H 4918 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE May 15, 1995

Accordingly (at 10 o’clock and 37

minutes a.m.), the House stood in recess until 12 noon.

fb 1200

AFTER RECESS

The recess having expired, the House

was called to order by the Speaker pro

tempore [Mr. F

fUNDERBURK] at 12 noon.

PRAYER

The Chaplain, Rev. James David

Ford, D.D., offered the following prayer:

Teach us always, gracious God, to use

our words as instruments of information and understanding, as agents of

communication and contact, so that

our expressions bring us together and

allow us to share in our common heritage and our collective concerns. Remind us that we should choose our

words wisely for we know that comments clearly stated and given for the

purpose of knowledge can promote harmony and mutual assurance and can

lead all people to greater respect and

reverence toward one another. Bless us

and all Your people, O God, this day

and every day. Amen.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The

THE JOURNAL

fChair has examined the Journal of the

last day’s proceedings and announces

to the House his approval thereof.

Pursuant to clause 1, rule I, the Journal stands approved.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Will the

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

fgentleman from Ohio [Mr. TRAFICANT]

come forward and lead the House in the

Pledge of Allegiance.

Mr. TRAFICANT led the pledge of Allegiance as follows:

I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the

United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God,

indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

A message from the Senate by Mr.

MESSAGE FROM THE SENATE

fLundregan, one of its clerks, announced that the Senate had passed

without amendment a concurrent resolution of the House of the following

title:

H. Con. Res. 64. Concurrent resolution authorizing the 1995 Special Olympics Torch

Relay to the run through the Capitol

Grounds.

(Mr. TRAFICANT asked and was

VETERANS BENEFITS

fgiven permission to address the House

for 1 minute and to revise and extend

his remarks.)

Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, check

this out. Military bases are closing all

over America. Veterans benefits are

being cut. Veterans cost-of-living allowances are being cut. Veterans outpatient clinics are being closed. Veterans pensions are being slashed.

Think about that. What bothers me

is our Government is going to provide

25,000 dollars’ worth of vouchers to buy

houses for Russian soldiers. Beam me

up. Maybe I missed something down

here. We have got veterans literally

sleeping on steel grates, trying to find

an opportunity to get a job, but we are

giving $160 million to Russia so that

these Russian troops coming back from

the Baltics will be able to find a place

to live. If they cannot, we, the American taxpayer, will build them a house

for $25,000.

Ladies and gentlemen, is there any

reason why we are bankrupt? America

has the best government that Russia

ever had and that most of these other

countries ever had. While we are going

south, they are all doing well with our

tax dollars.

I say it is time to send some of these

American gurus who made this decision over to Siberia, let them freeze

their buns a little bit over there and

maybe it will get them a house back

here in America.

(Mr. TRAFICANT asked and was

given permission to proceed out of

order for 3 minutes.)

fH.R. 390

Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, since

no one else is here at this point, H.R.

390 is a bill that would change the burden of proof in the tax case. Right now,

if you go to a tax court on a civil case,

the IRS can lien your house, take your

bank account, take your parakeet,

take your rubber duckie, and you have

to prove you are innocent because you

are considered guilty in that court.

H.R. 390 says, first of all, whenever a

taxpayer goes to court in America

there is one standard, and that is an

American is innocent until proven

guilty, and I shall switch and the

American taxpayer shall be deemed innocent as well.

Second of all, you have 10 days where

the IRS has to let you know what problem you have with your tax form. Cite

the position of the regulation or the

statute, in which your tax report has

some problems. And finally, before

they can take your house, take your

car, take your bank account, they have

to present facts to a court of law and

have a court order to do so.

I think it is time, my colleagues. If

innocent until proven guilty worked

for the Son of Sam and Jeffrey

Dahmer, how is it that grandma and

grandpa, mom and dad or American

taxpayers are guilty and a court must

prove them innocent? Let us get on

with our business. I am asking whoever

is in the Congress who may be watching this to cosponsor H.R. 390 and have

the Committee on Ways and Means

bring the bill out.

The American people should be treated at least as well as a common murderer in a tax court.

RECESS

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 12 of rule I, the Chair declares the House in recess subject to

the call of the Chair.

Accordingly (at 12 o’clock and 6 minutes p.m.), the House stood in recess

subject to the call of the Chair.

The recess having expired, the House

AFTER RECESS

fwas called to order by the Speaker pro

tempore (Mr. YOUNG of Alaska) at 12

o’clock and 23 minutes p.m.

MORE FOREIGN AID CUTS URGED

(Mr. FUNDERBURK asked and was

fgiven permission to address the House

for 1 minute and to revise and extend

his remarks.)

Mr. FUNDERBURK. Mr. Speaker,

America’s foreign policy structure

needs to be overhauled. The current

system is a relic of the cold war. It is

duplicative and inefficient, and its foreign aid programs are a disaster.

Despite billions of dollars, those we

have given aid to are mired in poverty.

In fact, we have done these countries

more harm than good by promoting socialist economic and agricultural programs. Of the 15 countries receiving

the most U.S. aid, the Heritage Foundation’s freedom index rates 12 as

‘‘mostly unfree,’’ 1 has a repressed

economy, and 2 are rated ‘‘mostly

free.’’

A foreign aid program which supposedly buys the good will of foreign

leaders while they ruin their own countries cannot be tolerated. If it is to be

handed out it must promote free market reforms. Also a majority of the

countries receiving U.S. aid consistently vote against us at the U.N. Foreign aid must be tied to America’s interests. Is it not about time we had an

American desk at the State Department.

At a time we are talking about cutting back on housing, student aid, and

farming programs it is not fair to cut

foreign policy programs by only $1 billion each year for the next 5 years as

the International Relations Committee

bill does. It is not enough. Streamlining the State Department’s bureaucracy both here and abroad is vital. Let

us tell the American people that we are

serious about setting new priorities for

American foreign policy. Let us cut the

fat at Foggy Bottom.

WHO WILL BE HURT BY CUTS TO

MEDICARE AND MEDICAID?

f(Mr. PALLONE asked and was given

permission to address the House for 1

minute and to revise and extend his remarks and include extraneous material.)

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I would

like to use my 1 minute to quote some

sections of a Star Ledger editorial