S6144 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD— SENATE May 4, 1995 

buried there were known as professional people—doctors, lawyers, teacher, and legislators. I was deeply impressed with the tribute given Senator 

Stennis by his son, John Hampton 

Stennis. He stated Senator Stennis’

campaign pledge and creed when Senator Stennis ran for the Senate in 1947, 

after having served as a circuit court 

judge for 10 years. That political creed 

was ‘‘I want to plow a straight furrow 

right down until the end of my row.’’

Obviously, Senator Stennis succeeded 

with that campaign pledge. And that 

philosophy seems to have guided his 

entire political career and his life. 

With those words John Hampton captured the spirit and philosophy of John 

C. Stennis. 

Senator Stennis taught through example. He has left both a challenge and 

a pattern of conduct for citizenship, as 

well as public life. 

What can our citizens today find in 

John C. Stennis to emulate? A course 

of conduct that inspires confidence; absolute personal dedication; noble purposes always foremost as a motive and 

objective; standards in public and private life unexcelled; a willingness to 

serve; a willingness to lead and endlessly carry the penalty of leadership, 

and above all else, the attainment of 

being an honorable man. 

I believe we find here a man and a 

record that fully live up to the everlasting call of the poet, Gilbert Holland, who said: 

God, give us men! A time like this demands 

Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and 

ready hands; 

Men whom the lust of office does not kill; 

Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy; 

Men who possess opinions and a will; 

Men who have honor; men who will not lie; 

Strong men, who live above the fog 

In public duty and in private thinking. 

Mary and I extend our heartfelt sympathy to the family of Senator Stennis—his daughter, Mrs. Margaret Jane 

Womble, and son, John Hampton Stennis, and to his grandchildren of whom 

he was so proud. 

f 

CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF 

THE MCKIM BUILDING OF THE 

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY 

Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, this year 

marks the 100th anniversary of one of 

the most beautiful buildings in America, the McKim Building of the Boston 

Public Library. 

Founded by an act of the Massachusetts Legislature on April 3, 1848, the 

Boston Public Library was the first 

free and publicly supported municipal 

library in the world. By 1880, its original 10,000 volumes had grown to 357,440, 

and the legislature empowered the city 

of Boston to take as much land within 

its limits as it needed to build a new library. The trustees envisioned the new 

library to be a ‘‘palace for the people, 

and as such * * * a monumental building, worthy of the city of Boston.’’

They hired architect Charles Follen 

McKim, a senior partner in the New 

York firm of McKim, Mead & White, to 

design this new edifice. 

McKim wanted to create a building 

which would fit with its architecturally distinguished neighbors—H.H. 

Richardson’s Romanesque Trinity 

Church and the Italian Gothic of the 

New Old South Church. He modeled the 

building on Henri Labrouste’s 

Bibliotheque Ste. Genevieve and recruited such outstanding artists as 

American sculptors Louis and Augustus Saint-Gaudens, French muralist 

Puvis de Chavannes, and American 

painters John Singer Sargent and 

Edwin Austin Abbey. 

Since its opening in 1895, the collection has become one of the most outstanding research libraries in the nation, including papers of many Colonia 

Americans and New England Abolitionists such as William Lloyd Garrison; 

the Sacco and Vanzetti papers, and the 

manuscripts and personal libraries of 

such figures as the famous conductor of 

the Boston Symphony Orchestra Serge 

Koussevitszky and American composer 

Walter Piston. 

It is also a wonderfully user-friendly 

library, providing many services for 

the community. It was the first to have 

a formal system of branch libraries 

throughout the city. In addition, there 

are programs for seniors, for children, 

and for young adults and a structured 

lecture series which provides collegelevel humanities courses free to library 

patrons. The new Johnson addition to 

the McKim Building is also where I 

vote. 

The McKim Building has recently undergone an extensive restoration. I invite by colleagues to visit its marble 

lions, view the mural depicting Sir 

Gawain’s quest for the Holy Grail, and 

enjoy the courtyard. The statute of 

‘‘The Baccahante,’’ originally designed 

to be the centerpiece of the fountain in 

the courtyard, was deemed too scantily 

clad to display in public. She was hidden away in a dark, unlit recess on the 

third floor, unseen and unadmired. but 

now she is being installed in her intended home. 

Joshua Bates, for whom the Great 

Reading Hall is named, wrote to the 

mayor of Boston, 

While I am sure that, in a liberal and 

wealthy community like that of Boston, 

there will be no want of funds to carry out 

the recommendation of the Trustees, it may 

accelerate its accomplishment and establish 

the library at once, on a scale to do credit to 

the City, if I am allowed to pay for the books 

required,which I am quite willing to do. The 

only condition that I ask is, that the building shall be such as to be an ornament to the 

City. 

Mr. Bates, your wish has been amply 

fulfilled. 

f 

ADMINISTRATION’S PLAN TO SELL 

STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE 

Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, for 

the information of the Senate, I ask 

unanimous consent to have printed in 

the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD a letter 

from the Secretary of Energy to the 

President of the Senate that transmits 

administration-proposed legislation. 

The primary purpose of this legislation 

is to sell strategic petroleum reserve 

[SPR] oil to fund the decommissioning 

of the Weeks Island SPR storage facility. I am having the proposed legislation printed in the RECORD instead of 

introducing it because I disagree with 

the policy of selling SPR oil to raise 

money. Let me explain. 

The administration’s legislation proposes three things. First, it authorizes 

the sale of up to 7 million barrels of 

crude oil from the SPR. Second, it earmarks the moneys from that sale for 

the decommissioning of the Weeks Island storage facility, and for other unspecified activities related to the SPR. 

Third, the administration’s legislation 

allows the sale of the SPR oil to not 

count adversely under the budget rules. 

I will not speak to the asset sale issue 

because it is not central to my concerns. 

The key policy issue raised by this 

legislation isn’t whether the Weeks Island SPR storage facility should be 

drained of oil and decommissioned; 

that must occur. Instead, the question 

facing the Senate is whether we should 

authorize the sale of SPR oil to fund 

this activity and a host of other unspecified SPR activities simply because 

the administration is unwilling to ask 

for the necessary money as a part of 

DOE’s regular budget. In a nutshell the 

issue is: Should SPR oil be sold to 

make up for a budget shortfall, or 

should SPR oil be kept on hand in case 

of an energy emergency? Before I explain my concerns about the administration’s proposal to sell SPR oil, let 

me first describe why the Weeks Island 

SPR storage facility must be emptied 

and decommissioned. 

Weeks Island is one of the five SPR 

crude oil storage facilities. Located in 

Louisiana, it holds 73 million of the 

total 592 million barrels of oil stored in 

the SPR. Weeks Island is unique among 

the SPR oil storage facilities. It was a 

commercial salt mine before being purchased by the Department of Energy 

and converted to an oil storage facility. The other four SPR facilities were 

created specifically to store oil. 

In May 1992, a sinkhole was discovered on the ground directly above 

Weeks Island. The cause of the sinkhole was determined to be a fracture in 

the salt formation. Over time, the fracture has enlarged as a result of water 

leaking through it and into the Weeks 

Island storage cavern. In February 

1995, a second sinkhole was discovered 

over Weeks Island, but it has not yet 

been determined if this indicates a second leak. 

The water leaking into Weeks Island 

is accumulating at the bottom of the 

oil storage chamber and it is pushing 

the oil up. Although the leak is slow, 

water intrusion creates a risk of path 

enlargement and increased water inflow. This could ultimately result in a 

catastrophic water inflow, which would 

completely displace the oil stored in 

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May 4, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD— SENATE S6145 

the facility. Although a remote possibility, if that occurred the 73 million 

barrels of oil stored in Weeks Island 

could enter the underground water aquifer. That would be a major ecological 

disaster. 

After extensive engineering studies, 

DOE has concluded that the long-term 

integrity of Weeks Island cannot be assured. Thus, the most prudent option is 

to remove the oil while the leak is 

manageable. Once emptied of oil, 

Weeks Island will then be decommissioned by filling the facility with salt 

brine. Plans are being made by DOE to 

move the oil to other SPR storage sites 

beginning in the fall of 1995. As part of 

this activity, DOE will put a freeze 

wall around the facility to prevent oil 

leakage. Full decommissioning of 

Weeks Island will take 2 to 3 years. 

I agree with the Department of Energy that Weeks Island must be 

emptied of oil and decommissioned as 

soon as possible. I also agree that the 

life extension activities should take 

place. As I stated before, the issue facing the Senate is not whether these 

should occur, but rather how they are 

to be paid for. More specifically, should 

we authorize the sale of SPR oil to 

fund these activities, or should the 

money come from DOE’s budget? In deciding whether or not SPR oil should 

be sold, it is worth reviewing why we 

have an SPR in the first place. 

The SPR was created by Congress in 

the aftermath of the 1973 Arab oil embargo. Recall that the oil embargo 

caused energy shortages, sharp price 

increases, long gasoline lines, doubledigit interest rates, and economic stagflation. The SPR protects the Nation 

by having on hand a significant 

amount of immediately available crude 

oil. 

The function of the SPR is twofold. 

First, it discourages foreign oil exporting nations from using the oil weapon 

against the United States, as they did 

back in 1973. Second, it protects the 

United States from shortages and price 

spikes if a supply interruption does 

occur. In addition, the SPR is needed 

to satisfy the requirements of the 

International Energy Program, which 

requires member nations to maintain 

oil stocks sufficient to sustain consumption for at least 90 days with no 

net oil imports. 

Congress intended SPR oil to be used 

only if there is an energy emergency. 

The 1975 Energy Policy and Conservation Act specifies that SPR oil can be 

sold only if the President finds that ‘‘it 

is required by a severe energy supply 

interruption or by obligations of the 

United States under the international 

energy program.’’

The SPR has been tapped only once—

other than for test purposes—but when 

used it was important that the oil be 

on hand. In January 1991, because of 

the Desert Storm war with Iraq, President Bush declared an energy emergency and sold 17 million barrels of 

SPR oil. Had he not done so, oil prices 

would have spiked, consumers would 

have suffered, and our economy would 

have been harmed. 

Given declining U.S. oil production 

and the corresponding increase in foreign dependence, if anything we need 

more oil stored in the SPR—not less. 

Since the Arab oil embargo in 1973, 

U.S. crude oil production has declined 

by 28 percent and U.S. dependence on 

foreign oil has grown to more than 50 

percent. Notwithstanding additions of 

oil to the SPR, because of our growing 

foreign dependence, the SPR is increasingly less capable of offsetting a supply 

interruption. In 1985, the SPR contained 493 million barrels of crude oil—

then the equivalent of 115 days of net 

U.S. oil imports. Today, the SPR contains 592 million barrels of crude oil—

the current equivalent of 74 days of net 

oil imports. Although we have added 

nearly 100 million barrels of crude oil 

to the SPR, due to our growing foreign 

dependence it is 41 days less capable of 

handling a supply interruption. Thus, I 

am very concerned that selling SPR 

oil—even as little as 7 million barrels 

as proposed by the administration—reduces the protection the SPR will provide in case of an energy emergency. 

Let me again say that I am convinced that the Weeks Island facility 

must be emptied and the oil moved to 

other SPR storage sites. We cannot afford an ecological disaster of the magnitude posed by a catastrophic rupture 

of Weeks Island. But I want to point 

out that those actions do not require 

the amount of money that would be 

generated by the sale of 7 million barrels of SPR oil, as is proposed by the 

administration’s legislation. 

At current market rates of $20 per 

barrel, the sale of 7 million barrels of 

SPR crude oil will generate about $140 

million. Yet the Department of Energy 

needs only $89 million to move the 

Weeks Island oil to other SPR storage 

sites and to decommission the facility. 

Possibly much less if lower cost transportation options were used. Moreover, 

only about $38 of the $89 million is actually required in fiscal year 1996 because decommissioning will take several years to complete. Even if the entire $89 million were required in fiscal 

year 1996, that still leaves $51 million 

from the $140 million sale. What does 

DOE plan on doing with that money? 

They plan on spending a large share on 

SPR life extension activities that need 

to occur, but more properly should be 

part of the regular DOE budget. 

DOE could have proposed to use part 

of its budget for Weeks Island, but it 

elected not to. For fiscal year 1996, 

DOE asked for $17.833 billion, a $337 

million increase over fiscal year 1995. 

$89 million is only .005 of the DOE’s 

total budget, and only one-quarter of 

just the proposed budget increase. 

Surely, the administration could have 

found the necessary moneys within its 

existing budget if it really wanted to. 

A fair question is where will DOE get 

the money it needs if we do not authorize the sale of SPR oil as requested? I 

say again, DOE should have asked for 

the money as a part of their fiscal year 

1996 budget request; I believe that we 

would have approved it. So I turn the 

question around and ask the administration: If it really is so important to 

undertake these activities, what are 

the lower priority DOE programs that 

you are willing to forgo? You tell us 

which programs you want to cut. 

I am also very concerned that selling 

SPR oil simply to raise money sets a 

very dangerous precedent. I greatly 

fear that there will be no end once we 

start doing this. Every time DOE’s 

budget is put in a squeeze, there will be 

pressure to sell a few barrels of SPR oil 

to protect this or that cherished program. How will we be able to say no to 

other raids on the SPR piggy bank, if 

we allow it here? 

Mr. President, the strategic petroleum reserve is this Nation’s energy 

emergency insurance policy. I do not 

believe that we should cash part of it 

in just because DOE is unwilling to use 

even the tiniest fraction of its $18 billion budget to address the SPR’s problems. We may need the SPR some day 

if another supply disruption occurs. 

After all, Saddam Hussein is still with 

us. It is for these reasons that I oppose 

the sale of SPR oil as proposed by the 

administration and I will not introduce 

their legislation. 

There being no objection, the bill and 

letter were ordered to be printed in the 

RECORD, as follows: 

S. —

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

Congress assembled, That—

(a) Notwithstanding section 161 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, the Secretary of Energy may draw down and sell up 

to seven million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to the extent that 

appropriations acts make the proceeds from 

such a sale available for the purposes specified in subsection (b). 

(b) The proceeds from the sale described in 

subsection (a) shall be deposited into a special account in the Treasury, to be established and known as the ‘‘SPR Decommissioning Fund,’’ and shall be available to the 

extent and in the amounts provided in advance in appropriations acts for the purpose 

of removal of oil from and decommissioning 

of the Weeks Island site, and for other purposes related to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. 

(c) The proceeds from the sale described in 

subsection (a) shall be included in the budget 

baseline required by the Balanced Budget 

and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 

and shall be counted as an offset to discretionary budget authority and outlays for the 

purposes of section 251(a)(7) of that Act, if 

the President designates that the proceeds 

should be so counted, notwithstanding section 257(e) of that Act. 

(d) The authority to contract for sale of oil 

under this section expires September 30, 1996. 

THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY, 

Washington, DC, March 27, 1995. 

Hon. AL GORE, 

President of the Senate, 

Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. PRESIDENT: Enclosed is a legislative proposal to ‘‘provide for the sale of oil 

from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and 

the transfer of oil from Weeks Island, and for 

other purposes.’’ This legislation, which is 

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S6146 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD— SENATE May 4, 1995 

proposed in the President’s Fiscal Year 1996 

Budget, is part of the Administration’s ongoing effort to reinvent the Federal Government. 

The Department of Energy recently announced the planned decommissioning of the 

Strategic Petroleum Reserve’s Weeks Island 

site. Water seeping into underground storage 

chambers is compromising the structural integrity of the facility, which holds nearly 73 

million barrels of oil. As a result the Department will transfer the oil to other sites in 

Louisiana and Texas, and sell up to seven 

million barrels of oil to finance the transfer 

and decommissioning, and other SPR activities. Currently, the Department has legislative authority to draw down and sell Strategic Petroleum Reserve oil only under 

emergency authorities vested in the President or as part of a test sale of up to five 

million barrels of oil. New authority is required for this proposed sale. 

The proposed legislation would authorize 

to the extent provided in appropriations Acts 

the sale and drawdown of up to seven million 

barrels of oil from the Reserve for purposes 

of removing the oil and decommissioning the 

site. Seven million barrels is equivalent to 

less than one day of oil imports, and would 

not appreciably affect the mission of the Reserve. Proceeds from the sale would be deposited in a special account known as the ‘‘SPR 

Decommissioning Fund’’ and would offset 

the cost of decommissioning and other SPR 

activities. This bill would also allow the sale 

proceeds to be counted as offsets to spending. 

Authority to contract for sale of oil under 

this section would expire on September 30, 

1996. 

We look forward to working with the Congress toward enactment of this legislation. 

The Office of Management and Budget advises that enactment of this proposal would 

be in accord with the program of the President. 

Sincerely, 

f 

HAZEL R. O’LEARY. 

MARJORIE S. ARUNDEL 

Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I rise 

today to recognize a most distinguished Virginian, Mrs. Marjorie S. 

Arundel, of The Plains, VA, who has 

devoted her life to the conservation of 

our natural resources. 

As a member of the Garden Club of 

America, Marjorie Arundel has been 

recognized for her conservation efforts 

in the Commonwealth of Virginia and 

across our Nation. Her tireless work 

has throughout more than 30 years contributed much to preserve and enhance 

the natural beauty. 

I have had the pleasure of knowing 

both Mrs. Arundel and her late husband, Russell M. Arundel, for a number 

of years in Fauquier County. The contributions which they have made to 

that community are immeasurable. 

In the 1960’s, the Arundel family donated over 600 acres of their own land 

to the Nature Conservancy, which created the first Nature Conservancy preserve in Virginia. It is now known as 

Wildcat Mountain Natural Area. Due 

to her endeavors in conservation, Mrs. 

Arundel was awarded the Governor’s 

Certificate of Recognition from former 

Gov. CHARLES ROBB, my junior colleague in the Senate. 

There are several projects that are 

trademark Marjorie Arundel with her 

typical ingenuity and spirit. I recall 

fondly meeting with Mrs. Arundel in 

the 1980’s regarding a highway widening north of Warrenton. Mrs. Arundel promptly brought to my attention 

a 200-year-old oak tree which stood directly in the proposed roadway. In an 

effort to spare the tree, Mrs. Arundel 

then met with officials from the Virginia Department of Transportation, 

who agreed to bypass the removal of 

the tree. Today, that ‘‘Loretta Oak’’

stands proudly and continues to live 

and be enjoyed by all. 

As a gardener with a special interest 

in wild plants, Mrs. Arundel became 

aware that several species were being 

dug out of the wild and sold to commercial interests. These actions created serious wildflower depletions in 

the Virginia mountainside and our 

neighboring States. Her crusade to protect the wild populations from both 

trade domestic and abroad was truly a 

labor of love. Using her trademark ingenuity, Mrs. Arundel drafted the support of World Wildlife Fund, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and 

the Garden Club of America. 

And with similar success, Mrs. Arundel has taken on other tough environmentally conscious issues, like pesticide and pollution abuses in the environment. 

Mrs. Arundel’s achievements include 

the Award of Honor presented by the 

World Wildlife Fund; an American 

Achievement Medal from the Garden 

Club of America; a Stewardship of the 

Land Award from the Virginia Chapter 

of the America Society of Landscape 

Architects; Communicator of the Year 

Award from the American Horticultural Society; and the Delacy Gray 

Memorial Medal for Conservation as ‘‘a 

conservation leader who demonstrates 

a love for the nature environment and 

a responsibility for its preservation.’’

There are many accolades bestowed 

upon this great lady, but ‘‘The Land 

Ethic’’ well speaks to Marjorie 

Arundel’s testimony to natural integrity as, ‘‘Conservation is a state of harmony between men and land.

f 

’’

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF RETIRED FEDERAL EMPLOYEES 

WEEK 

Mr. THOMPSON. Mr. President, it 

gives me great pleasure at this time to 

request the unanimous consent of my 

colleagues to have printed in the 

RECORD a proclamation by the Governor of my State of Tennessee; Don 

Sundquist. 

On March 21 of this year, the Honorable Governor Don Sundquist signed 

the proclamation that the week of 

April 17–22, 1995, shall be known in Tennessee as National Association of Retired Federal Employees Week. 

Our State’s chapter of this national 

organization is very spirited and active. Many members of this association 

have volunteered their time and energy 

to help organize relief and recovery efforts in Oklahoma City. 

It is this spirit of contribution that 

continues to distinguish all civil servants, retired and employed. 

There being no objection, the proclamation was ordered to be printed in the 

RECORD, as follows: 

Whereas the United States Civil Service 

Act of 1883 was signed into law by then President Chester A. Arthur, thereby creating the 

United States Civil Service System; and 

Whereas the United States Civil Service 

Retirement System was created in 1920 and 

signed into law by then President Woodrow 

Wilson; and 

Whereas virtually every State, county, and 

municipal civil service system have developed from the Civil Service Act; and 

Whereas untold thousands of United States 

Civil Service employees have worked diligently, patriotically, silently, and with little 

notice to uphold the highest traditions and 

ideas of our country; and 

Whereas thousands of Federal employees 

are retired in Tennessee and continue to devote inestimable time and effort toward the 

betterment of our communities and State. 

Now therefore, I, Don Sundquist, Governor 

of the State of Tennessee, do hereby proclaim the week of April 17–22, 1995, as ‘‘National Association of Retired Federal Employees Week’’ in Tennessee, and do urge all 

our citizens to join in this worthy observance. 

f 

SOUTH DAKOTA SMALL 

BUSINESSMAN OF THE YEAR 

Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, I may 

be a little biased, but I have always believed if you give South Dakotans an 

even break, they can make a living 

even under the toughest circumstances. 

Yesterday I met with a man who 

proves my point. His name is Randy 

Boyd, and he was just named South Dakota’s 1995 Small Business Owner of 

the Year by the Small Business Administration. 

Randy lives in a town of 300 people 

called Geddes in southeast South Dakota with his wife, Sheila, and their 

two young children, Cassidy and Vincent. 

He moved back to Geddes in 1982, 

after his dad had a heart attack and 

helped move his father’s gunsmithing 

business from his garage into a 400- 

square-foot shop, where they worked 

together repairing guns. Later that 

year, Randy and his father bought a 

two-spindle carving machine that could 

make up to eight gunstocks a day. 

Today, Boyd’s Gunstocks Industries 

is one of the largest original-equipment manufactuers of gunstocks in the 

country. It has grown from 3 employees 

in 1986 to 22 full-time and 10 part-time 

workers, plus 10 who do contract work 

at home. Company sales have skyrocketed from $29,000 in 1986 to more 

than $1 million last year. 

In 1992, with help from the Small 

Business Administration, Randy was 

able to obtain a new warehouse for raw 

materials, as well as new computerized 

equipment to improve efficiency. The 

business now occupies 13,500 square 

feet. 

One of Randy’s biggest challenges is 

finding enough skilled workers in a 

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