macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 1983-08-01
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution expressing the sense of tile Congress that the Federal Government should maintain current efforts in Federal nutrition programs to prevent increases in domestic hunger. as amended.
Date: 1983-08-01
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky . the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor.
Date: 1983-08-01
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanlmous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on the concurrent resolution just considered. The SPE KER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman -from Texas?
Date: 1983-08-01
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. as you are aware. under House rule X. clause 1(a). the Committee on Agriculture has jurisdiction over forestry in general and forest reserves other than those created from the public domain. Speaking as chairman of the Agriculture Committee. I can say that we feel very strongly about protecting the jurisdictional interests of the committee. The Missouri wilderness bill was reported by the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs at the beginning of todays session and relerred to the Committee on Agriculture for a period of 2 hours. I have persunally followed the development of this legislation and have been assured that all concrined parties are satisified with the compromise that has been struck in the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. Thus. because the Congress will soon enter its summer recess. the Committee on Agriculture has been asked to expedite its review and allow this bill to be presented on todays Suspension Calendar. I have no objection to the House considering the bill today and support Its passage as a compromise that meets the needs of all the concerned parties. Mr. Speaker. the expedited consideration of this bill is done in light of the severe time restrictions which are now present. Hbwever. if any of the provisions of this bill relating to matters within the Jurisdiction of the Committee on Agriculture should become an issue with the Senate. I intend to request that the Agriculture Committee be represented in any conference which may be held.
Date: 1983-08-02
Speaker: DE LUGO (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of the legislation. Mr. Speaker. I wish to add to the voices of many of my colleagues who rise in support of Mrs. HALLs bill designating Martin Luther Kings birthday as a holiday. I find it hard to view my comments as part of a debate on the issue since it seems that the conclusion must be foregone: This country needs to celebrate Martin Luther Kings birthday. We need to celebrate the Individual who epitomized the struggles of many black leaders in this country and whose discipline and strength of purpose brought black Americans further into the mainstream of this country than any single person in our history. Martin Luther Kings achievement is important for all Americans. for the further we are from discrimination. the closer we are to the pride and dig. nity we all want to feel about these United States. Thus. apart from the recognition due to a man to whom we all owe an immense debt. Americans need this day as a reminder of the commitment we all must have to the values set forth in our Constitution. These are values which we personally hold as immutable and which we have August -0. 1983 an interest in protecting for each other. I urge any Member who may have doubts on this matter to consider the importance that celebrating Martin Luther Kings birthday holds for the very spirit of our Nation.
Date: 1983-08-02
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I move to strike the requisite number of words. I rise in support of the Williams amendment. Mr. Chairman. I do so to bring out a couple of factors. First. one with which I am concerned and makes me feel that maybe the House would need to remind itself of the conception of this legislation. I did not support the first revenue sharing legislation for the same reason that now my distinguished colleague. the gentleman from Texas. the chairman. and the distinguished ranking minority member are opposing the amendment. I said then that it was inequitable. that we were only going to help those that already had and did not need. I remember the chairman then answering that question that. yes. it was geared to those that were efficient. to those that were productive. to those that got more taxes from their populace. I think now the gentleman from Ohio is bringing some degree of equity and Justice. Call it another program. OK. This is the vehicle we have before us and more studies or arguing that you are not going to get accurate figures. I think that argument we should not even discuss. Let me tell you what the accurate figures could be. The members of tlhe committee are concerned with what is going to happen to the $450 million. I will tell you what is going to happen if we do not adopt this amendment. It will be split between Montgomery County. Md.. and Fairfax County. Va. That is where all the $450 million could go. because those are the two highest per capita income counties in the country. Those are the two highest tax collection counties in the country and that is where your $450 million is going. to the two highest income counties in the country.
Date: 1983-08-02
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

The gentleman agrees with me. The two highest areas of unemployment that need to be targeted are the inner cities. the large cities. and the rural areas. this is where you have the high unemployment. I see nothing wrong with adding a little degree of equity to this legislation. to quote the chairman of the committee. I see nothing wrong to add legitimacy to this legislation and bring a little equity and a little justice. Unless you want to split it with a very few rich counties. I think the best thing we could do at this point is to support the amendment of the gentleman from Ohio. because this added money could just go to two or three counties. really. Otherwise. we will not be helping those who need it at this time.
Date: 1983-08-03
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I think many Members of this House were surprised late yesterday when we learned. through the news media. that President Reagan is going to create a task force on hunger. But I want to say this morning that we welcome the Presidents interest. For more than 2 years. Mr. Speaker. Congress has been trying to make a couple of simple facts about this problem clear to officials of the administration. Yes. we want to cut out fraud. waste and abuse in food programs. Yes. we want to eliminate spending that does not help poor people. And yes. we have acted repeatedly in those fields. But no. we do not want to reduce the already thin benefits for those who are truly in need. During much of this time. the basic answer from the administration has beencut the budget. They have saidcut. cut. cut. and now we find the President saying he is "perplexed" by news stories about hunger. And we find a special assistant to the President quoted as saying the Government has no statistics on hunger. but it wants to find out what is going on. Mr. Speaker. I can suggest a simple solution. Let the President or his assistants call me on the telephone. I can arrange for them to get some evidence about what is going on. For much of this year. one of the subcommittees of our House Committee on Agriculture has been looking into the hunger problem. Mr. PANETTA of California. the chairman of the subcommittee. or
Date: 1983-08-03
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I would like to ask one question. In calling up my amendment a few moments ago. I gave the date that it was printed in the RECORD and the page number at which it appeared. Would it be possible to require that of other amendments that are submitted so that we could save a lot of time?
Date: 1983-08-03
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I rise in opposition. Congress is. indeed. in firm controb of the IMF quota increase. That is quite obvious as a result of the hearings we held last year in the last Congress on this particular increase. very extensive hearings that were held before the various subcommittees of the Committee on Banking as well as before the full committee. and the very elaborate and extensive debate that has been held on the floor of this House. For that reason. I think that. indeed. we are in consultation. we are the ones who are approving or disapproving. In addition to that. in the amendment that was adopted last week. we indeed stated that the President and the Secretary of the Treasury has to consult with the Congress before any additional commitments are made to the IMF. For that reason. I oppose the amendment.
Date: 1983-08-03
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I hope that I have time enough left to yield to the gentleman. I yield to the gentleman from Ohio.
Date: 1983-08-03
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I rise in strong support of the amendment. As I recall. we inquired of the Chairman of the FDIC about this amendment and he indeed agreed that the FDIC should be represented and I. therefore. recommend acceptance and adoption of the amendment.
Date: 1983-08-03
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. the need for greater oversight on the activities of the Federal Bank supervisory agencies is painfully apparent and our colleague. the distinguished chairman of the Commerce. Consumer. and Monetary Affairs Subcommittee. is to be commended for bringing this audit bill to the floor. "And I know that Ben Rosenthal Joins me in commending Jack Brooks. chairman of the full Committee on Government Operations. who has so steadfastly supported the work of the subcommittee and who has worked diligently to clear the roadblocks from the path of this muchneeded legislation. It has been an excellent display of teamwork within the committee and it i the kind of cooperation that makes legislation move." (Cong. Rec.. October 14. 1977. p. 33783) Immediately following the joint hearings. the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions Supervision. Regulation and Insurance conducted hearings on International Banks Operations at which time the GAO testified concerning the lack of country risk evaluation system. Subsequently. such a system has been established and GAOs evaluation of that system. pursuant to authority conferred by P.L 95320. became a part of this Committees deliberations on international lending legislation. It may be necessary at some point in the future to amend the Federal Banking Audit Act of 1978 as requested by Comptroller General Bowsher in his testimony April 20. A copy of his testimony is enclosed for your Information. We do feel. however. for the time being that the clarifying language of Section 311 should be of invaluable assistance. I very much appreciate the willingness of the Committee on Government Operations. which is the authorizing committee for the General Accounting Office and which approved the Banking Agency Audit Act in 1978. to permit the Banking Committee to clarify GAOs right to audit certain international activities of the Federal bank. Ing agencies. We know that should an amendment to the Act itself .be necessary that we can rely upon the assurances given during markup by our good friend and colleague Doug Barnard. in carrying on the splendid tradition of excellence established by Ben Rosenthal. that the Commerce. Consumer & Monetary Affairs Subcommittee of Government Operations will give speedy and thoughtful consideration to approving such an amendment4 and that. in the interim. he will indeed use the Sec. 311 mandate to monitor both GAO and the regulators to strengthen our present regulatory system insofar as international lending is concerned. Your continued support and cooperation Is especially appreciated. I look forward to a dialogue with you on the floor when H.R. 2957 is scheduled. With kindest personal regards. Sincerely.
Date: 1983-08-03
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank the gentleman for yielding. He is chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Operations. on which I used to serve. I think he is aware of the fact that I was indeed responsible for the legislation that was adopted in Government Operations a few years back on this subject.
Date: 1983-08-03
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I raise a point of order against the amendment. The amendment proposes to change a portion of the bill that has already been changed in an amendment to strike out and insert new text contained in the St Germain amendment agreed to on Friday. July 29. It is not in order to either amend or move to strike language previously agreed to in an amendment to strike and insert new text (Deschlers chapter 27. section 29). I ask the Chair to rule the amendment out of order.
Date: 1983-08-03
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. the amendment proposes to change a portion of the bill that has already been amended in the St Germain amendment adopted earlier. It is not in order to amend the text of a bill that has previously been perfected by amendment (Deschlers ch. 27. sec. 27.) I ask the Chair to rule the amendment not in order.
Date: 1983-08-03
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman. I think it is proper to remind the members of the fact that in the substitute that I offered on behalf of myself and the gentleman from Ohio last Friday that was adopted overwhelmingly by the membership of this House. the amendment contained a section stating that the Secretary of the Treasury would certify to the Congress the fact that the IMP had taken every step possible. including looking Into the possibility or probability of selling some of the gold. a portion of the gold. or indeed of using the gold as collateral. So we have addressed the dilemma here that some people have about the fact that there is gold that Is now owned by the IMF by stating that the IMF should indeed look to the use of this gold in a proper manner so as to not sell the gold in any way. shape. or fashion that would reduce the price of gold or adversely affect the markets. We have got to remember that selling gold would have the same interest rate effect as if we had the Treasury borrowing necessitated by the quota increase. The Treasury sale of securities reduces the pool of loanable funds. and similarly. the sale of gold August J. 1983 reduces demand deposits. which are also a source of loanable funds.
Date: 1983-08-03
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I rise in opposition to the amendment. Mr. Chairman. I think it is important that we not lose sight of the amendment that is before us. I shall not take too much time. I ask my staff member to tug at my coattail here in about a minute and a half so I may address the amendment. As to the quote from the study. it is from a very lengthy study. and the gentleman from North Dakota arrives at some very interesting conclusions. But. very frankly. when I began the hearings before the full Committee on Banking on this legislation back last year. one of the first caveats I came up with was to ask the proponents from the administration. the Federal Reserve Board. and the other witnesses as to the adequacy of the request for the increase and when they might think another request for an increase might be made. I also made it very clear to them that we would consider the pending increase very carefully. and that they were on notice of the fact that increases in the future would be looked at with even more stringency than this one. And believe you me. I say to the ladies and gentlemen of the House. never before have such thorough hearings been held. and never before has such a study been made. Certainly anything is possible. It is possible indeed that the gentleman from North Dakota might vote for the legislation at the conclusion of our entreaties. That is possible. Probably not. The report from which he read an excerpt was one. as he himself stated. that took some verywell. let me quote from it: These calculations are of course hypothetical and in practice. it Is highly unlikely that the present cumulative access limits would be reached as a result of arrangements at the current annual or triennial access limits if repurchases are made on schedule. Therefore. I want to make it very clear that the report is very hypothetical. Now. let us get to the amendment itself. and I am not about to yield any time. Let us get to the amendment itself. The amendment presented by the gentleman from North Dakota has to do with fees and the restructuring of fees. I think -it is important that we recall the fact that we have indeed addressed this in three other areas alikeady in our amendments and in the bill itself. The amendment that was offered by the gentleman from Rhode Island on behalf of himself and the gentleman from Ohio . the Schumer amendment. as well as title IV of the reported bill all addressed this issue. So as a result thereof. I think it is important to realize that we have not neglected this. We have addressed it. Therefore. I would call for defeat of the amendment.
Date: 1983-08-03
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I want to thank the gentleman for his contribution. I want to repeat that in the opinion of the chairman of the committee. we have sufficiently addressed this area of controversy. For that reason. I recommend defeat of the amendment.
Date: 1983-08-03
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I raise a point of order against the amendment on the ground that it affects matters beyond the scope of the legislation and is therefore not germane. The bill directs the Secretary of the Treasury to take certain actions regarding the IMP international lending institutions. and affects lending by U.S. banks. The amendment requires the Secretary of the Treasury to redeem gold for Federal Reserve notes. This. in turn. would require the Federal Reserve to manage the money supply with a eye toward keeping the market and dollarconvertible gold prices equal. Such a policy would be an abrupt shift from managing the money supply to maximize U.S. employment and price stability. as is now required by the Federal Reserve Act. Neither of these topicsthe Secretarys responsibilitie6 with respect to the value of gold. nor the monetary policy duties of the Federal Reserveare covered by the legislation. Thus. the amendment would require the Secretary of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve to take actions beyond the scope of the bill and far different in character than those required in the bill. I ask the Chair to rule the imendment out of order.
Date: 1983-08-03
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Chairman. I raise a point of order against the amendment on the ground that it affects matters beyond the scope of the legislation and is therefore not germane. The bill directs the Secretary of the Treasury to take certain actions regarding the IMF. international lending institutions and affects lending by U.S. banks. The amendment requires the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a par value for the dollar in gold. In order to do this the Secretary would have to take some action in the gold market to defend this action. such as agreeing to sell gold at its par value. This. in turn. would require the Federal Reserve to manage the money supply with an eye toward keeping the market and dollarconvertible gold prices equal. Such a policy would be an abrupt shift from managing the money supply to maximize U.S. employment and price stability. as is now required by the Federal Reserve Act. Neither of these topicsthe Secretarys responsibilities with respect to the value of gold. nor the monetary policy duties of the Federal Reserveare covered by the legislation Thus. the amendment would require the Secrdtary of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve to take actions beyond the scope of the bill and far different in character than those required in the bill. I ask the Chair to rule the amendment out of order.
Date: 1983-08-03
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I want to extend my appreciation to the gentleman for yielding so that I might rise in opposition to the amendment. Mr. Chairman. I must say the chairman of our subcommittee spoke very eloquently. as did the ranking member on the minority. and to those Members who are not on the floor at the moment. as floor manager of this legislation I woul Ike to deliver a message via our eXtilent telecommunications network to the effect that we could certainly conclude this legislation early this evening if we could get more of our colleagues to join us. Now that you have been working feverishly at your desks long enough. you might want to come over here and join us in . August . 1983 this wonderful debate. We will have a quorum present. We. can avoid the quorum calls and really move this legislation along and give everyone an opportunity to hear the debate on both sides. Mr. Chairman. I thank my colleague. the distinguished chairman of the subcommittee. for yielding this very precious time to me.
Date: 1983-08-03
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. It is all well and good to make a plea such as this. And it sounds terrific. But let us look at the facts. At the present time the interest rate charged on IMF loans depends on how they are funded. Loans financed from quota resources carry a charge of 6.6 percent. Loans financed from borrowed funds reflect the cost of these funds to the IMF. currently around 10 percent. As a practical matter. loans are usually granted from both these funds and end up being given at approximately 9 percent. Now. why do I oppose this amendment? It sounds great. oh. sure. We know what is happening to our small businessmen. I have as many small business people. probably many more in my district. who have had problems. than the gentleman who offers the amendment. But while I sympathize with their plight when the interest rates go up. I can also point out that high interest rates were one of the key causes of the problem we now face internationally. And I think it would be far wiser for us to explore ways of reducing the cost of capital for our small businessmen than to seek ways of increasing the cost of capital to these countries who are already strapped to the bone. August . 1983 Two wrongs do not make a right. And in this instance I think that is about all we would be doing. Now this has nothing to do with Communist nations. nothing whatsoever. As a matter of fact. the amendment that was adopted a few moments ago states that there will not be any IMF loans or we should oppose any IMF loans rather to any Communist nations. So that herring has now been cleansed. It is no longer red. It is a pure white herring.
Date: 1983-08-03
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

I am sorry. I must reclaim my time. Mr. Chairman. I am sending an amendment up to the desk. an amendment to the amendment. Mr. Chairman. if I ask that the amendment be read. does it come out of the 5 minutes in opposition to that amendment?