Copyright 2000 The Times-Picayune Publishing Co.
The Times-Picayune
July 26, 2000 Wednesday, ORLEANS
SECTION: NATIONAL; Pg. A04
LENGTH: 962 words
HEADLINE:
COMMITTEE PASSES LANDRIEU'S BILL ON OFFSHORE ROYALTIES
BYLINE: By Bruce Alpert Washington bureau
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
BODY:
Overcoming stalling tactics and "poison pill" amendments from opponents,
legislation to create a $3 billion annual fund for conservation
and environmental programs won a key victory Tuesday, passing the Senate Energy
Committee on a 13-7 vote.
"This was our highest hurdle and we have
cleared it this morning," said a jubilant Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., the bill's
sponsor.
The legislation would direct offshore oil and gas royalties for
15 years to pay for an array of conservation programs from
restoring wetlands to creating urban and rural parks. The money would come from
drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and off Alaska and would generate $170 million a
year for Louisiana.
The Energy Committee included a solid core of
opponents, especially Republicans from Western states who fear the money will be
used by the government to appropriate private property. The U.S. government
already owns or controls huge tracts of land in the West.
--- Panel was
a tough sell ---
Landrieu and other supporters have long maintained that
passage of the Conservation and Reinvestment Act by the full
Senate would be easier than getting it past the committee.
The bill's
prospects may be decided by the calendar and Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott,
R-Miss., a co-sponsor, who met briefly with Senate Energy Committee Chairman
Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, after Tuesday's committee vote.
"I saw
Chairman Murkowski just a moment ago, and he shook my hand and then said, 'OK,
now it's in your lap, big boy,' " Lott said.
The majority leader said
"our biggest problem" is the large agenda, with relatively few legislative days
left.
But he added: "There's a lot of support, a lot of momentum behind
this. And while it has some opposition that I'm sympathetic to, from the Western
senators, we'll try to find a way to schedule it in September. I hope we can."
After more than 11 hours of debate over five days, the Energy Committee
vote came with about 15 minutes left in a session limited to 2 1/2 hours by
parliamentary rules invoked by opponents.
The final tally included "yes"
votes by four Republicans and all nine Democrats on the panel. When the vote was
announced, supporters of the legislation, including representatives of Louisiana
conservation and environmental organizations, applauded and
exchanged high fives.
Landrieu hugged several of her staffers, and
grasped hands with Murkowski.
--- Compromise forged ---
It was
Murkowski, who has long tangled with environmentalists, who negotiated a
compromise with Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., to require congressional approval
for federal acquisition of private land. Murkowski and Bingaman then helped
defeat amendments that would have drastically changed the impact of the bill.
"This is the most significant commitment of resources ever made to
conservation by the Congress," Murkowski said.
Landrieu, noting that more than 80 percent of the revenue comes from
leases off the coast of Louisiana, said she will try in negotiations to get the
final allocations closer to the House version of the bill, which would generate
$300 million a year for Louisiana. The House passed its version last year by a
vote of 315-109.
Opponents promised to continue to fight, vowing
filibusters and other procedural moves, including possibly trying to transfer
the bill to another committee.
"This is a $45 billion pile of pork,"
said Mike Hariman, a lobbyist for the American Land Rights Association, alleging
that the bill would increase already huge federal land stockpiles. "We're going
to fight this to the last ditch."
But supporters say they have the 60
votes to cut off any filibuster attempts.
Sen. John Breaux, D-La., said
obstacles remain, noting that opponents include key members of the Senate
Republican leadership, as well as leaders of the powerful appropriations and
budget committees. Even if the bill passes the Senate, negotiators will have to
resolve some of the significant differences between the Senate and House
versions.
Still, Breaux said the significance of Tuesday's Energy
Committee vote shouldn't be diminished.
"This has been one of the
greatest examples of legislative enactment in decades," said Breaux, adding that
Murkowski and Bingaman, along with Landrieu, were able to craft a compromise
that amounted to bringing together people with "diametrically opposite
positions."
--- Bill has support ---
There are several factors
in the bill's favor in these last five or six weeks before Congress is expected
to adjourn Oct. 6. The measure, with its wide array of local and regional
projects, enjoys support from such diverse groups as the Trust for Public Land,
the National Governors Association and Chamber of Commerce.
It also is
supported by both the Clinton-Gore administration and Texas Gov. George W. Bush,
the presumptive GOP presidential nominee.
Opponents said the bill would
hurt the rights of land owners and that it is unfair to commit future Congresses
to spend money on the programs outlined in the bill, giving them a higher
priority than education, health care and public safety.
But Landrieu
said state and local officials need a long-term commitment that federal
conservation financing won't suddenly disappear if they're to
commit their own resources to solve long-term environmental problems, such as
the continuing loss of wetlands in Louisiana.
"With the committee's
approval today of CARA, we are near our goal of creating permanent federal
conservation funding that governors, mayors, local governments
and all Americans can depend on," Landrieu said. "Our parks, coastlines,
wetlands, wildlife and historic treasures are too important to do otherwise. We
need a commitment to the American people and the environment that will stand up
year after year."
LOAD-DATE: July 26, 2000
