Jerry Costello

Mr. COSTELLO

Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for yielding me time on this important legislation. H.R. 1664 will help combat a crisis that is confronting American steelworkers and steel companies. A flood of cheap imports abroad have left our nation's steel factories facing stiff competition from illegally-subsidized products. This legislation grants relief to the American oil and gas industry, providing federal loan guarantees to companies that are at risk to these imports. If we do not move quickly to support the backbone of our country's commercial sector, we could see other parts of our economy-- including the construction, automobile and shipping industries-- affected as well. The steel industry in my district has also seen losses as a result of these imports, and this legislation--which I have cosponsored--will address their needs as well. H.R. 1664 is modeled on the successful $1.5 billion Chrysler loan guarantee program, enacted in 1980. Three years later, Chrysler repaid the government seven years before their loans were due. Federal loan guarantees are nothing new; they have been extended to Lockheed Aircraft, Conrail and City of New York. This legislation allows banks and financial institutions to provide federally guaranteed loans to U.S. steel mills and small oil and gas producers. OMB and CBO have indicted it is fully offset, and the bill's $270 million price tag is modest when compared with the potential losses in the nation's steel mills and factory lines. I urge my colleagues to stand up for steel in America and support H.R. 1664.

Mr. COSTELLO

Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the 150th Anniversary of the Village of Caseyville. The Village of Caseyville first began to be settled in the 1840's. While today the area is well known for its small town charm, it was recognized in the 19th century as a coal-mining community. Coal was not only a source of fuel and economic prosperity, but it influenced the further development of the community as well as regional transportation. Indeed, one of the first railroads in St. Clair County began in Caseyville, sponsored by the Illinois Coal Company. Caseyville has also long been recognized as a quiet force in Illinois politics. The namesake of the town, Zadok Casey, served in the Illinois State Assembly as both a State Representative, State Senator, and Lieutenant Governor. He eventually served in the U.S. Congress before returning to the Illinois Assembly to serve in the State House and State Senate again. Today, I am proud to represent Caseyville, a close community of churches, civic groups, and businesses. This weekend as the Nation celebrates the anniversary of our country's independence, Caseyville residents will also proudly remember their own place in American History. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the Village of Caseyville in commemoration of its 150th Anniversary.

Mr. COSTELLO

Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to Katherine Dunham as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Ms. Dunham has made immeasurable contributions to American art and culture. She is an accomplished writer and performer, with appearances in films, theatre, opera houses and on television; however, she is probably best known for her work as a choreographer and dancer. Her choreography incorporates the ethnic and cultural dances she learned of during her travels to Africa and the Caribbean, as well as through her anthropological studies of these cultures. In addition, Ms. Dunham has spent a significant portion of her life dedicated to the betterment of her community, East St. Louis. She founded the Performing Arts Training Center in East St. Louis to provide area youths with an artistic and culturally diverse activity. Also in East St. Louis, the Katherine Dunham Museum provides others with the opportunity to share her cultural and artistic knowledge. The museum is expanding to include the African Artisanal Village, which will offer a performing center for children and the teaching of African Arts by Master Artisans, fulfilling one of Ms. Dunham's lifelong goals. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing a happy 90th birthday to Katherine Dunham, a truly remarkable woman.

Mr. COSTELLO

Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of AIR-21. I would like to commend Chairman Shuster, and Chairman Duncan and Ranking Member Oberstar and Ranking Member Lipinski for helping craft this notable piece of legislation. When we sign this bill into law, it will truly mark 1999 as the Year of Aviation. I believe this bill goes a long way toward ensuring that our U.S. aviation system will remain the best in the world as it does much to promote safe and more efficient air travel as we move into the next century. This year 655 million passengers will travel by air. In ten years, over a billion people will fly annually. Our current system--while the best in the world--is ill-equipped to handle the increase in passengers without a major commitment to making necessary improvements. Mr. Speaker, this landmark piece of legislation does just that. By taking the Airport and Airways Trust Fund off-budget, we are making a true commitment to improve our aviation infrastructure. The trust fund is funded by aviation ticket taxes, taxes you and I and every person who flies pay each time we purchase an airline ticket. The trust fund was established to maintain and improve our aviation system, not to manipulate the size of the federal deficit or overstate the size of the budget surplus. By taking the trust fund off-budget we will enable the trust fund surplus to be used for its intended purpose-- aviation. AIR-21 is good for airports. By providing over $19 billion for the Airport Improvement Program (AIP), we ensure that capital improvement projects at our nation's airports will go forward. In addition, the bill provides funding for small and general aviation airports that will ensure an annual entitlement. For my district, this means that St. Louis-Parks Downtown Airport in Cahokia, St. Louis Regional in Bethalto, Cairo Airport, MidAmerica Airport and Southern Illinois Airport in Carbondale can all count on a federal investment. This will help these airports to continue to implement safety improvements and projects to increase efficiency. In parts of my district in Southern Illinois, we have limited air service. This bill will promote service to underserved markets. By improving capacity at large and small airports, the bill ensures more equitable competition in an industry where individual air carriers have market dominance over many communities. And by promoting access, the bill increases service which currently have little or no markets at all. AIR-21 ensures that our nation's aviation system remains the safest, most reliable and most efficient system in the world. It makes unprecedented investments in airports, runways and air traffic control systems, and, it does so in a fiscally responsible manner. Let's transform the Year of Aviation into the 21st Century of Aviation. I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting H.R. 1000.

Mr. COSTELLO

Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, I appreciate the gentlewoman's comments and concerns. I assure her, as I do my other friend from California and the California delegation, that I intend to work with them to address this issue in conference. The goal of my amendment is to create a level playing field for both for- and not-for- profit contractors. The goal in our Committee on Science, of course, was to try and level the playing field and as we move this legislation forward and hopefully if this amendment is adopted by the committee, we will work in conference to address the issues that you have raised here. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

Mr. COSTELLO. I yield to the gentleman from California.

Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank the Committee on Rules for making my amendment in order. I applaud the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox) and the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Dicks) for their amendment. However, I believe there is a loophole in their amendment. The Cox-Dicks amendment does not cover all contractors and it does not cover not-for-profit contractors. My amendment addresses this problem by ensuring that any lab contractor who violates rules relating to the safeguarding and security of sensitive information or data will be held accountable. My amendment to the Atomic Energy Act gives the Secretary of Energy the discretion to decide when and how the fines for national security breaches would be imposed. If the breach of national security is unintentional and without consequence, the Secretary could choose to impose a small fine or waive the fine and issue a warning instead. The Act also gives the Secretary the flexibility to promulgate a different rule from the collection of fees for not-for-profit contractors. My amendment has not removed any of the flexibility afforded the Secretary in the Atomic Energy Act. Instead, I have given the Secretary the discretion to impose fines on all liable contractors. When a contractor employee knowingly, willfully, or repeatedly breaks the rules, the contractor should be held accountable and not automatically exempted. Last month when I offered this amendment in the full Committee on Science to H.R. 1656, the DOE authorization bill, it passed unanimously. When Secretary Richardson testified before the Committee on Science last month, he agreed with me that penalties should be imposed for national security infractions for all lab contractors, including not- for-profit contractors. Mr. Chairman, my amendment is very simple. It is to the point. It levels the playing field and, in my opinion, provides accountability to anyone working at any of our labs throughout the United States, be they for-profit or not-for-profit contractors. Mr. Chairman, I ask my colleagues to adopt the amendment.

Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Chairman, I ask that the House adopt my amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Missouri for yielding me this time, and I rise in opposition to the Ryun amendment. I rise today in strong opposition to the Ryun amendment. Last month Congressman Nethercutt offered an amendment to the DOE authorization bill in the Science Committee that would have imposed a moratorium on the Department of Energy's foreign visitor program. I amended Mr. Nethercutt's amendment to include a sunset provision. My amendment was unanimously accepted. I offered my amendment in the Science Committee because I am very concerned about national security at our labs. My amendment called for a moratorium on foreign visitors from sensitive countries to all labs when the visit is to a classified facility, and topics involve export control and nonproliferation. However, it included a 1. Waiver of the moratorium on visits related to the U.S.-Russia nonproliferation programs that are important to our national security. 2. Similar to the bipartisan bill passed by the Senate Intelligence Committee, the Secretary can issue waivers as long as the Secretary reports to Congress within 30 days. 3. Contained a sunset to the moratorium. After all applicable portions of the Presidential Decision Directive 61 are in place, additional counterintelligence, safeguards and security measures announced by Secretary Richardson are in place and that DOE's current export controls on nonproliferation that govern foreign visits is in place. 4. Annual report by DOE and FBI to Congress assessing security at each lab. Mr. Ryun's amendment would effectively kill several important security programs at the DOE labs including the nonproliferation programs that are so important to our national security. I went before the Rules Committee to offer my amendment that was unanimously passed by the full Science Committee, however, my amendment was not made in order. Therefore, I will vote against the Ryun amendment and urge my colleagues to also vote against the amendment.

Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton), the ranking Democrat on the committee.

Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spence).

Mr. COSTELLO. I would say to the gentlewoman that the intent of the amendment is not to penalize in any way any university in the State of Texas or for that matter in my State of Illinois that are involved in research at our national labs. But it is intended to give the Secretary of Energy the ability to penalize any not-for-profit corporation that is doing work for our labs that repeatedly and intentionally violates the security regulations and rules that we have adopted. So I would assure her as I have the members of the California delegation that we will work in conference to address the issue.

Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, I would be happy to work with the gentleman. And I not only have had conversations with him concerning this issue, but also the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Tauscher) who I would like to yield to now to express some concerns, as well.

Mr. COSTELLO

Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Emma Buck, who recently celebrated her 95th birthday at her farm in my congressional district. To visit Miss Buck's farm and the stories that it bears, is also a visit to a quiet memory of the early American experience. This farm, a virtual self-contained world, is both the foundation and legacy of a woman for whom complete self-sufficiency is essential to survival. Her family's story begins as many American families do. It starts with her great-grandparents, young and hopeful pioneers, who left their Native Germany aboard a ship with hundreds of other immigrants to America. Across the Mississippi River her maternal grandparents, the Henkes, and her paternal great-grandparents, the Bucks, both settled in neighboring communities in rural, southern Illinois. Rather than fading to lore, as the heritage of many families do, Emma Buck embraced and sustained the life that her great-grandparents began in Monroe County. She still lives in the log cabin that her grandfather built. She still works in the farm that has provided so much for her family's sustenance for so long. This is not a farm transformed by the power of modern technology; rather it is one that honors the rudimentary tools of the past. Miss Buck remains the sole curator of this farm, which was named a national landmark of our nation. As she has for over 90 years, in accordance with the methodical teaching of her father and grandfather, Emma rises each morning to the tasks at hand. She fixes the split-rail fences, she weeds the gardens, she prunes the trees. Farming has since been left to interested neighbors, but the fields, the tools, and the dedication of her ancestors remain in the Buck Farm's name. As the 20th Century ends and the beginning of the new millennium approaches, Emma Buck reminds us of our nation's heritage. The advances in technology made each day continue to fortify our nation's capabilities, but it is the individual life stories of simplicity and complete fulfillment, in which our future generations may find inspiration. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Emma Buck, and in doing so honoring our nation's history.

Mr. COSTELLO

Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. As the subcommittee chairman indicated, the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert), we did discuss this amendment. I am in total support of the manager's amendment. The amendment addresses the major concerns our constituents in the aviation industry had on the section of the bill dealing with the duties of the Weather Service by making clear that the National Weather Service will continue to be responsible for providing weather information that is vital to protect life and property. Access to reliable high-quality weather information is essential to maintain the excellent safety record that our aviation industry has achieved and that the public expects. The National Weather Service's role in providing this information in support of our aviation industry will continue. The amendment also clarifies that the U.S. Government, through the National Weather Service, will continue to provide the weather services under our international aviation agreements. I know the administration also had concerns about the language included in the bill as reported to the House by the full committee. I believe this amendment will address those concerns on the part of the administration and the aviation industry. Again, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert), the chairman of the subcommittee, for offering this manager's amendment.

Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Guam (Mr. Underwood).

Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Chairman, I want to commend the full committee chairman, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner), and the subcommittee chairman, the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert) for bringing this bill to the floor today. The Committee on Science has worked quickly this year to bring to the floor several authorization bills to give guidance to the Committee on Appropriations. One of the most significant of these bills is H.R. 1553, which will authorize the operations of the National Weather Service for the next 2 years. The National Weather Service provides critical information and early warning detection of disasters to communities throughout the United States. Timely, accurate weather forecasts save lives and provide us with time to prevent or at least minimize damage to property that results from tornadoes, hurricanes, blizzards and other severe weather. New technologies pioneered by NOAA research enabled the National Weather Service to issue tornado warnings 30 minutes before they struck communities in Oklahoma. Those tornadoes caused over $1 billion in damage to Oklahoma City and surrounding communities. The loss of life could have been much worse without early warning provided by the National Weather Service. The development and deployment of Doppler radar and the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System, AWIPS, extended the lead time for storm warnings by 20 minutes or more. More time means more lives can be saved. Emergency services can be deployed and people can take action to protect themselves. The National Weather Service and its related research programs provide tangible benefits to our citizens every day at the cost of a few dollars per person annually. This bill replaces the Organic Act of 1890, which currently provides the definition of the National Weather Service's mission, with new language defining the duties of the Weather Service. The language was improved through the adoption of an amendment that I offered in committee which clarified the role of the National Weather Service in providing marine and aviation forecasts, and it will be further improved by the manager's amendment that will be offered by the chairman of the committee, the full committee, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner). I believe the changes we have made in this section have addressed many of the concerns raised by the administration and the aviation industry. I am confident that we have a sound basis for continued work on this issue as the bill moves through the legislative process. Although we would have preferred to see the authorization for the High Performance Computing and Communications Initiative, the HPCC, in this bill, we are satisfied that its exclusion is not done with prejudice on the part of the chairman of the committee, or the committee. Funding for the HPCC initiative supports advancements will enable NOAA to improve both short and long range forecasting. The gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner) indicated the committee will move separate legislation within the coming few weeks to authorize appropriations for the HPCC program in its entirety, including the authorization of NOAA's portion of the program. We understand that this bill will provide authorizations of appropriations for all departments and agencies which participate in the government- wide HPCC program, as well as in the proposed information technology for the 21st century initiative. We look forward to working with our colleagues to advance the HPCC authorization bill, given its importance to the Nation and future technology. H.R. 1553 reflects the President's request for FY 2000 for both the program accounts and to the procurement and construction accounts of NOAA. I am pleased by the authorization levels for next year. However, I am concerned that the FY 2001 numbers, kept at the same level as FY 2000 for all program accounts, would lead to a real decline in real support for the work of the National Weather Service and related research programs. Later, I will offer an amendment to increase the FY 2001 authorization by a modest 3 percent. I hope my colleagues will support my amendment and ensure that NOAA has the stable funding required to continue to provide the vital weather forecasting services we rely on every day. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. COSTELLO asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Chairman, my amendment prevents a cut in services performed by the National Weather Service in FY 2001. The bill before us today leaves funding for NOAA programs flat from FY 2000 to FY 2001. My amendment would increase the authorized levels for FY 2001 by a modest 3 percent. Construction and procurement accounts are excluded from this increase because in those areas authorization levels are consistent with real projected outyear numbers. My amendment would increase the bill's total authorization level by just under $27 million. If we are able to avoid major damage from just one major weather event in fiscal year 2001, this investment will have paid off many times over. There are few programs that match the success of the National Weather Service. The recent tragedy in Oklahoma, where deadly tornadoes leveled residential communities, is our most recent example of the importance that timely and accurate weather forecasting plays in our lives. The extra 15 to 20 minutes of warning that our investments in forecasting and prediction research and in technology improvements at NOAA saved lives. The May 6 issue of USA Today contained an editorial which provided the statistics on storm-related deaths from the 1950s until today. The number of storm-related deaths has decreased by two-thirds over the past 40 years. Weather Service programs cost each taxpayer a few dollars per year. This is a modest price to pay for the protection of life and property. The level of increased funding provided in my amendment is consistent with the committee's past views and estimates, which called for a 3 percent increase for FY 1998, a 4 percent increase in FY 1999, and a 3 percent increase for FY 2000. Almost all of the members of the Committee on Science supported these increases. I have purposely stayed within the Chairman's preferred range of increases. The increased funding is also consistent with the increases the committee is providing in the authorization bills for other agencies and departments under our jurisdiction. The committee has made a commitment, through the Science Policy Report conducted by the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Ehlers), to ``stable and sustainable Federal R&D funding'' over the next 5 years. Sustainability is not achieved if we let inflation erode the funding levels. This amendment meets the stability and sustainability tests set out by my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. In fact, Mr. Chairman, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Chairman Sensenbrenner) has rightfully, in my opinion, criticized the administration on several occasions for failing to provide adequate outyear funding in its budget request leading to net declines in inflation-adjusted funding. Flat funding means that all the increased inflationary costs for doing work will be absorbed by Weather Service programs leading to an effective cut in funding. Finally, by providing a modest increase of 3 percent, consistent with the policy of the committee, in FY 2001 authorized levels for Weather Service programs, we send a strong signal to the administration and the Committee on Appropriations that we value NOAA's Weather Service programs, and that we want to continue to provide stable funding to support these programs.

Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Chairman, let me respond to the increase in FY 2000 and FY 2001 of the gentleman from Wisconsin (Chairman Sensenbrenner). The increases, in fact the percentages that the gentleman from Wisconsin (Chairman Sensenbrenner) gave are in fact accurate. But the point that needs to be made here is that the increases are for construction and procurement. There are no increases for programs. So the point is that the increases are going to construction and procurement. There are no increases in FY 2001 for programs. In effect, the inflation factor will require a cut in program funding for that fiscal year.

Mr. COSTELLO

Mr. COSTELLO. I thank the gentleman from Tennessee for yielding me this time. Mr. Chairman, I rise in reluctant opposition to the NASA authorization bill before us today. This bill before us today cancels the Triana spacecraft mission. Last year, this Congress approved $35 million for Triana. The Triana project was competitively awarded and its scientific content has been peer reviewed. It offers important scientific and educational benefits. Next, the bill prohibits funding for the high performance computing and other information technology initiatives contained in the President's request. Although the gentleman from Wisconsin has agreed to provide for those activities in a forthcoming bill, I want to make it clear that I believe that NASA needs these funds. I support their inclusion within the NASA budget. Another area of concern in this bill is the prohibition against any funding for the ultraefficient engine technology focus program. Long- term R&D efforts in engine technology, including the construction of engineering models when appropriate, are vitally important to both our national security and to continued competitiveness in worldwide aerospace markets. We should not abandon those efforts. In addition, I support NASA's aviation safety and system capacity research as well as research directed toward aircraft noise and emission reduction. For these reasons, Mr. Chairman, I will vote against this legislation and ask that it be sent back to the committee to address these important issues.