H 4558 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE May 9, 1995

implementing regulations by the

Secretary of the Treasury.

—Enable law enforcement agencies to

call on the special expertise of the

Department of Defense in addressing offenses involving chemical and

biological weapons.

—Make mandatory at least a 10-year

penalty for transferring firearms or

explosives with knowledge that

they will be used to commit a

crime of violence and criminalize

the possession of stolen explosives.

—Impose enhanced penalties for terrorist attacks against current and

former Federal employees, and

their families, when the crime is

committed because of the employee’s official duties.

—Provide a source of funds for the

digital telephony bill, which I

signed into law last year, ensuring

court-authorized law enforcement

access to electronic surveillance of

digitized communications.

These proposals are described in

more detail in the enclosed section-bysection analysis.

The Administration is prepared to

work immediately with the Congress to

enact antiterrorism legislation. My

legislation will provide an effective and

comprehensive response to the threat

of terrorism, while also protecting our

precious civil liberties. I urge the

prompt and favorable consideration of

the Administration’s legislative proposals by the Congress.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON.

THE WHITE H

fOUSE, May 3, 1995.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER

PRO TEMPORE

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 5 of rule

I, the Chair announces that he will

postpone further proceedings today on

the motion to suspend the rules on

which a recorded vote or the yeas and

nays are ordered, or on which the vote

is objected to under clause 4 of rule

XV.

Such rollcall vote, if postponed, will

be taken at the end of legislative business today.

STRIPED BASS CONSERVATION

ACT AMENDMENTS OF 1995

fMr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I move to

suspend the rules and pass the bill

(H.R. 1139) to amend the Atlantic

Striped Bass Conservation Act, and for

other purposes, as amended.

The Clerk read as follows:

H.R. 1139

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 ‘‘Striped Bass

Conservation Act Amendments of 1995’’.

SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION.

Section 7(a) of the Atlantic Striped Bass

Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 1851 note) is

amended by striking ‘‘For each of fiscal

years 1986,’’ and all that follows through

‘‘1994,’’ and inserting ’’For each of fiscal

years 1995 and 1996,’’.

SEC. 3. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

(a) COMMISSION MONITORING OF IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERSTATE PLAN.—Section 4(a)(1)

of the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation

Act (16 U.S.C. 1851 note) is amended in the

material preceding subparagraph (A) by

striking ‘‘of fiscal year 1987, and of each fiscal year thereafter,’’ and inserting ‘‘of each

fiscal year,’’.

(b) REPEAL OF INOPERATIVE PROVISIONS.—

Sections 8 and 10 of the Atlantic Striped

Bass Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 1851 note)

are repealed.

SEC. 4. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN PREPARATION

OF PLANS AND AMENDMENTS TO

PLANS FOR ATLANTIC STRIPED

BASS.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The Atlantic Striped Bass

Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 1851 note), as

amended by section 3(b) of this Act, is further amended by adding after section 7 the

following new section:

‘‘SEC. 8. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN PREPARATION OF PLANS AND AMENDMENTS

TO PLANS FOR ATLANTIC STRIPED

BASS.

‘‘The Commission shall establish standards

and procedures to ensure that the Commission provides an adequate opportunity for

public participation in the preparation of

any plan for the management of Atlantic

Striped Bass and any amendment to such a

plan (including any amendment to the Interstate Fisheries Management Plan for Striped

Bass, dated October 1, 1981), including public

hearings and procedures for the submission

of written comments to the Commission.’’.

(b) DEADLINE.—Within 6 months after the

date of the enactment of this Act, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission

shall issue standards and procedures under

section 8 of the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 1851 note), as amended by subsection (a), of this section.

SEC. 5. TRANSFER OF EXISTING PROVISION TO

ATLANTIC STRIPED BASS CONSERVATION ACT.

So much of section 6 of the Act entitled

‘‘An Act to authorize appropriations to carry

out the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation

Act for fiscal years 1989 through 1991, and for

other purposes’’ (approved November 3, 1988;

Public Law 100–589; 102 Stat. 2986) as precedes

subsection (g) of that section—

(1) is transferred from that Act to the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act (16

U.S.C. 185 note);

(2) shall appear immediately after section 8

of the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation

Act, as amended by section 4 of this Act; and

(3) is redesignated as section 9 of the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act.

SEC. 6. AMENDMENT AND EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION FOR ANADROMOUS

FISH CONSERVATION ACT.

(a) SCOPE OF STUDIES.—Section 7(a) of the

Anadromous Fish Conservation Act (16

U.S.C. 757g(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘and’’

after the semicolon at the end of paragraph

(2), by striking the period at the end of paragraph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

‘‘(4) the effects of water quality and other

habitat changes on the recruitment, spawning potential, mortality rates, and population abundance of the Delaware River

striped bass population.’’.

(b) EXTENSION OF AUTHORIZATION.—Section

7(d) of the Anadromous Fish Conservation

Act (16 U.S.C. 757g(d)) is amended by striking

‘‘each of the fiscal years 1991, 1992, 1993, and

1994’’ and inserting ‘‘each of the fiscal years

1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998’’.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from

New Jersey [Mr. SAXTON] will be recognized for 20 minutes, and the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr.

STUDDS] will be recognized for 20 minutes.

The Chair recognizes the gentleman

from New Jersey [Mr. SAXTON].

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield

myself such time as I may consume.

(Mr. SAXTON asked and was given

permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, today we

are considering H.R. 1139, the Striped

Bass Conservation Act Amendments of

1995.

Mr. Speaker, before I proceed to explain the bill, I would like to make

note that this bill is a product of a

high degree of bipartisan work and a

high degree of bipartisan support.

While H.R. 1139 carries my name as

the primary sponsor this year, in past

years very similar legislation carried

the names of others, including, as

prime sponsor, the gentleman from

Massachusetts [Mr. STUDDS]. And, as a

member of the minority, I was pleased

to have had a great deal of input from

the then chairman of the Committee

on Fish and Wildlife, so to the extent

that I can extend to past Congresses

and to the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. STUDDS], congratulations for

bringing us to this point, it is my

pleasure to explain the bill.

Mr. Speaker, as the result of a significant population decline that began

in the 1970’s, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission developed

an interstate fishery management plan

for striped bass. Congress also responded to the decline of striped bass

populations by authorizing the Emergency Striped Bass Study in 1979.

In 1984, Congress enacted the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act. The

act was originally introduced by my

good friend, GERRY STUDDS, the ranking minority member of the Fisheries,

Wildlife and Oceans Subcommittee.

This act requires a Federal moratorium on striped bass fishing in States

that do not implement management

measures consistent with the Commission’s striped bass plan. Implementation of this plan has led to a resurgence

in Atlantic Coast striped bass which

are now considered fully recovered.

Mr. Speaker, I think this is one of

the times when we can collectively say

that this House did something right

which culminated in the fully desired

result.

H.R. 1139 extends the authorization

for the Striped Bass Conservation Act

through fiscal year 1996, and extends

the striped bass study through fiscal

year 1998.

I urge my colleagues to support the

continuation of this vital and highly

successful conservation effort by voting ‘‘aye’’ on this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of

my time.

Mr. STUDDS. Mr. Speaker, I yield

myself such time as I may consume.
May 9, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE H 4559

(Mr. STUDDS asked and was given

permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. STUDDS. Mr. Speaker, I thank

the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr.

SAXTON] for his graciousness. This is,

indeed, an utterly nonpartisan success.

It is bipartisan. In fact, I never expected it to be completely bipartisan in

my life. It has always had majority and

minority support, and I never expected

it to be on both sides, but here we are.

Mr. Speaker, let me just say a word

and supplement what the gentleman

says. This is really a success story, a

decade after the passage of the original

act, an inspiration to fishermen and to

managers that conservation can in fact

work.

Ten years ago striped bass stocks

along the Atlantic coast had declined

to dangerously low levels as a result

both of overfishing and pollution. Fishermen and managers alike were concerned that this fishery would soon become endangered. In an unprecedented

move, Congress passed the Striped Bass

Conservation Act, designed to support

State efforts to reverse this trend. The

management program established

under the act was at the time of its inception in 1984 unique.

It relies upon the States to develop

regulations for their waters that are

consistent with the Atlantic States

Marine Fisheries Commission’s management plan for striped bass. If a

State fails in its efforts, a Federal moratorium is imposed.

This partnership was so successful

that in January of this year, the commission declared the striper to be fully

recovered. The implementation of the

Federal-State partnership embodied in

the act has restored the striper to its

former glory as one of the most important sport and commercial fisheries on

the East Coast. Fishermen in my State

from Martha’s Vineyard to

Mattapoisett are celebrating the return of the striper, but are mindful of

the need to continue the conservation

and management programs that have

brought this fishery back from the

crash of the preceding decade. This bill

will ensure this is the case, and I enthusiastically urge Members to support

it today.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to another gentleman from New Jersey, Mr.

PALLONE.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I just

wanted to thank the two gentleman,

my colleague, the gentleman from New

Jersey [Mr. SAXTON], and my colleague,

the gentleman from Massachusetts

[Mr. STUDDS], for putting together this

legislation. In particular, both of them

have been supportive of language which

was placed in the bill that would ensure public participation on all striped

bass management plans.

Many people who are involved with

striped bass management know that

there is a large and vociferous group of

recreational fishermen out there who

become very concerned about any

changes that are made in the management plan. One of the things that they

continually tell us is that they want to

be involved at every stage in whatever

management plan changes are put forward.

This bill and the language that is in

the bill guarantee that public participation will do what is necessary to

make sure that they have their opportunity to be heard.

I certainly want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. SAXTON]

and the gentleman from Massachusetts

[Mr. STUDDS] for their cooperation in

putting that language in the bill.

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I am

pleased to rise in support of the Striped Bass

Conservation Act amendments and I compliment the author of the bill, JIM SAXTON, for

his leadership in moving this important measure.

The Atlantic coast stock of striped bass are

found in waters from North Carolina to Maine.

They are highly migratory but move primarily

along the coast within the 3-mile zone, which

is subject to State fishery management.

While striped bass populations have fluctuated dramatically in the past, the population

suffered a drastic decline in the 1970s. In fact,

striped bass harvests dropped from 15 million

pounds in 1973 to 3.5 million pounds in 1983.

In response to this serious problem, Congress approved an emergency striped bass

study and the Atlantic Striped Bass conservation Act of 1984. This law requires all affected

coastal States to implement management

measures to conserve and protect the remaining stocks of Atlantic striped bass.

While the resurgence of striped bass is a

major fishery management success, H.R.

1139 will ensure that this remarkable recovery

is not compromised in the days ahead.

As reported from my committee, this legislation will reauthorize both the Striped Bass

Conservation Act and section 7 of the Anadromous Fish Conservation Act, which funds

ongoing striped bass population studies. In addition, the bill focuses attention on stripers in

the Delaware River and encourages greater

public participation in the writing of management plans.

Mr. Speaker, I urge an ‘‘aye’’ vote on H.R.

1139 and again compliment JIM SAXTON and

GERRY STUDDS for their outstanding leadership

in this major conservation effort. I would hope

more of our fishery management efforts prove

to be this successful in the future.

Mr. STUDDS. Mr. Speaker, I have no

further requests for time, and I yield

back the balance of my time.

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I have no

further requests for time, and I yield

back the balance of my time.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The

question is on the motion offered by

the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr.

SAXTON], that the House suspend the

rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1139, as

amended.

The question was taken; and (twothirds having voted in favor thereof)

the rules were suspended and the bill,

as amended, was passed.

A motion to reconsider was laid on

the table.

GENERAL LEAVE

Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask

unanimous consent that all Members

may have 5 legislative days in which to

revise and extend their remarks, and to

include extraneous material, on the

bill just considered and passed.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there

objection to the request of the gentleman from New Jersey?

PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION

There was no objection.

OF H.R. 1361, COAST GUARD AUfTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL

YEAR 1996

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, by direction

of the Committee on Rules, I call up

House Resolution 139 and ask for its

immediate consideration.

The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

H.R. 139

Resolved, That at any time after the adoption of this resolution the speaker may, pursuant to clause 1(b) of rule XXIII, declare the

House resolved into the Committee of the

Whole House on the state of the Union for

consideration of the bill (H.R. 1361) to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 1996 for

the Coast Guard, and for other purposes. The

first reading of the bill shall be dispensed

with. Points of order against consideration

of the bill for failure to comply with section

302(f), section 308(a), or section 401(b) of the

Congressional Budget Act of 1974 are waived.

General debate shall be confined to the bill

and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chairman and

ranking minority member of the Committee

on Transportation and Infrastructure. After

general debate the bill shall be considered

for amendment under the five-minute rule. It

shall be in order to consider as an original

bill for the purpose of amendment under the

five-minute rule the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure now printed in the bill. The committee amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be considered by title rather

than by section. The first two sections and

each title of the committee amendment in

the nature of a substitute shall be considered

as read. Points of order against the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute

for failure to comply with clause 5(a) of rule

XXI or section 302(f) or section 401(b) of the

Congressional Budget Act of 1974 are waived.

At the conclusion of consideration of the bill

for amendment the Committee shall rise and

report the bill to the House with such

amendments as may have been adopted. Any

Member may demand a separate vote in the

House on any amendment adopted in the

Committee of the Whole to the bill or to the

committee amendment in the nature of a

substitute. The previous question shall be

considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instructions.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Florida [Mr. GOSS] is recognized for 1 hour.

Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I yield the

customary 30 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Texas [Mr.

FROST], pending which I yield myself

such time as I may consume. During

consideration of this resolution, all