Congressional Record UNUM

E PLURIBUS

United States

of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 104th CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION

∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor.

S 5739

Vol. 141 WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 1995 No. 69

House of Representatives

The House was not in session today. Its next meeting will be held on Monday, May 1, 1995, at 12:30 p.m.

Senate

THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 1995

(Legislative day of Monday, April 24, 1995)

The Senate met at 9:30 a.m., on the

expiration of the recess, and was called

to order by the President pro tempore

[Mr. THURMOND].

PRAYER

The Chaplain, Dr. Lloyd John

Ogilvie, offered the following prayer:

Let us pray:

Gracious Lord of all life, help us

never to separate what You have joined

together. All of life is sacred to You.

Forgive our imposed dichotomy between the sacred and the secular.

Every person, situation, and responsibility is sacred because everyone and

everything belongs to You. Give us a

renewed sense that all that we have

and are is Your gift. So may we cherish

the wonder of life You have entrusted

to us and live with an attitude of gratitude. May this gratitude be the motive

of our work today in this Senate. We

want our work to be an expression of

our worship of You. Therefore we make

a renewed commitment to excellence

in everything we do and say.

All this is rooted in the inseparable

relationship between intimacy with

You and the integrity of our leadership. You’ve shown us that authentic

intimacy results when the real I meets

the true You in an honest, open, unpretentious relationship. It’s when we

come to You as we are that You whisper in our souls, ‘‘You are loved now!’’

Then the consistent experience of Your

unqualified love gives us the courage to

be genuine, loyal, and faithful to You

in our relationships with others and

our responsibilities as leaders to whom

You can entrust authority and power

to govern this Nation.

Thank You for this time of quiet

with You in which we can receive the

peace of knowing that we are loved and

forgiven, the healing of the hurts of

harbored memories, the answers to

problems that seem unsolvable, and the

vision for our Nation that otherwise

would be beyond our human understanding. We praise You that to know

You is our greatest joy and to serve

You is life’s greatest delight. In the

name of Him who is the way, the truth,

and the life. Amen.

RECOGNITION OF THE ACTING

MAJORITY LEADER

fThe PRESIDENT pro tempore. The

able acting majority leader is recognized.

SCHEDULE

Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, this morning at 10:30, following morning business, the Senate will resume consideration of H.R. 956, the product liability

bill.

All Members should be aware that

amendments are expected throughout

the day. Therefore, Senators should be

on notice that there will be rollcall

votes during today’s session which

probably will go into the evening.

I yield the floor.

Mr. ASHCROFT addressed the Chair.

The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs.

HUTCHISON). The Senator from Missouri

is recognized.

ORDER OF PROCEDURE

Mr. ASHCROFT. Madam President, I

ask unanimous consent that I be allowed to allocate 15 minutes of time

from Senator THOMAS of Wyoming,

with whom I agreed that I should spend

the time in his stead this morning.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without

objection, it is so ordered.

RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME

Mrs. HUTCHISON. Under the prefvious order, leadership time is reserved.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under

MORNING BUSINESS

fthe previous order, there will now be a

period for the transaction of morning

business for not to extend beyond the

hour of 10:30, with Senators permitted

to speak therein for up to 5 minutes

each.

The Senator from Missouri is recognized.

Mr. ASHCROFT. Thank you, Madam

President.

THE RESPONSIBILITY OF

fCONGRESS

Mr. ASHCROFT. Madam President,

the opportunities of this 104th Congress

are substantial. They are substantial

not only because every Congress has

great opportunity, but they are substantial because we have a significant

opportunity to change the direction in
S5740 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE April 27, 1995

which the country has been going for

at least the last three decades.

The elections of November 8 provided

a new chemistry for the Congress and a

new potential for a change in direction.

It is a change in direction which the

people of America sorely need and desperately want. It is a change brought

about by the popular recognition that

over the last three decades or so, the

Government of the United States has

not been advocating a set of values

necessary for the success and survival

of this society in the next generation.

The Government has been validating

irresponsibility through the Congress’

conduct and Congress’ programs since

at least the midsixties, if not before.

Most of us know that responsibility

is the key to a successful survival for

this society in this century and in the

next. If we want to sink, we can continue on our current track. But if we

want to swim and survive, we are going

to have to change, and the opportunity

of this Congress is to change the way

that Washington does business.

Let me just suggest a few ways in

which Government has been validating

irresponsibility. For the past several

decades, the modus operandi of this

Congress has been to spend more than

it receives.

This deficit problem which we have

had year after year after year, which

has been growing larger and larger and

larger, has been a way that the Government has subtly, if not intentionally,

been teaching irresponsibility. It is

just that simple. When Government

tells us what is legal and what is illegal, it begins teaching us, and when by

its conduct it shows that it is not important to pay your debts, that you can

simply pile up irresponsibly mountains

of debt that the next generation will

have to sustain, that is a way of teaching irresponsibility. It is a way of saying to this society that you do not have

to be responsible. It displays before the

entire Nation, before every man,

woman, and child, a kind of conduct

which is destined to failure over the

long term, designed inevitably to fail

and to sink.

Similarly, for the last 30 years or so,

Congress has been passing laws and

then exempting itself from them. I cannot imagine a less noble thing for leadership to do than to enact laws which

it says apply to everyone else but do

not apply to leaders. We know that real

leadership is to carry the burden forward first, to catch the vision of the

noble first, to do what is right first;

not to send someone else into battle

first, not to push others into good behavior while we lag behind and languish in behavior which is unacceptable.

The Congress has validated irresponsibility by saying the rest of the world

has to have a level of responsibility

and care but that we could exempt ourselves.

Of course, the Congress was similarly

irresponsible when it tried to run everyone else’s business and not run its

own.

The unfunded mandates of the last

three decades are another way that

Government has validated irresponsibility in the culture. Congress said to

the people of America that we are not

going to be responsible and it is not

important to be responsible because,

rather than take care of our own business responsibly, we are going to try

with mandates to tell State and local

governments how to do their business.

We will even try to tell business how to

conduct their business, but we will not

do our own business that way. We will

exempt the Federal operations from

many of the regulatory impacts to the

society, and we will direct the spending

of State and local governments in spite

of the fact that their view of the circumstances and understanding of the

challenges is far superior to our own.

This character of conduct by the

Government over the last three decades has literally validated irresponsibility in the society, and it is no wonder that the news magazines of late

have headlined things like shame, or

the absence of shame, in society, the

absence of responsibility, the absence

of the internal guideposts to good behavior.

When the biggest, perhaps, teacher of

all in America, the Government, has by

its own behavior been teaching irresponsibility over the last three decades, we have really hurt this culture.

We have validated irresponsibility, not,

however, just in the way we conduct

our own affairs. Government has been

validating irresponsibility in the kind

of programs it promulgates.

Look at the welfare system. We have

not said to this society, on welfare,

that you will have to be good, that you

will have to be moving in the right direction in order to have our assistance.

We have not said that you will have to

stop illegitimacy or that you will have

to start to work or that you will have

to be industrious. No, we have not. We

have just said that no matter how irresponsible you are, we will continue to

write the check and to pay the bills.

Or in the criminal law area we have

not really been a society of responsibility. We have been confused about who

the victim was and who the criminal

was. We have said that the guy pulling

the trigger was really the victim, that

society had not treated him well and

he was probably excused for pulling the

trigger. The person who took the bullet

probably was encouraged to say: ‘‘I

should not have been walking in this

neighborhood at this time. After all, I

probably invited the crime or the assault.’’

The truth of the matter is that is the

height of irresponsibility. Our criminal

law system, our programs, have not

been oriented toward responsibility.

They have validated irresponsibility.

Our program for welfare has not been

an encouragement for responsibility

but has validated irresponsibility.

For three decades we have been looking at this validation of irresponsibility, and now we come to 1995, to the

104th Congress, and our chance is to

change from a culture of irresponsibility to a culture which demands responsibility.

That is what the first 100 days were

about, that is what the next 100 days

are about. And that is why we need to

move forward with an agenda for the

American people to reinvest our society with governmental leadership that

points toward responsibility.

Let me just suggest how fundamental

those changes are. Instead of spending

beyond our means, instead of spending

without regard to who will pay, we are

going to start producing balanced

budgets; instead of validating the irresponsibility of not paying our debts, we

are going to demand a culture of responsible behavior by paying for what

we consume; instead of saying that

there is a set of laws for the Congress

and then a bigger and broader set of

laws for the citizenry, we are going to

say, no, we want to be responsible.

With the Congressional Accountability Act, the first thing we did was to

pass laws that said we would live under

the same laws under which the citizens

of America live. That pushes us toward

a culture of responsibility. Instead of

telling other governmental entities

and jurisdictions how to consume their

resources and deploy them with unfunded mandates, we have said we will

stop doing that; we will start acting responsibly.

The real challenge for us is to move

from a culture of irresponsibility to a

culture of responsibility and for Government to take the lead.

Look at what is happening in the

welfare area, and this is why it desperately needs reform. Instead of saying to people, no matter how irresponsible you are, we will promote that and

validate it and as a matter of fact we

will fund it—instead of doing that, we

are going to say, no, you have to behave in certain ways; you have to improve your performance; you have to

work; you have to treat your children

with dignity and give them a chance to

break the cycle of dependency and poverty. That is responsibility, and we are

moving in that direction.

I submit to you that in the area of

the criminal law, we will have a move

toward responsibility. We will deny the

culture of irresponsibility, and we will

demand the culture of responsibility.

And that is what Government should

do. It should set an example. It should

teach with its conduct and with the

programs that it promulgates. It

should promote responsibility. And

that is why the first 100 days were important, 100 days that began this session, and that is why the rest of this

session is of monumental importance.

It is very important that we carry

through on this change from validating

irresponsibility, which is the past, to

promoting responsibility and demanding accountability, which is the future.
April 27, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S5741

So we must again visit the balanced

budget question. We must move forward with a real balanced budget to respond to the demand of the people that

we institute a culture, at least a governmental culture of responsibility

that will set an example for this society. We must move forward on the reforms which are before us. We cannot

stop now. We must continue to address

the agenda of the American people.

This is the great opportunity of this

Congress, that we change the way

Washington does business. And by

changing the way Washington does

business, we signal to America that

there is a new demand for accountability and responsibility in this society:

We no longer spend money we do not

have; we no longer fail to live under

the laws which we pass; we no longer

try to direct the activities of other

governmental entities. No, our conduct

will be responsible instead of irresponsible—pay our debts, live under the

laws we pass. Yes, we will stop telling

governments much better prepared to

make decisions than we are how those

decisions ought to be made. All of

those things are included in the monumental changes sweeping through the

Congress. But the sweeping through is

not complete. Sweeping through is a

process, and it is a process which we

must continue, which we must extend,

which we must, as a matter of fact,

complete. We must have the discipline

and the determination to carry

through on these programs.

We are in the midst of a debate on

the question of product liability. The

question is whether companies will be

held responsible for things they really

had nothing to do with, whether rental

car companies that had nothing but

ownership of a car which was stolen or

otherwise wrongfully taken will be

held accountable for millions of dollars

of damage done with the car.

We have a tremendous energy that is

pent up, a momentum in the culture of

irresponsibility, and it is not easy for

us to stop the spending, to stop the

conduct which has promoted and validated irresponsibility for the last several decades. It is something on which

we have made a great start and from

which we should not turn. It is a task

which we must continue.

So as we review, looking back, the

significant achievements of the first

100 days, let us never forsake the potentials of the next 100 days. I think we

have reached a threshold, a tipping

point. We have reached an opportunity

to continue to institute as a regular

means of operation this culture of responsibility in Government. Let us

make sure that in these next 100 days

we do not turn back; that we continue

to move forward on the agenda of the

American people.

Mr. THURMOND addressed the Chair.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from South Carolina.

(The remarks of Mr. THURMOND pertaining to the introduction of S. 727

and S. 728 are located in today’s

RECORD under ‘‘Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.’’)

(The remarks of Mr. LOTT and Mr.

BAUCUS pertaining to the introduction

of S. 729 are located in today’s RECORD

under ‘‘Statements on Introduced Bills

and Joint Resolutions.’’)

Mr. PRYOR addressed the Chair.

The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr.

THOMAS). Under the previous order, the

Senator from Arkansas is recognized to

speak for up to 10 minutes.

Mr. PRYOR. Mr. President, I thank

the Chair for recognizing me.

Mr. PRYOR. When President Clinton

AN IRRESPONSIBLE LETTER

frecently issued a warning against intemperate speech, Mr. President, a lot

of people took those remarks as an attack on radio talk show hosts. But I

would like to point out that the talk

show hosts by no means have a corner

on that market, and that we should all

focus our attention on the rhetoric

that is used by certain public interest

groups and ourselves alike when we try

to raise money through the coffers of

public interest groups for our political

campaigns.

I would particularly, Mr. President,

like to call your attention to a recent

letter issued by the National Rifle Association under the signature of its executive vice president, Wayne

LaPierre.

This 5-page poison-pen letter is a revolting example of hateful, incendiary,

irresponsible speech. It seeks to whip

the readers into a frenzy against the

Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco

and Firearms.

Mr. President, this letter is obscene.

While the ostensible purpose of this

letter is to raise money for the National Rifle Association, it may well

have the unintended and unfortunate

side effect of stoking the fires of militant groups across this country of

whom our citizens now have cause to

fear.

In his letter, Mr. LaPierre says that

the Federal ban on semiautomatic

weapons ‘‘gives jack-booted Government thugs more power to take our

constitutional rights away, break in

our doors, seize our guns, destroy our

property, and even injure or kill us.’’

Mr. LaPierre further continues in his

letter:

In Clinton’s administration, if you have a

badge, you have the Government’s go-ahead

to harass, intimidate, even murder law-abiding citizens.

Randy Weaver at Ruby Ridge . . . Waco

and the Branch Davidians . . . Not too long

ago, it was unthinkable for Federal agents

wearing Nazi bucket helmets and black

storm trooper uniforms to attack law-abiding citizens.

Not today, not with Clinton.

In another part of the letter, Mr.

LaPierre warns that what he sees as

the attack on the second amendment

to the Constitution ‘‘is only the first in

a long campaign to destroy the freedoms at the core of American life.’’

The letter continues:

You can see it when jack-booted Government thugs, wearing black, armed to the

teeth, break down a door, open fire with an

automatic weapon, and kill or maim lawabiding citizens.

Mr. LaPierre calls for a ‘‘major show

of force’’ by America’s 80 million gun

owners. Mr. LaPierre concludes:

This, the battle we’re fighting today, is a

battle to retake the most precious, the most

sacred ground on Earth. This is a battle for

freedom.

Well, Mr. President, these are very

stirring words indeed, and I am sure it

has been quite a success for the national fundraising activities of the National Rifle Association. It has been a

great fundraising tool.

I noticed yesterday that Mr.

LaPierre told a reporter, and I quote,

‘‘the last thing the NRA wants is a

fight with the ATF.’’ Mr. President, I

would be hard pressed to conclude that,

based upon the incendiary, obscene nature of this letter that Mr. LaPierre

sent across our country.

Let me make it very clear that I am

not today blaming the National Rifle

Association for the explosion in Oklahoma City, but I am suggesting that I

think that any reasonable person

would conclude that the words Wayne

LaPierre has been using, the images he

has been conjuring up has played directly into the fears that exist in the

types of groups that apparently are responsible for the bombing and other

terrorist attacks.

In that regard, the paid lobbyists and

the chief fundraiser for the National

Rifle Association have been tossing

kerosene onto the fire. The leaders of

the National Rifle Association must realize that these words have consequences and rights are accompanied

by responsibilities. A loose tongue, Mr.

President, can be just as dangerous as

an unholstered gun when either is employed by an irresponsible person.

The National Rifle Association takes

great pride in touting its programs to

train responsible gun owners. I hope

that its leadership today will now realize the need to teach and practice itself

the responsible use of free speech.

Before the folks at the National Rifle

Association start accusing this Senator

of trying to take away their first

amendment rights, as well as their second amendment rights, let me make it

very plain that I have no intention of

taking action to forcibly muzzle any of

them through any action by the Congress of the United States. I am not

questioning the right of the NRA to

say what it wishes in its fundraising

letters. But I do believe, Mr. President,

that Wayne LaPierre should be absolutely ashamed of what he has written

in this letter to his members of the National Rifle Association.

Just because in our society one

might have the right to do something

or to say something does not mean

that he should say it. Just because one

has the protection of the first amendment in our Constitution is no reason