Larry Combest

Mr. COMBEST

Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to make certain the record is complete and say that I join with my colleague from Washington in concerns about the three new deputies in CIA. That was the recommendation made in the other legislative body. We arrived at a conference report which did include that, but I do have those reservations and concerns as well. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the conference report for H.R. 3259, the Intelligence Authorization Act for fiscal year 1997. H.R. 3259 authorizes appropriations for the intelligence activities of the U.S. Government. H.R. 3259 makes a modest increase of 2.3 percent over the President's request; it is 2.2 percent higher than last year's appropriation, adjusted for inflation. We continue to believe that intelligence, more than ever, must be our first line of defense, of warning and of analysis. Dollars well-spent on intelligence are, I believe, fewer than dollars we would be forced to spend elsewhere if our intelligence capabilities decreased. I also wish to call my colleagues' attention to a number of provisions in this bill that will set the intelligence community on the road to a 21st century structure and function. At the outset of this Congress, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence embarked on a major study, IC21: The Intelligence Community in the 21st Century. Committee majority staff produced what I believe is already recognized as a landmark study on how the Intelligence Community can be transformed so as to be best able to deal with the national security issues we may face in the future. We did not get enacted all of the many recommendations we made. Indeed, I recognized at the outset of IC21 that we were unlikely to get it all done in one Congress. Like so many of the major national security reforms of the past--the National Security Act, Goldwater- Nichols--this is a multiyear, multi-Congress effort. But I think H.R. 3259 makes a useful start, largely by beginning to give the Director of Central Intelligence the management tools he needs so that his capabilities begin to match his responsibilities as head of the entire Intelligence Community. Finally, I wish to thank all of the members of our committee on both sides of the aisle who have worked so hard on this legislation, and those Members of the other body with whom we share responsibility for this important legislation. I also want to thank our staff, who have put in long hours and, more importantly, serious and creative thoughts and hard work in the crafting of this bill.

Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 529, I call up the conference report on the bill (H.R. 3259) to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 1997 for intelligence and intelligence- related activities of the U.S. Government, the community management account, and the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the conference report. The previous question was ordered. The conference report was agreed to. A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Coleman].

Mr. COMBEST. I yield to the gentleman from Washington.

Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would just say, in my 8 years on the committee, one of the highlights has been the opportunity to get to know people who work in the intelligence community, not only in the United States but around the world. They do it knowing that and hoping that their successes and endeavors will not be on the front page of the paper. They do it because they are true patriots. They are people who literally put their lives on the line for this country and the national security of this country, and have done a remarkable job. I wish it were possible to talk about the successes that this country enjoys from the hard, dedicated, and very dangerous work these people do. Mr. Speaker, I ask that Members support this conference report.

Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Washington [Mr. Dicks], and I ask unanimous consent that he may yield that time.

Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California [Mr. Lewis], a valued member of the committee.

Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Washington [Mr. Dicks], and I ask unianimous consent that the gentleman from Washington be permitted to control that time.

Mr. COMBEST

Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the conference report on H.R. 3259.

Mr. COMBEST

Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 3259) to authorize the appropriations for fiscal year 1997 for intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the U.S. Government, the Community Management Account, and the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System, and for other purposes, with a Senate amendment thereto, disagree to the Senate amendment, and agree to the conference asked by the Senate.

Mr. COMBEST

Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to the Permian Basin Petroleum Association's Top Hand Award recipients for 1996. I cannot think of two more deserving individuals of this prestigious award than Cy Wagner and Jack Brown. These two Midland oilmen are the founders of Wagner & Brown Ltd. They are well-known for their hard work and intelligence in the oil industry which made Wagner & Brown Ltd., a great American success story. Cy Wagner graduated high school in Tulsa from Central High School and then went on to receive a degree in geology from Oklahoma University. He began his career with Amerada Petroleum in Midland in early 1957. In 1961, he began working for J.E. Jones Drilling in Midland. Jack Brown was born in Brownsville but grew up in San Antonio. After graduating from Breckenridge High School, he went to Texas A&M for a year and then into the Army, stationed in Japan for 3 years. When his duties to his country were over with, Brown returned to Texas A&M and in 1950 graduated with degrees in petroleum engineering and mechanical engineering. After working as a roughneck in Alice, TX and then in Venezuela for 2 years with Texaco, Jack Brown returned to Texas to join J.E. Jones Drilling in Midland in 1957. Wagner and Brown formed their own partnership in 1961 and later was joined by landman Deane Stoltz. Most of their activity was centered around the Permian Basin area. By 1967 the group drilled more than 60 wells in the Bagley Field in New Mexico which supplied needed cash flow for larger projects elsewhere. In 1969 Stoltz, Wagner, and Brown exchanged most of their interest in the Bagley Field for a 25 percent equity position in Tipperary Corporation, to be run by Stoltz, and control of the partnership was turned to Wagner and Brown. Wagner & Brown, Ltd. began their largest drilling program in 1975 on 30,000 acres of the Conger Field in Sterling and Glasscock counties, and today they run more than 600 wells in this area. The partnership now employs about 200 people and operated over half of the 2,000 wells in which the two participated in. Both Cy Wagner and Jack Brown are dedicated oilmen who have strengthened West Texas and this whole country. However, their contributions go much further than the oil industry. Both men have given generously in support of countless local organizations involved in education, culture and community development. They richly deserve the title of Top Hands.

Mr. COMBEST

Mr. COMBEST. I appreciate the gentleman yielding. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3900 is a short and simple bill to address two problems related to the implementation of the 1996 farm bill, or the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act. This bill has been the subject of many staff discussions between Republicans and Democrats on the House Agriculture Committee and with staff of the Department of Agriculture. I have personally visited with my good friend, Secretary Dan Glickman, about the first part of this bill and he supports making this change. The first part of the bill simply allows farmers to plant a secondary crop of fruits or vegetables on their farm program acreage following a crop which has failed earlier in the year. This practice, referred to as ghost acres, has been allowed for several years but is being disallowed this year due to the interpretation of the new farm bill by USDA. Allowing this practice clarifies the intent of Congress and does not violate the spirit of any agreements made on the issue of planting flexibility under the new farm bill. It is unfortunate that the passage of this legislation has become necessary and many of us believe that this problem could have been more easily resolved by a more appropriate interpretation of this provision by USDA. Language very similar to this was recently inserted into the Agriculture appropriations bill on the Senator floor. However, enactment of this change is needed now to allow farmers to get their crops into the field immediately. The second provision of H.R. 3900 requires the issuance of new regulations by the Department of Agriculture for the Conservation Reserve Program by September 15. This requirement is needed because rural Americans have already waited too long to hear what the details of the new CRP program will be and need to make decisions as to the future use of their land. Mr. Speaker, this bill has bipartisan support in both Houses of Congress and I urge its immediate adoption. Mr. de la GARZA. I thank the gentleman. Mr. Speaker, further reserving the right to object, I yield to the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Stenholm]. (Mr. STENHOLM asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, I would just mention this is strictly technical. It is to further clarify in the amendment a misinterpretation that had been earlier made, and it is purely technical and clarifying in nature.

Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, I offer an amendment.

Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Agriculture be discharged from further consideration of the bill (H.R. 3900) to amend the Agricultural Market Transition Act to provide greater planting flexibility, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. COMBEST

Mr. COMBEST. 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. 3900.

Mr. COMBEST

Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I conclude and say I appreciate the cooperation of my colleague, the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Stenholm], the comments of the gentleman from West Virginia [Mr. Wise], and would urge our colleagues to support this legislation under the suspension. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3665) to transfer to the Secretary of Agriculture the authority to conduct the census of agriculture, as amended.

Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3665 is a short bill--it simply transfers the authority to conduct the Census on Agriculture from the Secretary of Commerce to the Secretary of Agriculture and eliminates this authority from the Secretary of Commerce as of October 1, 1998. This census authority change was one that the Senate wanted to include as part of the 1996 farm bill. However, we completed the farm bill conference before we on the House side had a chance to clear this change with the Government Reform Committee. I, along with Chairman Roberts and all the other members of the Agriculture Committee, want to thank all the members and staff of the Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, International Affairs, and Criminal Justice, Chairman Zeliff and his ranking member, Mrs. Thurman, for their help in accommodating this move--everyone worked very hard to get this bill put together very quickly. In order to cope with the continuing move to streamline and downsize Federal agencies, it has become apparent that moving the authority to conduct the Census on Agriculture from Commerce to USDA makes sense, from both an administrative and cost-effective point of view. In fact, the fiscal year 1997 Agriculture appropriations bill has already shifted the $17 million in funding for the Census on Agriculture to USDA, rather than the Department of Commerce. By moving the authority to conduct the census over to USDA, it allows the Department of Commerce to free up the funds otherwise obligated for this census; eliminates the need for a specific line-item in the Commerce Department's appropriation; and locates the census at the agency with the biggest interest in the ag census, without precluding USDA from working with the Commerce Department on actually getting the work done. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. COMBEST

Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 365, the bill just passed.

Mr. COMBEST

Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment. Mr. Chairman, I just wanted to rise and say the gentleman from Florida [Mr. McCollum] is a very valuable member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence as well as the Committee on the Judiciary. I wholeheartedly endorse this effort in a consent of Congress, and would certainly be willing to accept the amendment.

Mr. COMBEST

Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that in the engrossment of the bill, H.R. 3259, the Clerk be authorized to make such technical and conforming changes as may be necessary to correct such things as spelling, punctuation, cross-referencing, and section numbering.

Mr. COMBEST

Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3259, the bill just considered and passed.