The Senate Energy Committee today approved 12 bills in a 10 a.m. business meeting held in SD-366. Eleven of the bills were approved by unanimous consent, and one of the bills was approved by a voice vote. The approved bills are: S. 470 as amended: This bill extends to November, 2006 the deadline for the Martin Luther King National Memorial Foundation to secure funding and begin construction on a memorial for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The bill was amended with clarifying language. S. 490 as amended: This bill directs the Secretary of Agriculture to convey land in the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Nevada, to the Secretary of the Interior, in trust for the Washoe Indian tribe of Nevada and California. The amendment simplified bill language. S. 499 as amended: A bill to authorize the American Battle Monument Commission to establish in Louisiana a memorial to honor the Buffalo Soldiers. The amendment in the nature of a substitute removes the option of having the Park Service manage the memorial. S. 546 as amended: This bill establishes a unified federal policy for the inventory, monitoring, protection, and curation of paleontological resources on certain federal lands. It imposes penalties for trafficking in paleontological resources. An amendment in the nature of a substitute clarified the language. S. 643 as amended: This bill authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation with the University of New Mexico, to construct and occupy a portion of the Hibben Center for Archaeological Research at the University of New Mexico. An amendment in the nature of a substitute clarified the terms of a lease agreement. S. 651 as amended: This bill amends the National Trails System Act to clarify federal authority relating to land acquisition from willing sellers for nine trails in the national trails system. An amendment in the nature of a substitute limited land purchase to within a quarter of a mile on either side of the trail. S. 677 as amended: This bill revises the boundary of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area in Colorado. An amendment in the nature of a substitute corrected the acreage to be acquired. S. 924 as amended: This bill authorizes the exchange of lands between an Alaska Native Village Corporation and the Department of the Interior. The bill was amended with clarifying language. S. 1076 as amended: This bill authorizes the construction of an education center at or near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. An amendment in the nature of a substitute added Title II to the bill, which establishes an area within Area I as “The Reserve” and says that no additional memorials can be built in this area. H.R. 255: This bill authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to grant an easement to facilitate access to the Lewis and Clark Interpretative Center in Nebraska City, Nebraska. H.R. 1577: This bill designates the visitor center in Organ Pipe National Monument in Arizona as the "Kris Eggle Visitor Center.” ###