David Dreier

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This is all, Mr. Speaker, about giving parents some choice and control over these decisions that are made here. If the Washington Post can advocate pursuing this sort of experiment, I think that we responsibly can do that. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to my friend, the gentleman from California [Mr. Cunningham].

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, in 1922, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, Vivian and Thompson Webb opened the Webb School of California, an all boys high school dedicated to developing men of character. In 1981, the Vivian Webb School for girls was established to reinforce the traditions of service, leadership, and honor upon which the school was founded. As the Webb Schools celebrate their 75th anniversary on October 25, I want to recognize the faculty and staff for their commitment to educational excellence and the highest standard of academic achievement. The Webb Schools have provided several generations of students with a strong foundation for leadership, personal advancement, and ethical and social responsibility. Many of the schools' 3,080 alumni have gone on to distinguished careers in business, government, medicine, education, media, the law, and the arts. Today, the academic curriculum offers students from 12 States and 11 countries a choice of 71 different courses in English, literature, mathematics, languages, history, fine arts, and the sciences. Of the Webb graduates, 100 percent go on to 4 year colleges and universities, including such highly selective institutions as Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Columbia, Duke, Georgetown, Pepperdine, Purdue, Northwestern, Princeton, Dartmouth, Amherst, Boston College, Boston University, the Claremont Colleges, UCLA, USC, and UC Berkeley. Webb students have a combined SAT median score of 1320, and they excel in State, regional, and national competitions. Webb students received the 1994 Tapestry Award from Toyota Motor Corp. for designing a multimedia exhibit explaining the physics of dinosaur motion. A team of students placed second in the 1996 Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision Awards, the largest K-12 science contest in the world, with a design for a self-powered artificial heart. Webb students also placed first in California and third in the country in the 1996 National Physics Bowl, and they finished in the top 10 nationally in the 1996 and 1997 National French Contests. An example of the technical skill and creativity of Webb students can be seen in the Web site they created on the Internet at www.webb.org. The Webb Schools are committed to the application of computers and related technologies in education to prepare their students for the academic rigors of post-secondary education, and to ensure that they can compete and prosper in the 21st century information economy. Mr. Speaker, in June, I had the honor of giving the commencement address to the Webb School of California's 1997 graduating class. I told the students that they will always be able to think back to the day of their graduation and draw upon the inspiration of a job well done. Today, as we approach the 75th anniversary of the Webb Schools, I want to echo those sentiments to the faculty, staff, and alumni. They have done a tremendous job of carrying out Vivian and Thompson Webb's founding vision of an institution dedicated to distinguished academic achievement, and unwavering ethical behavior and personal responsibility.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today that it reconvene at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to recognize Ron Morris who participated in CIVITAS@Bosnia and Herzegovina, an intensive program from August 1-17, 1997, designed to train teachers from throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina with materials and methods developed to educate for democracy. Mr. Morris was part of a team of 20 American educators who were assigned to 16 locations throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, including the Republika Srpska. The Americans teamed with 18 teachers from the Council of Europe in nine of these sites. This education for democracy program reached 550 teachers from both entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The summer teaching training program was developed by the Center for Civic Education as part of a major civic education initiative in Bosnia and Herzegovina supported by the U.S. Information Agency and the U.S. Department of Education built on a program begun in 1996. The goals of the program are to provide teachers with the tools necessary to help prepare students and their communities for competent and responsible citizenship, including participation in elections and other opportunities to take part in the political life of their communities. Achieving this goal will contribute to the reconstruction of a sense of community, cooperation, tolerance, and support for democracy and human rights in this war-torn area. I am also pleased to announce that the curricular materials being used for the program in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been adapted from the We the People * * * the Citizen and the Constitution, Foundations of Democracy, and the Project Citizen Programs, which are supported by Congress and used in schools throughout the United States. Initial reports evaluating the summer program indicate the materials--selected and adapted by educators in Bosnia and Herzegovina--and teaching methods were enthusiastically received and will be adapted for use in classrooms in both entities of the country. Ron Morris is a teacher at Arcadia High School in Arcadia, CA. He also serves as the district coordinator for the We the People * * * the Citizen and the Constitution Program in my home district. A student team of constitutional experts from Arcadia High School under the leadership of Ron Morris came to Washington, DC, this year to participate in the We the People * * * academic competition on the Constitution and Bill of Rights. They placed second in the entire Nation. Mr. Speaker, I wish to commend Ron Morris for his dedication and commitment during CIVITAS@Bosnia and Herzegovina summer training program. His work is helping to achieve the overall objective of building democracy in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, this rule provides for consideration of H.R. 1370, legislation to reauthorize the U.S. Export-Import Bank, an organization often referred to as the Eximbank. The Eximbank provides the most significant direct U.S. government support for American exporters, a subsidized loan rate to some foreign entities that buy American-made products. This is a modified closed rule providing 1 hour of general debate, divided equally between the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Banking and Financial Services. The rule provides for consideration of the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute as an original bill for purpose of amendment under the 5-minute rule. The rule waives points of order against the amendment in the nature of a substitute for failure to comply with clause 7 of rule XVI, relating to germaneness. In order to provide for orderly consideration of this bipartisan legislation, the rule makes in order only those amendments printed in the Committee on Rules report. However, I must note, Mr. Speaker, that the Committee on Rules made in order every germane amendment that was submitted to our committee in a timely fashion. The amendments must be offered in the order printed in the report by the Member designated, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a division of the question in the House or the Committee of the Whole. The rule also grants the authority to the chairman of the Committee of the Whole to postpone recorded votes on amendments and to reduce the voting time on amendments to 5 minutes, provided that the first vote in a series is not less than 15 minutes. Finally, the rule provides for one motion to recommit, with or without instructions. Mr. Speaker, in requesting a rule for consideration of this legislation, the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on Banking and Financial Services presented a unified front in support of this export financing organization, praising both the goals and operations of the Eximbank. The charter of the Eximbank expires at the end of this year, making action necessary to avoid a very disruptive break in its operations. Many of my colleagues know that I have been a strong and vocal advocate for unfettered free trade. At the same time, I am not fond of export subsidies. I believe that the best thing for our economy and the economies of our trading partners around the world would be an end to government trade subsidy programs like the Eximbank. However, Mr. Speaker, I do not believe in unilateral disarmament. The United States should try to eliminate export subsidies through a multilateral agreement, the way we have tried to end shipbuilding subsidies, for example. The global trading system would be better off without the distorting effects of subsidies. I believe the American taxpayers should know that the Eximbank has been involved in just such efforts. The bank has helped lead U.S. efforts within the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the [OECD] to reach agreement limiting the export subsidies of developed countries. The Eximbank's ``tied aid war chest'' has been used successfully to bring down this trade-distorting practice by 75 percent since 1991. Mr. Speaker, I believe the best near-term trade policy is served by enacting H.R. 1370 and extending the charter of the Eximbank through September 30, 2001. Currently, the bank helps finance $15 billion in U.S. exports each year. We must be clear about the fact that the Eximbank does not entail U.S. taxpayers buying products that are then given away overseas. This is not, I underscore again, this is not, Mr. Speaker, foreign aid. Instead, this agency provides a slightly subsidized loan rate that permits overseas buyers to purchase American-made products. They buy the products, and they pay for the products. While the Eximbank is only involved in 2 percent of total United States sales abroad, it is critical to sales in certain big-ticket capital projects, particularly in developing countries in Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and the former Soviet Union. Again, Mr. Speaker, I must repeat, while the nominal recipient of the slightly subsidized loan is a foreign company or government entity, that entity buys and pays for the American-made product. The American workers are the real beneficiaries, winning the jobs that go along with these major projects. Mr. Speaker, the Committee on Rules has made in order the seven germane amendments that were timely submitted to the committee, four offered by the minority, the Democrats, and three from our side of the aisle, the Republicans. While I will not go through each amendment, I would like to encourage the House to avoid trying to legislate foreign policy priorities on the backs of American export workers. Kicking American companies and their American workers out of legitimate export markets in the name of pet foreign policy goals strikes a blow against the effectiveness of this job protection tool. The only winners in such situations are the foreign competitors who will step in and fill the void left by American companies. Mr. Speaker, this rule deserves bipartisan support and this bill deserves bipartisan support. I look forward to the House working its will on the amendments submitted to the Committee on Rules with the hope that the final product is something that can be signed into law with the purpose of encouraging job creation in this country. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to my very hard-working friend, the gentleman from South Boston, Massachusetts [Mr. Moakley], who is carrying his second rule of the day for the minority, and I am sure he will do so very ably. All time that I will be yielding will be for debate purposes only. Mr. Speaker, pending that, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. DREIER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks and include extraneous matter.)

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from Surfside Beach, TX [Mr. Paul], who is a member of the Committee on Banking and Financial Services and joins me as an outspoken proponent of unfettered free trade. (Mr. PAUL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Langley, WA [Mr. Metcalf], a member of the Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy of the Committee on Banking and Financial Services.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I would simply close by saying that I urge strong support of this rule and the bill. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Lincoln, NE, Mr. Beruter, chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, who will have some very, very worthy advice on the amendments that we will be considering. I hope my colleagues will listen to that. (Mr. BEREUTER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Syracuse, NY [Mr. Walsh].

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 255 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to this amendment. I think that many of the arguments that have been made by a number of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle are very well- intentioned. But frankly, they are in large part based on fear. If one looks at the World Trade Organization, we know what a horrible acronym that is out there. There are many people who believe that the World Trade Organization is going to take over the United States of America. But the fact is, I ask people to name one single instance of where U.S. sovereignty or the sovereignty of any State has been jeopardized, and the fact is it has not. We also, Mr. Chairman, need to look at the fact that there is no tie whatsoever between the multilateral agreement on investment, the MAI and the WTO. It seems to me that as we look at where we are going, I want as much information out as possible. But the United States of America is the world's only complete superpower of the military, economically and geopolitically. I happen to have a great deal of confidence. My colleague, the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Waters] just talked about how closed this is. The fact is, the United States of America is represented there as the world's preeminent leader. I believe that we need to do everything that we possibly can to break down barriers. I think that Members on both sides of this aisle want us to embark on agreements which will reduce the burden of taxes on our working Americans and on the people.

Mr. DREIER. I have very limited time, and I am in the midst of my closing remarks. Did the gentleman from Oregon have a chance to speak?

Mr. DREIER. That is why I have been given the opportunity to close here, and I appreciate having the chance to do that. It seems to me, Mr. Chairman, that as we look at where we are headed, this is well-intentioned, but the fact is I think that it would undermine our attempt to proceed with our attempts in those 1,000 agreements that are in the process of moving ahead so that we can cut that burden. So I urge a ``no'' vote on this and hope my colleagues will join in doing that.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to my very good friend, the gentleman from Dayton, OH [Mr. Hall], pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. (Mr. DREIER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks and include extraneous material.)

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Sanibel, FL [Mr. Goss], the chairman of the Subcommittee on Legislative and Budget Process and, of course, the chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Nebraska [Mr. Bereuter], my very good friend from Lincoln, the chairman of the Subcommittee on International Economic Policy and Trade. (Mr. BEREUTER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, this rule makes in order H.R. 2267, the Departments of Commerce, Justice and State, and related agencies appropriations bill for fiscal year 1998 under an open rule. It waives all points of order against provisions of the bill as amended by this rule, containing unauthorized appropriations or constituting legislation in appropriations bills. The rule self-executes the adoption of an amendment contained in the Committee on Rules report providing for judicial review of census sampling. It also makes in order three additional amendments contained in the report and provides the appropriate waivers. The rule also contains the standard procedures for priority recognition of amendments and the rolling of votes on amendments, as the reading clerk has outlined. Mr. Speaker, this is a very reasonable rule that allows the House to work its will on a number of very contentious issues. It provides several options for dealing with the issue of reimbursing individuals paid by the Clerk of the House for legal expenses in conjunction with an unjustified Department of Justice prosecution. It provides for the consideration of compromise language in the form of an amendment by the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Burton], the chairman of the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, dealing with the Legal Services Corporation. The rule also provides for a Mollohan-Shays alternative on funding for Census 2000 and the use of funds for activities related to sampling. At the request of the minority, the Committee on Rules increased the debate time on that amendment from 30 minutes to 80 minutes. Mr. Speaker, we have every right to be concerned about the Census Bureau's proposal to use statistical sampling to determine our Nation's population, especially since our U.S. Constitution very specifically states actual enumeration should take place. Statistical sampling is fraught with the potential for abuse. One can only imagine how an administration policy which has actually led to the registration of noncitizens with criminal records to vote could also potentially lead to the abuse of statistical sampling. I would like to commend the gentleman from Kentucky [Mr. Rogers], the chairman, for his tremendous effort in putting together a bill that reflects our Nation's values and priorities. It provides additional funding for State and local law enforcement, juvenile crime control, State prison grants and drug enforcement, including efforts to stop drug trafficking across our borders. The bill recognizes the ongoing financial burden that States bear for incarceration of illegal aliens. States such as my State of California and others heavily impacted by illegal immigration will be able to finally get additional relief from those burdens. The bill also contains very important funding for the National Endowment for Democracy, which has played a key role in the peaceful transitions to democracy in Poland, Chile, and South Africa. On a budget of just $30 million, Mr. Speaker, the National Endowment for Democracy works in over 90 countries helping democratic forces. Countries like China, Cuba, Burma, Iraq, the Sudan, Nigeria, and the Republics of the former Yugoslavia have benefited from programs of the National Endowment for Democracy. In China, the International Republican Institute, an organization with which I am happy to be affiliated, has made tremendous strides in bringing real democratic reforms in village elections across that country. By educating over 500 million Chinese people in the principles of democracy, the International Republican Institute and the National Endowment for Democracy are creating the foundations for a more prosperous and democratic China. Mr. Speaker, since history shows that nations living under freely elected democracies are not military aggressors, spending a few million dollars for democracy building today will save billions of dollars later in defense spending because there will be fewer threats to our national security or our interests. The bill also reduces funding for the Department of Commerce while maintaining the necessary resources to monitor and enforce our trade agreements, preserve core scientific programs, and refocus the Department toward its basic functions of trade promotion and public safety. Mr. Speaker, this rule does not attempt to hide the fact that there are a number of, as I said earlier, contentious issues in this bill, but it deals with those issues in a fair and balanced way that allows all sides to be heard, and ultimately the House will work its will. So, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues' support of both the rule and of the bill. Mr. Speaker, with that I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 239 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend the gentleman from New York [Mr. Solomon] for yielding me this time frame. I rise in strong support of this rule, and I do so to say that it is not with a great deal of enthusiasm that I strongly support it, because of the fact that we were not able to make an amendment in order that the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Hamilton] and I offered. But having said that, I think in further defense of the gentleman from New York's [Mr. Solomon] position, the amendments that are moving forward we have addressed in a bipartisan way, which is one of those guidelines that he set forth. We obviously need to reform the ethics process. The confidence in this institution by our colleagues, people in the media, and more important, the American people is higher than it has been in the past, but clearly there is a credibility problem and I think that is what led to the formation of this task force. The gentleman from Glens Falls, NY [Mr. Solomon], the chairman of the Committee on Rules, just mentioned the fact that the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Hamilton] and I co-chaired the Joint Committee on the Organization of Congress back during the 103d Congress in 1993. We spent time looking at this issue of ethics reform and a wide range of other reforms, many of which were introduced and passed in a bipartisan way on the opening day of the 104th Congress. But we still were not able to bring about the kind of reform that this bipartisan panel has successfully come to an agreement on. So while this may not be exactly what everybody wants, I think that it will take very, very strong and positive steps in the direction of bringing about a level of credibility that is, I think, needed. So I am going to urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' in favor of the rule, and I will join with the gentleman from New York [Mr. Solomon] in saying that when we come to the end, regardless of how the amendments come out on this, I will join in supporting the package because of the regard I have for the gentleman from Alabama [Mr. Livingston] and the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Moakley] and others who labored long and hard and even suffered through testimony that I gave before their task force. So I want to say that I join and am happy to be here, of course, with the chairman of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct [Mr. Hansen] who has spent a long time addressing this issue, and I look forward to finally seeing us pass a very positive measure. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, ``We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain in this Constitution for the United States of America.'' It was 210 years ago today that 39 courageous individuals signed that document and began the ratification process. It has been fascinating for me to sit here, Mr. Speaker, listening to these speeches and watching the greatest deliberative body known to man proceed with its work, and it is important that we note this very, very important Constitution Day, and it is also Peggy Sampson's birthday back in the Cloakroom.

Mr. DREIER

Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, if one looks at the pattern of the 1980's, it is very, very clear, we doubled the flow of revenues. We saw an increase in social spending and, yes, we did increase the national defense so that we could bring about an end to the Soviet Union and the cold war. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.