Wayne Allard: “I rise in support of the Interior appropriations legislation. I would like to begin by first of all complimenting the…”

“I rise in support of the Interior appropriations legislation. I would like to begin by first of all complimenting the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Regula], chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Interior of the Committee on Appropriations, for his hard work on the National Biologic Service issue. I would like to especially thank him for working closely with members of the Western Caucus, who have a very keen interest in this issue. The Interior appropriations legislation is an important move in the right direction. The independent Biological Research Agency is eliminated. There is no longer a National Biological Survey, a National Biological Service, or a Life Science Research Service. This is a significant victory for taxpayers. Fifty-four million dollars is saved. The overhead of a separate agency is eliminated. Objective science is promoted. The 1995 funding level for the NBS was $167 million. The Interior appropriations bill eliminates this agency and account entirely. The bill provides $113 million to the U.S. Geological Survey for resources research. The USGS already has an authorized research mission. Further, research will be confined to public land and will be conducted by trained professionals. Equally important, the legislation will provide for greater peer review throughout the research process.”