Trent Lott: “if I can be heard further on this, time has not run out. There is still time for us to get this conference report that…”

“if I can be heard further on this, time has not run out. There is still time for us to get this conference report that affects 41 States and contains 126 parks and public land provisions. The Senate must recommit the conference report back to the conference committee in order to correct a tax matter which has now been cleared, I believe, in the House. So it would allow us to get this very important piece of legislation through the process. If there is some other way it can be done, we have a couple of days, perhaps, in which we can pursue it. I, again, repeat my great concern that this major preservation legislation, affecting so many areas, so many States appears to be in a position of being killed for no apparent reason that I can figure out. In fact, when I first talked to my Democratic colleagues about this, I think they were surprised that it was being objected to. I know the Presidio provision, for instance, is supported by the Senators from California. For some reason, the administration has problems with this bill. They object, for instance, to the project in Utah called Snow Basin, which is an important part of where the Olympics will be held. I asked Chief of Staff Leon Panetta last night, ``Do you want to be involved in stopping a project which has been broadly supported in the area and is going to be critical to the next winter Olympics?'' I think he didn't realize that it had that ramification. But for some reason, it continues to be objected to.”