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I especially want to thank the chairman, the gentleman from California (Mr. PACKARD), for his support of $255 million for fusion research and $25 million for laser research. While I would have preferred more funding for this, we did increase fusion research above the current level. Fusion energy has the potential to be an unlimited and ultraclean source of energy for the world. And after a number of years of declining budgets for this program, and with the chairman's help, this is the second year of increased funding for fusion research.
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The committee has also provided $19.6 million for the decommissioning of the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor at Princeton University. This decommissioning must stay on schedule and on budget, and this funding will allow us to do so.
Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to support the bill. I thank the chairman, the gentleman from California (Mr. PACKARD), and the ranking member, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. VISCLOSKY), for their support.
Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. FARR), a member of the committee.
Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.
I want to have a colloquy with the distinguished chairman of the committee, but I just noticed that both the chairman of the Whole House and the chairman of the subcommittee are both retiring this year, and I have to express my own personal regrets that they are retiring. They are both very distinguished gentlemen, and I have enjoyed serving with them.
I have really enjoyed serving with the chairman of the subcommittee, not only as a fellow Californian; but we have been engaged together in issues for the State, and I remember when I was in the State legislature his work with the supercollider, where I really got to know him well; and I have appreciated his leadership here in the Congress.
I want to thank him for the opportunity to discuss with him the funding for a critical project in my district, which is the central part of California. This is the second year I have sought appropriations to carry out a preconstruction engineering design of a flood control measure on the Pajaro River, which runs right through the City of Watsonville, California, as well as funding for the Pajaro River Basin Study. This is an area in my district with substantial flood control problems, which threatens homes and businesses in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties. I have worked extensively with officials in both of these counties and the Corps of Engineers to resolve this problem in order to provide safety for the residents there.
I recognize that the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development is under significant budgetary constraints this fiscal year and has thus adopted a policy to fund investigations at a level no higher than requested by the administration. The administration's request for investigations on the Pajaro River was $600,000, with an additional $50,000 request for the basin study. However, this request was prepared prior to the agreement between the Corps and the local sponsors, which subsequently set a higher level of funding for the project.
The Corps has revised their earlier estimates, and has developed a new work plan and budget that calls for a total of $1.95 million in fiscal year 2001. They have submitted a revised estimate on their ability to spend which reflects this new higher amount. I would like to request that my good friend, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development of the Committee on Appropriations, amend the amount as we go along to allocate to the investigations on the Pajaro River to reflect this agreement with the Corps and the new estimate of their ability to pay.
Mr. PACKARD. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. FARR of California. I yield to the gentleman from California.
Mr. PACKARD. Mr. Chairman, I thank my colleague from California for yielding, and I want to state that I recognize the importance to his constituents to improve flood control on the Pajaro River. The Corps has demonstrated their ability to spend $1.95 million on the investigations of these two projects.
Given the revision of the Corps's estimates since the submission of the President's budget, I pledge to do everything I can to help the gentleman receive additional monies from the Corps for purposes of implementing these worthy projects.
Mr. FARR of California. Reclaiming my time, Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for working on this matter; and I look forward to working with him in the future.
Mr. PACKARD. Mr. Chairman, may I inquire what time is remaining on each side.
The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from California (Mr. PACKARD) has 8 1/2 minutes remaining, and the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. VISCLOSKY) has 15 minutes remaining.
Mr. PACKARD. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. WAMP), for the purposes of a colloquy.
Mr. WAMP. Mr. Chairman, I hope I can do it in 2 minutes.
Before I engage in a colloquy, I do want to associate myself quickly with all the outstanding comments that have been made about the brilliant political career, the public service, and especially the attitude of the gentleman from California (Mr. PACKARD). People from one end of this place to the other really appreciate the spirit of the gentleman from California. The gentleman from California has done a great job and brought so much to public service in this country. And I hope the gentleman enjoys the game of golf from this point on, because the gentleman deserves his retirement.
Mr. Chairman, the Spallation Neutron Source is one of the most important science initiatives of our generation and represents a $1.4 billion major construction project supported by the Department of Energy's Office of Science to build the world's's most powerful source of pulsed beams for scientific research and development.
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With its advanced accelerator technology and world-class instrument design, SNS will be more than 12 times as powerful as the world's current leading neutron source in the U.K. and offer unprecedented research opportunities for up to 2,000 scientists each year. This research is crucial to supporting advances in biology, polymers, magnetic materials, superconductivity, and materials research that will continue to keep the U.S. economy strong and keep us at the forefront of scientific endeavors around the globe.
SNS has been subject to many technical and management reviews in the past 4 years, including review by the DOE, several external independent review teams, the GAO, and the House Committee on Science. These reviews have shown conclusively that the technical basis of the SNS is sound and that the SNS management is on a solid path to complete the project within budget by 2006 as planned. All conditions prescribed in the committee report on last year's Energy and Water appropriations bill have been satisfied, and the House Committee on Science has recommended full funding of the SNS in fiscal year 2001.
The SNS will fully obligate $190 million in this fiscal year, including the fiscal year 2000 appropriation of $100 million in construction funds and $17.9 in R&D, plus the fiscal year 1999 balances brought forward of about $71.4 million. Significant design and construction activity has taken place in the last year, with most title I design completed, approximately $75 million in procurements being awarded and major excavation and grading of the 100-acre site well underway.
Fully funding the fiscal year 2000 requested level is essential to maintain the current schedule to complete SNS in 2006 within the total project cost of $1.4 billion.
I know how hard the chairman and his staff have worked to get this project to where we are today, and I appreciate that. I acknowledge the budget constraints that we are currently under and that so far we have not been able to provide the necessary funding that this project needs to meet the necessary milestones over the next 12 months.
I am asking the commitment of the chairman that, as we work together during conference, we will do everything possible to significantly increase the funding for the Spallation Neutron Source.
Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. PACKARD) for his response.
Mr. PACKARD. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the request of the gentleman. I will certainly work in conference to adequately fund the Spallation Neutron Source and, of course, additional funds if that will help.
Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. EDWARDS) a member of the
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Mr. EDWARDS. Mr. Chairman, I thank the ranking member for yielding me the time.
Mr. Chairman, I would like to engage the gentleman from California (Mr. PACKARD) in a short colloquy.
As the gentleman knows, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission now has before it certain legal issues relating to the off-site disposal of FUSRAP material.
My question to the chairman is, will the gentleman confirm that the Committee on Appropriations does not wish to influence the judgment of the Commission on those issues?
Mr. PACKARD. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. EDWARDS. I yield to the gentleman from California.
Mr. PACKARD. Mr. Chairman, the gentleman is correct. If any committee of Congress wishes to take action regarding the off-site disposal issue the Commission is now considering, it ought to be the relevant authorization committee of the House that does it.
I would have no objections to the authorizers of this body taking up such issues. But the Committee on Appropriations, appropriately, has chosen not to do so.
Mr. EDWARDS. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for his comments.
Mr. Chairman, even more importantly, I want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. PACKARD) for a lifetime of service to his Nation. He served this country with great distinction in military uniform. And much like my mentor in politics, the late Olin E. ``Tiger'' Teague, who served this country in such a distinguished way for so many years, the gentleman from California (Mr. PACKARD) continued to serve his country after he took off the uniform and put on the civilian uniform of public servant.
As someone who worked with the chairman both when he was chairman of the Subcommittee on Military Construction of the Committee on Appropriations, now the Subcommittee on Energy and Water, I want to say it was an honor to work with him, to work under him, and to know him. He gives the name ``public service'' the very best of meaning because of his lifetime of service to our country. And there are military families living in better housing today, there are people in communities that are less prone to flood control today, there are millions of American citizens who, whether they know the name of the gentleman or not, are living a better life today and for many years to come for their families because of the service of the gentleman from California (Mr. PACKARD) to our country.
Mr. PACKARD. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for those kind remarks, and I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. KNOLLENBERG), a member of the subcommittee.
Mr. KNOLLENBERG. Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman for yielding me the time, and I rise in very, very strong support of this bill.
I wish good luck to the gentleman from California (Mr. PACKARD). He has done a great job here. We salute him.
If the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. VISCLOSKY) is still about, we salute him. And the staff has done a remarkable job, as well.
The fiscal year 2001 Energy and Water appropriations bill is a balanced piece of legislation balancing the Corps of Engineers, the Department of Energy, along with important portions of the Department of Interior and other agencies. This is a good and fiscally responsible bill, with the non-defense portion of it being some $200 million below last area.
The Nation's energy policy is a prime focus of this bill. We have the opportunity here to improve what we can all agree is a lacking and flawed energy policy on the part of the Clinton-Gore administration.
The bill provides for a variety of important education funding for our universities, as well as research and development at our national labs which are related to the energy supply. This includes nuclear energy research under NERI, under NEPO, and under the NEER programs along with investment in the future energy source called fusion and the Advanced Scientific Computing Research initiative that will bridge the software gap, thereby substantially improving our scientific research capacity.
This bill also contains some fantastic work, I believe, on nuclear fuel supply, from the beginning of the fuel cycle involving mining, conversion and enrichment, to the end of the fuel cycle involving Yucca Mountain .
A new potential cancer cure is advanced in this bill.
One of the most successful on-time, on-budget programs at the Department of Energy is the fusion energy program. Fusion energy is treated fairly.
The cleanup, finally, of our World War II legacy, our nuclear waste sites, is another important priority in this bill. It contains some excellent work that will refocus the Department of Energy on its responsibilities with a new priority on accomplishments by 2010.
We have all the various interests of the American people at heart when we all have programs we hope will be strongly supported. If we have more money at some future time, I cannot say at that time or at this time that we will, but I am confident we will have an even better bill.
I urge support of this bill.
Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PACKARD. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. GILMAN).
(Mr. GILMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time.
Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Energy and Water Development appropriations bill. I thank the distinguished chairman for recognizing the need for two flood projects in my area, the Elmsford Saw Mill River area and the Ramapo River area, and for providing adequate funding for these projects. We thank the distinguished chairman for his good work.
Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4733, the Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill, 2001 and want to thank the distinguished Committee chairman, the gentleman from California, Mr. PACKARD for his diligent work on producing this important bill.
The Energy and Water Appropriations bill provides funding for the Army Corps of Engineers to provide necessary flood control protection against the devastating impact of flooding on lives and property.
My constituents in Elmsford and Suffern, New York have and continue to suffer from the flooding of the Saw Mill River, as evidenced in 1999, when Hurricane Floyd dropped over 11 inches of rain on my congressional district, creating a devastating impact on human life and property. Included in Floyd's destruction were constituents who were faced with flood waters from both the Saw Mill River and the Ramapo River in southwestern N.Y.--destroying homes, businesses and creating severe financial stress. After witnessing the destruction in my district first-hand, I contacted the U.S. Army Corps and Chairman PACKARD for assistance.
Accordingly, Chairman PACKARD has provided the Army Corps with adequate funding to begin the phases necessary to prevent such destruction in the future.
I look forward to continuing my work with Chairman PACKARD as the flood control work proceeds in both Elmsford and Suffern.
I thank Chairman PACKARD for his efforts and I urge my colleagues to support this important measure.
Mr. PACKARD. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. LATHAM), a member of the subcommittee.
Mr. LATHAM. Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman very, very much. I rise today in support of this very excellent bill under tight budget constraints.
I would like to also extend my thanks to the chairman. This is my first term on this subcommittee, and he has done an outstanding job, being actually new to the subcommittee himself. But the learning curve that I have had on this committee has been quite steep; and, with his leadership, it has made it much easier.
And also, anyone who knows the chairman, much has been said about the golf, but he attacks his work the same way that he attacks the golf course and never stopping, and we have to be on our toes all the time. I just want to say how much I appreciate his friendship and really the honor of serving here with him.
This bill is something under the tight budget constraints, like I said before, with no new starts as far as projects. The chairman is very well aware, and I think the Congress is, that there are
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I also want to emphasize how important this bill is for the upper Midwest, for the State of Iowa, as far as the Army Corps of Engineers, the projects that they have to deal with in my district as far as navigation on the rivers, and what an excellent job I think that they do and the constraints that we have.
If I have a disappointment in the bill, it is in the area of renewable energy and as far as biorenewable energy research that I think is so very, very important for the future.
Just in closing, again, I want to thank the chairman and extend my gratitude for the great job that he has done.
Mr. PACKARD. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. FOSSELLA) for the purpose of a colloquy.
Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. FOSSELLA).
Mr. FOSSELLA. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlemen for yielding me the time.
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