May 10, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE H 4677

Well, happy birthday mining law of

1872. But may I say, I hope there will

not be any more such birthdays left to

you. My colleagues, please join me and

83 other Members of this body in seeking to reform the mining law of 1872;

cosponsor H.R. 357 today.

MEMBERS URGED TO SUPPORT

CLEAN WATER ACT REAUTHORfIZATION

(Mr. HOSTETTLER asked and was

given permission to address the House

for 1 minute and to revise and extend

his remarks.)

Mr. HOSTETTLER. Mr. Speaker, I

rise in support of H.R. 961, the Clean

Water Act reauthorization. We have a

chance, with this bill, to provide a

great amount of regulatory relief to

the American farmer. Farmers depend

on the land to make a living, so they

are last ones who want to jeopardize

ground water with poor ecological

practices. But an out-of-control bureaucracy has caused nightmare after

nightmare for farm families by implementing a ridiculous definition of wetlands that prohibits producers from

farming or improving their property

because of puddles in their fields. I am

particularly distressed that the National Academy of Sciences would sacrifice sound science for the sake of partisan politics, as shown by the timing

of their recent release on wetlands. I

commend my colleague, Mr. SHUSTER,

my colleague, Mr. HAYES, and all the

others who had a role in providing this

much-needed sanity. I urge my colleagues who are interested in getting

the government out of the American

farmer’s way, to support H.R. 961. Oh,

by the way, did you notice the Republicans just produced a balanced budget?

fb 1130

THE REPUBLICAN BUDGET

(Mr. DEFAZIO asked and was given

permission to address the House for 1

minute.)

Mr. DEFAZIO. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman referenced the balanced budget.

He cannot get to a balanced budget

while increasing military spending,

cutting taxes for the wealthy and the

largest corporations, and here is the

proof, the Republican budget.

It is impossible to do that unless, unless you want to gut virtually every

other program of the Federal Government from child nutrition to student

loans, to Federal law enforcement, to

veterans benefits, Medicare, and, yes,

Social Security.

They will all take a massive cut so

the Pentagon can continue its wanton

spending and the wealthy can put another BMW in the garage. I expected

that kind of a budget, but never, never

did I expect that the Republicans

would go back on their pledge to not

touch Social Security.

Buried deep in this budget is a little

change in the COLA factor, just a little

change. It will cut future retirement

benefits for veterans, future retirement

benefits for military retirees, future

benefits for every Civil Service retiree.

And yes, Social Security benefits, too,

starting in 1999 will be reduced by their

budget.

MORE ON THE REPUBLICAN

fBUDGET

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

minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. EWING. Mr. Speaker, I think we

should have shame on us for the campaign that is being waged against our

efforts to balance the budget. All of us

know that it is necessary, if we are

going to save this country, to balance

the budget. And yet we have a smear

campaign of unusual proportions.

My colleagues we hear about cuts in

Medicare, except Medicare is going to

go up. We hear about specific changes,

but you cannot point out those specific

changes. You just get up and spout off

about them. We talk about tax cuts for

the rich, but you miss the whole point,

that there is tax relief for the families

of America.

We talk about letters from home. I

will answer those letters honestly. I

am going to save the Medicare Program. I am going to balance the budget.

I believe the cruelest thing we can do

is put fear in the hearts of senior citizens. The thinking Americans know

that we are going to do it, and they

support us.

(Mr. SANDERS asked and was given

MEDICARE CUTS

fpermission to address the House for 1

minute.)

Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of 80,000 Vermont senior citizens

who receive Medicare, I rise today in

vehement opposition to the proposed 7-

year, $400 billion cut in Medicare funding proposed by the Republican leadership.

Today under present funding, many

Vermont seniors are hard-pressed to

pay the high cost of Medicare premiums, and many others cannot afford

the expensive prescription drugs that

they desperately need. Any cuts which

will raise premiums or cut benefits or

raise deductible will cause terrible pain

for some of the most hard-pressed citizens in America and in Vermont.

It is unconscionable to cut back on

Medicare when we are giving huge tax

breaks to the wealthiest people in this

country. It is unconscionable to cut

back on Medicare when we spend $100

billion a year on corporate welfare.

(Mr. STEARNS asked and was given

THE PHELPS SCHOOL

fpermission to address the House for 1

minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I rise

today to recognize and congratulate

the Phelps School from Malvern, PA.

The students at that school, the senior

class is here today, and I want to recognize them.

The Phelps School whose motto is

‘‘dedication to the individual boy,’’

strives to meet the needs and develop

the strengths of each of its students.

The teachers and faculty take great

pride in empowering young men to improve themselves. The school fosters

the growth of each student, academically, socially, and personally. In other

words, Mr. Speaker, it builds character, something sorely needed in

America today.

The Phelps School is a small institution where every young man feels special, like a member of a family. The

Phelps School exemplifies a good education today in America. Students

come to the school as boys and leave as

young men, ready to further their education.

I take great pride today in welcoming the Phelps School and the senior

class. I wish them all the best as they

begin their journey towards the rest of

their lives. I know they are well prepared and ready for the world, as all

the school’s graduates have been for almost 50 years. My hat is off to the director, Mr. Phelps, and all the seniors.

REPUBLICANS BREAK CONTRACT

WITH SENIORS

f(Ms. DELAURO asked and was given

permission to address the House for 1

minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)

Ms. DELAURO. Mr. Speaker, there is

a loud shattering sound all over Capitol Hill today as the Republicans rush

to break our Nation’s historic contract

with its senior citizens.

House Republicans today make it official: They want to cut Medicare and

Medicaid by $464 billion in order to pay

for a tax cut for the wealthiest Americans.

And now they have added a new ingredient to this sickening stew. Now

House Republicans want to redefine the

Consumer Price Index and lower costof-living adjustments for Social Security recipients. So much for their

promise to keep Social Security off the

table.

In short, the Republican plan squeezes seniors from both ends. Seniors

would have to pay more for health

care, and they would be less able to afford that increase because they would

get a smaller Social Security COLA.

Altogether, this plan would cost 37

million seniors $900 more a year so a

lucky 1.1 million of the wealthiest taxpayers can enjoy a $20,000 bonus.

The Republican plan does not save

Medicare. Instead it uses Medicare as a

piggybank for tax cuts we cannot afford and do not need.