H 5626 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE June 7, 1995

will join us in trying to keep the title

in the western division.

CLINTON SHOULD PASS THE BALL

(Mr. HAYWORTH asked and was

fgiven permission to address the House

for 1 minute and to revise and extend

his remarks.)

Mr. HAYWORTH. Mr. Speaker, I

would join with my colleague, the gentleman from Texas, in all well wishes

to the Houston Rockets, and also really to the Orlando Magic, because cheering the NBA finals we are going to see

some great basketball.

Also during the finals we will hear

terms like air ball and slam dunk.

These terms can also apply to what is

happening right here in Washington.

The new Republican majority is a slam

dunk on the liberal establishment and

the bloated Federal bureaucracy. The

new Congress wants to deliver a facial

on deficit spending.

On the other hand, President Clinton’s administration is an air ball.

Every time the President tries to show

leadership, he is throwing up a brick.

The latest example is his threatened

veto of the rescission bill. In his first

veto Bill Clinton will cut off funds to

flooding victims in Missouri, earthquake victims in California, and those

who suffered as a result of the Oklahoma City bombing.

Mr. Speaker, instead of constantly

throwing up air balls, Bill Clinton

should pass the ball to the team who

will not choke when the going gets

tough.

(Mr. TRAFICANT asked and was

PROTECT THE FLAG

fgiven permission to address the House

for 1 minute and to revise and extend

his remarks.)

Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, in

many cities and towns across America

it is illegal to kiss in public. It is illegal in some places to ride a skateboard.

It is illegal to burn trash or leaves. It

is illegal to yodel or sing in public, and

it is illegal, Mr. Speaker, to tamper

with a mailbox. However, in America,

it is completely legal to burn the flag,

completely legal to desecrate the flag.

It is even legal, Mr. Speaker, to urinate

on Old Glory. In the words of a Russian

comedian, ‘‘America, what a country.’’

The truth is, Congress, the debate on

protecting the flag is not about Old

Glory. It is about national pride. Think

about it.

(Mr. FUNDERBURK asked and was

STAY OUT OF BOSNIA

fgiven permission to address the House

for 1 minute and to revise and extend

his remarks.)

Mr. FUNDERBURK. Mr. Speaker, as

we speak the President is laying the

groundwork for military action in

Bosnia. Our troops are about to be put

in harm’s way by an administration

with no Bosnia policy, no public support, and no idea how and when to stop

our involvement once we get in.

Mr. Speaker, what is happening in

Bosnia is a tragedy, but I ask you, has

the President defined any legitimate

American interest in the 900-year war

in the Balkans, worth risking thousands of Americans? There is a better

way—let the Bosnians defend Bosnia—

lift the arms embargo.

Those who think lifting the embargo

will prolong the war assume that the

Serbs will win. As we speak, the

Bosnian Government is preparing to

launch a campaign to reverse Serbian

gains. Serbia is in the grip of a severe

internal crisis. Why not let the people

of Bosnia make the price of Serbian aggression high? Why not let the people

of Bosnia fight for their own freedom?

Mr. Speaker, this administration

should start listening to the American

people instead of the United Nations.

Mr. President, stay out of Bosnia. Lift

the arms embargo or be prepared to

tell us why you want to leap into a war

that will cost more American lives.

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER

PRO TEMPORE

fThe SPEAKER pro tempore. The

Chair will advise that Members should

address their remarks to the Chair and

not to the President.

SEX TRAFFICKING IN THAILAND

(Ms. SLAUGHTER asked and was

fgiven permission to address the House

for 1 minute and to revise and extend

her remarks.)

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise

today to urge all my colleagues to support my resolution to demand that our

Government work to stop the sex trafficking and forced prostitution of

women and girls from Burma into

Thailand. I am pleased that my colleague from Washington, Senator MURRAY, has introduced this same bill in

the Senate.

I was appalled and disgusted to discover that the Government of Thailand

has permitted the trafficking of women

of brothels. Credible reports have indicated that thousands of Burmese

women and girls, as young as 14, are

being led into Thailand with false

promises of employment, only to be

forced to work in brothels under conditions which include sexual and physical

violence, debt bondage, exposure to

HIV, passport deprivation, and illegal

confinement. In addition, members of

the Thai police are often actively involved.

And now we read in our own New

York Times, that Thai women are

being brought to the United States for

the same purpose. This is a practice

the U.S. Government must not support

and we must work to stop it, before it

becomes a practice quietly condoned

and supported worldwide.

As we debate the foreign aid budget,

we must remember the gross human

rights violations which occur against

women, and we must remember we

have a moral duty to pay attention. We

have ignored it for too long. This is an

issue of fundamental human rights.

(Mrs. KENNELLY asked and was

STUDENT LOANS

fgiven permission to address the House

for 1 minute and to revise and extend

her remarks.)

Mrs. KENNELLY. Mr. Speaker, I had

the honor in the Memorial Day break

to have been chosen as the commencement speaker at two schools, Trinity

College in Hartford and Central Connecticut State University in Connecticut. As a result, I talked to many students during this time that we were in

our districts. They are very worried.

A perfect example of these students

right here is Vincent Federici. He has

worked hard in high school, got good

grades, got accepted to a good college.

His mother is a computer worker, his

father works at a machine shop. They

have worked hard to make sure that

Vincent can go to college. They have

three sons coming along. They have

put every dollar in order. They know

where every penny is going.

Mr. Speaker, as we consider changes

in the Student Loan Program, I ask

Members to think about Vincent and

the millions of other young men and

women across this country who are

doing the right thing, going to college

so they can compete in this world competitive market. Please, Mr. Speaker,

do not make the students that are

going to college pay more and have a

bigger burden. It is the wrong thing to

do.

ON REPLACING THE FEDERAL

INCOME TAX

f(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,

this week on the Committee on Ways

and Means we are looking at alternatives for making our tax system

more clear, simple, and fair. There is

no longer a question that we should revamp our Federal tax system.

President Carter was right when he

stated that our income tax system is a

disgrace to the human race. In 1914 we

had just 14 pages of Federal income tax

law. Today we have over 9,000 pages. A

decade ago the IRS commissioned a

study that said that it cost $159 billion

in compliance. Today it cost nearly

$500 billion in compliance costs alone.

Today one economist has estimated

that last year more hours were spent

doing taxes than were used to build a

car, van, and truck in the United

States. I look forward to working with

my colleagues to design a Federal tax

system that encourages savings and investment, rather than punishing those

who plan for the future.