H 4516 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE May 3, 1995

programs in America, Medicare, a program not only important for seniors,

but important for hospitals and doctors

all across the United States.

The Republicans have found themselves in this box, they have painted

themselves in this corner, because they

insist on tax breaks for the wealthiest

people and absolving corporations from

paying their Federal taxes, and they

want to make up the difference by cutting Medicare. That is not fair.

I hope the Republicans will get off

this premise that they have to give

these tax cuts to the privileged few and

focus on the truly important programs

like Social Security and Medicare.

UNITED STATES-JAPAN AUTOMOTIVE AND AUTO PARTS NEGOfTIATIONS

(Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut asked

and was given permission to address

the House for 1 minute and to revise

and extend her remarks.)

Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut. Mr.

Speaker, I rise today to address an extremely important issue facing the

automotive and auto parts industry.

The United States-Japan framework

talks were initiated in July 1993, but

no agreement has been reached in these

critical areas which amount to 60 percent of the United States bilateral deficit with Japan. Now these 1993 talks

are only part of an effort that is now 10

years long to deal with very substantial nontariff barriers that Japan

throws up to American auto parts and

American automobiles even though

that is the biggest item of our bilateral

deficit. In recent years, as a result of

these talks and all of the efforts that

have been made, yes, Japan has increased the purchase of American

parts, but only for those factories that

produce in America.

Mr. Speaker, if we are to maintain a

strong industrial base in America, we

must be able to export quality, costcompetitive United States auto parts

and automobilies everywhere in the

world, even to Japan, and I strongly

support the need for a negotiated

agreement with Japan and support our

United States Trade Representative,

Mickey Kantor, in his efforts.

NOVABILSKI, AN AMERICAN HERO

TRIBUTE TO JOHN JOSEPH

f(Mr. WYNN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1

minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. WYNN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to

recognize a fallen hero. On Monday,

May 1, in Prince Georges County, MD,

we buried Police Corporal John Joseph

Novabilski, known as ‘‘Nova.’’

Corporal Novabilski was killed in

uniform while sitting in his cruiser

working as an off-duty security guard.

Allegedly, following an earlier argument, his assailant walked up from behind and shot Novabilski 11 times.

Officer Novabilski first joined the

Prince Georges police force in 1988. He

took his job as an officer of the law seriously, and sought duty in high crime

areas. He was also compassionate,

using his own money to buy toys for

poor youngsters in the neighborhood.

His fellow officers knew him for his

big, warm smile and good humored

griping.

At the funeral, a friend, Kirk

Mullings, described Corporal

Novabilski as a good man who wanted

nothing more than to fall in love with

a good woman, have many good friends,

and do the job he loved.

On behalf of the citizens of Prince

Georges County and the State of Maryland, I want to say to his wife, Karen,

and his family that we appreciate what

John did to help our community and

we’ll long remember his efforts. May

God rest his soul. John Joseph

Novabilski, American hero.

UNITED STATES-JAPAN AUTO

PARTS NEGOTIATIONS

f(Mr. REGULA asked and was given

permission to address the House for 1

minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. REGULA. Mr. Speaker, the meetings that begin today in Canada between the world’s four economic powers mark another critical juncture in

this country’s ongoing effort to level

the playing field for Japanese-American automotive trade. Although

progress has been made in this area

since talks began 4 years ago, much remains to be done.

This is not a question of demanding

one-sided concessions: an improved

trade situation is in the interest of

both countries. Motor vehicle and

equipment manufacturing is the largest U.S. manufacturing industry, and a

cornerstone of America’s industrial

base. The ‘‘Big Three’’ alone—Chrysler,

Ford, and General Motors—employ almost 700,000 Americans, and are among

the largest employers of research engineers and scientists in the country.

Thus the health of the U.S. auto industry has far-reaching implications for

the larger U.S. economy and its competitiveness. Japan stands to gain, as

well, including Japanese consumers,

who currently pay prices for auto parts

that are on average 340 percent higher

than for identical parts in the United

States.

Resolution of this crucial imbalance

can set an important precedent, not

only for anyone seeking access to Japan’s markets, but also for American

access to and competitiveness in other

critical markets overseas. I strongly

urge Ambassador Kantor to continue

his effective leadership on this issue. I

am confident that with a healthy balance of trade, this important relationship can flourish rather than flounder.

REPUBLICAN MEDICARE CUTS

(Mr. WARD asked and was given permission to address the House for 1

minute.)

Mr. WARD. Mr. speaker, I must rise

today to speak out against the proposed reductions in Medicare spending

which I feel will devastate our Nation’s

elderly.

Under the guise of protecting and

strengthening the Medicare trust fund,

Republicans have proposed billions in

reductions in future spending over the

next 7 years. Republicans have pledged

not to cut Social Security, interest on

the debt, or defense in order to pay for

their tax cuts, therefore, the only remaining source from which to cut is

Medicare.

The Medicare trust fund should be

addressed appropriately as a long-term

problem and should take into careful

consideration the needs of our Nation’s

seniors. This debate should take place

apart from the budget debate and apart

from efforts to salvage the cynical,

public opinion poll-driven Contract for

American campaign promises.

Mr. Speaker, I call once again for

compassion for the elderly of our society, another vulnerable, defenseless

group which must be protected.

THE USUAL CLASS-WARFARE

RHETORIC ON MEDICARE

f(Mr. HAYWORTH asked and was

given permission to address the House

for 1 minute and to revise and extend

his remarks.)

Mr. HAYWORTH. Mr. Speaker, there

are some things going on here in Washington the American people really

ought to know about. Members of

President Clinton’s Cabinet have raised

some very serious questions about the

long-term health of Medicare. A report

by the Medicare trustees concludes

that Medicare will begin losing money

next year and could become insolvent

by the year 2001, and, by the way, this

Medicare board includes Health and

Human Services Secretary Donna

Shalala, Labor Secretary Robert Reich,

and Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin.

Now, last Friday, the Speaker of the

House wrote the President expressing

his concerns over this matter and communicated a willingness to work together on a solution, but the news

about Medicare has apparently fallen

on deaf ears at the White House and on

this side of the House because the

Speaker’s letter is being dismissed

with the usual class-warfare rhetoric.

In fact, Leon Panetta suggested the

White House will do nothing to help fix

Medicare.

This is unfortunate, Mr. Speaker.

Medicare is going broke and all the

White House can offer up is class-warfare rhetoric. This shows a total avoidance of responsibility and a lack of respect to older Americans who expect

leadership from Washington, and not

excuses, not class-warfare.