THE SPRING AND FALL. 85,000 CANADIAN GEESE, 150,000 STE R.
           STELLER'S EIDER, AND SHORE BIRDS. THIS IS WHERE THEY STOP. THEY
           STOP HERE BASICALLY IN THE SPRING AND FALL. HERE IS THE ARCTIC
           BREEDING GROUNDS, AND PARTS OF THE YEAR THEY GO SOUTH TO
           WINTER. IT IS A VERY IMPORTANT REFUGE. BUT THIS RIDER WOULD CUT

           THIS IN HALF. IT WOULD DAMAGE THE WETLANDS THAT ARE CONSIDERED
           ESSENTIAL TO THOSE SPECIES. THIS TIME IS A PICTURE OF A TYPICAL
           ROAD IN ALASKA THAT WOULD BE CONTEM PLAILTED BY THIS AMENDMENT.
           IT'S A ROAD. YOU CAN SEE WHAT CONDITION IT IS IN. THIS IS A
           VERY GOOD ROAD. NOW LET'S LOOK AT PROBABLY EVIDENCE OF DAMAGE

           TO A ROAD. THIS IS A ROAD THAT NOW EXISTS IN PART OF THE AREA
           IN THE WILDERNESS AREA. THIS IS WHAT'S THERE NOW AND THIS IS
           WHAT WOULD BE CONTEMPLATED. AS YOU CAN TELL, IT IS A PRETTY
           GOOD-SIZED ROAD. IT IS NO SMALL LITTLE COW PATH. THIRD, MOST
           SIGNIFICANTLY, THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO ADDRESS THE LEGITIMATE
           TRANSPORTATION PROBLEMS WITHOUT VIOLATING THE IZEMBECK REFUGEE.

           COAST GUARD AIR VAK WAIGS IS ONE. SPECIAL MARINE AMBULANCES ARE
           ANOTHER. TELEMEDICINE AND OTHER MEDICAL ADVANCES -- AFTER ALL,
           IN BAD WEATHER AND BAD WINDS, A ROAD CAN BE VERY, VERY RISKY
           AND OFTEN IMPASSABLE. I MIGHT READ A LETTER FROM THE "ANCHORAGE
           DAILY NEWS," FROM A CITIZEN FROM COLD BOY. I'LL PUT IT IN THE
           RECORD. HER BASIC POINT IS SAYING THAT THIS IS NUTS, THIS
           AMENDMENT THIS RIDER WHICH WOULD ALLOW THIS ROAD BECAUSE SHE

           SAID OFTEN THIS ROAD WOULD BE TOTALLY IMPASSABLE WITH SNOW
           DRIFTS AND WHEN STORM COMES AND THE ROAD -- 3.2 MILES OF THE
           ROAD PLOWED -- WOULD HAVE TO BE PLOWED TO MAKE IT IMPASSABLE.
           I'LL PUT THAT IN THE RECORD. I MIGHT ALSO STATE THAT THE STATE
           OF ALASKA IS CURRENTLY EVALUATEING THIS AND OTHER ALTERNATIVES
           --
           

           THE PRESIDING OFFICER: THE SENATOR'S TIME HAS EXPIRED.
           

           MR. BAUCUS: I ASK FOR THREE MORE MINUTES.
           

           THE PRESIDING OFFICER: IS THERE OBJECTION?
           WITHOUT OBJECTION, THREE MORE MINUTES TO THE SENATOR FROM
           MONTANA. THE SENATOR FROM MISSOURI.
           

           MR. BAUCUS: THREE.
           

           THE PRESIDING OFFICER: THE SENATOR FROM MONTANA IS RECOGNIZED
           FORD AN ADDITIONAL THREE MINUTES.
           

           MR. BAUCUS: THE STATE OF ALASKA IS ALREADY EVALUATING VARIOUS
           ALTERNATIVES AND THERE'S A PROVISION IN THE CURRENT
           TRANSPORTATION APPROPRIATIONS BILL THAT THE SENATE PASSED IN
           JULY THAT ADDS $700,000 FOR THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS TO STUDY
           RURAL ACCESS ISSUES IN ALASKA. THAT'S ALREADY IN THERE. ALASKA
           IS NOW STUDYING VARIOUS ALTERNATIVES THAT AFFECT RURAL ACCESS
           ISSUES. SO IF THESE TWO STUDIES ARE OUT THERE, ONE BY THE STATE
           OF ALASKA AND THE OTHER BY THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, NOW IS

           NOT THE TIME TO JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS AND PASS A RIDER WHICH
           REQUIRES THE CONSTRUCTION OF A ROAD THROUGH A WILDERNESS AREA.
           I SAY, LET'S LET THE STUDIES EXAMINE THE EVIDENCE, LET THE
           STUDIES WEIGH THE ALTERNATIVES. LET'S SEE IF THE ROAD IS IN
           FACT THE BEST WAY TO MEET THE STAILTED NEEDS. IT MAY BE -- THE
           STATED NEEDS, IT MAY BE. IT MAY NOT BE. THE REAL IMPETUS BEHIND
           THE ROAD IS NOT EMERGENCY MEDICAL EVACUATION. THAT'S NOT THE
           REAL DRIVING FORCE HERE. REALLY, IT'S THAT THERE'S -- THE FOLKS

           THERE HAVE AN ECONOMIC INTEREST. THEY JUST WANT TO GET OUT. AND
           I MIGHT SAY, TOO, THAT THAT'S TRUE OF MANY COMMUNITIES NOT ONLY
           IN ALASKA BUT OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY. I UNDERSTAND THOSE
           NEEDS. PEOPLE MOVE TO AND LIVE IN KING COVE BECAUSE THEY WANT
           TO LIVE THERE. THAT'S THEIR HOME, THAT'S THEIR CHOICE. AND
           THERE ARE WAYS TO DEAL WITH THE MEDICAL NEEDS THAT MAY ARISE.
           BUT I DO NOT THINK IT MAKES SENSE FOR US TO PUT AN
           APPROPRIATIONS BILL -- IN AN APPROPRIATIONS BILL THE
           REQUIREMENT THAT A ROAD BE BUILT WHEN THERE ARE TWO OUTSTANDING

           STUDIES LOOKING AT THIS ISSUE TO SEE WHAT THE BEST WAY IS TO
           SOLVE THE ACCESS ISSUE, PARTICULARLY WITH RESPECT TO EMERGENCY
           MEDICAL SERVICES. MR. PRESIDENT, WITH THAT, I YIELD THE FLOOR
           AND I SEE MY GOOD FRIEND FROM MISSOURI ON THE FLOOR. AND I
           CAN'T, FOR THE LIFE OF ME, HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT HE'S GOING TO
           TALK ABOUT, GIVEN THE STATE HE'S FROM AND GIVEN THE MAGNIFICENT
           FEAT OF ONE OF HIS CITIZENS IN THE LAST FEW DAYS WITH THE

           NUMBER 70 BEHIND T I VERY RESPECTFULLY YIELD THE FLOOR SO MY
           GOOD FRIEND FROM MO CAN ADDRESS THE SENATE.
           

           THE PRESIDING OFFICER: THE SENATOR FROM THE GREAT STATE OF
           MISSOURI.
           

           MR. BOND: I THANK MY FRIEND FROM MONTANA AND I ALSO THANK THE
           DISTINGUISHED CHAIRMAN OF THE ENERGY AND WATER APPROPRIATIONS
           SUBCOMMITTEE. SUNDAY EVENING IN ST. CHARLES, MISSOURI, I WAS
           ATTENDING A PICNIC, AND LATE IN THE AFTERNOON, A BRIGHT-EYED,
           STARRY-EYED 10-YEAR-OLD BOY CAME IN. HE HAD JUST WITNESSED
           SOMETHING IS TRULY HISTORIC. I TOLD THE YOUNG MAN I HOPED HE
           HAD A REALLY GOOD MEMORY BECAUSE I IMAGINE THAT HE WOULD BE
           TELLING NOT ONLY HIS SCHOOLMATES BUT HIS CHILDREN AND HIS

           GRANDCHILDREN AND WE MIGHT EVEN HOPE HIS GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN
           ABOUT IT. AS A MATTER OF FACT, AS WE TRAVEL AROUND MISSOURI AND
           OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY, PEOPLE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT IT
           ALL OVER. THAT IS, OF COURSE, THE FACT THAT ON SUNDAY, MARK
           MCGWIRE OF THE ST. LOUIS CARDINALS HIT HIS 79TH -- 69TH AND
           70TH HOME RUN OF THIS SEASON, A GRAND TOTAL OF 70 HOME RUNS. TO

           DO THAT, HE HIT FIVE HOME RUNS IN HIS LAST 11 AT-BATS. THERE
           WERE PEOPLE WHO THOUGHT IT WOULD BE VERY DIFFICULT TO BREAK THE
           WONDERFUL RECORD THAT ROGER MA RHODE ISLAND S HAD SET OF 61
           HOME RUNS. THIS YEAR WE SAW SOMETHING TRULY EXTRAORDINARY,
           ANOTHER OUTSTANDINGAGE LEET, SAM ME SOSA HIT 66. AND THE
           CONTEXT BETWEEN THESE TWO SUPERB ATHLETES AND WONDERFUL HUMAN
           BEINGS ELECTRIFIED THIS COUNTRY. AS SOMEBODY WHO'S BEEN A

           BASEBALL FAN FOR A LONG TIME, I WAS SO DELIGHTED TO SEE THE
           EXCITEMENT AND THE ENTHUSIASM AS BASEBALL CAME BACK TO THE
           STATUS THAT IT HAS HAD AS OUR NATION'S PASTIME. PEOPLE WHO
           NEVER CARRIED ABOUT SPORTS IN MY CONSTITUENT WERE CLUSTERING
           AROUND THE RADIOS OR THE TELEVISION WHENEVER MARK MCGWIRE CAME
           UP. MARK MCGWIRE IS A MAN OF IMMENSE PHYSICAL STATURE,
           CONDITIONING AND STRENGTH. WHEN I MET HIM, I WAS OVERWHELMED

           WITH HIS SIZE AND MUSCLE. BUT HE'S A MAN OF GREAT MENTAL
           DEDICATION, OF GREAT SCENE TRAIGS, DETERMINATION AND READING
           THE COLUMN IN TODAY'S "WASHINGTON POST" BY TOM BOSWELL,
           PROBABLY POSSESSING OTHER EXTRAORDINARY CAPABILITIES OF WHICH
           WE MERE MORTALS CANNOT BE AWARE. HE DID SOMETHING THAT -- FOR
           BASEBALL FANS WAS TRULY REMARKABLE, AND IT HAS DONE MORE FOR
           OUR STATE, THE CITY OF ST. LOUIS, BUT FOR THE COUNTRY AS WELL

           WHEN WE LOOK AT THE SPORTSMANSHIP AND THE EXAMPLE OF HOW HARD
           WORK AND DETERMINATION AND DOGGEDNESS PAY OFF. AND I'D LIKE TO
           BELIEVE THAT IN OTHER COUNTRIES WHERE BASEBALL IS PLAYED, THEY
           FELT THE SAME EXCITEMENT AND THE SAME ENTHUSIASM THAT WE DID TO
           BOTH -- THAT WE DID. TO BOTH MARK MCGWIRE AND TO SAM ME SOSA,
           WE SAY THANK YOU AND CONGRATULATIONS. MR. SOSA HAS SOME MORE
           GAMES TO PLAY WITH THE CHICAGO CUBS. BUT I DIDN'T WANT THIS
           MOMENT TO PASS WITHOUT ASKING THIS BODY TO CONSIDER ACTING ON

           SOMETHING THAT I THINK IS A GOOD IDEA. ACTUALLY, I READ ABOUT
           IT IN THE SPORTS PAGE, BERNIE'S PROBLEM IN THE ST. LOUIS
           "DISPATCH" TALKED ABOUT IT. YOU SEE, THERE'S AN INTERSTATE
           HIGHWAY THAT RUNS THROUGH ST. LOUIS, INTERSTATE 70, A VERY
           FORTUITOUS NUMBER, GIVEN THE FEAT THAT MR. MCGWIRE HAS
           ACHIEVED. NOW THERE'S SOME OF US -- AND WE DON'T WANT TO RAISE

           -- BE NIT-PICKING WHO THINK HE ACTUALLY HIT 71, IF YOU COUNT
           ONE IN MILL WALK KEERX BUT WE'RE WILLING TO PASS ON THAT ONE
           AND SAY THAT THERE WERE 70 HOME RUNS THAT WERE HIT. AND I AM
           GOING TO PROPOSE A MEASURE TODAY TO DESIGNATE A PORTION OF
           INTERSTATE 70 IN MISSOURI AS THE MARK MCGWIRE INTERSTATE ROUTE
           70 THROUGH ST. LOUIS COUNTY AND ST. LOUIS CITY TO RECOGNIZE THE
           MAN WHO HAS NOT ONLY BROUGHT BASEBALL BACK TO THE TOP OF

           EVERYBODY'S MIND AND HEART BUT HAS DONE A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT FOR
           THE COMMUNITY AS WELL. THIS, I THINK, IS A SMALL MEASURE FOR US
           TO UNDERTAKE. WE'RE CONTACTING OUR COLLEAGUES IN THE HOUSE TO
           ASK FOR THEIR SUPPORT. THE MAYOR OF ST. LOUIS HAS INDICATED HIS
           SUPPORT AND WE'RE ASKING OTHERS TO JOIN WITH US. WE HOPE TO
           HAVE CLEARANCE LATER ON TODAY. IF WE CAN OBTAIN CLEARANCE TO

           PASS IT IN WRAP-UP, WE ALSO WOULD INVITE ADDITIONAL COSPONSORS.
           I HAVE THREE WHO WISH TO COSPONSOR IT, TO RECOGNIZE THIS
           TREMENDOUS FEAT, AND TO DESIGNATE IN HONOR OF THE MAN WHO HAS
           REALLY BROUGHT THE THRILL BACK IN BASEBALL AND SHOWED THAT
           HUMAN BEINGS HAVE A TREMENDOUS TALENT. I WILL NOW SEND TO THE
           DESK A BILL TO DESIGNATE THE MARK MCGWIRE INTERSTATE ROUTE 70.
           

           THE PRESIDING OFFICER: WITHOUT OBJECTION, THE BILL WILL BE

           RECEIVED AND APPROPRIATELY REFERRED. MR. DOMENICI: MR.
           PRESIDENT?
           
           

           THE PRESIDING OFFICER: THE SENATOR FROM NEW MEXICO.
           

           MR. DOMENICI: MR. PRESIDENT --
           

           MR. BOND: MR. PRESIDENT, I ASK, THAT BEFORE BEING REFERRED,
           THAT WE HOLD IT AT THE DESK TO SEEK CLEARANCE FROM THE MINORITY
           SIDE OF THE AISLE.
           

           THE PRESIDING OFFICER: WITHOUT OBJECTION. MR. DOMENICI: MR.
           PRESIDENT?
           
           

           THE PRESIDING OFFICER: THE SENATOR FROM NEW MEXICO.
           

           MR. DOMENICI: WAS SENATOR BOND FINISHED?
           ARE YOU FINISHED, SENATOR BOND?
           MR. PRESIDENT, IN A MOMENT, I AM GOING TO ASK CONSENT ON
           SOMETHING, BUT I WANTED TO THANK SENATOR BOND AND CONGRATULATE
           HIM FOR WHAT HE DID HERE TODAY. I DON'T KNOW IF WE CAN DO
           ANYTHING THAT IS REALLY ENOUGH IN RESPONSE TO THE MARVELOUS
           BASEBALL YEAR THAT MARK MCGWIRE AND OTHERS HAVE GIVEN TO THE
           AMERICAN PEOPLE, BUT I WANT TO SUGGEST THAT IN AN AMERICA THAT

           HAS GROWN SO CYNICAL ABOUT EVERYTHING, WASN'T IT A MARVELOUS
           THING TO SEE HOW THE PEOPLE RESPONDLZED TO THE GENUINENESS, THE
           FRANKNESS, THE DESENSESY OF BOTH MARK MCGWIRE AND -- THE
           DECENCY OF BOTH MARK MB GIRNDS SAM ME SOSA. JUST REMEMBER, AN A
           NUMBER OF THOSE HOME RUNS, THE PEOPLE THAT CAUGHT THOSE BALLS
           WITHOUT ONE MOMENT OF HESITATION UNTIL RIGHT AT THE END, OF
           COURSE, THEY SAID, THE BALL BELONGS TO HIM. THEY WEREN'T TRYING
           TO GET RICH. IT WAS JUST ABSOLUTELY MARVELOUS FOR THE UNITED
           STATES TO SEE THAT KIND OF THING HAPPEN. AND THEN TO SEE THE

           FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN TWO PEOPLE WHO ARE REALLY AT WAR IN A VERY
           CIVIL AND DIFFERENT KIND OF WAY TO BREAK THIS TITLE, WHICH BOTH
           OF THEM DID THAT HAD BEEN THERE FOR 37 YEARS AND SEE HOW THEY
           RELATED TO EACH OTHER. I THINK THEY HAVE BECOME GENUINE FRIENDS
           WHILE THEY PROCEEDED, EACH IN THEIR INDIVIDUAL WAY TO TRY TO
           BREAK ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT AND DIFFICULT ATHLETIC
           STANDARDS IN ALL OF ORGANIZED ATHLETICS WORLDWIDE. SO I

           BELIEVE, IF THE SENATE UNDERSTANDS WHAT'S HAPPENED, THEY'RE
           GOING TO APPROVE THAT VERY SOON. I COMMEND YOU FOR IT AND I
           HOPE MARK MCGWIRE AND HIS FAMILY UNDERSTAND THE KIND OF REASON
           -- THE REASON FOR YOU DOING THIS AND WHY WE'RE PROBABLY GOING
           TO UNANIMOUSLY ACCEPT IT. I THANK YOU, SENATOR. MR. PRESIDENT,
           LET ME JUST TAKE ONE MOMENT, PLEASE, AS IF IN MORNING BUSINESS
           AND THEN PROCEED TO A UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST.
           

           THE PRESIDING OFFICER: WITHOUT OBJECTION.
           

           MR. DOMENICI: MR. PRESIDENT, THE FEDERAL RESERVE TODAY DECIDED
           TO CUT INTEREST RATES, AND THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT STEP TOWARD
           RESTORING CONFIDENCE AND STABILITY IN THE WORLD'S FINANCIAL
           MARKETS. IT SHOWS THAT THE WORLD'S POLICY-MAKERS ARE TAKING AN
           ACTIVE ROLE IN ENSURING THAT FINANCIAL CONTAGION DOES NOT
           SPREAD FURTHER. IT IS ALSO AN INSURANCE POLICY AGAINST FURTHER
           DAMAGE TO THE UNITED STATES ECONOMY FROM INTERNATIONAL EVENTS
           WHICH CURRENTLY ARE OUT OF OUR CONTROL. HOWEVER, THE UNITED
           STATES FEDERAL RESERVE CANNOT RESOLVE THE CURRENT FINANCIAL

           CRISIS ALONE. INVESTORS ARE SHUNNING THE EMERGING MARKETS
           BECAUSE OF THE HEIGHTENED SENSE OF THE RISK THAT'S THERE. IN
           ORDER TO GET MONEY FLOWING TO THESE REGIONS AGAIN, NATIONS MUST
           IMPROVE THEIR BANKING REGULATIONS AND MUST MAKE INFORMATION
           ABOUT THEIR FINANCIAL SYSTEMS MORE AVAILABLE. THIS WILL ASSURE
           INVESTORS AND WOULD HELP RESOLVE MUCH OF THE CURRENT CRISIS. AS
           POLICY-MAKERS, WE SHOULD AID THE FED'S EFFORT TO RESTORE

           INTERNATIONAL CONFIDENCE BY APPROVING THE I.M.F., THE
           INTERNATIONAL
{END: 1998/09/29 TIME: 15-45 , Tue.  105TH SENATE, SECOND SESSION}