May 23, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H 5381

FEEDING THE HUNGRY THROUGH

THE PRIVATE SECTOR

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under

the Speaker’s announced policy of May

12, 1995, the gentleman from Illinois

[Mr. MANZULLO] is recognized during

morning business for 5 minutes.

Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Speaker, the

Hunger Connection of Rockford, IL, is

a privately financed organization that

resources food from wholesalers, retailers, and food processors and then

makes it available to over 90 agencies

which, in turn, distribute the food to

the needy. Not 1 cent of Government

money is used for this purpose.

In addition, the Hunger Connection,

led by Mary Cunningham, the executive director, also helps the community

through a service called Community

Share. In the Community Share Program, people do meaningful volunteer

work in the community in exchange for

2 hours of work plus $14 in cash, $28, to

$32 in groceries.

The Hunger Connection is an example of the type of organization that is

leading community service efforts. We

are saddled with a massive debt. Therefore, the time has come to recognize

private organizations such as the Hunger Connection for innovative, cost efficient solutions to our problems.

Besides that, it has always been the

American spirit of charity and good

works that has spearheaded the country’s efforts in alleviating the plight of

the needy. Thus we have an obligation

to carry on this work and still strive to

keep this Nation from taking on further financial burdens.

We are approaching a national debt

of $5 trillion with annual budget deficits routinely exceeding $200 billion a

year. That means $200 billion a year is

added to the national debt. What is

also alarming are the taxes that future

generations will pay if Congress continues expensive spending habits.

The President’s official budget contains an analysis called generational

forecast. This projects the future tax

burden on the American people and

takes into consideration our national

debt and current policies for Federal

spending. It predicts that children born

after 1992, by the time they enter the

work force, will have a combined local,

State, and Federal tax rate of between

84 and 94 percent.

That means your child or grandchild

will be able to keep only $600 to $1,200

for every $10,000 he or she earns.

That is not the legacy we want to

leave our children.

The findings of the Bipartisan Commission on Entitlements and Tax Reform show that, absent policy changes,

entitlement spending and interest on

the national debt alone will consume

all Federal revenues by the year 2012.

Our Nation is not on the verge of

bankruptcy. It is in bankruptcy, and it

is hemorrhaging profusely. If we fail to

act, we have made a choice that greatly threatens the economic future of our

children and our Nation.

Given this financial crisis, we must

reevaluate our budgetary priorities. If

we are gong to be serious about reducing our debt and balancing the budget,

then every program not absolutely essential to the function of the Federal

Government must be on the table for

consideration. That is why original private sector endeavors like the Hunger

Connection are so important. The Hunger Connection and Community Share

represent the spirit of Americans working together to solve problems. These

are people looking to each other instead of Government to solve the problems of this Nation.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under

TRADE WITH JAPAN

fthe Speaker’s announced policy of May

12, 1995, the gentlewoman from Ohio

[Ms. KAPTUR] is recognized during

morning business for 5 minutes.

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, it is time

to pry open Japan’s market, particularly in the sector of automotive goods.

Now, what is wrong with this picture? Let me tell you what is wrong.

Over the past 10 years, the United

States has consistently run a massive

trade deficit, getting worse year after

year after year, last year the largest in

the history of our country with Japan.

And we have run that deficit largely in

the area of automotive goods, regardless, regardless of what the economic

conditions have been during those

years between our two countries.

That means regardless of what the

yen-dollar relationship is, as this blue

line charts out over the past 10 years,

even as our dollar got cheaper, which

means our goods should be cheaper on

those shelves, the deficit got worse and

worse and worse.

In fact, over half of the trade deficit

the United States has amassed with

Japan, $66 million last year was in one

sector, automotive and automotive

goods. But that is not news. That has

been going on year after year after

year.

Japan used to use the excuse, Well, in

America you do not make any vehicles

that are right-hand drive vehicles. Surprise, over the last 15 years our automotive manufacturers now have 60 different models, so you cannot use even

that excuse anymore.

If you look back to 1985, when the exchange rate was 239 yen to the dollar,

the United States in that year amassed

a $23.7 billion trade deficit with Japan

in automotive and automotive parts.

Yet in 1994, when our dollar had literally been devalued by 300 percent, devalued by 300 percent, which means

that our goods should have been 300

percent cheaper and had some impact

on sales in that market, we had an

even worse deficit with Japan.

In fact, last year we had a record

trade deficit in the area of automotive

and automotive goods, rising to over

$37 billion, with each billion dollar of

trade deficit equal to 20,000 jobs in this

country. We are not talking about a

small problem. Today, as we know,

goods denominated in dollars are very,

very cheap on the world market. It

should help our exports except with

Japan. In the first quarter of this year,

we have amassed even worse deficits

with them than we did last year, which

was our worse year ever.

What is wrong with this picture is

Japan’s market remains closed no matter what. As the price of our goods,

both for automobiles as well as automotive parts, in Japan have become increasingly cheaper and less expensive

and with the value of our dollar having

been decreased by over 300 percent over

the last 10 years, we should be running

a huge trade surplus with Japan. Instead, we have recorded deficits year

after year.

In fact, the United States has been

frozen at a 1.5-percent share of Japan’s

market for over a decade, while Japanese goods in the automotive sector

now comprise 25 percent of our market.

Let me repeat that, the United States

goods are frozen to 1.5 percent of Japan’s market through market control

in that country, while Japan’s goods

now consume a 25-percent share of our

market.

For the sake of our Nation, in which

one of six jobs is directly connected to

the automotive industry and for the

sake of nearly a million American

workers who work in this country in

the auto sector, I urge the Clinton administration to hang tough with

Japan. The United States maintains a

trade balance in automotive goods with

every other industrialized nation in the

world. I repeat, the United States is a

competitive country in the automotive

sector. We maintain a trade balance

with every other industrialized country

in the world but for one, but for Japan.

So why should Japan not behave like

the rest of the industrialized world? We

wish the Clinton administration great

success because if we can be successful

for America, we will also be successful

for the rest of the world in Japan, because, in fact, less than 4 percent of Japan’s market is comprised of automotive goods from any country in the

world, Europe, Asia, the United States.

All are closed out.

ELIMINATE THE IN-SCHOOL

INTEREST SUBSIDY

fThe SPEAKER pro tempore. Under

the Speaker’s announced policy of May

12, 1995, the gentleman from Florida

[Mr. WELDON] is recognized during

morning business for 5 minutes.

Mr. WELDON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I would like to address the issue of

the Republican proposal to eliminate

the in-school interest subsidy. There is

going to be a lot of rhetoric and dialog,

and I think the air needs to be cleared

as to exactly what is going on with this

issue. I can get up here and say that I

was a student who took advantage of

the student loan program and the inschool interest subsidy. Though I

worked my way through college in

order to help get through medical