Max Baucus: “I strongly support S. 1180. But we are no longer considering the Interior appropriations bill, and it is not clear…”

“I strongly support S. 1180. But we are no longer considering the Interior appropriations bill, and it is not clear whether we will again. I think the far better approach is to take up S. 1180 as a freestanding bill. After all, that bill was reported on October 31, 1997, almost 1 year ago. It is a solid bill, it is balanced, it is good for endangered species, and it is good for private landowners. It has bipartisan support. The vote in the Environment and Public Works Committee was 15-3. The bill was supported by every Republican member of the committee and by a majority of the Democratic members. The bill is also strongly supported by the Clinton administration. To my mind, there is no good reason why we cannot bring up S. 1180 for debate on the Senate floor. Moreover, that approach has two important advantages over trying to attach it to the Interior appropriations bill. First, we do not have the Interior appropriations bill. That is one big difficulty. In addition, bringing up S. 1180 as a freestanding bill assures full and fair debate and an opportunity for amendments.”