macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 1983-07-18
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of H.R. 24. a bill to make certain Iand owned by the United States in the State of New York part of the Green Mountain National Forest. The bill would make federally owned land. which is referred to as the Hector land utilization project. part of the Green Mountain National Forest. The Hector project. which consists of some 13.000 acres. was acqtuired by thle Federal Government under farm relief legislation of thle 1930s. including the BankheadJones Farm Tenant Act. While the project is not currently included within any national forerst. It has. for management purposes. been administered by the Forest Service ot.t of the Green Mountain National Forest. Resident% of the State of New York and other visitors to the area for many years enjoyed the recreational opportunities provided by the Hector project. The area Is used for hunting. fishing. camping. hiking. and other I otutdoor activities. It has served envis ronmental. education. and demonstraI tion purposes for educational instituL. tions. Approximately 6.000 acres of Sthle area contains timber which has been commercially harvested. Another 4.800 acres of thle project are fenced and used for cattle grazing. In short. thle Hector projectwhich Is. by the ifway. thle only land in thle State of New if York administered by thle Forest Serv11 icehas furnished diverse benefits to e those who have had access to It. The Hector project has been identified by the Department of Agriculture as land qualifying for sale tinder existing authority and will be studied for sale at some future date. This possibility has galvanized the New York congressional delegation and thousands of individual citizens. There has been overwhelming support for including the Hector project within the Green Mountain National Forest. thus precluding its sale without the authorization of Congress. The Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment has testified that the Department does not object to enactment of the bill. The Congressional Budget Office has informed the committee that no additional costs to Federal. State. or local governments would be incurred as a result of enactment of I his bill. In view of all of these circumstances. it is apparent why the Committee on Agriculture ordered H.R. 24 reported to the House by a unanimous voice vote. I believe it merits the same degree of support by Members of this body.
Date: 1983-07-18
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York . acosponsor of this legislation.
Date: 1983-07-18
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I am happy and glad and indeed elated. I think. that Vermont has joined the Union and that equity has now been prevailed upon and. hopefully. this legislation will bring further bonds of friendship. admiration and respect between the two peoples.
Date: 1983-07-18
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on the bill. H.R. 24. just passed. and that I may be permitted to include extraneous matter in my remarks on H.R. 3385. the bill previously considered.
Date: 1983-07-21
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker. I would like to bring out the fact that the committee has been working in concert. in cooperation with. and at the request of the administration. I am talking now about the President himself. who had me and the gentleman from Ohio down to his office. asking for our assistance in having this legislation enacted. The administration also is aware of the budget waivers and they support same for this legislation. I find myself in a position here. as chairman of the committee. on this side of the aisle. attempting to comply with the wishes and the requests of the President of the United States himself. I am hopeful that as many Members on that side of the aisle as possible would also support their President in this instance.
Date: 1983-07-21
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker. it is similar to people going into a chapter 11 reorganization in bankruptcy. For a period of time they have to pull in their reins. stop spending as much as they did. reevaluate everything. so that they can regain their health and then continue to participate in the system. That is what it is all about.
Date: 1983-07-21
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I do not know what Secretary Regan may have said to anybody on that side of the aisle. but with respect to interest rates. we had the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. who has just been reappointed by the President of the United States. before us in our full committee yesterday on the HumphreyHawkins hearings. One of the questions was: What effect would the failure of adoption of this legislation. the increased participation in IMF. have on interest rates?
Date: 1983-07-21
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. in answer to the question. the Federal Reserve Board Chairman made it very clear that in his opinionand I. frankly. value the opinion of the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Boardhe thinks that indeed it would have an adverse effect on interest rates. that indeed it would mean an increase in interest rates. It would not be that alone. but that would be a very terrible factor in increasing interest rates. So Secretary Regan is not alone in that opinion.
Date: 1983-07-21
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

The gentleman has more understanding than I have. The debate will indeed occur on Monday. We have been granted that time. The House is operating under a tight schedule. We have a commitment from the Speaker to use the time for general debate on Monday and that is as far as we have gotten at this point.
Date: 1983-07-21
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

We would like to do that. if the gentleman will yield. but you see it is not always that which we desire but that which we can accomplish.
Date: 1983-07-21
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker. Members of the House. I think that this debate has been meaningful. The gentleman from Michigan stated that this is an issue. or the issues contained in the legislation covered by this rule are issues that deserve full consideration on the floor of this House. I might say to the membership of this House that never before in the history of any of this legislation. particularly the IMF participation. including the original hearings under which this legislation was originally adopted. never ever has there been such comprehensive. lengthy. and total hearings as we have held in this instance. We started the hearings last year. in the last Congress. so that we would get a leg up on it. So. there has been no attempt whatsoever. in any way. shape. manner. or fashion to preclude full discussion and debate. Every member of our committee has had every opportunity to question witnesses. to call in witnesses. to have people come in with testimony. So. we have not in any way tried to shove this through or move it through without full participation. Under the amendatory process every Member will have more than ample time to discuss their amendments and make their views known. This is over and beyond the period of time during which we will have general debate. I am hopeful. Incidentally. that at that point in time the gentleman who has been floating the goldbug around here for so long on the IMF. will. rather than just coming up with vague allusions as to what might be done or how this gold might be utilized. come up with a concrete amendment. Let us. you know. put our amendment where our mouth is. rather than just keep talking about gold in very illusory and vague terms. I am looking forward to seeing that amendment so we can address the amendment and see what validity it has and whether or not it should be adopted. I am hopeful it will be discussed with the administration as well. In conclusion. I want to congratulate everybody and commend everyone who participated in the debate today. But let us not lose sight of one thing. what we are voting on now is the rule. not the legislation. We are asking for an open rule to give each and every Member full opportunity t6 utilize the amendatory process. No question of muzzling anyone. So. on behalf of the committee and on behalf. believe it or not. of the President of the United States. I ask each and every one of you to support this rule so the legislation can be properly debated and subjected to the amendatory process that this House holds so dear. With that. I yield back the balance of my time.
Date: 1983-07-25
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I would like to yield myself 30 seconds. Mr. Chairman. I would like to observe that when I look at the jobs related to manufacturing exports in value of agricultural exports. I just observed that agricultural exports from North Dakota are $1.143.000.000.
Date: 1983-07-25
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Let us examine this argument that the gentleman is making. and that has been made by others. What is the alternative. kind sir?
Date: 1983-07-25
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I yield 2 additional minutes to the gentleman from New York. Now. I would say to the gentleman. If Mexico or Brazil or any of the other countries involved do not have assistance. do not gain assistance from the IMP. if there is not a restructuring of the loans with or without the gentlemans amendment. let us forget his amendment for a moment.
Date: 1983-07-25
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I know the gentleman has difficulty doing it. but he is a brilliant gentleman and he can put himself in that position. The fact of the matter is. exports from this country or Imports to those countries just become nil. They are obliterated. They no longer exist. Is that not correct?
Date: 1983-07-25
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

And who knows when in the future these countries could- resume importing? No one knows. No one knows. But we do know that despite the difficult conditionsand I do not say I agree with what Mr. de Larosiere and the IMF does in imposing conditions all the time: Just because his name is French does not mean he has all knowledgethe fact remains that some conditions have to be imposed upon these nations. That having been done. there is a reasonable expectation that they will resume importing in the future and exporting in the near term so that they can resume importing in the future. That is what we. in our selfinterest. look at in this legislation to accomplish. Is that not the case?
Date: 1983-07-25
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

That is the philosophy we espouse. because I feel that the gentleman in the long run is going to support this legislation. I think he is working hard on his amendment.
Date: 1983-07-25
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Beyond that. I think the important thing is that the gentleman is a very responsible individual. I have gotten to know him very well over the years that he has been here and I know he wants to support this legislation because he believes in his heart that we have to do something. Is that not correct?
Date: 1983-07-25
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Now. Mr. Chairman. I will allow the gentleman to complete his statement. and I thank him for allowing me to interrupt.
Date: 1983-07-25
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I yield myself 2 minutes. I would like to make a point here. A few months back there were some country bankers that came into my office. They came in to make two points. One was to eliminate. repeal. the requirement for withholding of the taxes on interest. We all recall the campaign of misinformation that was waged by the financial institutions of this country on that one. They scared our senior citizens to death. making them think we were imposing a new tax upon them. so as a result of that. weperhaps before we go home for the August recesswill finalize action in repealing that requirement that people pay their legitimate taxes by requiring withholding taxes on interest and dividends. The same bankers in the same breath said. "And whatever you do. do not bail out the big banks." I looked them straight in the eye and I said. "How hypocritical can you be? If it is coming out of your pocket. if there is a subsidy to go. why are you opposed?" Because it was going to eat into their profits. they thought. for them to withhold taxes on Interest in their institutions. Well. by cracky. they were against and are still against increased participation in the IMF. because they think that is a bailout. In other words. they want it all their way. but never any other way or anyone elses way. They have all knowledge. Talking about all knowledge. yes. we should listen to staff. but you see. the Banking Committee has a fantastic staff. a bipartisan. excellent staff. It is much better now than it was before. because certain Individuals are no longer on that committee as staffers. They have gone to other places. thank God. We do not listen to them there any more than we did when they were with us.
Date: 1983-07-25
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. 1 yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan a distinguished members again of our committee. a very distinguished committee replete with distinguished members.
Date: 1983-07-25
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia . Georgia. believe me. exports more than just peaches and it grows more than just peaches. It. grows airplanes and carpeting and chickens and it grows Barnards.
Date: 1983-07-25
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Initially. I would like to say that if the IMF sold its gold at this point in time. it certainly would have a very dramatic adverse impact on our own markets. That will be discussed in further detail when admendments are offered to the legislation. I would like to thank everyone who participated in this debate today. whether they be for or against the legislation. It was a debate in which people. in all sincerity. .expressed very deepfelt views. But I would say the debate on the floor today is also a reflection and a repeat of the very extensive debate and hearings held in the Committee on Banking. Finance and Urban Affairs. because certainly in that committee. we have a diverse membership. We have liberals. we have conservatives. we have goldbugs. we have just. about every ilk possible in the economic strata and in the political strata. And they were all afforded ample opportunity to discuss this legislation. to question the witnesses. to listen to the testimony. to ask that witnessess be heard. And when it was all over. after a very thorough amendatory process. a very tough one. the legislation was reported from that committee with a very substantial vote. And that is because after giving it very serious thought. the members of that committee determined that. yes. indeed it was in the best interest of this country.
Date: 1983-07-25
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that I be allowed to insert in the RECORD. in one instance. a statement that would appear within my opening statement on the legislation before the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union. At the time I gave my statement. I stated I would put the facts as to the employment situation. as to agricultural exports. and a table. In addition to that. I have a number of communications. six in number. letters of support for the legislation that we have just been debating in the Committee of the Whole. I ask unanimous consent to insert those in the RECORD at the conclusion of my opening statement.
Date: 1983-07-25
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks. and to include extraneous material. on the legislation just considered.
Date: 1983-07-26
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. an international disaster has taken place in our hemispheric neighborhood. Hundreds of thousands of the already poor and destitute have been ravaged in Brazil by unprecedented flooding. The flooding has devastated at least three states: Parana. Santa Catarina. and Rio Grande do Sul. Small towns of 3.000 to 5.000 have been totally wiped out. In Santa Catarina. there are at least 200.000 homeless. Cros have been drowned out of existence. livestock losses continue to mount. and worst of all. gastrointestinal problems in t ae homeless population have begun to occur. The U.S. Embassy has generously donated $25.000 to help the Brazilian Government. and the United States has provided an additional $182.000 for local procurement of 19.000 wool blankets. Obviously. this is not enough. Why has the United States been slow to respond to this crisis? Because the State Department Agency for International Developments activities in Brazil were terminated in the 1970s and only a minimal program remains for Brazil. Our Nation can overcome any technicality such as this. and it can be overcome in the case of a disaster. Although the stricken country must formally request the aid. They are our hemispheric neighbors and we as a Nation must find a vehicle for immediate assistance. Mr. Speaker. I am appealing to you. all our colleagues in this body. and to the President and his administration to find some way to help the.Brazilians in their time of need. Mother Nature does not obey the strictures of politics. she strikes randomly in spite of political technicalities. These are people suffering. and we have the ability to help them but we must rise above our political limitations. Can we not do something? There is no better way to show our neighbor nations that we care about them (despite other differences) than to lend a helping hand during an emergencya disaster they did not ask for. If we do not help now. in some way. it would be the same as if a manlooking out the window of his homesaw his neighbors house afire and simply drew his curtains. We cannotshould notturn our backs and many years later name a commission to study what went wrongand perhaps recommend a longterm policy for the future. Mr. Speaker. and my colleagues. the future is now for our neighbors in Brazil.
Date: 1983-07-26
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I move to strike the requisite number of words and I rise in opposition to the amendment. With all due deference and respect to the sponsor and to my very respected ranking minority member. I have to differ with them. The purpose of this section is very pure and simple. Let us call a spade a spade. I rise in opposition to the amendment because abuse of tied aid credits by foreign countries for years and years and years. long before I even came to this Congress. cost us jobs in our export industries. Now this competitive tied aid fund will allow us to counter these abuses and help preserve Jobs in our export industries. It is necessary and it is long overdue. That is why I oppose this amendment. Now. if the administration now findsand I have not heard from them previously that they have some reservations about thismy door is always open. I will be happy to chat with them. This legislation has a bit of traveling to do. we have a few highways to negotiate. And between now and then and at the time of the conference. I am sure we will have ample time to further discuss it. but if we do not have it in the bill. we will not have anything to discuss. I certainly would rather come down on the side of Jobs for U.S. citizens. for Americans. and then If it occurs to us. or it can be demonstrated to us on this side. that some changes have to be made that are perfecting or that will improve the section. certainly we will be sympathetic and cooperative. For that reason. Mr. Chairman. I have to rise in strong opposition to the amendment.
Date: 1983-07-26
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I would like to say to the distinguished member of our committee that I have. along with other members of our committee. looked at this amendment very carefully. It is brilliantly crafted. .nrd I want to commend the gentleman and say that we are most happy to accept his amendment. And I will bet that if the gentleman would yield to the gentleman on the other side of the aisle. he would get some good news.
Date: 1983-07-26
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I might say that this is getting almost to be a habit. but again I must commend the gentleman from Oregon
Date: 1983-07-26
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I want to say to the young gentleman from New York -and he is a young gentlemanand to the members of the committee that I know the gentleman has been working very diligently on this amendment for a long period of time. We have had innumerable conferences with - each other. as well as with staff. and as we know. the amendment was offered in the full committee. It came close to passing. but it did not prevail. However. since that time there has been a great deal of additional effort put into the amendment. I think that the gentleman has improved it substantially. As far as this side of the aisle is concerned. we are very happy to commend the gentleman and to accept his amendment. I would suggest that the gentleman might want to look to his left and yield to the genial gentleman from Ohio.
Date: 1983-07-26
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I tendency of IMP programs to allow move to strike the last word. private bank lenders to continue the I rise in further support of the shortterm. highinterest rate. high reamendment. scheduling fee lending habits they
Date: 1983-07-26
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

The gentleman heard me correctly. Just a moment. I Just read a letter from the Investment Bankers Association of thia country. They are not commercial bankers. they have no loans to these lesser developed countries. They are in the bond business. And they are the ones who are concerned.
Date: 1983-07-26
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

That question no one could answer. Interest rates are not controlled by this bill and no one act is going to get interest rates down. I am not Merlin the Magician nor is Paul Volcker. By the same token. we do know what does increase interest rates and we can have and do have control over some areas that will pre vent an increase. If the gentleman is willing to take a chance. so be it. As I say. 1 respect everybodys conclusion when they reach their conclusion. But I cannot say. "this will bring interest rates down." I would not stand here on this floor and lie to the people of America. That would be a lie because I do not have the sagacity to make that statement. nor does anyone else on this whole wide Earth. But I do say that the odds are that interest rates would go up.
Date: 1983-07-26
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

The chairman of this committee has no thoughts of knocking it out in conference. I just have to make that clear.
Date: 1983-07-26
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. if the gentleman will yield. I would remind the gentleman that I do not know how he voted on it. but we had legislation on the floor of the House from our committee not too long ago on mortgage forebearance. Did the gentleman support that legislation?
Date: 1983-07-26
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Well. that Is the one where we encouraged the regulators to forebear on foreclosures because of the high rate of unemployment.