HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES : Nationwide Biological Survey

The House passed and sent to the Senate a bill (HR 1845) to establish a National Biological Survey at a fiscal 1994 cost of $171.5 million. The Interior Department bureau would consolidate biological sciences operations now scattered throughout the department. A major part of the bill would empower federal researchers, over several years, to inventory the nation’s animal and plant species and habitat. Under an amendment passed last month, the government would be required to obtain written consent from landowners before entering private property. Data from the exhaustive survey would guide policies in areas such as preserving wetlands and protecting endangered species.

Supporter W.J. (Billy) Tauzin (D-La.) said the bill provides “the full range of protections for private landowners against the entry by individuals without the consent of that landowner.”

Opponent Jack Fields (R-Tex.) told supporters: “Your constituents will remember who authorized Big Brother to come looking over their shoulders and peering over their fences.”

The vote was 255 for and 165 against. A yes vote was to pass the bill. How They Voted Rep. Cox (R): Nay Rep. Dornan (R): Nay Rep. Kim (R): Nay Rep. Packard (R): Nay Rep. Rohrabacher (R): Nay Rep. Royce (R): Nay

Certification for Lumbee Tribe The House passed and sent to the Senate a bill (HR 334) granting federal recognition to the 40,000-member Lumbee Tribe of Cheraw Indians of North Carolina. This would qualify the tribe for Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service benefits at an estimated cost of $80 million to $100 million annually. Although North Carolina has recognized the Lumbees as an Indian tribe since 1855, the Department of the Interior has never given federal certification.

Supporter Charlie Rose (D-N.C.) said: “This tribe deserves the same rights and privileges that other native Americans have across the land.”

Opponent Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.) said administrative procedures should be employed rather than “an arena where emotional arguments, influential sponsors and the partisan nature of Congress replace merit and fact.”

The vote was 228 for and 184 against. A yes vote was to pass the bill. How They Voted Rep. Cox (R): No Vote Rep. Dornan (R): Nay Rep. Kim (R): Nay Rep. Packard (R): Nay Rep. Rohrabacher (R): Nay Rep. Royce (R): No Vote

District of Columbia Budget The House approved a $3.7-billion budget for fiscal 1994 for the District of Columbia. The bill (HR 2492) provides about $700 million in U.S. Treasury funding, including a $630-million “federal payment” to Washington for revenue potential it loses as a result of the federal enclave occupying much of the city’s tax base. More than $3 billion in the bill is raised locally by the district, mainly by taxation.

Criticism centered on the city’s crime problem, the performance of the D.C. government and the fact that the bill allows locally raised money to fund abortions, lifting a six-year ban on such funding.

Supporter Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) said: “The District of Columbia is cutting money these days. This is not a time to complain about spending. Everything in the district is being cut.”

Opponent Dan Burton (R-Ind.) accused D.C. officials of “squandering, in my view, large amounts of money that they are not accountable for because the monies are not raised here.”

The vote was 225 for and 201 against. A yes vote was to approve the D.C. budget. How They Voted Rep. Cox (R): Nay Rep. Dornan (R): Nay Rep. Kim (R): Nay Rep. Packard (R): Nay Rep. Rohrabacher (R): Nay Rep. Royce (R): No Vote Source: Roll Call Report Syndicate