Michael Castle

Mr. CASTLE

Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1560) to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the bicentennial of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1560, the Lewis and Clark Commemorative Coin Act of 1998. This bill directs the minting of coins to commemorate the bicentennial of the incredible expedition conducted by the Corps of Discovery. The Corps was commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. This expedition confirmed the extent of the Louisiana Purchase and pushed our national boundary from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean. It was an heroic and exhausting adventure. The gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) has invested considerable energy of his own in obtaining the requisite cosponsors. This bill also conforms in all respects to current coin reform legislation. It has already been approved by the Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee. It also meets other strictures of those reforms, including mintage limits and retention of surcharge payments until all of the government's costs are recovered from the program. The amendment makes explicit the minting of the coin in the year 2003, the first year of the bicentennial celebration. I urge the adoption of H.R. 1560. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield whatever time he may consume to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter), who has worked so very, very hard on this legislation obtaining the necessary cosponsors and is truly an expert on it. (Mr. BEREUTER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. CASTLE

Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Gillmor).

Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 678, the Thomas Alva Edison Commemorative Coin Act of 1998. This bill commemorates the life work of the man Life Magazine selected as the single most important individual of this millennium. An American citizen whose more than 1,300 inventions have shaped our daily life and will underpin the technology of the next 1,000 years. Mr. Speaker, I have the issue of Life Magazine that so designated him. This bill conforms in all respects to the coin reform legislation that we have passed in this Congress and the last. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Gillmor), along with his colleagues, have persevered and obtained the necessary cosponsors. This commemorative coin has already been approved by the Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee. It also meets other strictures of those reforms including mintage limits and retention of surcharge payments until all the government's costs are recovered from the program. Mr. Speaker, the manager's amendment simply updates earlier legislative language that envisioned a 1997 anniversary and now instead commemorates the 125th anniversary of the invention of the electric light bulb which will take place in 2004. Mr. Speaker, I urge the immediate adoption of H.R. 678, as amended. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 678) to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the sesquicentennial of the birth of Thomas Alva Edison, to redesign the half dollar circulating coin for 1997 to commemorate Thomas Edison, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield whatever time he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Solomon), chairman of the Committee on Rules. (Mr. SOLOMON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I would encourage support for this. We are going to ask for the yeas and nays on this particular piece of legislation. We have had a number of speakers. I would point out that eight different sites that somehow Thomas Edison touched on will share in the proceeds of this. I will also say that sometimes we do these coin bills, where there are 290 sponsors, and I am worried they will not do particularly well, and the institutions that may benefit from it will not necessarily benefit as much as they might have perceived that they would. But I am convinced that this one will. Again, we thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Gillmor) for his perseverance. As he has already indicated, it is not easy to get 290 cosponsors for anything in this body. I think Thomas Edison has been able to bring people together today.

Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. CASTLE

Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 1560, the bill just considered.

Mr. CASTLE

Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 678.

Mr. CASTLE

Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, On August 6, 1998, I was not present to vote on rollcall vote 403 because of a pressing family matter in my home State of Delaware. Had I been here, I would have voted ``no'' on the Doolittle substitute. When we started this debate, there were many sound proposals on how to improve our current framework of campaign finance. However, only one of these proposals has emerged as a realistic approach to significantly improve our election system. My opposition to this substitute does not reflect a negative opinion of the author's hard work or ideas, but rather my opinion that the Shays-Meehan bill is the best method for reform. Reformers who want to see significant changes to our election system signed into law must rally around the one bill that has the best chance of passing--that bill is the Shays-Meehan substitute.

Mr. CASTLE

Mr. CASTLE. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson) for his kind words.

Mr. CASTLE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3790) to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in commemoration of the bicentennial of the Library of Congress

Mr. CASTLE. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CASTLE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 3790, the Library of Congress Bicentennial Commemorative Coin Act of 1998. Aside from commemorating a very worthy institution on the celebration of its bicentennial in the year 2000, this bill conforms in all aspects to the coin reform legislation that we have passed in this Congress and the last. It also promises to be of great numismatic interest because it permits the minting of the first bimetallic coins in this Nation's history, combining gold and platinum. This commemorative has already been approved by the Citizens Commemorative Coin Advisory Committee, as required under our coin reform legislation passed this Congress and the last. It also meets other strictures of those reforms, including mintage limits and retention of surcharge payments until all the Government's costs are recovered from the program. I would also add that the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas) has been extremely energetic in obtaining 299 cosponsors, we need 290, in near record time. I urge the immediate adoption of H.R. 3790. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CASTLE

Mr. CASTLE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 3790.

Mr. CASTLE

Mr. CASTLE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 4342, as amended.

Mr. CASTLE

Mr. CASTLE. Madam Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding this time to me, and I, too, rise in very strong support of the Shays-Meehan bill. This is a bill which under the scrutiny of the light of day through debate has grown in its support and has grown in its value to American citizens. It does so much to change our election laws in a positive sense. It deals with the most significant problems of the campaign system: the explosion of soft money and sham issue ads. Passage of the Shays-Meehan bill will take away the power and influence of special interests and begin the process of returning the power of electing public officials back to the American people. It will stop interest groups from blanketing districts with unfair and anonymous advertising days before elections by redefining issue advocacy laws. We need to remember that we went through something like 586 amendments in this process, and indeed we now have one of the finest pieces of legislation which we can pass this year. I encourage everyone, all Republicans and all Democrats in a bipartisan way, to support the Shays-Meehan bill.

Mr. CASTLE

Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Chairman, I agree with the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Meehan) on this. And in a way I have a lot of sympathy for the amendment, because I am one who feels that everyone should have a right to participate in these debates and opportunities. But, Mr. Chairman, there are times in almost any election, particularly at the presidential level, in which we need to focus on the candidates who are going to be the major candidates who the majority of people by far in this country are going to vote on. I think it should be up to the independent commission to make that decision so that they can formulate it, come forward with it, and make absolutely sure that everyone in this country who is going to be voting for the most important person in the United States has the opportunity to focus on how well those individuals know the issues, can handle themselves and deal with one another. So, I rise with some reluctance in opposition to this, but I do feel it should be opposed. In addition, I would just like to take this moment to thank the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Meehan) and the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays) for the extraordinary work which they have done on this piece of legislation. It really has been an exceptional effort by them, and I think that they deserve all the credit we can possibly give them. Indeed, at some later point perhaps an amendment like this should be considered, but I think in the context of this particular bill, and with the language which is in this amendment, we should rise in opposition to it and I would encourage us all to oppose it.

Mr. CASTLE

Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 3506, the bill just passed.

Mr. CASTLE

Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, under the gentleman's reservation in response, let me state that H.R. 3506 was introduced by the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers) and cosponsored by 296 Members. It authorizes President Clinton to present to Gerald R. and Betty Ford a gold medal on behalf of Congress and in recognition of their dedicated public service and outstanding humanitarian contributions to the people of the United States, and to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the birth of President Ford, the 80th anniversary of the birth of Mrs. Ford, the 50th anniversary of the first election of Gerald R. Ford to the House of Representatives, and their 50th wedding anniversary. The bill authorizes appropriation of up to $20,000 to cover the cost of providing the medal. The actual amount spent for the medal is recouped by the Mint through the sale of authentic bronze reproductions of the medal.

Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking and Financial Services be discharged from further consideration of the bill (H.R. 3506) to award a congressional gold medal to Gerald R. and Betty Ford, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.