macleginn/stanford_congress_record_longer_speeches huggingface dataset:
Date: 1988-04-26
Speaker: DE LUGO (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. the death of JIM HOWARD is a painful loss for all of us. He was a personal friend. a talented chairman of the Public Works Committee. and a model of a skillful legislator. It was an honor to work with him. to serve on the Public Works Committee with him. and just to see him In action when a major public works bill was nearing completion. The wonderful thing about .IM HOWARD. is that he was really in the right place. He didnt just happen Into the Public Works Committee. He took a passionate interest in roads. bridges. ports. and airports. There was no question of his concern for every section of this country. from east coast to west coast to distant territories. When he was putting together a public works bill. his energy was unlimited and his sheer pleasure at the job was unmatched. His vision of building a better America for everyone has left its mark on this entire country. In addition. his career shows us all how to grow as legislators. His basic interest in building better roads. ports. and airports was matched by his growing concerns for preserving our environment and providing better safety. At the same time that he pushed to build roads. he pushed to protect our water supply. clean up our toxic dumps. and raise the drinking age to 21 so that we would all be safer on the roads. He was always learning. always talking to various constituencies. and always trying to balance all the Interests in any piece of legislation. For my district. the U.S. Virgin Islands. his death Is a major blow. To be honest. he was not well known In my district. No more than a handful of Virgin Islanders ever met him. And he certainly did not win votes by paying attention to our problems. But this legislator from northern New Jersey Improved life for all Virgin Islanders by directly supporting our efforts to build up our infrastructure. He realized we are very dependent on our airports and ports. and he did all he could to Improve them. Chairman HOWARD managed to visit the Virgin Islands only once. and then only for 2 days. but his schedule was nonstop. He must have inspected every road. looked over every port. calculated the potential flood problems in every ravine. and evaluated numerous airport designs. You had to pity the drivers. schedulers. staffers and committee members who were expected to keep up with him. But. more important. you had to admire this chairman who worked so hard to learn every detail about his subject. and who took such pleasure in his work. I will certainly remember him with such admiration. respect and affection. I also want to extend my condolences to his entire family. especially to his lovely wife. Marlene. whom I have had the pleasure of meeting several times. and to his daughter. Marie. who is a valuable member of the professional staff of the Interior and Insular Affairs Committee.
Date: 1988-04-29
Speaker: WILLIAM J. ANDERSON (democrat)
Chamber: H

Assistant Comptroller General. U.S. General Accounting Office. Washington. DC. DEAR MR. ANDERSON: Thank you for your letter of December 1. 1986. allowing the Office of Management and Budget to review and comment on the GAO draft report entitled "Federal Productivity: Potential Savings from Private Sector Cost Comparisons." We concur with the reports findings and have only one comment. We do not believe that the footnote at the bottom of page 7 is necessary in the context used. The A76 policy that the footnote refers to states that there is no review of agency management decision. to declare activities inherently governrmental and therefore. not subject to coetition with the private sector. The footnote states that GAO will review the results of A76 cost comparisons If there is an allegation that an agency failed to comply with the established A76 rules. The two policies for review are not the same and the footnote could lead to some confusion. Your letter proposed a meeting to discuss OMBs comments. I do not believe that Is necessary due to our agreement with the report. Thank you again for allowing OMB to comment. Sincerely.
Date: 1988-05-02
Speaker: DOUG APPLEGATE (democrat)
Chamber: H

for his bipartisan spirit and cooperation. It is indeed an honor to work with him. As the chairman of the Subcommittee on Compensation. Pension. and Insurance. he has once again demonstrated his special commitment and ability to shepherd legislation on behalf of Americas veterans on to the House floor. Mr. Speaker. as an original cosponsor of H.R. 1811. I rise in strong support of the RadiationExposed Veterans Compensation Act. Previous speakers has explained this legislation well. and I concur with and associate myself with their comments. This Issue has been before the Congress for many years. and througl his work with our colleagues. the gentleman from Mississippi . the gentleman from New York . the gentleman from Arkansas . and the gentleman from Georgia . we have been able to strike a balance whereby we can accomplish what we have wanted to achieve for a long time within the constraints of budget limitations that they now face. however. as we try to come to grips with the problems of Americans who were exposed to ionizing radiation. there are no absolute answers. The presumptive diseases contained in H.R. 1811 are a reasonable and modest approach to compensate a number of those veterans affected by radiation. Mr. Speaker. the issues affecting atomic veterans cannot be considered In the context of absoluteness. but the fact that they do exist is absolute. If we err In our approach to H.R. 1811and I think that we do notthen we err on the side of compassion. on the side of granting the benefit of the doubt to these veterans who served their country well. The question before us is whether we can act on a possible. even probable presumption. or do we wait for all that scientific and medical certainty that we believe may never come. For my part. I believe that we should approve this legislation. and I request my colleagues to support this compromise bill. Mr. Speaker. I leave off as I began. expressing my appreciation to the gentleman from Georgia . the chairman and ranking members of the committee for their leadership and the service they do our country by their service here.
Date: 1988-05-03
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. the assistance programs being carried out by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation for failing and failed savings and loan Institutions are creating massive drains on the insurance fund. It is essential. Mr. Speaker. that the Congress watch these operations closely and make certain they are being carried out with efficiency. and at the lowest possible cost and in a manner that preserves a competitive financial system. As part of that oversight effort. the Banking. Finance and Urban Affairs Committee has been attempting to obtain basic information on the operations of the troubled Financial Corporation of America. the largest thrift holding company in the Nation with nearly $34 billion In assets. Today marks the 92st day since I asked for a set of detailed documents from FHLBB on FCA. Outside of a few publicly available items and press releasesand belatedly one confidential letterthe committee has been stonewalled. Now. even phone calls that have been initiated by the committees Investigative staffwhich I have assigned to work on FCAgo unanswered by the bureaucrats at FHLBB. Mr. Speaker. I suggest that the FHLBB wake up and face the fact that the committee will carry out its oversight responsibility. There are ways around the stonewall.
Date: 1988-05-03
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. together we gather to pay tribute to our former colleague. the Honorable MELVIN PRICE. It Is on such occasions as this when I think how there are times In life which contain both elements of joy as well as sorrow. This to me is one of those times. I fool sorrow for his passing and Iet joy for having had the privilege of knowing such a renowned Individual. MELVIN PRICC will be missed here. There are many reasons I say this. but I think foremost among them is the fact that whatever we do here In Congress while we deal with the impersonal law. It Is the personal Impact of the people chosen to represent that shapes our actions. The people of the 21st district of Illinois chose well when they sent MELVIN PRICE here and he has served them ably. Certainly his presence has been a positive one for both his constituents as well as for the country. A good mind and a realistic perspective coupled with individual courage and commitment are the qualities of a good Congressman and that MELVIN PRICE has been. As chairman of the House Armed Services Committee MELVIN PRICE worked to craft our Nations defense. He possessed a remarkable grasp of military matters. and we truly owe him a great debt for his ability to teach us to confront the issue of how we think and organize ourselves and to look at new policies and concepts for defense. For 23 years I have had the honor of knowing and working with MELVIN PRICE. I have admired his capacity for hard work. his brilliance and his ability to effectively legislate. Behind him MELVIN PRICE leaves an admirable record of 44 years of public service. and let us hope that the ideals and aspirations of this honorable man have not passed with him. but rather that the idea of a strong and free America which MELVIN PRICE so steadfastly championed will live on as an everlasting tribute to him.
Date: 1988-05-04
Speaker: THOMAS A. LUKEN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that tile Subcommittee on Transportation. Tourism and Hazardous Materials of the Committee on Energy and Commerce be permitted to sit today. May 4. 1988. while the House is reading for amendment under the 5minute rtile. to consider cigarette labeling and other matters.
Date: 1988-05-04
Speaker: BENJAMIN C. BRADLEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Executive Editor. The Washington Post. Washington. DC. DEAR Ma. BRADLEE: As the Directors of the U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) and the Defense Departments Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SD1O). we take serious Issue with the April 24 Washington Post story on the new OTA study of the Strategic Defense Initiative. The Post story offered an inaccurate and incomplete picture of the OTA findings. The OTA study examines very complex Issues in considerable detail. any effort to distill its contents into a few newspaper column inches would have to result in oversimplifications which. while regrettable. are understandable. However. in writing about the OTA report before it is publicly available. the Post denied its readers the ability to judge independently the accuracy or fairness of its presentation. The Post story failed to report important areas of agreement between SDIO and OTA. and misrepresented some areas of disagreement. The headline and first paragraph of the Post story offer a particularly telling example of such misrepresentation. SDIO and OTA disagree on the feasibility of reliable. trustworthy software for a future defense against ballistic missiles. SDIO believes that such software can be developed. OTA Is much more skeptical. and contends that there would be a "significant probability" of "catastrophic failure" of a ballistic missile defense system resulting from a software error. Nowhere in Its study. however. does OTA concludeas alleged by the Postthat such a failure would be "likely." As any statistician knows. and as the OTA report makes clear. "significant probability" does not equate to likelihood." Technical experts can and will differ on how rapidly we can generate and refine the technologies needed for effective defenses against ballistic missiles. SDIO finds many of OTAs conclusions in this regard to be unduly pessimistic. whereas OTA considers SDIO to be excessively optimistic. Both our organizations. however. are firmly committed to informed. constructive discussion of strategic defense Issues. We regret the misleading characterization of our positions in the April 24 Post story. and look forward to a fuller. more accurate. and more productive airing of these Issues when the OTA report is published. Sincerely.
Date: 1988-05-04
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. times have changed In the 28 years I have served In the House. The traditional American family with one male wage earner rapidly is being replaced by twoearner couples and single working parents. In 1950 only 12 percent of women with young children were In the work force. today that proportion has Increased to 54 percent. By the year 1995. fully twothirds of women with small children will be working. These changing labor patterns are reshaping not just the workplace but American family life as well. We need to recognize and adapt to these new realities In a way that strengthens both the rights of employees and the fabric of A erican family life. in the House we often talk about the Importance of family life and the many factors that threaten to tear families apart. I am pleased that the House approved legislation to ban dialaporn services. encourage adoptions. and fight child abuse. But .we need to do more. We need to redouble our efforts in the war against drugs and to approve expanded child care services. And we need to enact legislatiun that guarantees parental leave benefits for American workers. We need to end the national disgrace of being the only industrialized country in the world without a national parental leave policy. Approving H.R. 925. the Family and Medical Leave Act. will give American workers and American families the job protected parental leave benefits that are becoming critical to a healthy society. Employees who know that their employers will support them through family emergencies will be better workers. Parents who know they can take the time necessary to care for their children will build better. stronger families. H.R. 925 is a reasonable compromise bill that requires employers of 50 or more to guarantee up to 10 weeks of family leave for workers to care for a newborn or seriously ill child. The bill does not grant frivolous. paid benefit rights that workers will abuse. this legislation merely guarantees that employees will have a job to come back to after the necessity of taking maternity leave or time to care for critically ill children. After all. workers shouldnt have to choose between caring for their children or losing their jobs. Although fathers increasingly are taking on the responsibility of caring for children. the major burden of child care still falls on the mother. Most likely. in twoearner families It Is the mother who will be forced to sacrifice her job and her income for the children. This year. lets give mothers and their families a really valuable Mothers Day gift Lets give them the right to job protected parental leave benefits by voting this week for the Family and Medical Leave Act.
Date: 1988-05-10
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong support of H.R. 3927. the Indian Housing Act of 1988. as reported by the Committee on Banking. Finance and Urban Affairs. This legislation amends the Housing Act of 1937 to provide a separate program of housing assistance for Indians and Alaskan Natives. This legislation is strongly supported by Indian tribes and their representatives in all areas of the Nation and enjoys broad bipartisan support among my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. I wish to commend the gentleman from Texas . the chairman of the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Development. who is the author and original sponsor of this legislation. I also wish to commend the gentleman from Ohio . the ranking minority member of the committee. and the gentlelady from New Jersey . the ranking minority member of the subcommittee. who strongly supported this legislation and played a crucial role in perfecting all of Its aspects. The efforts of the two gentlemen and the gentlelady were Invaluable in drafting this important piece of legislation in a spirit of cooperation and gracious bipartisanship. Mr. Speaker. we have an excellent piece of legislation before us today and I urge all my colleagues to support it.
Date: 1988-05-10
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong support of H.R. 3927. the Indian HousIng Act of 1988. as reported by the Committee on Banking. Finance and Urban Affairs. This legislation amendsthe Housing Act of 1937 to provide a separate program of housIng assistance for Indians and Alaskan Natives. This legislation is strongly supported by Indian tribes and their representatives in all areas of the Nation and enjoys broad bipartisan support among my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. I wish to commend the gentleman from Texas . the chairman of the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Development. who is the author and original sponsor of this legislation. I also wish to commend the gentleman from Ohio . the ranking minority member of the committee. and the gentlelady from New Jersey . the ranking minority member of the subcommittee. who strongly supported this legislation and played a crucial role in perfecting all of its aspects. The efforts of the two gentlemen and the gentlelady were invaluable in drafting this important piece of legislation in a spirit of cooperation and gracious bipartisanship. Mr. Speaker. we have an excellent piece of legislation before us today ana I urge all my colleagues to support It.
Date: 1988-05-10
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. H.R. 4306. a bill to amend the National School Lunch Act to require eligibility for free lunches to be based on the nonfarm income poverty guidelines prescribed by the Office of Management and Budget. was introduced on March 30. 1988. and referred to the Committee on Education and Labor. On May 5. 1988. the bill was reported with amendments. one of which contains subject matter of jurisdictional interest to the Committee on Agriculture. This amendment is section 2 of H.R. 4306. that will clarify the nature of certain losses sustained resulting from a change in methodology used in the pilot projects using cash and commodity letters of credit as alternatives to USDAdonated commodities in the National School Lunch Program. Prior to consideration of H.R. 4306 today. the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on Education and Labor exchanged letters that stated the Committee on Agricultures intent not to request a sequential referral of section 2 of H.R. 4306 with the understanding that this procedure in no way diminishes or sets a precedent with respect to the jurisdictional division of responsibility between the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on Education and Labor in regard to the CASH/CLOC pilot projects. and the Committee on Education and Labors understanding that such procedure respects the jurisdictional interests and concerns of the Committee on Agriculture. I believe this Is a satisfactory resolution of this issue and join in supporting passage of the bill. In addition. I thank Chairman HAWKINS for his gracious cooperation in resolving the matter. Printed below are the texts of the letters exchanged by the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on Education and Labor:
Date: 1988-05-10
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill to amend the Middle Atlantic interstate forest fire protection compact to Include the State of Ohio. as amended.
Date: 1988-05-10
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to release certain restrictions on a parcel of land located in Henderson. TN. as amended.
Date: 1988-05-10
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consule. Mr. Speaker. H.R. 2835. introduced by the gentleman from Tennessee. Mr. SUNDQUIST. would release the reversionary interest in a parcel of land. less than 1 acre In size. the Chickasaw State Park. TN. to permit the State to exchange this parcel for other property adjacent to the park. The property to be acquired in the exchange is owned by Bethel Baptist Church. The land to be transferred to the church includes a reversionary interest which stipulates that the land be returned to the United States if it is no longer used for public purposes. and is contained in the deed which granted the land to the State of Tennessee in accordance with the BankheadJones Farm Tenant Act. The bill. as introduced. would have simply eliminated this reversionary interest. However. as the Committee on Agriculture has required with similar bills in the past. the interests of the public must be fully protected in enacting such an exchange. For this reason. an amendment in the nature of a substitute ws drafted that would provide for the reversionary interest to be transferred to the new parcel being acquired by the State in the exchange. The substitute also provides that the exchanged parcels be of equal value and that the Secretary of the Interior convey the mineral rights of the property to the State of Tennessee for their market value or $1. whichever is more. I understand that the Forest Service has done a preliminary assessment of the value of these subsurface minerals and determined their value to be minimal. In addition. the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs was notified of this provision of the bill and has expressed no objections. Mr. Speaker. this bill was considered in hearings by the Agriculture Subcommittee on Forests. Family Farms and Energy on May 4. 1988. and the amendment in the nature of a substitute was adopted. The bill was favorably reported by a unanimous vote of the Committee on Agriculture on May 5. 1988. The administration has expressed no objections to enactment of the bill. I move that the House pass the bill. H.R. 2835. as amended. Mr. Speaker. I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. SUNDQUISTI.
Date: 1988-05-10
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 consideration of the bills. H.R. 2756 and H.R. 2835.
Date: 1988-05-12
Speaker: ST GERMAIN (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. only once before in the Nations historyduring! the dark days of the depressionhave the casualty figures among our financial institutions been more devastating. Between 1983 and the end of 1987. tombstones of 569 commercial banks and 62 thrifts were added to the graveyard of financial institutions. Currently there are 1.600 banks on the troubled list and 500 thrifts classified as Insolvent. While individual depositors remain fully protected. these conditions are impacting heavily on the insurance funds. Estimates suggest that the FSLIC fund may be from $11 to $13 billion in the red. FDIC. with $18 billion remains solvent. but big bailouts like First City and First Republic in Texas have had a heavy adverse impact. Mr. Speaker. the Banking Committee has undertaken a close and Intense monitoring of the supervisory and assistance programs being carried out by the Federal financial regulators. I have Instructed the committee staff to analyze some specific case histories so that we may have the data on which to evaluate the agencies performance in this most critical moment. Mr. Speaker. the Banking Committee Intends to make certain that we have: First. tough supervision that will stem the troubles. and second. fair and costefficient assistance programs.