every dollar spent on the program. the diesel emission reduction act was authorized at $200  million per year from f.y. 2007 to f.y. 2011. even given this program's success, it has received less than $146 million in regular fiscal year appropriations so far. 25% of its authorized level. in this year's bill the program is slated to receive $60 million. to date this successful program has received over 650 applications for grants totalling over $2 billion. given this fact and the broad support this program has received, our colleague, mr. calvert, introduced an amendment in the approprtions committee to increase funding for deera by 15 million. though this amendment was not adopted, i ask you today are you willing to work with congressman calvert in the future to increase funding for deera closer to its authorized level? mr. dicks: would the gentleman yield? first, mr. simpson, i want to commend you for your leadership

in the inteaor environment subcommittee and support of the program. there is no doubt that the program is a worthwhile and beneficial program that plays a significant role in combating global warming and improving air quality. this is why this subcommittee has continued to fund and support this program. we provided $60 million in both fiscal years 2009 and 2010 and additional $300 million through the recovery act. to date only 32% of the funds appropriated for this program through the recovery act have been spent. i understand that e.p.a. plans to obligate all the recovery act funds before they begin a solicitation for the 2009 funds. it could be well into 2010 before the 2009 funds are spent. . president obama's request for deera, and this bill provides that.

i will work with you, mr. calvert, congresswoman matsui has talked to me about this, e.p.a. and stake holders in hopes of improving and streamlining its grant-making process and ensure the proper level of funding in 2011. mr. simpson: i will work with you over the coming year to improve the deero granting process to ensure that applications are processed and grants are awarded and work with you in the coming fiscal years to secure morrow bus funding for this program that truly is a win-win-win situation stimulating the economy, improving air quality and reducing emissions that are among the greatest contributors to global warming and thank mr. calvert for bringing this to our attention. and i reserve the balance of our time. the chair: the gentleman from washington. mr. dicks: could you tell us what the remaining is remaining the chair: the gentleman from

washington has 3 3/4 minutes and the gentleman from idaho has four minutes. mr. dicks: i reserve. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. mr. simpson: we have no further speakers. let me say in closing that i have truly appreciated working with you, chairman dicks. you and the staff have been an honor to work with. and i think we have created a very good bipartisan bill and to tell you the truth, i can't complain about anything where you have spent the funds though there might have been some differences that i would have made if i were king for a day and that type of thing. but we have come out with a good bill. as we started the markup, you know that my major concern is the overall spending level in this bill. mr. dicks: would the gentleman yield? mr. simpson: i have no problems with the way that you are approaching this and i thank you for your bipartisanship in working with us.

mr. dicks: i commend the gentleman for his work, his staff's work. everyone's worked together. i want to say again. your attendance on your side of the aisle. we have four cardinals on our subcommittee, so they have subcommittees they are running. it's difficult for everyone to be there. but your side has been there and it has been terrific and the questions have been great and it has been a real pleasure. and i thank mr. obey, the chairman of the full committee, for this allocation. i mean, we can only go as far as our allocation. and i think mr. obey realized that we had been hurt over the last eight years -- not to end this on a sour note -- and that -- it was a catchup budget. we're getting back to partial way there. but these are such important programs. our national parks, our national forests, our fish and wildlife service and the programs for the tribes.

and i have really appreciated mr. cole and mr. obey who have been so sensitive and concerned about these tribal issues. and we have made substantial increases. but even with that, with the work that still remains to be done, there is still more that needs to be done in order to take care of the issues in our indian country. and the hearings this year, where we got into law enforcement and the need for more law enforcement, the need for recognition, the laws are covering tribal areas today are not sufficient. and the justice department needs to take action on this. so i commend the gentleman from idaho for his solid work and participation. and let's get on with the amendments. if you yield back, i yield back. mr. simpson: i thank you. and thank you as i said in the opening statement. i thank you for the oversight hearings we have had. it's the best i have had in my time in congress in terms of the oversight hearings we have had

done. and you have done a masterful job of it. and i yield back. mr. dicks: i yield back. the chair: the gentleman from washington yields the balance of his time. all time for general debate has expired. pursuant to the rule, the bill will be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. no amendment shall be in order except the amendments printed in part a and b of house report 111-184, not to exceed three of the amendments printed in part c of the report if offered by the gentleman from arizona, mr. flake, or his designee, not to exceed one of the amendments offered in print d of the report offered by mr. campbell or his designee and not to exceed one of the amendments printed in part e if offered by the gentleman from texas, mr. hensarling or his designee. each amendment shall be considered as read, shall be debated for 10 minutes and controlled by a proponent and

opponent shall not be subject for demand of division of the question. an amendment in amendment part b, c, d or e of the report may be offered only at the appropriate point in the hearing. after consideration of the bill for amendment, the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on appropriations or their designees each may offer one pro forma amendment to the bill for the purpose of debate, which shall be controlled by the proponent. the clerk: the following sums are appropriated for fiscal year 2010 namely title i, department of the interior, bureau of land management, $950 million. in addition -- the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from washington rise? mr. dicks: i have an amendment at the desk. delerk clerk amendment number one printed in house report

111-184 offered by mr. dicks of washington. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 578, the gentleman from washington, mr. dicks, and a member opposed, each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. mr. dicks: thank you. this is a good amendment. it's the so-called manager's amendment. it does three important things, but they're modest. first as chairman rahall of the natural resources committee pointed out, this amendment restores the interior department's authority to assist cooperative watershed projects that restore streams destroyed by acid mine drainage. it was inadvertently discontinued after the law amendments of 2006. this amendment aids citizens' groups and states that are restoring streams damaged by previous coal mining. second, this amendment adds $10 million to the national park service state grant program.

this program provides grants for acquisition of park and recreation lands by state and local communities and was proposed by mr. mcgovern. there is tremendous demand for more parkland and recreation alpha silt development. it is more and more vital to get people and especially kids out in nature and outdoors doing active recreation. this amendment increases the save america treasure's program by $1 million and provide funding for sharing cost preservation projects and i urge adoption of the amendment and reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from idaho. mr. simpson: claim time in opposition. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. simpson: it saddens me that we are here with this manager's america amendment. traditionally, manager's amendments have been noncontroversial when they have

been offered and approved by both sides. that's not the case with this amendment. what this amendment -- and my opposition to this amendment is not because of the substance of the amendment and the provisions but it's how it got here. there were a number of amendments that were proposed last night in the rules committee. almost all of them were turned down. there were amendments that had substantive purposes offered by members on my side of the aisle that were turned down. the ranking member of the full committee offered an important amendment that was not made in order. the ranking member of the subcommittee, myself, offered an amendment that was important and was not made in order. and yet we have taken three proposed amendments that were offered in the subcommittee and rolled them together in one manager's amendment and brought it to the floor, three democratic proposed amendments and rolled it into a manager's

amendment. this is not the tradition of what a manager's amendment should be. and so while i can't complain about the amendments -- the amendments that were offered per se if they were offered individually and had been allowed by the rules committee to be allowed independently along with some of the other amendments that should have been allowed, i would have voted for all of these amendments most likely. but it's the process that brought us to this state. and unfortunately, what's been happening with the rules that have been adopted for consideration of appropriation bills, it leads us to these types of incidents that should not happen. they are unnecessary. and we try to get around our own rules and aur own traditions of having manager's amendments approved by both sides that are noncontroversial. so while i don't oppose the individual provisions of this,

how this amendment got here and what it contains is not fair to the rest of the members who put in thoughtful efforts to go to the rules committee and propose amendments. and i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. dicks: i yield whatever time i have remaining. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. dicks: i would like to respond to the the gentleman from idaho. this manager's amendment -- we should have had more dialogue on this. and we are just getting a new team in place and not blaming it on anybody, but i take responsibility myself. but in the future on any manager's amendment, we will have discussion about it and if the gentleman has suggestions for the manager's amendment, they will be considered. i take the gentleman's point as well made and this is something we'll follow through on. again, these are very

noncontroversial, so i urge adoption of the amendment. the chair: does the gentleman reserve? mr. dicks: i yield back my time. the chair: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from idaho is recognized. mr. simpson: and i thank -- i take the gentleman from washington for his word and he wants to work these out in a bipartisan fashion. i'm not sure that the gentleman geez with some of the rules and we would like to get back to regular order and we would like to do it. but if we had time to confer and i understand what the gentleman is saying, very noncontroversial amendment that could have been adopt, was mr. buyer's amendment that we talked about on the veterans he' cemeteries within the national park service. but i take the gentleman at his word and i look forward to working with him in the future on this and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields

back the balance of his time. the question is on the amendment. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes vit. mr. simpson: i request the yeas and nays. the chair: the gentleman asks for a recorded vote? mr. simpson: recorded vote. the chair: pursuant to clause 6, rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from washington will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from washington rise? mr. dicks: i ask unanimous consent that the remainder of the bill through page 9, line 20, be considered as read. the chair: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. the clerk will read. the clerk: page 9, line 21, construction, $21 million. land acquisition, $67,250,000.

the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey rise? gert mr. garrett: i have an amendment at the desk. the clerk: part b, amendment offered by mr. garrett of new jersey. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 578, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. garrett and a member opposed, each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new jersey. . mr. garrett: more than 19 years ago when i first ran for public office in the very densely populated state of new jersey i believe that we were not doing enough to preserve our precious farmlands and our vital open space and upon being sworn in as a member of the house of representatives six years ago, i continued to advocate for reserving open space, expanding our recreational lands and protecting our natural resources. one of the highlights of my time

here in congress was the unanimous bipartisan support for the highlands conservation act which became law back in 2004 and i especially want to commend my colleague from new jersey, mr. frelinghuysen, for working diligently over the years to accomplish its passage. our commitment to preserving en space runs deep for us, however more of our prized open space is being used up in our state and across the country every single day. so i'm pleased that this year, for the very first time, that the highlands conservation act was included in the f.y. 2010 budget request. i applaud the president's request for recognizing the importance of the region as well. however, the highlands act has been authorized from the beginning at $10 million per year, the region has so far received only $5.23 million in total over all those years. so i believe that my amendment, which provides simply an additional $2 million for land acquisition, would go a long way toward providing grants for

willing sellers. it would help to preserve the remaining open space in the region and help protect cherished natural resources that are extraordinary environmental recreational uses. you see, this region in the middle of one of the most congested areas of the country, over 1/12 of the u.s. population lives within an hour of this area, 14 million people visit this area every year, 11 million people rely on it for clean drinking water, 150 species of special concern are in this area. as a matter of fact, the forest service stated recently it's a landscape of national significance. so with that said, i also realize that there is an ever increasing demand for all regions of the country and that's why we have to make sure that the areas with the highest conservation values and greatest risks are being protected from being developed. the preservation of highlands is neither a republican or democrat issue. it's a national issue. and that's why i'm proud to say that we join with 22 of my colleagues from both sides of

the aisle in a letter to the appropriations committee back in april when we requested the full $10 million for this area. i'll just say this one calve yot, i do say this, -- calve yot, i do say this -- caveat, i do say this, we need to make sure we have an adequate opportunity for further economic development. especially now in the recession. it's important that we find a balance between protecting our cherished natural resources and promoting a strong economy. so in closing, i would like to thank the chairman and the ranking member for understanding the significance of the highlands region. i'd also like to thank the numerous conservation groups that have supported this, including the appalachian mountain club, the highlands coalition, the wilderness society, the land and water conservation fund coalition, the trust for public lands, the friends of the river refuge, the sierra club in northwest new jersey. finally, throughout my entire life, i've had the opportunity to take advantage of all the natural resources here in the highlands. i simply want to come here to

congress to ensure that other families as well will have that same opportunity in the future. the critical lands of the highlands must protected and it is our job to do that today. and i -- thank you. the chair: does the gentleman reserve? mr. garrett: the gentleman reserves. for what purpose does the gentleman rise? dixdix though i plan to support the motion -- mr. dix: though i plan to support the motion, i -- mr. dicks: though i plan to support the motion, i claim the time in opposition. i want to say that i have really appreciated the gentleman's leadership. the fact that he's come before our committee and taken the time to present witnesses and also i think this is a very good amendment. this is a good amendment that increases funding for a program that funds conservation he'sments, that protect critical forest and watersheds in the northeast. this amendment increases the funding for this program by $2 million, bringing the total to $4 million. the highlands conservation program is an example of how a

cooperative approach to land protection can provide wood resources, wildlife habitat, watershed protection, recreational opportunities and other benefits to the environment and to the community. the goal of this program is to promote forest stewardship as a working sustainable landscape, both ecologically and economically for future generations. i urge the adoption of the anticipated and i'd be glad to yield to the gentleman from idaho if he'd like to say a word. >> i thank the gentleman for yielding. this is an important program and i thank the gentleman for bringing this amendment. we support it and hope that it passes and that we can preserve these highlands. mr. garrett: thank you. mr. dicks: i yield back the balance of my time and ask for a yes vote on this amendment. the chair: the gentleman yields back. does the gentleman from new jersey yield? mr. garrett: i thank you very much and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields. the question is on the amendment. those in favor say aye.

those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. for what purpose does the gentleman from washington rise? mr. dicks: i ask unanimous consent that the remainder of the bill through page 68, line 12, be considered as read. the chair: is there objection? hearing none, so ordered. the clerk will read. the clerk: page 68, line 13, national forest system, including transfer of funds, $1,564,801,000. the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> i have an amendment at the desk that was made in order under the rule. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: part b, amendment number 5, printed in house report 111-184, offered by mr. smith of texas. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 578, the gentleman

from texas, mr. smith, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. mr. smith: before i yield to a colleague from california, i would first like to thank the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. obey, the chairman of the appropriations committee, the gentleman from washington, the subcommittee chairman, mr. dicks, and the ranking member of the subcommittee, the gentleman from idaho, mr. simpson, for their courtesies tonight. and i will yield one minute to the gentleman from california, mr. herger, both a colleague and a classmate and a member of the ways and means committee, one minute. the chair: the gentleman from california is recognized for one minute. mr. herger: madam chair, i thank the gentleman, my good friend from texas, for yielding time. i rise in strong support of this amendment. the district i represent in northern california contains nine national forests currently being overrun by illegal

marijuana cultivation. this week two men opened fire on law enforcement officials during a raid on a marijuana garden near a popular fishing and recreation area. additionally in another instance two county sheriffs officers were shot when they came across another marijuana garden. thankfully these officers survived their injuries, but it is simply a matter of time before innocent lives -- lives are claimed. i urge my colleagues to support this amendment to ensure the federal government is doing its part to provide the resources we need to address this serious and growing problem. thank you. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. dicks: although i support the gentleman's amendment, i ask unanimous consent to claim the

time in opposition. the chair: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. dicks: i want to say that i strongly support this amendment. it is very clear to me that in california, in washington, in oregon, in many states, this has become a tremendous problem and drugs are being grown, marijuana particularly, on federal lands and i think we have to do more on enforcement and i commend the gentleman for his leadership in presenting the amendment and our side supports it and if the gentleman has nothing further to say, i think we ought to have a vote on his amendment. i yield to the gentleman. mr. smith: i would like to make a statement about the amendment if the gentleman doesn't object. mr. dicks: i'll reserve my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman is recognized. mr. smith: i yield myself the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for 3 1/2 minutes.

mr. smith: first of all, i'd like to consider in the smith-herger amendment because i appreciate so much the work of the gentleman from california and his comments a few minutes ago. mexican drug cartels are converting america's national parks and forests into farms for their illegal marijuana crops. damaging these protected ecosystems and threatening the safety of visitors and employees. the drug enforcement administration calls marijuana the cash crop that finances the cartel's drug trafficking operations. and now our federal lands are being used to grow this crop. the justice department's national drug intelligence center reports that mexican drug cartels grow their marijuana in remote areas of public lands where there is a limited law enforcement presence. the two primary regions for these marijuana sites are the western region comprised of california, hawaii, oregon and washington, and the appalachian region, including kentucky, tennessee and west virginia.

the pristine lands of our national forest system are particularly enticing to these drug trafficking operations. the dense expansive forests provide optimum marijuana growing conditions with little risk of detention -- detection. america's natural forest system is comprised of 193 million acres of land with 153,000 miles of trails and nearly 18,000 recreation sites. only 175 law enforcement officials and detectives patrol this vast expanse of land, including 36 million acres of wilderness area. the men and women of the forest service, law enforcement and investigations together with their federal, state and local partners seized two million marijuana plants during the 2008 growing season. this is a dramatic increase from 2004 when fewer than 750,000 plants were seized. the forest service reports that for each of the estimated 660

marijuana sites in the national forest system, it costs roughly $30,000 to remove the marijuana and restore the ecosystem of each site. that's under $20 million to rid our forests of marijuana. forest service law enforcement officers are also battling against methamphetamines lands on forest service lands that increase drug trafficking across forests that share a common boundry with canada and mexico. in fiscal year 2009 only $15 million was allocated for all of the forest service's drug enforcement activities. my amendment increases ts amount to $25 million. we can and must do more to put an end to the dangerous trend of using federal lands for illegal drug cultivation and distribution. finally, i want to say just in summary that this amendment would weaken the cartel's drug trafficking operations -- cartels' drug trafficking operations, it would help the

law enforcement officials who patrol the 36 million acres and it will send a strong message that we want to increase funds for these efforts. so i appreciate my amendment being supported tonight and i'll yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from washington. mr. dicks: i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from washington yields. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from texas. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. for what purpose does the gentleman from washington rise? mr. dicks: i ask unanimous consent that the remainder of the bill through page 119, line 15, be considered as read. the chair: is there objection? hearing none, so ordered. the clerk will read. the clerk: page 119, line 16, section 427, none of the funds

may be used to promulgate any regulation requiring the issuance of permits through title 5 of the clean air act for carbon dioxide resulting from livestock production. the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from nevada rise? >> i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: part b, amendment number 3, printed in house report 111-184, offered by mr. heller of nevada. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 578, the gentleman from nevada, mr. heller, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from nevada. mr. heller: thank you very much. for the time -- thank you very much for the time and also for the opportunity to present this amendment on the floor today. my amendment prohibits the site-specific construction of the bureau of land management facility in a residential neighborhood in carson city, nevada. it is also of note that this amendment solely impacts my