/Old-Growth Forests Rank 3, 4 or 5'' in the report described in clause (i); and

(iii) Federal land identified as ``Potential Aquatic Diversity Management Areas'' on the map on page 1497 of Volume II of the report described in clause (i).

(2) Extractive logging.--The term ``extractive logging'' means the felling or removal of any trees from Federal forest land for any purpose.

(3) Improved road.--The term ``improved road'' means any road maintained for travel by standard passenger type vehicles.

(4) Roadless area.--The term ``roadless area'' means a contiguous parcel of Federal land that is--

(A) devoid of improved roads, except as provided in subparagraph (B); and

(B) composed of--

(i) at least 1,000 acres west of the 100th meridian (with up to \1/2\ mile of improved roads per 1,000 acres);

(ii) at least 1,000 acres east of the 100th meridian (with up to \1/2\ mile of improved roads per 1,000 acres); or

(iii) less than 1,000 acres, but share a border that is not an improved road with a wilderness area, primitive area, or wilderness study area.

(5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'', with respect to any Federal land in an Ancient forest, roadless area, watershed protection area, or special area, means the head of the Federal agency having jurisdiction over the Federal land.

(6) Special area.--The term ``special area'' means an area of Federal forest land designated under section 3 that may not meet the definition of an Ancient forest, roadless area, or watershed protection area, but that--

(A) possesses outstanding biological, scenic, recreational, or cultural values; and

(B) is exemplary on a regional, national, or international level.

(7) Watershed protection area.--The term ``watershed protection area'' means Federal land that extends--

(A) 300 feet from both sides of the active stream channel of any permanently flowing stream or river;

(B) 100 feet from both sides of the active channel of any intermittent, ephemeral, or seasonal stream, or any other nonpermanently flowing drainage feature having a definable channel and evidence of annual scour or deposition of flow-related debris;

(D) 150 feet from the edge of the maximum level of a constructed lake, pond, or reservoir, or a natural or constructed wetland.

SEC. 203. DESIGNATION OF SPECIAL AREAS.

(a) In General.--

(1) Finding.--A special area shall possess at least 1 of the values described in paragraphs (2) through (5).

(2) Biological values.--The biological values of a special area may include the presence of--

(A) threatened species or endangered species of plants or animals;

(B) rare or endangered ecosystems;

(D) recovery or restoration areas of rare or underrepresented forest ecosystems;

(E) migration corridors;

(F) areas of outstanding biodiversity;

(G) old growth forests;

(H) commercial fisheries; and

(I) sources of clean water such as key watersheds.

(3) Scenic values.--The scenic values of a special area may include the presence of--

(A) unusual geological formations;

(B) designated wild and scenic rivers;

(D) vistas.

(4) Recreational values.--The recreational values of a special area may include the presence of--

(A) designated national recreational trails or recreational areas;

(B) areas that are popular for such recreation and sporting activities as--

(i) hunting;

(ii) fishing;

(iii) camping;

(iv) hiking;

(v) aquatic recreation; and

(vi) winter recreation;

(D) land adjacent to designated wilderness areas; and

(E) solitude.

(5) Cultural values.--The cultural values of a special area may include the presence of--

(A) sites with Native American religious significance; and

(B) historic or prehistoric archaeological sites eligible for listing on the national historic register.

(b) Size Variation.--A special area may vary in size to encompass the outstanding biological, scenic, recreational, or cultural value or values to be protected.

(c) Designation of Special Areas.--There are designated the following special areas, which shall be subject to the management restrictions specified in section 204:

(1) Alabama.--

(A) Sipsey wilderness headwaters.--Certain land in the Bankhead National Forest, Bankhead Ranger District, in Lawrence County, totaling approximately 22,000 acres, located directly north and upstream of the Sipsey Wilderness, and directly south of Forest Road 213.

(B) Brushy fork.--Certain land in the Bankhead National Forest, Bankhead Ranger District, in Lawrence County, totaling approximately 6,200 acres, bounded by Forest Roads 249, 254, and 246 and Alabama Highway 33.

(C) Rebecca mountain.--Certain land in the Talladega National Forest, Talladega Ranger District, Talladega County and Clay County, totaling approximately 9,000 acres, comprised of all Talladega National Forest lands south of Forest Roads 621 and 621 B, east of Alabama Highway 48/77 and County Highway 308, and north of the power transmission line.

(D) Augusta mine ridge.--Certain land in the Talladega National Forest, Shoal Creek Ranger District, Cherokee County and Cleburn County, totaling approximately 6,000 acres, and comprised of all Talladega National Forest land north of the Chief Ladiga Rail Trail.

(E) Mayfield creek.--Certain land in the Talladega National Forest, Oakmulgee Ranger District, in Rail County, totaling approximately 4,000 acres, and bounded by Forest Roads 731, 723, 718, and 718A.

(F) Bear bay.--Certain land in the Conecuh National Forest, Conecuh District, in Covington County, totaling approximately 3,000 acres, bounded by County Road 11, Forest Road 305, County Road 3, and the County Road connecting County Roads 3 and 11.

(2) Alaska.--

(A) Turnagain arm.--Certain land in the Chugach National Forest, on the Kenai Peninsula, totaling approximately 100,000 acres, extending from sea level to ridgetop surrounding the inlet of Turnagain Arm, known as ``Turnagain Arm''.

(B) Honker divide.--Certain land in the Tongass National Forest, totaling approximately 75,000 acres, located on north central Prince of Wales Island, comprising the Thorne River and Hatchery Creek watersheds, stretching approximately 40 miles northwest from the vicinity of the town of Thorne Bay to the vicinity of the town of Coffman Cove, generally known as the ``Honker Divide''.

(3) Arizona: north rim of the grand canyon.--Certain land in the Kaibab National Forest that is included in the Grand Canyon Game Preserve, totaling approximately 500,000 acres, abutting the northern side of the Grand Canyon in the area generally known as the ``North Rim of the Grand Canyon''.

(4) Arkansas.--

(A) Cow creek drainage, arkansas.--Certain land in the Ouachita National Forest, Mena Ranger District, in Polk County, totaling approximately 7,000 acres, known as ``Cow Creek Drainage, Arkansas'', and bounded approximately--

(i) on the north, by County Road 95;

(ii) on the south, by County Road 157;

(iii) on the east, by County Road 48; and

(iv) on the west, by the Arkansas-Oklahoma border.

(B) Leader and brush mountains.--Certain land in the Ouachita National Forest, Montgomery County and Polk County, totaling approximately 120,000 acres, known as ``Leader Mountain'' and ``Brush Mountain'', located in the vicinity of the Blaylock Creek Watershed between Long Creek and the South Fork of the Saline River.

(C) Polk creek area.--Certain land in the Ouachita National Forest, Mena Ranger District, totaling approximately 20,000 acres, bounded by Arkansas Highway 4 and Forest Roads 73 and 43, known as the ``Polk Creek area''.

(D) Lower buffalo river watershed.--Certain land in the Ozark National Forest, Sylamore Ranger District, totaling approximately 6,000 acres, including Forest Service land that has not been designated as a wilderness area before the date of enactment of this Act, located in the watershed of Big Creek southwest of the Leatherwood Wilderness Area, Searcy County and Marion County, and known as the ``Lower Buffalo River Watershed''.

(E) Upper buffalo river watershed.--Certain land in the Ozark National Forest, Buffalo Ranger District, totaling approximately 220,000 acres, comprised of Forest Service that has not been designated as a wilderness area before the date of enactment of this Act, known as the ``Upper Buffalo River Watershed'', located approximately 35 miles from the town of Harrison, Madison County, Newton County, and Searcy County, upstream of the confluence of the Buffalo River and Richland Creek in the watersheds of--

(i) the Buffalo River;

(ii) the various streams comprising the Headwaters of the Buffalo River;

(iii) Richland Creek;

(iv) Little Buffalo Headwaters;

(v) Edgmon Creek;

(vi) Big Creek; and

(vii) Cane Creek.

(5) Colorado: cochetopa hills.--Certain land in the Gunnison Basin area, known as the ``Cochetopa Hills'', administered by the Gunnison National Forest, Grand Mesa National Forest, Uncompahgre National Forest, and Rio Grand National Forest, totaling approximately 500,000 acres, spanning the continental divide south and east of the city of Gunnison, in Saguache County, and including--

(A) Elk Mountain and West Elk Mountain;

(B) the Grand Mesa;

(D) the northern San Juan Mountains;

(E) the La Garitas Mountains; and

(F) the Cochetopa Hills.

(6) Georgia.--

(A) Armuchee cluster.--Certain land in the Chattahoochee National Forest, Armuchee Ranger District, known as the

``Armuchee Cluster'', totaling approximately 19,700 acres, comprised of 3 parcels known as ``Rocky Face'', ``Johns Mountain'', and ``Hidden Creek'', located approximately 10 miles southwest of Dalton and 14 miles north of Rome, in Whitfield County, Walker County, Chattooga County, Floyd County, and Gordon County.

(B) Blue ridge corridor cluster, georgia areas.--Certain land in the Chattahoochee National Forest, Chestatee Ranger District, totaling approximately 15,000 acres, known as the

``Blue Ridge Corridor Cluster, Georgia Areas'', comprised of 5 parcels known as ``Horse Gap'', ``Hogback Mountain'',

``Blackwell Creek'', ``Little Cedar Mountain'', and ``Black Mountain'', located approximately 15 to 20 miles north of the town of Dahlonega, in Union County and Lumpkin County.

(C) Chattooga watershed cluster, georgia areas.--Certain land in the Chattahoochee National Forest, Tallulah Ranger District, totaling 63,500 acres, known as the ``Chattooga Watershed Cluster, Georgia Areas'', comprised of 7 areas known as ``Rabun Bald'', ``Three Forks'', ``Ellicott Rock Extension'', ``Rock Gorge'', ``Big Shoals'', ``Thrift's Ferry'', and ``Five Falls'', in Rabun County, near the towns of Clayton, Georgia, and Dillard, South Carolina.

(D) Cohutta cluster.--Certain land in the Chattahoochee National Forest, Cohutta Ranger District, totaling approximately 28,000 acres, known as the ``Cohutta Cluster'', comprised of 4 parcels known as ``Cohutta Extensions'',

``Grassy Mountain'', ``Emery Creek'', and ``Mountaintown'', near the towns of Chatsworth and Ellijay, in Murray County, Fannin County, and Gilmer County.

(E) Duncan ridge cluster.--Certain land in the Chattahoochee National Forest, Brasstown and Toccoa Ranger Districts, totaling approximately 17,000 acres, known as the

``Duncan Ridge Cluster'', comprised of the parcels known as

``Licklog Mountain'', ``Duncan Ridge'', ``Board Camp'', and

``Cooper Creek Scenic Area Extension'', approximately 10 to 15 miles south of the town of Blairsville, in Union County and Fannin County.

(F) Ed jenkins national recreation area cluster.--Certain land in the Chattahoochee National Forest, Toccoa and Chestatee Ranger Districts, totaling approximately 19,300 acres, known as the ``Ed Jenkins National Recreation Area Cluster'', comprised of the Springer Mountain, Mill Creek, and Toonowee parcels, 30 miles north of the town of Dahlonega, in Fannin County, Dawson County, and Lumpkin County.

(G) Gainesville ridges cluster.--Certain land in the Chattahoochee National Forest, Chattooga Ranger District, totaling approximately 14,200 acres, known as the

``Gainesville Ridges Cluster'', comprised of 3 parcels known as ``Panther Creek'', ``Tugaloo Uplands'', and ``Middle Fork Broad River'', approximately 10 miles from the town of Toccoa, in Habersham County and Stephens County.

(H) Northern blue ridge cluster, georgia areas.--Certain land in the Chattahoochee National Forest, Brasstown and Tallulah Ranger Districts, totaling approximately 46,000 acres, known as the ``Northern Blue Ridge Cluster, Georgia Areas'', comprised of 8 areas known as ``Andrews Cove'',

``Anna Ruby Falls Scenic Area Extension'', ``High Shoals'',

``Tray Mountain Extension'', ``Kelly Ridge-Moccasin Creek'',

``Buzzard Knob'', ``Southern Nantahala Extension'', and

``Patterson Gap'', approximately 5 to 15 miles north of Helen, 5 to 15 miles southeast of Hiawassee, north of Clayton, and west of Dillard, in White County, Towns County, and Rabun County.

(I) Rich mountain cluster.--Certain land in the Chattahoochee National Forest, Toccoa Ranger District, totaling approximately 9,500 acres, known as the ``Rich Mountain Cluster'', comprised of the parcels known as ``Rich Mountain Extension'' and ``Rocky Mountain'', located 10 to 15 miles northeast of the town of Ellijay, in Gilmer County and Fannin County.

(J) Wilderness heartlands cluster, georgia areas.--Certain land in the Chattahoochee National Forest, Chestatee, Brasstown and Chattooga Ranger Districts, totaling approximately 16,500 acres, known as the ``Wilderness Heartlands Cluster, Georgia Areas'', comprised of 4 parcels known as the ``Blood Mountain Extensions'', ``Raven Cliffs Extensions'', ``Mark Trail Extensions'', and ``Brasstown Extensions'', near the towns of Dahlonega, Cleveland, Helen, and Blairsville, in Lumpkin County, Union County, White County, and Towns County.

(7) Idaho.--

(A) Cove/mallard.--Certain land in the Nez Perce National Forest, totaling approximately 94,000 acres, located approximately 30 miles southwest of the town of Elk City, and west of the town of Dixie, in the area generally known as

``Cove/Mallard''.

(B) Meadow creek.--Certain land in the Nez Perce National Forest, totaling approximately 180,000 acres, located approximately 8 miles east of the town of Elk City in the area generally known as ``Meadow Creek''.

(C) French creek/patrick butte.--Certain land in the Payette National Forest, totaling approximately 141,000 acres, located approximately 20 miles north of the town of McCall in the area generally known as ``French Creek/Patrick Butte''.

(8) Illinois.--

(A) Cripps bend.--Certain land in the Shawnee National Forest, totaling approximately 39 acres, located in Jackson County in the Big Muddy River watershed, in the area generally known as ``Cripps Bend''.

(B) Opportunity area 6.--Certain land in the Shawnee National Forest, totaling approximately 50,000 acres, located in northern Pope County surrounding Bell Smith Springs Natural Area, in the area generally known as ``Opportunity Area 6''.

(C) Quarrel creek.--Certain land in the Shawnee National Forest, totaling approximately 490 acres, located in northern Pope County in the Quarrel Creek watershed, in the area generally known as ``Quarrel Creek''.

(9) Michigan: trap hills.--Certain land in the Ottawa National Forest, Bergland Ranger District, totaling approximately 37,120 acres, known as the ``Trap Hills'', located approximately 5 miles from the town of Bergland, in Ontonagon County.

(10) Minnesota.--

(A) Trout lake and suomi hills.--Certain land in the Chippewa National Forest, totaling approximately 12,000 acres, known as ``Trout Lake/Suomi Hills'' in Itasca County.

(B) Lullaby white pine reserve.--Certain land in the Superior National Forest, Gunflint Ranger District, totaling approximately 2,518 acres, in the South Brule Opportunity Area, northwest of Grand Marais in Cook County, known as the

``Lullaby White Pine Reserve''.

(11) Missouri: eleven point-big springs area.--Certain land in the Mark Twain National Forest, Eleven Point Ranger District, totaling approximately 200,000 acres, comprised of the administrative area of the Eleven Point Ranger District, known as the ``Eleven Point-Big Springs Area''.

(12) Montana: mount bushnell.--Certain land in the Lolo National Forest, totaling approximately 41,000 acres, located approximately 5 miles southwest of the town of Thompson Falls in the area generally known as ``Mount Bushnell''.

(13) New mexico.--

(A) Angostura.--Certain land in the eastern half of the Carson National Forest, Camino Real Ranger District, totaling approximately 10,000 acres, located in Township 21, Ranges 12 and 13, known as ``Angostura'', and bounded--

(i) on the northeast, by Highway 518;

(ii) on the southeast, by the Angostura Creek watershed boundary;

(iii) on the southern side, by Trail 19 and the Pecos Wilderness; and

(iv) on the west, by the Agua Piedra Creek watershed.

(B) La manga.--Certain land in the western half of the Carson National Forest, El Rito Ranger District, at the Vallecitos Sustained Yield Unit, totaling approximately 5,400 acres, known as ``La Manga'', in Township 27, Range 6, and bounded--

(i) on the north, by the Tierra Amarilla Land Grant;

(ii) on the south, by Canada Escondida;

(iii) on the west, by the Sustained Yield Unit boundary and the Tierra Amarilla Land Grant; and

(iv) on the east, by the Rio Vallecitos.

(C) Elk mountain.--Certain land in the Santa Fe National Forest, totaling approximately 7,220 acres, known as ``Elk Mountain'' located in Townships 17 and 18 and Ranges 12 and 13, and bounded--

(i) on the north, by the Pecos Wilderness;

(ii) on the east, by the Cow Creek Watershed;

(iii) on the west, by the Cow Creek; and

(iv) on the south, by Rito de la Osha.

(D) Jemez highlands.--Certain land in the Jemez Ranger District of the Santa Fe National Forest, totaling approximately 54,400 acres, known as the ``Jemez Highlands'', located primarily in Sandoval County.

(14) North carolina.--

(A) Central nantahala cluster, north carolina areas.--Certain land in the Nantahala National Forest, Tusquitee, Cheoah, and Wayah Ranger Districts, totaling approximately 107,000 acres, known as the ``Central Nantahala Cluster, North Carolina Areas'', comprised of 9 parcels known as

``Tusquitee Bald'', ``Shooting Creek Bald'', ``Cheoah Bald'',

``Piercy Bald'', ``Wesser Bald'', ``Tellico Bald'', ``Split White Oak'', ``Siler Bald'', and ``Southern Nantahala Extensions'', near the towns of Murphy, Franklin, Bryson City, Andrews, and Beechertown, in Cherokee County, Macon County, Clay County, and Swain County.

(B) Chattooga watershed cluster, north carolina areas.--Certain land in the Nantahala National Forest, Highlands Ranger District, totaling approximately 8,000 acres, known as the ``Chattooga Watershed Cluster, North Carolina Areas'', comprised of the Overflow (Blue Valley) and Terrapin Mountain parcels, 5 miles from the town of Highlands, in Macon County and Jackson County.

(C) Tennessee border cluster, north carolina areas.--Certain land in the Nantahala National Forest, Tusquitee and Cheoah Ranger Districts, totaling approximately 28,000 acres, known as the ``Tennessee Border Cluster, North Carolina Areas'', comprised of the 4 parcels known as the ``Unicoi Mountains'', ``Deaden Tree'', ``Snowbird'', and ``Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Extension'', near the towns of Murphy and Robbinsville, in Cherokee County and Graham County.

(D) Bald mountains.--Certain land in the Pisgah National Forest, French Broad Ranger District, totaling approximately 13,000 acres known as the ``Bald Mountains'', located 12 miles northeast of the town of Hot Springs, in Madison County.

(E) Big ivy tract.--Certain land in the Pisgah National Forest, totaling approximately 14,000 acres, located approximately 15 miles west of Mount Mitchell in the area generally known as the ``Big Ivy Tract''.

(F) Black mountains cluster, north carolina areas.--Certain land in the Pisgah National Forest, Toecane and Grandfather Ranger Districts, totaling approximately 62,000 acres, known as the ``Black Mountains Cluster, North Carolina Areas'', comprised of 5 parcels known as ``Craggy Mountains'', ``Black Mountains'', ``Jarrett Creek'', ``Mackey Mountain'', and

``Woods Mountain'', near the towns of Burnsville, Montreat and Marion, in Buncombe County, Yancey County, and McDowell County.

(G) Linville cluster.--Certain land in the Pisgah National Forest, Grandfather District, totaling approximately 42,000 acres, known as the ``Linville Cluster'', comprised of 7 parcels known as ``Dobson Knob'', ``Linville Gorge Extension'', ``Steels Creek'', ``Sugar Knob'', ``Harper Creek'', ``Lost Cove'', and ``Upper Wilson Creek'', near the towns of Marion, Morgantown, Spruce Pine, Linville, and Blowing Rock, in Burke County, McDowell County, Avery County, and Caldwell County.

(H) Nolichucky, north carolina area.--Certain land in the Pisgah National Forest, Toecane Ranger District, totaling approximately 4,000 acres, known as the ``Nolichucky, North Carolina Area'', located 25 miles northwest of Burnsville, in Mitchell County and Yancey County.

(I) Pisgah cluster, north carolina areas.--Certain land in the Pisgah National Forest, Pisgah Ranger District, totaling approximately 52,000 acres, known as the ``Pisgah Cluster, North Carolina Areas'', comprised of 5 parcels known as

``Shining Rock and Middle Prong Extensions'', ``Daniel Ridge'', ``Cedar Rock Mountain'', ``South Mills River'', and

``Laurel Mountain'', 5 to 12 miles north of the town of Brevard and southwest of the city of Asheville, in Haywood County, Transylvania County, and Henderson County.

(J) Wildcat.--Certain land in the Pisgah National Forest, French Broad Ranger District, totaling approximately 6,500 acres, known as ``Wildcat'', located 20 miles northwest of the town of Canton, in Haywood County.

(15) Ohio.--

(A) Archers fork complex.--Certain land in the Marietta Unit of the Athens Ranger District, in the Wayne National Forest, in Washington County, known as ``Archers Fork Complex'', totaling approximately 18,350 acres, located northeast of Newport and bounded--

(i) on the northwest, by State Highway 26;

(ii) on the northeast, by State Highway 260;

(iii) on the southeast, by the Ohio River; and

(iv) on the southwest, by Bear Run and Danas Creek.

(B) Bluegrass ridge.--Certain land in the Ironton Ranger District on the Wayne National Forest, in Lawrence County, known as ``Bluegrass Ridge'', totaling approximately 4,000 acres, located 3 miles east of Etna in Township 4 North, Range 17 West, Sections 19 through 23 and 27 through 30.

(C) Buffalo creek.--Certain land in the Ironton Ranger District of the Wayne National Forest, Lawrence County, Ohio, known as ``Buffalo Creek'', totaling approximately 6500 acres, located 4 miles northwest of Waterloo in Township 5 North, Ranger 17 West, sections 3 through 10 and 15 through 18.

(D) Lake vesuvius.--Certain land in the Ironton Ranger District of the Wayne National Forest, in Lawrence County, totaling approximately 4,900 acres, generally known as ``Lake Vesuvius'', located to the east of Etna in Township 2 North, Range 18 West, and bounded--

(i) on the southwest, by State Highway 93; and

(ii) on the northwest, by State Highway 4.

(E) Morgan sisters.--Certain land in the Ironton Ranger District of the Wayne National Forest, in Lawrence County, known as ``Morgan Sisters'', totaling approximately 2,500 acres, located 1 mile east of Gallia and bounded by State Highway 233 in Township 6 North, Range 17 West, sections 13, 14, 23 and 24 and Township 5 North, Range 16 West, sections 18 and 19.

(F) Utah ridge.--Certain land in the Athens Ranger District of the Wayne National Forest, in Athens County, known as

``Utah Ridge'', totaling approximately 9,000 acres, located 1 mile northwest of Chauncey and bounded--

(i) on the southeast, by State Highway 682 and State Highway 13;

(ii) on the southwest, by US Highway 33 and State Highway 216; and

(iii) on the north, by State Highway 665.

(G) Wildcat hollow.--Certain land in the Athens Ranger District of the Wayne National Forest, in Perry County and Morgan County, known as ``Wildcat Hollow'', totaling approximately 4,500 acres, located 1 mile east of Corning in Township 12 North, Range 14 West, sections 1, 2, 11-14, 23 and 24 and Township 8 North, Range 13 West, sections 7, 18, and 19.

(16) Oklahoma: cow creek drainage, oklahoma.--Certain land in the Ouachita National Forest, Mena Ranger District, in Le Flore County, totaling approximately 3,000 acres, known as ``Cow Creek Drainage, Oklahoma'', and bounded approximately--

(A) on the west, by the Beech Creek National Scenic Area;

(B) on the north, by State Highway 63;

(D) on the south, by County Road 9038 on the south.

(17) Oregon: applegate wilderness.--Certain land in the Siskiyou National Forest and Rogue River National Forest, totaling approximately 20,000 acres, approximately 20 miles southwest of the town of Grants Pass and 10 miles south of the town of Williams, in the area generally known as the

``Applegate Wilderness''.

(18) Pennsylvania.--

(A) The bear creek special area.--Certain land in the Allegheny National Forest, Marienville Ranger District, Elk County, totaling approximately 7,800 acres, and comprised of Allegheny National Forest land bounded--

(i) on the west, by Forest Service Road 136;

(ii) on the north, by Forest Service Roads 339 and 237;

(iii) on the east, by Forest Service Road 143; and

(iv) on the south, by Forest Service Road 135.

(B) The bogus rocks special area.--Certain land in the Allegheny National Forest, Marienville Ranger District, Forest County, totaling approximately 1,015 acres, and comprised of Allegheny National Forest land in compartment 714 bounded--

(i) on the northeast and east, by State Route 948;

(ii) on the south, by State Route 66;

(iii) 0n the southwest and west, by Township Road 370;

(iv) on the northwest, by Forest Service Road 632; and

(v) on the north, by a pipeline.

(C) The chappel fork special area.--Certain land in the Allegheny National Forest, Bradford Ranger District, McKean County, totaling approximately 10,000 acres, and comprised of Allegheny National Forest land bounded--

(i) on the south and southeast, by State Road 321;

(ii) on the south, by Chappel Bay;

(iii) on the west, by the Allegheny Reservoir;

(iv) on the north, by State Route 59; and

(v) on the east, by private land.

(D) The fools creek special area.--Certain land in the Allegheny National Forest, Bradford Ranger District, Warren County, totaling approximately 1,500 acres, and comprised of Allegheny National Forest land south and west of Forest Service Road 255 and west of FR 255A, bounded--

(i) on the west, by Minister Road; and

(ii) on the south, by private land.

(E) The hickory creek special area.--Certain land in the Allegheny National Forest, Bradford Ranger District, Warren County, totaling approximately 2,000 acres, and comprised of Allegheny National Forest land bounded--

(i) on the east and northeast, by Heart's Content Road;

(ii) on the south, by Hickory Creek Wilderness Area;

(iii) on the northwest, by private land; and

(iv) on the north, by Allegheny Front National Recreation Area.

(F) The lamentation run special area.--Certain land in the Allegheny National Forest, Marienville Ranger District, Forest County, totaling approximately 4,500 acres, and--

(i) comprised of Allegheny National Forest land bounded--

(I) on the north, by Tionesta Creek;

(II) on the east, by Salmon Creek;

(III) on the southeast and southwest, by private land; and

(IV) on the south, by Forest Service Road 210; and

(ii) including the lower reaches of Bear Creek.

(G) The lewis run special area.--Certain land in the Allegheny National Forest, Bradford Ranger District, McKean County, totaling approximately 500 acres, and comprised of Allegheny National Forest land north and east of Forest Service Road 312.3, including land known as the ``Lewis Run Natural Area'' and consisting of land within Compartment 466, Stands 1-3, 5-8, 10-14, and 18-27.

(H) The mill creek special area.--Certain land in the Allegheny National Forest, Marienville Ranger District, Elk County, totaling approximately 2,000 acres, and comprised of Allegheny National Forest land within a 1-mile radius of the confluence of Red Mill Run and Big Mill Creek and known as the ``Mill Creek Natural Area''.

(I) The millstone creek special area.--Certain land in the Allegheny National Forest, Marienville Ranger District, Forest County, totaling approximately 30,000 acres, and comprised of Allegheny National Forest land bounded--

(i) on the north, by State Route 66;

(ii) on the northeast, by Forest Service Road 226;

(iii) on the east, by Forest Service Roads 130, 774, and 228;

(iv) on the southeast, by State Road 3002 and Forest Service Road 189;

(v) on the south, by the Clarion River; and

(vi) on the southwest, west, and northwest, by private land.

(J) The minister creek special area.--Certain land in the Allegheny National Forest, Bradford Ranger District, Warren County, totalling approximately 6,600 acres, and comprised of Allegheny National Forest land bounded--

(i) on the north, by a snowmobile trail;

(ii) on the east, by Minister Road;

(iii) on the south, by State Route 666 and private land;

(iv) on the southwest, by Forest Service Road 420; and

(v) on the west, by warrants 3109 and 3014.

(K) The muzette special area.--Certain land in the Allegheny National Forest, Marienville Ranger District, Forest County, totaling approximately 325 acres, and comprised of Allegheny National Forest land bounded--

(i) on the west, by 79 16' longitude, approximately;

(ii) on the north, by Forest Service Road 561;

(iii) on the east, by Forest Service Road 212; and

(iv) on the south, by private land.

(L) The sugar run special area.--Certain land in the Allegheny National Forest, Bradford Ranger District, McKean County, totaling approximately 8,800 acres, and comprised of Allegheny National Forest land bounded--

(i) on the north, by State Route 346 and private land;

(ii) on the east, by Forest Service Road 137; and

(iii) on the south and west, by State Route 321.

(M) The tionesta special area.--Certain land in the Allegheny National Forest, Bradford and Marienville Ranger Districts, Elk, Forest, McKean, and Warren Counties, totalling approximately 27,000 acres, and comprised of Allegheny National Forest land bounded--

(i) on the west, by private land and State Route 948;

(ii) on the northwest, by Forest Service Road 258;

(iii) on the north, by Hoffman Farm Recreation Area and Forest Service Road 486;

(iv) on the northeast, by private land and State Route 6;

(v) on the east, by private land south to Forest Road 133, then by snowmobile trail from Forest Road 133 to Windy City, then by private land and Forest Road 327 to Russell City; and

(vi) on the southwest, by State Routes 66 and 948.

(19) South carolina.--

(A) Big shoals, south carolina area.--Certain land in the Sumter National Forest, Andrew Pickens Ranger District, in Oconee County, totaling approximately 2,000 acres, known as

``Big Shoals, South Carolina Area'', 15 miles south of Highlands, North Carolina.

(B) Brasstown creek, south carolina area.--Certain land in the Sumter National Forest, Andrew Pickens Ranger District, in Oconee County, totaling approximately 3,500 acres, known as ``Brasstown Creek, South Carolina Area'', approximately 15 miles west of Westminster, South Carolina.

(C) Chauga.--Certain land in the Sumter National Forest, Andrew Pickens Ranger District, in Oconee County, totaling approximately 16,000 acres, known as ``Chauga'', approximately 10 miles west of Walhalla, South Carolina.

(D) Dark bottoms.--Certain land in the Sumter National Forest, Andrew Pickens Ranger District, in Oconee County, totaling approximately 4,000 acres, known as ``Dark Bottoms'', approximately 10 miles northwest of Westminster, South Carolina.

(E) Ellicott rock extension, south carolina area.--Certain land in the Sumter National Forest, Andrew Pickens Ranger District, in Oconee County, totaling approximately 2,000 acres, known as ``Ellicott Rock Extension, South Carolina Area'', located approximately 10 miles south of Cashiers, North Carolina.

(F) Five falls, south carolina area.--Certain land in the Sumter National Forest, Andrew Pickens Ranger District, in Oconee County, totaling approximately 3,500 acres, known as

``Five Falls, South Carolina Area'', approximately 10 miles southeast of Clayton, Georgia.

(G) Persimmon mountain.--Certain land in the Sumter National Forest, Andrew Pickens Ranger District, in Oconee County, totaling approximately 7,000 acres, known as

``Persimmon Mountain'', approximately 12 miles south of Cashiers, North Carolina.

(H) Rock gorge, south carolina area.--Certain land in the Sumter National Forest, Andrew Pickens Ranger District, in Oconee County, totaling approximately 2,000 acres, known as

``Rock Gorge, South Carolina Area'', 12 miles southeast of Highlands, North Carolina.

(I) Tamassee.--Certain land in the Sumter National Forest, Andrew Pickens Ranger District, in Oconee County, totaling approximately 5,500 acres, known as ``Tamassee'', approximately 10 miles north of Walhalla, South Carolina.

(J) Thrift's ferry, south carolina area.--Certain land in the Sumter National Forest, Andrew Pickens Ranger District, in Oconee County, totaling approximately 5,000 acres, known as ``Thrift's Ferry, South Carolina Area'', 10 miles east of Clayton, Georgia.

(20) South dakota.--

(A) Black fox area.--Certain land in the Black Hills National Forest, totaling approximately 12,400 acres, located in the upper reaches of the Rapid Creek watershed, known as the ``Black Fox Area'', and roughly bounded--

(i) on the north, by FDR 206;

(ii) on the south, by the steep slopes north of Forest Road 231; and

(iii) on the west, by a fork of Rapid Creek.

(B) Breakneck area.--Certain land in the Black Hills National Forest, totaling 6,700 acres, located along the northeast edge of the Black Hills in the vicinity of the Black Hills National Cemetery and the Bureau of Land Management's Fort Meade Recreation Area, known as the

``Breakneck Area'', and generally--

(i) bounded by Forest Roads 139 and 169 on the north, west, and south; and

(ii) demarcated along the eastern and western boundaries by the ridge-crests dividing the watershed.

(C) Norbeck preserve.--Certain land in the Black Hills National Forest, totaling approximately 27,766 acres, known as the ``Norbeck Preserve'', and encompassed approximately by a boundary that, starting at the southeast corner--

(i) runs north along FDR 753 and United States Highway Alt. 16, then along SD 244 to the junction of Palmer Creek Road, which serves generally as a northwest limit;

(ii) heads south from the junction of Highways 87 and 89;

(iii) runs southeast along Highway 87; and

(iv) runs east back to FDR 753, excluding a corridor of private land along FDR 345.

(D) Pilger mountain area.--Certain land in the Black Hills National Forest, totaling approximately 12,600 acres, known as the ``Pilger Mountain Area'', located in the Elk Mountains on the southwest edge of the Black Hills, and roughly bounded--

(i) on the east and northeast, by Forest Roads 318 and 319;

(ii) on the north and northwest, by Road 312; and

(iii) on the southwest, by private land.

(E) Stagebarn canyons.--Certain land in the Black Hills National Forest, known as ``Stagebarn Canyons'', totaling approximately 7,300 acres, approximately 10 miles west of Rapid City, South Dakota.

(21) Tennessee.--

(A) Bald mountains cluster, tennessee areas.--Certain land in the Nolichucky and Unaka Ranger Districts of the Cherokee National Forest, in Cocke County, Green County, Washington County, and Unicoi County, totaling approximately 46,133 acres, known as the ``Bald Mountains Cluster, Tennessee Areas'', and comprised of 10 parcels known as ``Laurel Hollow Mountain'', ``Devil's Backbone'', ``Laurel Mountain'',

``Walnut Mountain'', ``Wolf Creek'', ``Meadow Creek Mountain'', ``Brush Creek Mountain'', ``Paint Creek'', ``Bald Mountain'', and ``Sampson Mountain Extension'', located near the towns of Newport, Hot Springs, Greeneville, and Erwin.

(B) Big frog/cohutta cluster.--Certain land in the Cherokee National Forest, in Polk County, Ocoee Ranger District, Hiwassee Ranger District, and Tennessee Ranger District, totaling approximately 28,800 acres, known as the ``Big Frog/Cohutta Cluster'', comprised of 4 parcels known as ``Big Frog Extensions'', ``Little Frog Extensions'', ``Smith Mountain'', and ``Rock Creek'', located near the towns of Copperhill, Ducktown, Turtletown, and Benton.

(C) Citico creek watershed cluster tennessee areas.--Certain land in the Tellico Ranger District of the Cherokee National Forest, in Monroe County, totaling approximately 14,256 acres, known as the ``Citico Creek Watershed Cluster, Tennessee Areas'', comprised of 4 parcels known as ``Flats Mountain'', ``Miller Ridge'', ``Cowcamp Ridge'', and ``Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Extension'', near the town of Tellico Plains.

(D) Iron mountains cluster.--Certain land in the Cherokee National Forest, Watauga Ranger District, totaling approximately 58,090 acres, known as the ``Iron Mountains Cluster'', comprised of 8 parcels known as ``Big Laurel Branch Addition'', ``Hickory Flat Branch'', ``Flint Mill'',

``Lower Iron Mountain'', ``Upper Iron Mountain'', ``London Bridge'', ``Beaverdam Creek'', and ``Rodgers Ridge'', located near the towns of Bristol and Elizabethton, in Sullivan County and Johnson County.

(E) Northern unicoi mountains cluster.--Certain land in the Tellico Ranger District of the Cherokee National Forest, in Monroe County, totaling approximately 30,453 acres, known as the ``Northern Unicoi Mountain Cluster'', comprised of 4 parcels known as ``Bald River Gorge Extension'', ``Upper Bald River'', ``Sycamore Creek'', and ``Brushy Ridge'', near the town of Tellico Plains.

(F) Roan mountain cluster.--Certain land in the Cherokee National Forest, Unaka and Watauga Ranger Districts, totaling approximately 23,725 acres known as the ``Roan Mountain Cluster'', comprised of 7 parcels known as ``Strawberry Mountain'', ``Highlands of Roan'', ``Ripshin Ridge'', ``Doe River Gorge Scenic Area'', ``White Rocks Mountain'', ``Slide Hollow'' and ``Watauga Reserve'', approximately 8 to 20 miles south of the town of Elizabethton, in Unicoi County, Carter County, and Johnson County.

(G) Southern unicoi mountains cluster.--Certain land in the Hiwassee Ranger District of the Cherokee National Forest, in Polk County, Monroe County, and McMinn County, totaling approximately 11,251 acres, known as the ``Southern Unicoi Mountains Cluster'', comprised of 3 parcels known as ``Gee Creek Extension'', ``Coker Creek'', and ``Buck Bald'', near the towns of Etowah, Benton, and Turtletown.

(H) Unaka mountains cluster, tennessee areas.--Certain land in the Cherokee National Forest, Unaka Ranger District, totaling approximately 15,669 acres, known as the ``Unaka Mountains Cluster, Tennessee Areas'', comprised of 3 parcels known as ``Nolichucky'', ``Unaka Mountain Extension'', and

``Stone Mountain'', approximately 8 miles from Erwin, in Unicoi County and Carter County.

(22) Texas: longleaf ridge.--Certain land in the Angelina National Forest, in Jasper County and Angelina County, totaling approximately 30,000 acres, generally known as

``Longleaf Ridge'', and bounded--

(A) on the west, by Upland Island Wilderness Area;

(B) on the south, by the Neches River; and

(23) Vermont.--

(A) Glastenbury area.--Certain land in the Green Mountain National Forest, totaling approximately 35,000 acres, located 3 miles northeast of Bennington, generally known as the

``Glastenbury Area'', and bounded--

(i) on the north, by Kelly Stand Road;

(ii) on the east, by Forest Road 71;

(iii) on the south, by Route 9; and

(iv) on the west, by Route 7.

(B) Lamb brook.--Certain land in the Green Mountain National Forest, totaling approximately 5,500 acres, located 3 miles southwest of Wilmington, generally known as ``Lamb Brook'', and bounded--

(i) on the west, by Route 8;

(ii) on the south, by Route 100;

(iii) on the north, by Route 9; and

(iv) on the east, by land owned by New England Power Company.

(C) Robert frost mountain area.--Certain land in the Green Mountain National Forest, totaling approximately 8,500 acres, known as ``Robert Frost Mountain Area'', located northeast of Middlebury, consisting of the Forest Service land bounded--

(i) on the west, by Route 116;

(ii) on the north, by Bristol Notch Road;

(iii) on the east, by Lincoln/Ripton Road; and

(iv) on the south, by Route 125.

(24) Virginia.--

(A) Bear creek.--Certain land in the Jefferson National Forest, Wythe Ranger District, known as ``Bear Creek'', north of Rural Retreat, in Smyth County and Wythe County.

(B) Cave springs.--Certain land in the Jefferson National Forest, Clinch Ranger District, totaling approximately 3,000 acres, known as ``Cave Springs'', between State Route 621 and the North Fork of the Powell River, in Lee County.

(C) Dismal creek.--Certain land totaling approximately 6,000 acres, in the Jefferson National Forest, Blacksburg Ranger District, known as ``Dismal Creek'', north of State Route 42, in Giles County and Bland County.

(D) Stone coal creek.--Certain land in the Jefferson National Forest, New Castle Ranger District, totaling approximately 2,000 acres, known as ``Stone Coal Creek'', in Craig County and Botentourt County.

(E) White oak ridge: terrapin mountain.--Certain land in the Glenwood Ranger District of the Jefferson National Forest, known as ``White Oak Ridge--Terrapin Mountain'', totaling approximately 8,000 acres, east of the Blue Ridge Parkway, in Botentourt County and Rockbridge County.

(F) Whitetop mountain.--Certain land in the Jefferson National Forest, Mt. Rodgers Recreation Area, totaling 3,500 acres, known as ``Whitetop Mountain'', in Washington County, Smyth County, and Grayson County.

(G) Wilson mountain.--Certain land known as ``Wilson Mountain'', in the Jefferson National Forest, Glenwood Ranger District, totaling approximately 5,100 acres, east of Interstate 81, in Botentourt County and Rockbridge County.

(H) Feathercamp.--Certain land in the Mt. Rodgers Recreation Area of the Jefferson National Forest, totaling 4,974 acres, known as ``Feathercamp'', located northeast of the town of Damascus and north of State Route 58 on the Feathercamp ridge, in Washington County.

(25) Wisconsin.--

(A) Flynn lake.--Certain land in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Washburn Ranger District, totaling approximately 5,700 acres, known as ``Flynn Lake'', in the Flynn Lake semi-primitive nonmotorized area, in Bayfield County.

(B) Ghost lake cluster.--Certain land in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Great Divide Ranger District, totaling approximately 6,000 acres, known as ``Ghost Lake Cluster'', including 5 parcels known as ``Ghost Lake'',

``Perch Lake'', ``Lower Teal River'', ``Foo Lake'', and

``Bulldog Springs'', in Sawyer County.

(C) Lake owens cluster.--Certain land in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Great Divide and Washburn Ranger Districts, totaling approximately 3,600 acres, known as

``Lake Owens Cluster'', comprised of parcels known as ``Lake Owens'', ``Eighteenmile Creek'', ``Northeast Lake'', and

``Sugarbush Lake'', in Bayfield County.

(D) Medford cluster.--Certain land in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Medford-Park Falls Ranger District, totaling approximately 23,000 acres, known as the ``Medford Cluster'', comprised of 12 parcels known as ``County E Hardwoods'', ``Silver Creek/Mondeaux River Bottoms'', ``Lost Lake Esker'', ``North and South Fork Yellow Rivers'', ``Bear Creek'', ``Brush Creek'', ``Chequamegon Waters'', ``John's and Joseph Creeks'', ``Hay Creek Pine-Flatwoods'', ``558 Hardwoods'', ``Richter Lake'', and ``Lower Yellow River'', in Taylor County.

(E) Park falls cluster.--Certain land in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Medford-Park Falls Ranger District, totaling approximately 23,000 acres, known as ``Park Falls Cluster'', comprised of 11 parcels known as ``Sixteen Lakes'', ``Chippewa Trail'', ``Tucker and Amik Lakes'',

``Lower Rice Creek'', ``Doering Tract'', ``Foulds Creek'',

``Bootjack Conifers'', ``Pond'', ``Mud and Riley Lake Peatlands'', ``Little Willow Drumlin'', and ``Elk River'', in Price County and Vilas County.

(F) Penokee mountain cluster.--Certain land in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Great Divide Ranger District, totaling approximately 23,000 acres, known as

``Penokee Mountain Cluster'', comprised of--

(i) the Marengo River and Brunsweiler River semi-primitive nonmotorized areas; and

(ii) parcels known as ``St. Peters Dome'', ``Brunsweiler River Gorge'', ``Lake Three'', ``Hell Hole Creek'', and

``North Country Trail Hardwoods'', in Ashland County and Bayfield County.

(G) Southeast great divide cluster.--Certain land in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Medford Park Falls Ranger District, totaling approximately 25,000 acres, known as the ``Southeast Great Divide Cluster'', comprised of parcels known as ``Snoose Lake'', ``Cub Lake'', ``Springbrook Hardwoods'', ``Upper Moose River'', ``East Fork Chippewa River'', ``Upper Torch River'', ``Venison Creek'', ``Upper Brunet River'', ``Bear Lake Slough'', and ``Noname Lake'', in Ashland County and Sawyer County.

(H) Diamond roof cluster.--Certain land in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Lakewood-Laona Ranger District, totaling approximately 6,000 acres, known as ``Diamond Roof Cluster'', comprised of 4 parcels known as ``McCaslin Creek'', ``Ada Lake'', ``Section 10 Lake'', and ``Diamond Roof'', in Forest County, Langlade County, and Oconto County.

(I) Argonne forest cluster.--Certain land in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Eagle River-Florence Ranger District, totaling approximately 12,000 acres, known as ``Argonne Forest Cluster'', comprised of parcels known as

``Argonne Experimental Forest'', ``Scott Creek'', ``Atkins Lake'', and ``Island Swamp'', in Forest County.

(J) Bonita grade.--Certain land in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Lakewood-Laona Ranger District, totaling approximately 1,200 acres, known as ``Bonita Grade'', comprised of parcels known as ``Mountain Lakes'', ``Temple Lake'', ``Second South Branch'', ``First South Branch'', and

``South Branch Oconto River'', in Langlade County.

(K) Franklin and butternut lakes cluster.--Certain land in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Eagle River-Florence Ranger District, totaling approximately 12,000 acres, known as ``Franklin and Butternut Lakes Cluster'', comprised of 8 parcels known as ``Bose Lake Hemlocks'', ``Luna White Deer'',

``Echo Lake'', ``Franklin and Butternut Lakes'', ``Wolf Lake'', ``Upper Ninemile'', ``Meadow'', and ``Bailey Creeks'', in Forest County and Oneida County.

(L) Lauterman lake and kieper creek.--Certain land in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, Eagle River-Florence Ranger District, totaling approximately 2,500 acres, known as

``Lauterman Lake and Kieper Creek'', in Florence County.

(26) Wyoming: sand creek area.--

(A) In general.--Certain land in the Black Hills National Forest, totaling approximately 8,300 acres known as the

``Sand Creek area'', located in Crook County, in the far northwest corner of the Black Hills.

(B) Boundary.--Beginning in the northwest corner and proceeding counterclockwise, the boundary for the Sand Creek Area roughly follows--

(i) forest Roads 863, 866, 866.1B;

(ii) a line linking forest roads 866.1B and 802.1B;

(iii) forest road 802.1B;

(iv) forest road 802.1;

(v) an unnamed road;

(vi) Spotted Tail Creek (excluding all private land);

(vii) forest road 829.1;

(viii) a line connecting forest roads 829.1 and 864;

(ix) forest road 852.1; and

(x) a line connecting forest roads 852.1 and 863.

(d) Committee of Scientists.--

(1) Establishment.--The Secretaries concerned shall appoint a committee consisting of scientists who--

(A) are not officers or employees of the Federal Government;

(B) are not officers or employees of any entity engaged in whole or in part in the production of wood or wood products; and

(C) have not contracted with or represented any entity described in subparagraph (A) or (B) in a period beginning 5 years before the date on which the scientist is appointed to the committee.

(2) Recommendations for additional special areas.--Not later than 2 years of the date of the enactment of this Act, the committee shall provide Congress with recommendations for additional special areas.

(3) Candidate areas.--Candidate areas for recommendation as additional special areas shall have outstanding biological values that are exemplary on a local, regional, and national level, including the presence of--

(A) threatened or endangered species of plants or animals;

(B) rare or endangered ecosystems;

(D) recovery or restoration areas of rare or underrepresented forest ecosystems;

(E) migration corridors;

(F) areas of outstanding biodiversity;

(G) old growth forests;

(H) commercial fisheries; and

(I) sources of clean water such as key watersheds.

(4) Governing principle.--The committee shall adhere to the principles of conservation biology in identifying special areas based on biological values.

SEC. 204. RESTRICTIONS ON MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES IN ANCIENT

FORESTS, ROADLESS AREAS, WATERSHED PROTECTION

AREAS, AND SPECIAL AREAS.

(a) Restriction of Management Activities in Ancient Forests.--On Federal land located in Ancient forests--

(1) no roads shall be constructed or reconstructed;

(2) no extractive logging shall be permitted; and

(3) no improvements for the purpose of extractive logging shall be permitted.

(b) Restriction of Management Activities in Roadless Areas.--On Federal land located in roadless areas (except military installations)--

(1) no roads shall be constructed or reconstructed;

(2) no extractive logging shall be permitted except of non-native invasive tree species, in which case the limitations on logging in title I shall apply; and

(3) no improvements for the purpose of extractive logging shall be permitted.

(c) Restriction of Management Activities in Watershed Protection Areas.--On Federal land located in watershed protection areas--

(1) no roads shall be constructed or reconstructed;

(2) no extractive logging shall be permitted except of non-native invasive tree species, in which case the limitations on logging in title I shall apply; and

(3) no improvements for the purpose of extractive logging shall be permitted.

(d) Restriction of Management Activities in Special Areas.--On Federal land located in special areas--

(1) no roads shall be constructed or reconstructed;

(2) no extractive logging shall be permitted except of non-native invasive tree species, in which case the limitations on logging in title I shall apply; and

(3) no improvements for the purpose of extractive logging shall be permitted.

(e) Maintenance of Existing Roads.--

(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the restrictions described in subsection (a) shall not prohibit the maintenance of an improved road, or any road accessing private inholdings.

(2) Abandoned roads.--Any road that the Secretary determines to have been abandoned before the date of enactment of this Act shall not be maintained or reconstructed.

(f) Enforcement.--

(1) Finding.--Congress finds that all people of the United States are injured by actions on land to which this section applies.

(2) Purpose.--The purpose of this subsection is to foster the widest possible enforcement of this section.

(3) Federal enforcement.--The Secretary and the Attorney General of the United States shall enforce this section against any person that violates this section.

(4) Citizen suits.--

(A) In general.--A citizen harmed by a violation of this section may enforce this section by bringing a civil action for a declaratory judgment, a temporary restraining order, an injunction, statutory damages, or other remedy against any alleged violator, including the United States, in any district court of the United States.

(B) Judicial relief.--If a district court of the United States determines that a violation of this section has occurred, the district court--

(i) shall impose a damage award of not less than $5,000;

(ii) may issue 1 or more injunctions or other forms of equitable relief; and

(iii) shall award to each prevailing party the reasonable costs of bringing the action, including attorney's fees, witness fees, and other necessary expenses.

(C) Standard of proof.--The standard of proof in all actions under this paragraph shall be the preponderance of the evidence.

(D) Trial.--A trial for any action under this section shall be de novo.

(E) Payment of damages.--

(i) Non-federal violator.--A damage award under subparagraph (B)(i) shall be paid by a non-Federal violator or violators designated by the court to the Treasury.

(ii) Federal violator.--

(I) In general.--Not later than 40 days after the date on which judgment is rendered, a damage award under subparagraph

(B)(i) for which the United States is determined to be liable shall be paid from the Treasury, as provided under section 1304 of title 31, United States Code, to the person or persons designated to receive the damage award.

(II) Use of damage award.--A damage award described under subclause (I) shall be used by the recipient to protect or restore native biodiversity on Federal land or on land adjoining Federal land.

(III) Court costs.--Any award of costs of litigation and any award of attorney fees shall be paid by a Federal violator not later than 40 days after the date on which judgment is rendered.

(5) Waiver of sovereign immunity.--

(A) In general.--The United States (including agents and employees of the United States) waives its sovereign immunity in all respects in all actions under this section.

(B) Notice.--No notice is required to enforce this subsection.

TITLE III--EFFECTIVE DATE

SEC. 301. EFFECTIVE DATE.

This Act and the amendments made by this Act take effect on the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 302. EFFECT ON EXISTING CONTRACTS.

This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall not apply to any contract for the sale of timber that was entered into on or before the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 303. WILDERNESS ACT EXCLUSION.

This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall not apply to any Federal wilderness area designated under the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.).

TITLE IV--GIANT SEQUOIA NATIONAL MONUMENT

SEC. 401. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that--

(1) in accordance with the Act of June 8, 1906 (16 U.S.C. 431 et seq.), the Giant Sequoia National Monument was created by presidential proclamation on April 15, 2000;

(2) the Proclamation accurately states the following: ``The rich and varied landscape of the Giant Sequoia National Monument holds a diverse array of scientific and historic resources. Magnificent groves of towering giant sequoias, the world's largest trees, are interspersed within a great belt of coniferous forest, jeweled with mountain meadows. Bold granitic domes and spires, and plunging gorges, texture the landscape. The area's elevation climbs from about 2,500 to 9,700 feet over a distance of only a few miles, capturing an extraordinary number of habitats within a relatively small area. This spectrum of ecosystems is home to a diverse array of plants and animals, many of which are rare or endemic to the southern Sierra Nevada. The monument embraces limestone caverns and holds unique paleological resources documenting tens of thousands of years of ecosystem change. The monument also has many archaeological sites recording Native American occupation and adaptations to this complex landscape, and historic remnants of early Euroamerican settlement as well as the commercial exploitation of the giant sequoias. The monument provides exemplary opportunities for biologists, geologists, paleontologists, archaeologists, and historians to study these objects.'' ;

(3) the various ecosystems cited as the basis for establishment of the Monument--

(A) extend beyond the existing boundaries of the Monument; and

(B) encompass the fragile and extremely diverse southern Sierra Nevada bioregion and the overlapping Mohave ecosystem;

(4) to protect all the ecosystems and objects described in the Proclamation, the boundaries of the Monument must be extended to provide for watershed integrity, seasonal wildlife migrations, and other benefits;

(5) even though the primary reason for establishing the Monument was to rescue the area from the effects of road building and severe logging implemented by the Forest Service, the Proclamation left the Monument under the jurisdiction of the Chief of the Forest Service;

(6) the Proclamation provides the following: ``No portion of the Monument shall be considered to be suited for timber production, and no part of the Monument shall be used in a calculation or provision of a sustained yield of timber from the Sequoia National Forest.'';

(7) the Proclamation provided that ``[t]hese forests [in the Monument] need restoration to counteract the effects of a century of fire suppression and logging'';

(8) throughout the history of the Forest Service, the Forest Service has been focused on the logging of Federal land for the purpose of selling timber;

(9) because of this emphasis on logging and for other reasons, the National Park Service would be better able to manage the Monument than the Forest Service;

(10) the National Park Service manages 73 national monuments, many of which were originally under the jurisdiction of the Forest Service and were later transferred to the National Park System by an Act of Congress or by Executive Order;

(11) national monuments were managed by different Federal agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, until 1933, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt consolidated the management of national monuments in the National Park Service through Executive Order 6166 of June 10, 1933, and Executive Order 6228 of July 28, 1933;

(12) in most cases, national monuments established by presidential proclamation and assigned to the Forest Service or other Federal agencies have been ultimately transferred to the Secretary of the Interior, to be managed by the National Park Service;

(13) in a number of cases, Congress has eventually converted national monuments under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service into national parks;

(14) national monuments that were converted into national parks include the Grand Canyon National Park, Olympic National Park, and Death Valley National Park;

(15) Congress has converted large areas of national forests into some of the national parks and national monuments most cherished by the people of the United States;

(16) prominent examples of conversions in the region of the Monument are--

(A) Kings Canyon National Park, which was created out of the Sierra National Forest and Sequoia National Forest in 1940;

(B) the major eastward extension doubling the size of Sequoia National Park in 1926, with land for the addition being taken from the Sequoia National Forest; and

(C) the Mineral King addition to the Sequoia National Park in 1978, with land for the addition being taken from Sequoia National Forest;

(17) the Monument has more acres of sequoia groves than are contained in Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Yosemite, and Calaveras Big Tree, which are the only national parks and State parks in which sequoias occur;

(18) the largest tree in the world may still await discovery in some remote area of the Monument;

(19) to save the ecological integrity of the Monument, it is essential that the approximately 40,640 acres of land between the Western Divide (commonly known as the ``Greenhorn Mountains'') and the center line of the Kern River, south to the boundary line between Tulare and Kern counties, be included in the monument;

(20) Sequoia National Forest land, north of Sequoia National Park, should be added to the Sierra National Forest, which adjoins the Sierra National Forest on the north;

(21) for reasons of accessibility, economy, and general efficiency of operation, the remaining Sequoia National Forest territory south of Sequoia National Park belongs in the Inyo National Forest, which already shares the Golden Trout Wilderness with the Sequoia National Forest; and

(22) the overlapping jurisdiction with respect to the Sequoia National Forest territory results in needlessly wasteful management procedures.

SEC. 402. DEFINITIONS.

In this title:

(1) Advisory board.--The term ``Advisory Board'' means the Giant Sequoia National Monument Advisory Board established under section 404(d)(1).

(2) Management plan.--The term ``management plan'' means the management plan for the Monument required by the Proclamation.

(3) Monument.--The term ``Monument'' means the Giant Sequoia National Monument established by the Proclamation.

(4) Proclamation.--The term ``Proclamation'' means the Presidential Proclamation number 7295, dated April 15, 2000

(65 Fed. Reg. 24095).

(5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park Service.

(6) Superintendent.--The term ``Superintendent'' means the Superintendent of the Monument appointed under section 404(c).

SEC. 403. ADDITIONS TO GIANT SEQUOIA NATIONAL MONUMENT.

(a) In General.--There is added to the Monument--

(1) the approximately 40,640 acres of land between the Western Divide (commonly known as the ``Greenhorn Mountains'') and the center line of the Kern River, south to the boundary line between Tulare and Kern counties; and

(2) the Jenny Lakes Wilderness.

(b) Boundary Revision.--The boundary of the Monument is revised to reflect the addition of the land to the Monument under subsection (a).

SEC. 404. TRANSFER OF ADMINISTRATIVE JURISDICTION OVER THE

GIANT SEQUOIA NATIONAL MONUMENT.

(a) In General.--Administrative jurisdiction over the Monument is transferred from the Secretary of Agriculture to the Secretary.

(b) Applicable Law.--The Monument shall be administered in accordance with the Proclamation, except that any deliberations of the Chief of the Forest Service with respect to management of the Monument shall be set aside.

(d) Advisory Board.--

(1) In general.--The Superintendent shall establish an advisory board, to be known as the ``Giant Sequoia National Monument Advisory Board'', comprised of 9 members, to be appointed by the Superintendent.

(2) Prohibition on federal government employment.--Members of the Advisory Board shall not be employees of the Federal Government.

(3) Terms.--

(A) In general.--A member of the Advisory Board shall serve for a term of not more than 4 years.

(B) Intervals.--The Superintendent shall appoint members of the Advisory Board in a manner that allows the terms of the members to expire at staggered intervals.

(4) Duties.--The Advisory Board shall--

(A) assist in the preparation of the management plan; and

(B) provide recommendations with respect to the management of the Monument.

(5) Procedures.--The Superintendent shall establish procedures and standards for the Advisory Board.

(6) Open meetings.--Meetings of the Advisory Board shall be open to the public.

(e) Headquarters.--The headquarters for the Monument shall be located at the National Park Service facility at Three Rivers, California, which is the headquarters of Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park.

(f) Visitor Centers.--Visitors centers for the Monument shall be located at--

(1) Grant Grove Visitor Center in Kings Canyon National Park;

(2) Springville, the principal entrance to the west side of the southern unit of the Monument; and

(3) Kernville.

SEC. 405. ADDITIONS TO THE SIERRA NATIONAL FOREST AND INYO

NATIONAL FOREST.

(a) Sierra National Forest.--

(1) In general.--The portion of the Sequoia National Forest located north of Sequoia National Park that is not included in the Monument is added to the Sierra National Forest.

(2) Boundary revision.--The boundary of the Sequoia National Forest is adjusted to include the land added by paragraph (1).

(b) Inyo National Forest.--

(1) In general.--The portion of the Sequoia National Forest south of Sequoia National Park that is not included in the Monument is added to the Inyo National Forest.

(2) Boundary revision.--The boundary of the Inyo National Forest is adjusted to include the land added by paragraph

(1).

SEC. 406. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out sections 404 and 405.

____________________

SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 151, No. 133

“STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS” published by Congressional Record on Oct. 19, 2005

“STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS” published by Congressional Record on Oct. 19, 2005

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