H 5630 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE June 7, 1995

taxpayers and the most dubious in

their results. I did not say that. That is

the letter sent by the Americans for

Tax Reform group.

Taxpayer group after taxpayer group

sends us letters urging us to revise and

overhaul this long-overdue, complicated, foreign bureaucracy we have.

This is what we have, how complicated it is. Even Dr. Henry Kissinger

says that the Agency for International

Development is among the worst agencies he has ever seen. It is that bad.

By making common sense from this

complicated bureaucratic system we

have in controlling foreign aid, changing to this, under our new bill, from

year to year, we can save $1.8 billion.

That is why we support this bill

today. I urge my colleagues to support

this.

MEDICARE CUTS TO MISSOURI

RURAL HOSPITALS PAY FOR

fTAX BREAKS FOR WEALTHY

(Mr. VOLKMER asked and was given

permission to address the House for 1

minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. VOLKMER. Mr. Speaker, it is

flimflam time in the U.S. House of

Representatives again. What do I mean

by that? When we passed the budget,

the Republican budget calls for huge

cuts in Medicare in order to give tax

breaks for the wealthy.

But when the Republican Members

went back home, they said, ‘‘No, we’re

not making big cuts in Medicare. We’re

strengthening Medicare. We’re improving Medicare.’’

Well, I went home and I talked to my

hospital administrators, three of them,

including one in my hometown. On Friday, I will be visiting three more rural

hospitals.

What did they say? They did not say

that Republican budget cuts in Medicare will improve Medicare, will

strengthen Medicare. No. In my regional hospital at Hannibal, MO, by the

year 2002, a loss of $1.5 million a year

in cuts—$1.5 million jeopardizes my

hospital.

What about Moberly Regional, $1

million in lost revenue. Audrain County Medicare, $1 million in lost revenue,

jeopardizing rural hospital care with

those Medicare cuts to give tax breaks

for the wealthy.

WIDE GRASSROOTS SUPPORT

CITED FOR PASSAGE OF AMERfICAN OVERSEAS INTERESTS ACT

(Mr. GILMAN asked and was given

permission to address the House for 1

minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, later

today the House will resume work on

H.R. 1561—the American Overseas Interests Act. It recognizes that the cold

war is over by proposing the most important and comprehensive reform and

reorganization of our foreign affairs activities in nearly 50 years.

Our legislation rolls up three independent cold war agencies and cuts

spending by $3 billion over 2 years.

While the administration threatens to

veto our bill, a broad array of grassroots organizations supports it, including citizens against Government

Waste, the National Taxpayers Union

Foundation, the Association of Concerned Taxpayers, and the Eagle

Forum, to name just a few.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1561 offers an opportunity to streamline and downsize

the Federal Government and cut spending while continuing to project American influence and power around the

world in a cost-effective manner.

Accordingly, I urge my colleagues to

support the American Overseas Interests Act on final passage.

MEDICARE CUTS THREATEN HOSPITALS IN SMALL-TOWN AMERfICA

(Mr. DURBIN asked and was given

permission to address the House for 1

minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. Speaker, if you

have ever gotten into your car in the

middle of the night to drive a critically

injured or critically ill person to the

hospital, you know that every minute

seems like an hour. You pray to God

that you will get to that hospital in

time to save the life of someone you

love very much.

That is what the debate on the floor

or the House of Representatives is all

about when we talk about the future of

Medicare. Because if the Republicans

have their way and cut $282 billion out

of Medicare over the next several years

to fund a tax break for wealthy Americans, we are going to see hospitals closing in America, particularly in my part

of the world in small-town America. It

will mean for a lot of people a much

longer drive in the middle of the night,

many more prayers, and a lot more

hope that they will make it in time.

Is this the Republican vision of

America which people voted for last

November? I don’t think so. I hope the

Gingrich Republicans will abandon this

tax cut program that they have put

forward and will instead focus on really

strengthening Medicare instead of the

cuts that they are proposing which will

close hospitals across the United

States.

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A MODIFIED FLAT TAX PROPOSAL

CALLED MCFLAT

(Mr. SOUDER asked and was given

permission to address the House for 1

minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I favor

tax cuts for the American families. I

believe American families can do more

for themselves than the Government.

Mr. Speaker, the American people devote 5.4 billion hours and $232 billion

every year to comply with the United

States Tax Code. Furthermore, billions

of dollars are then spent by the IRS to

administer and enforce these tax laws.

To reform this unwieldy system, our

majority leader, Congressman DICK

ARMEY has put forward a flat tax proposal that can simplify our system and

provide a new contract with the American people.

We have all heard the phrase ‘‘you

deserve a break today’’ and now I want

to help put those words into action.

Today I will be introducing a modified

flat tax proposal called McFlat. the

‘‘m’’ stands for mortgage and the ‘‘c’’

stands for charitable. McFlat incorporates the meat of Congressman

ARMEY’s flat tax along with deductions

for mortgage interest and charitable

contributions.

McFlat can provide the arches, so to

speak, between those that want a simpler and fairer system and those of us

who feel that it is essential to retain

deductions for homes, churches, and

charities. McFlat is the simple and fair

way to revolutionize the American Tax

Code.

THE NEED FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF AN OUTSIDE COUNSEL

f(Mr. BONIOR asked and was given

permission to address the House for 1

minute.)

Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, when is

NEWT GINGRICH going to learn that he

is not above the rules of this House?

Earlier this year, Mr. GINGRICH announced he would not sign his $4.5 million book deal until the Ethics Committee approved it. But now he has

changed his mind.

Even though the book is still under

investigation, not only has Mr. GINGRICH signed the book deal, he has embarked on a Rupert Murdoch-financed

book tour to hawk his book.

At a time when the American taxpayers will be paying his salary, Mr.

GINGRICH is going to be on the road

promoting a book that will make him a

multimillionaire.

Mr. GINGRICH’s lawyers said that

since there has been no ruling, they

just assumed that no rules have been

broken. The Ethics Committee issued a

strong rebuke: ‘‘You should make no

such assumption.’’

Mr. Speaker, no Member of this

House is above the rules, not even the

Speaker.

The only way we are going to get to

the bottom of this case is to appoint an

outside counsel to investigate.

THE UNITED STATES-JAPAN AUTO

fDISPUTE

(Ms. KAPTUR asked and was given

permission to address the House for 1

minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)

Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, what is

wrong with this picture? Regardless of

the yen-dollar exchange rate, United

States market share of the Japanese