H 4968 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE May 16, 1995

Mr. NETHERCUTT. Mr. Speaker,

America is faced with a continuing dilemma: maintaining adequate food supply at reasonable prices for consumers

while providing incentives for farmers

to grow the crops needed in the country.

In 1980, food became a weapon of foreign policy with the imposition of the

infamous Russian grain embargo. That

embargo created huge crop surpluses

and the result was massive commodity

price declines. By 1981 farmers were

looking to the Government for relief,

because the Government-imposed embargo created the problem. Our Government then became the only market

for farm products because foreign competitors filled the void created by restrictions on U.S. exports. Now, many

of these countries have captured a

great portion of former U.S. markets.

American farmers continue to face

unfair pricing practices from the Australian Wheat Board and the Canadian

Wheat Board. European Union farmers

receive approximately $40 billion in

government subsidies. American farmers can compete with foreign farmers,

but not with foreign governments.

Reckless budget cuts to agriculture

will leave us farther behind in the effort to develop a free market for American agriculture.

REPUBLICANS TO REGULAR

FOLKS: DROP DEAD

f(Mr. GONZALEZ asked and was given

permission to address the House for 1

minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. GONZALEZ. Mr. Speaker, the

Republicans have delivered their budget message, and what it says to regular, hard-working Americans is, in the

words of a great headline: ‘‘drop dead.’’

The Republican message is that regular folks will get a lot less help to improve the schools that their kids attend; and when those kids get to college, there will be a whole lot less help

to pay for it, and if they get student

loans, they will pay much higher interest on those loans. For instance, they

want to kill school improvement funds

and totally eliminate library funding.

They would kill funds that help our schools

provide special services to poor kids. They

also would kill funds that allow college students to work off some of their loans through

worthwhile community service—meaning that

students and communities alike get hurt.

The Republican message is that if your

town needs help to provide affordable housing, forget it. And if your town uses block

grants to provide essential services, your town

will get a 25-percent cut. In fact, the rule

seems to be, if it is help for any kind of public

service or public improvement, there will be a

cut of at least 25 percent, and often a total

wipeout.

The Republican message is, if you are sick

or old or poor, or have to ride the bus to work,

you will get less service or help and pay much

more for what you do get.

The Republican message to regular folks is

that no matter how hard you work, you will

pay more and get less for every kind of public

service, and you will get less help to educate

yourself or your kids, and by the way, if you

are hoping for some neighborhood improvements and your town needs help to finance

the effort, forget that too.

At the same time the Republicans are saying they will give a tax break to the rich.

So if you are an ordinary, hard-working

American citizen, the Republican message is

that your life is about to get harder. The poor

will be poorer, the ordinary will be harder

pressed, and those who are struggling to help

themselves will have to struggle harder.

The Republicans do not come right out and

say it, but their message could not be plainer:

They want the well-off to get better off, and

ADMINISTRATION CHARGED WITH

the rest of us can pay for it.

USING SCARE TACTICS, DISHONfEST CLICHES IN BUDGET DEBATE

(Mr. LINDER asked and was given

permission to address the House for 1

minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, for several weeks, Democrats have attempted

to use shameless scare tactics to dismiss the Republican plan to balance

the budget. Americans see through this

sham.

In recent days, administration officials Tyson and Panetta have suggested the budget does not really need

to be balanced by the year 2002. Americans know better.

The Democrats are not fooling anybody. Even the Washington Post acknowledges that the Democrats’ complaints are ‘‘hollow and unpersuasive.’’

The Post calls the Clinton administration budget ‘‘weak and directionless.’’

In fact, the Post urges the Democrats

to ‘‘stop playing it cute,’’ and the

President to ‘‘lead on this issue.’’

It is disconcerting that the President

of the United States would abandon the

American people in this manner, but he

has. He refused to submit a balanced

budget. Thus challenge should be tackled in a bipartisan fashion with input

from the Congress and the President.

Unfortunately, the President has chosen not to contribute and House Democrats offer nothing but dishonest cliches.

URGING JAPAN TO OPEN MARKETS TO AUTO PARTS IMPORTS

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

minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, the United

States Trade Representative has just

announced tariffs, 100-percent tariffs

on 13 luxury automobiles made in

Japan. One of them is the Infinity Q45.

This chart shows what our problem is.

That car sells for $85,000 in Japan,

$54,000 in the United States. It is the

same car. They have to ship it here, insure it in its shipping. How does that

happen?

Mr. Speaker, the reason is the Japanese shelter, they protect their home

market. They do not let competition

in, so they can charge their consumers

anything they want, and then sell the

care lower in the United States, taking

the profits in Japan to try to get market share in the United States. They

are keeping auto parts out made in the

United States that sell for one-third or

one-fourth. We say to Japan ‘‘Open

your markets. That is the issue. Open

your markets. Compete. The United

States is ready to compete. Won’t you

let us? It is about time.’’

DEMOCRATS ARE DISINTERESTED

IN SAVING MEDICARE, BUT ONLY

fUSE THE ISSUE TO WAGE CLASS

WARFARE

(Mr. CHRISTENSEN asked and was

given permission to address the House

for 1 minute and to revise and extend

his remarks.)

Mr. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, it

is clear by the statements by President

Clinton and most other liberal Democrats over the last week that they are

not interested in saving Medicare.

They did not propose any alternative,

they did not propose any plan. Instead,

they want to use the imminent insolvency of Medicare as an opportunity to

wage class warfare.

Let me quote the trustees’ report,

the trustees appointed by President

Clinton: They said:

The HI Trust Fund does not meet the

trustees’ short-range test of financial adequacy. The fund is projected to be exhausted

in the year 2001, 6 years from the present.

For our final math lesson for the day,

when we increase Medicare from $4,700

a year for medical benefits received by

a senior citizen to $6,300 a year for

medical benefits received per senior

citizen, that is an increase; $4,700 this

year, $6,300 in the year 2002. That is an

increase. No matter what the liberal

left tells us, we are increasing Medicare.

fb 1040

REQUIRING MEDICARE TRUST

FUND TRUSTEES TO REPORT

CERTAIN FINANCIAL RECOMMENDATIONS

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I move to

suspend the rules and pass the bill

(H.R. 1590) to require the Trustees of

the Medicare trust funds to report recommendations on resolving projected

financial imbalance in Medicare trust

funds.

The Clerk read as follows:

H.R. 1590

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in

Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. TRUSTEES’ CONCLUSIONS REGARDING FINANCIAL STATUS OF MEDICARE TRUST FUNDS.

(a) HI TRUST FUND.—The 1995 annual report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal

Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, submitted on