John Dingell

Mr. DINGELL

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 15 seconds. I just want to note that because the Republican leadership delayed the consideration of this bill past the Wednesday deadline to accommodate the gentleman from Pennsylvania's taste for pork, his State lost $26.4 million which would have been used to improve the safety of the drinking water for its 12 million citizens. Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes and 30 seconds to the distinguished gentleman from California [Mr. Waxman]. (Mr. WAXMAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. DINGELL. I have no desire to speak at this time, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I would be happy to remove it, if the Chair can tell me what is objectionable here?

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, what is the breach? I am delighted to comply with the wishes of the Chair, but I am trying to understand what is it, where is the breach?

Mr. DINGELL. You mean this little pig, Mr. Speaker, is a breach of decorum of the House?

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I would like to comply with the wishes of the Chair. I just want to know what it is that the Chair is finding inconsistent with the rules of the House. I would observe that this pig would probably be more suitably displayed on the Republican committee table, but if the Chair desires that this pig be removed, I will, of course, remove it.

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 15 seconds to the distinguished gentleman from California [Mr. Waxman].

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Roemer].

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Oregon [Ms. Furse].

Mr. DINGELL. I yield to the gentleman from Michigan.

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Borski] to discuss the subject of pork.

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Stupak].

Mr. DINGELL. Not at this time, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the distinguished gentleman from California [Mr. Waxman].

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I would begin by expressing great respect and affection for my dear friend from Virginia. He worked well with me in the consideration of this legislation. He is a fine and valued Member of this Congress. I also want to express great respect and affection for the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Shuster]. That may come as a surprise to the gentleman, but I do feel that way. I want to talk a little bit about what has happened here and why we are in this mess. The leadership, the Speaker, took about 3 weeks in which to appoint the conferees. The deadline for money being available under the appropriations law was the last day of July. That deadline passed. It passed in good part because the Public Works Committee and my good friend from Pennsylvania, Mr. Shuster, did not accept the concession of the Senate in which the Senate agreed they would recede and concur with regard to the handling of the moneys within the bill. One of the important things to note is that what is at issue here is not just pork. I have always voted, almost without exception, with the Public Works Committee and at one time I was a member of that committee and I understand the art of pork and the art of taking care of Members of this Congress. But the point that needs to be made is that we have here a fund which is too small. It is about $725 million. That is all that is available to address the problems of clean water in all the districts in this country. The Committee on Public Works has short- stopped half of that money, $350 million worth of it. That means that they will allocate--not on the basis of merit but on the basis of pure, raw, unadulterated politics--money which should be allocated on the basis of real need. There is not enough money. Need should be the basis on which the money is going to be allocated, but that mechanism will not be used. Rather, this money will be short-stopped. The consequence of this is that in district after district, all around the country, in every State in the union, major projects which need to be addressed on the basis of safety and the public health will not be addressed because money has been allocated on a political basis, not on the basis of need and not on the basis of public health. That is why this is a bad action, and it should be clear in the record as we go forward in our business.

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Minge]. (Mr. MINGE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Pallone].

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Illinois [Mrs. Collins]. (Mrs. COLLINS of Illinois asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Klink].

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Markey].

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from California [Ms. Eshoo].

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, am I instructed by the Chair to remove this pig or to keep it?

Mr. DINGELL

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, today, I am joining with a number of my colleagues in introducing legislation to help the Medicare population in Michigan. This bill will make it possible for a longstanding, quality federally qualified health maintenance organization [HMO] that primarily has served the Medicaid population, to become available to Medicare beneficiaries. The Wellness Plan is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) federally qualified HMO serving several counties in Michigan, including the Detroit MSA. The Wellness Plan currently has 150,000 enrollees, 141,000 of whom are Medicaid, 12,000 commercial and 2,000 Medicare. The Wellness Plan is a nationally recognized leader in providing quality health services to this population. Since 1993, The Wellness Plan has had a Health Care Prepayment Plan [HCPP] contract with Medicare. Technical changes enacted by Congress and effective January 1, 1996, unintentionally prevent the Wellness Plan from enrolling additional Medicare beneficiaries under the HCPP contract. The Wellness Plan is positioned to become a full Medicare risk contractor but currently is precluded from doing so due to the 50-50 Medicare enrollment composition rule. Given that the Wellness Plan has an established managed care record with respect to both the Medicaid and Medicare populations, and that the Health Care Financing Administration supports The Wellness Plan receiving a plan-specific 5- 050 waiver at this time, this bill should be moved through the Congress as soon as practically possible.

Mr. DINGELL

Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I want to thank my good friend for that. It is always a pleasure to deal with him.