Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, everyone has voted. How long does the Chair plan to keep the roll open?

So what is the maximum, Mr. Speaker?

Mr. Speaker, I thought that we had House rules that limited the time that the roll could be kept open.

Mr. Speaker, how long will the Chair keep the role open on this particular vote?

Mr. Speaker, how long has the roll been open?

Mr. Speaker, I have a point of parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. Speaker, how long has the roll been open on this 5-minute vote?

How much longer does the Chair plan to keep the roll open?

Parliamentary Inquiries

Mr. SPRATT (during the vote). Mr. Speaker, parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, last week the Committee on the Budget reported out a budget that failed to address one of the most critical problems facing our Nation, and that is our national debt. I offered an amendment in committee that would have included the pay-go rules in that budget, pay-go on both revenue and spending legislation. It was defeated, sadly, on a straight party-line vote. Not one single Republican supported it, not even those who had previously and publicly said that they supported extending pay-go to both revenue and spending.

Yesterday I brought the same amendment to the Committee on Rules; and, again, the majority voted against the extension of the pay-go rules. And in doing so, they denied this House the opportunity to debate one of the most successful budget enforcement mechanisms that we have at our disposal.

Today we are over $7 trillion in debt. By the chairman's own numbers, we will be over $10.4 trillion in debt by the year 2009. Pay-go would allow us to rein in control over our debt and our deficits. Pay-go would mandate that we actually pay for the legislation that we pass. Pay-go would force the Congress to recognize that there are fiscal consequences to our actions. That is a wake-up call that we desperately need because, lately, Congress has been pretending that there are no consequences. We have been spending more than we have. We have been cutting taxes with abandon. We have squandered a $256 billion surplus like it was monopoly money. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a get-out-of-debt-free card, we cannot pass go, and we cannot collect $7 trillion.

Now, our surpluses are gone and our deficits are predicted to be $521 billion, a $700 billion reversal in just 3 short years. That is not a surprise. We have been living far beyond our means, and a deficit explosion was the inevitable result.

The surprise is that some folks still do not believe it is a problem, and it is the unwillingness of these few people to acknowledge this problem that is preventing the rest of us from fixing the problem.

Our colleagues in the Senate get it. They see that a $521 billion deficit does matter. They realize that it is not a good idea to finance tax cuts and spending increases by letting places like China, Japan, and the OPEC nations buy almost $800 billion of our debt. They understand that their voters did not send them here to come up with fancy budget tricks that amount to little more than shell games and smoke and mirrors. Our colleagues in the Senate voted by a bipartisan majority to include an amendment identical to mine in their budget resolution: pay-go on both tax and spending legislation. The House needs to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, we need to hold ourselves to the same budgeting standards that we hold every family in this country. Whether we are increasing spending or decreasing revenue, we need to pay for it. We need to pay as we go.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this fiscally irresponsible rule.

Mr. Speaker, I would just like to point out to the gentleman from Washington, my friend, that, first of all, the Blue Dog budget has the pay-go provision in it. It would just make for a much more vigorous and a much more honest debate if we could, in fact, debate the very simple and basic idea that we pay for our bills; we do not just pass bills, we pay for them.

The fact of the matter is there is not one of us on either side of this aisle that could go back home and make that argument to our constituents where we would not understand that. They are not interested in the political inside-the-beltway mumbo jumbo; they know that we need to pay our bills, pay as we go, and that should be before this House to debate.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.

As we heard the gentleman from Texas say, the Blue Dog budget is not just a responsible budget, it is an honest budget. It matches the President's overall spending levels, it extends tax relief for our middle-class families, and most important, it pays for that tax relief.

The Blue Dog budget includes the strongest budget enforcement mechanisms of any budget being debated here today. It extends the pay- as-you-go rules to both the spending side and the revenue side. To be clear, neither the Republican budget nor their alternative being offered by the Republican Study Committee does that.

Republicans rejected the PAYGO amendment in the Committee on the Budget on a strict party-line vote. They rejected the amendment in the Committee on Rules on a strict party-line vote, and they have refused to put the PAYGO provisions in their budget.

We expect our constituents to pay their bills, and I do not know why some folks here in Congress think we should be exempt from that standard. Our constituents did not send us here to play games with their tax dollars and play games with the budget. They sent us here to balance the budget.

Vote for the Blue Dog budget. It is strong on enforcement and responsible on spending and revenue.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize The Yolo Health Alliance as it celebrates its 10th anniversary of service to the community. Created in 1994, the Alliance is an integrated public-private partnership including Sutter Davis Hospital, CommuniCare Health Centers, Yolo County Health Department and Sutter West Medical Group. The Alliance provides a seamless continuum of medical care to Yolo County's uninsured residents.

During the ten years of its existence, The Yolo Health Alliance has served to maintain a healthy community in Yolo County by ensuring that quality health care is available to all residents, regardless of their ability to pay for services. The Alliance has served to significantly reduce unnecessary visits to hospital emergency rooms and to increase patient satisfaction by providing comprehensive care to the underserved population of Yolo County.

Since its inception, The Yolo Health Alliance has provided health care services to over 24,000 individuals, delivering multi-lingual and culturally-appropriate care to residents representing many ethnic backgrounds. Services have grown to include both primary medical and dental care services through a network of seven community clinics located in Davis, Woodland, West Sacramento, Esparto and Knights Landing.

Mr. Speaker, The Yolo Health Alliance has been a cost-effective model that lowered the cost of care per member since its inception and saved local government millions of dollars in indigent health care expenses.

It is therefore appropriate that The Yolo Health Alliance be recognized on its 10th anniversary and commended for its success and good work in providing an exceptional quality ``safety net'' of health care services for those in Yolo County without any coverage and without the resources to pay for care.

Mr. Speaker, last month the President submitted to us his 2005 budget. This week, later this week, in the Committee on the Budget we are going to have a hearing on and mark-up that budget. Unfortunately, it is a 402-page document with one huge credibility problem. We are in the middle of a war, and yet it includes no war funding. It is a 5-year budget, but almost 80 percent of the cost of the President's new tax plan does not go into effect until after the 5 years after this budget. It finances a $519 million increase to veterans programs by shifting costs on to the veterans that this budget purports to help. It does that through the health insurance enrollment fees and co-pays on prescription drugs to the very veterans that we are supposed to be helping.

It gives homeland security the largest increase of all the agencies, as it should; but it takes $800 million away from our local firefighters and our local police officers at the same time it says it is going to help these first responders. These are the first line of defense. These are the first responders,

and we are taking money away from them in order to pay for them to do the job that they are supposed to do.

It discloses that the Medicare prescription drug benefit costs $135 billion more than we were told it would cost just 2 months ago. This unexpected cost of $135 billion totals more than the budgets of Commerce, Energy, Homeland Security, HUD, Interior, State, and EPA combined.

It calls for $1.2 trillion in new tax cuts, $65 billion in health tax credits, and $43 billion in other new spending; but it claims that we can cut the deficit in half by 2009. These are all new costs, new expenditures that this budget does not pay for.

It is not credible, Mr. Speaker, to say we have presented an accurate and honest budget when it includes no funding for a war we are in the middle of fighting. It is not credible to say that cutting domestic spending by $118 billion will pay for a $1.2 trillion tax cut. It is not credible to say that you are strong on budget enforcement, but only apply the PAYGO rules to mandatory spending programs. It is not credible to say that deficits do not matter when you are spending over $349 billion a year just on the interest payments on our $7 trillion national debt.

Democrats keep getting told that we need to be tough on spending and that if we are tough on spending, all the other problems will take care of themselves. Well, that is another example of this great credibility gap. Blue Dog Democrats are tough on spending, as you will hear from a number of us today who are speaking. We voted for budget alternatives that do not exceed the President on spending. We are tough on spending. And as important, we are responsible on revenue. We do not pretend that you can have a tax cut without paying for it. Rather, we work with what we have got: a war that needs to be paid for, a budget that needs to be balanced, and an American public who looks to their leaders for credibility and for truth.

Right now we are faced with a choice. We can continue buying on credit, or we can begin budgeting with credibility. Our constituents want and our constituents deserve a credible budget. It is incredible that this administration has refused to submit one.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Jean E. Sawitzky. Jean will have completed 38 years of loyal and productive work for the United States Postal Service on February 29, 2004.

Jean Sawitzky began her outstanding career at the West Sacramento post office soon after graduating from high school. She worked her way up through the administrative ranks and has served as the Postmaster for Courtland and Clarksburg, California. In addition to running an efficient office, Jean's smile and superior customer service have marked her tenure. She will be missed.-

Jean has also been a very active member of the West Sacramento and Delta communities, serving as a member and leader of numerous civic, church and community-service organizations.

In recent years she has become widely known for the quality and originality of her handmade quilts, and has been honored at the Yolo County and California State Fairs. Jean now teaches this craft to others in northern California.

We are confident that in her retirement years, Jean will find more time to invest in community service and her artistic endeavors. I want to thank Jean for her years of excellent service and wish her well in the active retirement years ahead.

Mr. Speaker, it is appropriate at this time that we recognize Jean E. Sawitzky for her contributions to her community and her service to our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize two extraordinary women who have jointly been named the city

of Sonoma's 2004 Alcaldesas, or honorary mayors.

For more than 10 years, Sue Holman and Susan Weeks have volunteered countless hours to Sonoma Valley's Meals on Wheels program. They work 5 days a week preparing 2 gourmet meals for housebound residents. A typical weekly fare is pork chops in mushroom sauce, spicy lamb logs, linguini and clams, tamale pie and roast beef. Over the past 10 years, they calculate that they have prepared a quarter of a million meals.

In addition to all of the food preparation, they prepare the menus, shop for groceries, do all of the baking, maintain inventory control and supervise the 90 volunteers who package and deliver the food and assist in the kitchen.

They recognize that many of the people they serve live alone and try to make each day special. Each holiday has a theme meal, and each client receives a personalized present or two at Christmas of Hanukkah and on their birthday, plus a split of wine or champagne.

They are able to maintain a high quality of fare and bolster the spirits of the people they serve while running the only all-volunteer Meals on Wheels program in the State of California.

In recognition of their contributions, the city of Sonoma designated them ``los dos Alcaldesas,'' following a 28-year-old tradition of selecting someone in the community who works selflessly on behalf of others. The Alcalde/Alcaldesa reflects the town's Spanish and Mexican heritage and the ``honorary mayors'' will preside at all ceremonial functions on behalf of the city.

Susan Weeks settled in Sonoma 18 years ago following an international career that took her to Jerusalem, South Africa and Washington, D.C. In addition to Meals on Wheels, she has also been active in public safety and infrastructure issues, and working with the Verano Springs Association and the Sonoma Valley Citizens Action Committee.

Sue Holman is a retired investment banker who has been in Sonoma 11 years. An animal lover, she was one of the driving forces in the establishment of Sonoma's only dog park.

Mr. Speaker, Susan Weeks and Sue Holman provide an invaluable service to their community, and it is appropriate that we honor them today as Sonoma, California's 2004 Dos Alcaldesas.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Northern Circle Indian Housing Authority (NCIHA) as it celebrates its 25th Anniversary.

The NCIHA is the Tribally Designated Housing Entity (TDHE) for eight federally recognized Indian Tribes in Northern California. Originally created in 1980, the NCIHA is a valuable asset to Butte, Colusa, Lake, Mendocino and Sonoma Counties, providing safe and sanitary housing for low and moderate-income Native American families. The NCIHA is governed by a twenty member Board of Commissioners and staffed by 17 dedicated employees.

Over its 25-year history, the NCIHA has built 324 housing units in nine locations, directing $60 million in construction planning and development programs. The organization manages an additional 232 housing units located in seven reservation communities. The NCIHA also administers a down payment assistance home ownership program, rental subsidy programs, housing rehabilitation and replacement services for member tribes.

In addition to these services, the NCIHA has worked to develop a Community Housing Development Organization to access state funding and increase housing opportunities for Native Americans. The NCIHA is sharing valuable resources and providing technical support with the newly formed United Native Housing Development Corporation to help assure its success.

Mr. Speaker, the accomplishments of the NCIHA are recognized by many, most notably by the Office of Native American Programs, who awarded the NCIHA a Certificate of Excellence in 2000 and declared the organization one of the best of its kind. With the support of both the federal government and private foundations, the NCIHA is committed to the establishment of healthy communities for the Native Americans it serves. In addition to constructing and managing sufficient housing, NCIHA builds infrastructure including roads, water and sanitation facilities, and electric services.

Mr. Speaker, for its commitment to serving the Native American population of Northern California, it is appropriate that we honor the employees and board of the Northern Circle Indian Housing Authority as they recognize their 25th anniversary.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Rick Knapp, who is being honored on the occasion of his retirement as District 1 Director of Transportation, California Department of Transportation.

Rick Knapp began his career with the California Department of Transportation in 1962. A graduate of the University of Nevada with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering, Rick Knapp accepted a position with the Division of Highways, District 1, in Eureka, California.

In November 1966, he entered the United States Army and served in Vietnam where he designed bridges to replace those destroyed in combat. After two years in the Army, Rick Knapp returned to his engineering duties in Eureka. In 1972, he took a promotion as a Project Design Engineer in Los Angeles. In 1973, he joined the Division of Transportation Planning to help develop the first California Transportation Plan.

In 1979, Mr. Knapp returned to Eureka and in 1994 he became the Director of the 1st District, a region that includes the four northern counties of Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake and Mendocino. Immediately after his appointment as District Director, he was faced with the biggest earthquake and the most severe winter storm damage in the District in 30 years. With 18 of 23 state highways closed one or more times during the winter, Knapp and his team faced the colossal challenge of restoring and improving the highway system. After directing the repair of 400 damaged locations during difficult winter conditions, Knapp undertook a new program to correct perennial winter road closure locations.

During his tenure as Director, Rick Knapp's accomplishments include the widening and realignment of a two-mile high collision segment of U.S. Route 101 at Gushing Creek through the Redwoods near Crescent City. By securing emergency funding, Knapp made it possible to proceed with the project to relocate Route 101 at the Confusion Hill landslide that will establish a safe and reliable highway at this critical location. As Chair of the Context Sensitive Solutions Steering Committee, he developed a policy for the State of California that promoted flexibility in design and led to new state guidelines on State Highway Main Streets. In May 2003, Rick Knapp received the Charles H. Purcell Award from the California Transportation Foundation for excellence in engineering management.

An avid cyclist, Rick Knapp helped form the Humboldt Bay Bicycle Commuters Association. He was born and raised in Garberville, California. He is married to Jean Hawthorne and has two grown children, Angela and Randy Knapp.

Mr. Speaker, it is appropriate at this time that we recognize Rick Knapp for his commitment and dedication to his profession and for his 35 years of service to the people of California. We wish him happiness and much deserved rest in his retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Cloverdale Police Chief Robert Parks Dailey, who is retiring after 34 years of service to his community.

Chief Dailey has spent all of his adult life in lain enforcement. He began his career as a Senior Patrol Officer with the Berkeley, California Police Department in 1970 and spent nine years on the force during one of the most tumultuous periods in this city's colorful history.

He joined the Cloverdale Police Department as a Sergeant in 1979 and quickly advanced through the ranks. He was promoted to Lieutenant, a rank he held until 1987, when he became the Chief of Police. In 1993, his title was changed to Director of Public Safety when the Cloverdale Fire Department was added to his command. When the Fire Department hired a full time Chief in 1996, he reacquired the rank of Chief of Police, a position he held until December 31, 2003.

During his tenure with the Cloverdale Police Department, he automated the police records system, restructured the Department for clearer lines of authority and responsibility, implemented a remodeling of the Department, and oversaw the Department's participation in the county- wide Computer Aided Dispatch/Records Management System/Mobile Data Computer Program.

Chief Dailey is a member of the California Peace Officer's Association, the California Police Officers Association, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the Sonoma County Law Enforcement Chiefs Association (where he served two terms as President) and the Santa Rosa Training Center Advisory Committee. He also represented the California Police Chief's Association on the State Association of Chiefs of Police Committee.

Chief Dailey also served his community as a member and Past President of the Cloverdale Rotary Club, President of the Cloverdale Citrus Fair Board of Directors, and a member of the Cloverdale Eagles Boosters Club and Cloverdale Project Graduation Committee.

Mr. Speaker, Chief Dailey is a dedicated public servant who plans to spend his retirement years working with the League of California Cities Interim Chief of Police program, traveling, and improving his golf handicap. It is appropriate that we honor him today.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this bill. It includes a number of provisions that are of critical importance to our veterans community. One such inclusion is based on the bill authored by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Rodriguez) that would provide health care free of charge to veterans who participated in what are known as Project 112 and Project SHAD. These projects were a series of over 100 tests that subjected our servicemen and our servicewomen to harmful chemical and biological agents and possibly to decontaminates now believed to be harmful. While we still have a long way to go in getting to the bottom of this issue, this bill provides important care to our veterans who, in many cases, unknowingly participated in these trials. I commend the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Rodriguez) and the other members of the committee for working to provide for this critical health care provision.

My own experience with this came when a constituent of mine called and said that he had participated in Project SHAD. He and a number of his shipmates now have cancer, and he wanted help.

After 3 years of investigation, the Department of Defense revealed last year that these tests involved live agents, in some cases, VX nerve gas, sarin nerve gas, and E. coli. The Department of Defense describes VX as one of the most lethal substances ever synthesized, and sarin, as we all know, was used in that tragic terrorist attack, not only tragic, but deadly terrorist attack, on the Tokyo subway a few years ago. We put at least 5,000 of our servicemembers at risk by exposing them to these hazardous agents.

We have a duty to rectify this disgraceful conduct on the part of the Department of Defense. Project 112 and Project SHAD and similar cases of chemical and biological testing involving servicemembers are issues of trust and integrity. Our military personnel put their trust in our government to protect them, and our integrity has been compromised because, nearly 40 years later, we are still not protecting them.

I urge all Members of this House to vote for this bill and take one step towards renewing this trust in our veterans, whom we so respect and so depend upon.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.

I think it is very important that in the reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program that we include provisions that are much more forward looking and provide opportunities to communities to avoid catastrophic problems that a little advanced work could, in fact, avoid. A really good example of this can be seen in my district out in the Napa Valley out in California when after the major floods in 1995 that caused about $85 million worth of damages, ruined about 27 businesses and nearly 1,000 residential properties, the community came together, came together and changed the way that we do flood protection, recognizing that we need to build regional programs that will allow us to protect these properties that continually are damaged by flood with somewhat unconventional methods.

The Army Corps of Engineers, resource agencies, the wine industry, the conservation community all came together to develop a innovative flood protection plan for Napa, which includes 100-year flood protection with the creation of a 600-acre tidal wetlands while also protecting the reconstruction of existing structures to prevent future flood damages.

I want to commend everyone who worked so hard on this bill, and particularly the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), who brought this particular emphasis to the debate. I know that we will all be better off. We will save businesses. We will save residential properties. We will save money, and we will save lives.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the St. Helena Hospital of Napa County as it celebrates its 125th Anniversary.

On June 1, 1878, the Rural Health Retreat opened its doors to the public. 125 years later, the Rural Health Retreat has a new name and a new look but its commitment to quality healthcare remains the same. Today, the St. Helena Hospital is the world's oldest continuously operating Seventh-day Adventist hospital.

The hospital has grown substantially over the years, both in its ability to heal and in its physical space. What began as a small two- story building has matured into a state-of-the-art facility, which includes a 24-hour emergency room, a heliport, and top-of-the-line surgical suites.

Mr. Speaker, among other services, the St. Helena Hospital offers a wide range of facilities to assist our community members in overcoming their illnesses including addictions. Specifically, the hospital has a mental health unit, an alcohol and chemical recovery program and it houses wellness programs such as the Nicotine Addiction Program.

In 1974, a team of surgeons performed the first open-heart surgery in the North Bay, paving the way for St. Helena Hospital to become a leader in cardiac care. Today, history continues to be written and St. Helena Hospital has been named among the Top 100 Cardiovascular Hospitals in the country.

Mr. Speaker, during its 125 years of existence, the St. Helena Hospital has been a medical sanctuary for thousands of people from both in and out of our community. The hospital has a wonderful tradition of providing for the sick. Regardless of who you are or where you are from, you will receive the best medical assistance possible at the St. Helena Hospital.

Mr. Speaker, for maintaining such a high standard of excellence and for healing our community for over 125 years, it is appropriate that we honor the St. Helena Hospital as they recognize their 125th anniversary.

I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to insist that accountability is built into the supplemental appropriations. My vote, as a matter of fact, will be contingent on inclusion of an accountability provision.

The history of our Nation has proven that accountability is not only patriotic, it most often determines our greatest successes from our most tragic failures. That is why I support provisions included in the alternative proposal that require reporting on the funding for both the military and the reconstruction components of the bill. By meeting these critical reporting requirements, the administration would ensure the necessary flow of funds to our troops.

Three weeks ago, I introduced legislation that would require similar accountability, and I am pleased that these protections are included in the alternative proposal. We have an opportunity today, Mr. Speaker, to regain an oversight voice that has been lost for too long in this House. It is our duty, our duty to the some 40,000 troops who are serving in combat without Kevlar inserts, our duty to their parents who have to send their sons and daughters the most basic of supplies, and it is our duty to the American taxpayers who are footing the bill, a duty to ensure that these funds are being spent in the most effective and in the most efficient way. I urge my colleagues to demand that accountability is part of this measure.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Washington for yielding me this time, and I also thank the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Cannon) and the gentleman from Washington for the opportunity to speak on this bill. I would also like to thank the chairman of the committee, the gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo), and the ranking member, the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall), for their help in finally resolving this long-standing problem.

I want to mention to all of the Members that this bill was passed by this House unanimously last year. Unfortunately, it was part of the omnibus bill that never made it out of the other body.

But as everyone has mentioned, this takes care of a problem that has been festering for quite some time over a disputed boundary line. This bill would convey 120 acres of National Forest Service property to a landowner, the owner of the Faraway Ranch, for fair market value. He would not only pay the fair market value for the land, but he would also pay all of the costs associated with the transfer and any surveying that needs to be done. Then the Forest Service will be able to take that money and purchase from willing sellers other property within the confines of this forest to allow them to better

manage our incredibly valuable national resource.

This is a good bill. It has no opposition and would take care of a long-standing problem. I would appreciate the support of all of my colleagues in making sure this is passed and signed into law.