The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee took about five minutes yesterday to approve 22 public lands and water bills, but the top Republican is concerned it will be much longer before those bills make it past the full Senate.

With jurisdiction over the Interior Department and Forest Service, the committee handles hundreds of bills each year ranging from the creation of national parks to land exchanges to wild and scenic river designations. The vast majority of bills the Senate panel approves are brought to the Senate floor in a unanimous consent package of a dozen or more bills at once.

Yet progress slowed in the 109th Congress, as fiscal conservatives such as Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) objected to the unanimous consent requests, citing the new funding authorized in the legislation.

At a markup yesterday, ranking member Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) called it a "serious problem" and said new Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and the Senate leadership should find a way around the potential impasse in the new Congress.

"Our typical way for a long, long time was for the chairman to take a package of them down by unanimous consent," Domenici said. "The chairman and I are now confronted with a situation where members will go to the floor and object. I don't know what we're going to do about it but it's not good."

The federal government owns over 650 million acres of land, mostly in the West, and so many of the bills the committee, and its counterpart, the House Natural Resources Committee, handle are of extreme local importance and often have minimal controversy on Capitol Hill. They also often authorize the appropriations of funds in relatively small amounts.

Domenici did not name Coburn directly, but the Oklahoma Republican has made it clear he is watching the legislation the committee is passing. For instance, in order to get a package of lands and water bills past Coburn last fall, Congress reduced the authorization for woody biomass projects by $135 million.

In a floor speech last month, Coburn said he would block legislation that authorizes new spending unless offset by reductions in real spending elsewhere. Coburn also pledged to block bills if they increase the federal government's share of spending in projects or authorize funds for operations of a new foundation, museum, cultural or historic site not operated by a federal agency.

To keep bills moving, Domenici suggested it is possible to begin asking for full up-or-down votes on each Energy and Natural Resources bill, a time-consuming measure that could displease many senators. "I'm willing with the chairman if he wants to set up a combat line on this," Domenici said.

Bingaman said he will work to find a solution.