Senate Okays Bloc of Lands Bills

October 10, 2004
04:49 PM
Tonight the Senate unanimously passed a package of 32 public lands bills. Among them is S. 437, the Arizona Water Settlement Act, introduced by Sen. Kyl and Sen. McCain. This legislation ratifies a series of water rights settlements that have been under negotiation since the mid-1990s. "This bill is an important opportunity for Arizona to settle several water claims, but I was only prepared to support it if New Mexico’s interests were protected," said Sen. Bingaman. "I’m pleased that Sen. Domenici and I were able to ensure that they are." The bill the Senate approved tonight makes certain that New Mexico’s water supply interests are well protected and assured, particularly in the Southwestern part of the state and in the Navajo Nation. Bingaman and Domenici negotiated with the Arizona senators for more than a year to reach a consensus on this legislation. Another noteworthy bill in tonight’s package is a top legislative priority for Sen. Boxer -- H.R. 1446, the California Missions Bill. The 30 others are: S. 144 (Noxious Weeds) S. 643 (Hibben Center) S. 1433 (Connecticut River) S. 1466 (Alaska Land Transfers) S. 1614 (White Salmon River) S. 1678 (Dinosaur) S. 1852 (Ben Franklin) S. 2142 (NJ Coastal Trail) S. 2181 (Rocky Mountain) S. 2334 (El Toro) S. 2408 (Mountain Forests) S. 2567 (Redwood) S. 2622 (Pecos) S. 2656 (Ponce de Leon) SCR 121 (Physics Year) H.R. 1113 (Ft. Frederica) H.R. 1630 (Petrified Forest) H.R. 1964 (Highlands) H.R. 2010 (Samoa Voting Rights) H.R. 2400 (Guam Judicial Reform) H.R. 3479 (Brown Tree Snakes) H.R. 3706 (John Muir) H.R. 4516 (Supercomputing) H.R. 4066 (Chickasaw) H.R. 3391 (Provo) H.R. 3819 (Lewis & Clark) H.R. 4579 (Truman Home) H.R. 4481 (Wilson’s Creek) H.R. 4593 (Lincoln County) H.R. 4827 (McInnis Canyon)

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