EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS

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

Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor.

May 3, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E 931

NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER

HON. MIKE PARKER OF MISSISSIPPI

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, May 3, 1995

Mr. PARKER. Mr. Speaker, I come before

the House today to remind my colleagues of

a very important day approaching—the National Day of Prayer to be observed on Thursday, May 4. Around this great country, people

of all ages, race, and social standing will join

together on Thursday to give thanks for the

blessings they have received. In addition, they

will offer up prayers for our Nation and the

suffering we have recently endured. We certainly have much to be thankful for but we

also have much to seek divine guidance

about.

Although this body will not be in formal session on Thursday, I hope that my colleagues

in their own personal way will observe the National Day of Prayer—a tradition since Congress passed a resolution in 1952.

In addition, I commend Wanda Kay Wigley

for making the Mississippi National Day of

Prayer a priority in our State.

RECOGNITION OF WALTER

fLUCIANO

HON. CHARLES E. SCHUMER OF NEW YORK

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, May 3, 1995

Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. Speaker, one of the

pleasures of serving in this body is the opportunity we occasionally get to recognize publicly

outstanding citizens of our Nation. Today I am

especially pleased to speak about so worthy

and respected an individual. I rise today to

recognize Mr. Walter Luciano.

On a local level, Mr. Luciano is involved in

a number of organizations. He works for the

parks department as a law enforcement officer. He is well known in Glendale Civilian Observation Patrol [GCOP] as patrol captain and

as an active board member. Mr. Luciano is

also an auxiliary member of the Middle Village

Ambulance Corps.

Mr. Luciano, who held a reserve commission in the New York Army National Guard for

almost 23 years of service was recently retired

with the rank of captain due to downsizing of

his unit. He now serves in the Retired Reserve. His commitment to serving this Nation

is truly admirable; he is a model of how responsible citizens can help make their neighborhoods and their country safe.

Additionally, Mr. Luciano has been noted in

the local papers of Bayridge, and the New

York Daily News for his truancy program and

his involvement with the New York City Board

of Education’s Speaker in the Classroom Program.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this moment to ask my colleagues in the U.S. House

of Representatives to join me in commending

Mr. Luciano for his dedicated service. He is

truly an inspiration to us all.

EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING A VISIT BY

fTHE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA ON TAIWAN

SPEECH OF

HON. HOWARD L. BERMAN

OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, May 2, 1995

Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield

myself 2 minutes.

I just want to make 3 points: one to

my colleagues, one to the Chinese Government, and one to the administration.

I simply would remind my colleagues

that this administration has actually

done more than any of the previous administrations with respect to elevating

its relationship with Taiwan. This is

the first administration which has allowed high-level members of its Government to visit Taiwan. This is the

administration that signed legislation

last year passed by this Congress to

allow Taiwanese-Americans to list Taiwan as their place of birth on passports, and in a whole variety of levels

it has enhanced that cooperation.

To the Chinese Government, I simply

remind that Government, we have

many differences. Both the gentlewoman from California and the gentleman from California have spoken to

those differences.

However, in and of itself the passage

of this resolution does not speak to the

question of whether our policy should

be a one-China policy or a two-China

policy or one China and one Taiwan

policy. It deals very specifically with

the question of President Lee making

an informal visit, and it should not be

construed in any other fashion.

The third point is to the administration. I think you will see, by virtue of

the unanimity of feeling on this subject in the Congress, that this issue

will not simply go away, that it will

not end with a passage of a sense of

Congress resolution, and that legislation will be coming that will seek to

mandate this visit if the administration’s policy does not change. I urge

them to reconsider this aspect of their

policy.

CONTRACT WITH AMERICA

HON. LEE H. HAMILTON OF INDIANA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, May 3, 1995

Mr. HAMILTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I

would like to insert my Washington Report for

Wednesday, April 19, 1995 into the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD.

THE CONTRACT WITH AMERICA

The House recently completed 100 days of

action on the leadership’s 10-point Contract

with America, taking up and passing measures ranging from legal and congressional reforms to a balanced budget amendment.

Despite all the attention to the Contract

in Washington, I have been impressed in a

number of public meetings in Indiana that

the Contract only rarely comes up for discussion. Most people know very little of its provisions. For those who do, many support the

major elements of the Contract but also say

that the House leadership has tried to do too

much too quickly. Still others see Congress

as operating under the ‘‘politics as usual’’

rules, criticize the spending cuts, or disagree

with cutting taxes before balancing the

budget.

SUMMARY

Crafted last fall, the Contract with America was organized into 10 major planks, plus

a prologue making procedural changes in the

House. The promise was to bring all of the

items up for a vote within 100 days. All

passed the House except the constitutional

amendment limiting congressional terms.

Some of the measures passed by the House—

such as the balanced budget amendment and

welfare reform—differed in significant ways

from the versions outlined in the Contract.

The Senate has not yet acted on most of the

Contract, although it did defeat the balanced

budget amendment. Only two parts of the

Contract have become law—requiring Congress to comply with the laws it passes for

everyone else and reducing unfunded federal

mandates.

As it has turned out, the Contract is really

a starting point for negotiations. It is clear

to me that the raw and unrefined bills,

passed by the House will be softened by the

Senate, or may be even stopped. Even after

surgery by the Senate, some Contract initiatives face possible presidential vetoes. Which

parts of the Contract will eventually become

law is far from clear.

I voted for several parts of the Contract

and opposed others. The House first took action, with my support, to cut the number of

committees and congressional staff and to

require Congress to live by the laws it

passes. These proposals were similar to legislation I sponsored last session based on the

work of the Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress. I also voted for a balanced budget amendment, a version of the

line-item veto, curbs on federal mandates on

the states, and restrictions on excessive government regulations, among other measures.

I did not support certain other provisions,

including a bill that would restrict individuals’ Fourth Amendment protections against

government searches, a term limits proposal

that would kick in some 19 years from now,

and an expensive tax cut—largely for the