Vernon Ehlers

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, that point that was just made has been made a number of times. The point is simply the rules of the House prevent us from speaking about matters which are under consideration in the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, and the speaker was out of order.

Mr. EHLERS. Regular order, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, recently I received a letter from a senior citizen in my district, Mrs. Esther Koster, who responded to a letter I had sent her. She responded as follows: Dear Sir: It was refreshing to get a letter from a Congressman with information without having to sign a petition and send money. For the past month I have received a minimum of three letters a day from different organizations asking me to sign petitions and send money. At first I complied but lately it has gotten out of hand and now those letters go from the mailbox to the garbage without being opened. Are all these organizations necessary and how can I tell if some are using the funds for themselves or for other purposes? Mr. Speaker, last month I gave a speech on this floor decrying the fraudulent organizations which are soliciting money from senior citizens, ostensibly to let us know their opinion. Mrs. Koster, I want to assure you, you do not have to send money to these organizations to let us know what you think. Spend 32 cents for a stamp to send us a letter, as you did. To all senior citizens out there, avoid these fraudulent organizations. Contact your Congressperson directly.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, over the past several months, the Democrats, during our continuing debate over Medicare, have often accused the Republicans of many things which we are not doing, as we have tried to outline our plans. The comment you heard from the previous speaker is an example of that, ignoring the fact that a number of hearings were held on Medicare before the plan was issued. The Washington Post has this to say about the Democrats' MediScare campaign. They have no plan. Mr. Gephardt says they can't offer one because the Republicans would simply pocket the money to finance their tax cut. It is the perfect defense. The Democrats can't do the right thing because the Republicans would then do the wrong one. But that has nothing to do with Medicare. The Democrats have fabricated the Medicare-tax-cut connection because it is useful politically. It allows them to attack and to duck responsibility both at the same time. We think it is wrong. Mr. Speaker, I agree with the Washington Post. I believe the American public agrees with the Washington Post. We are doing the right thing. We have the courage to do the right thing, and we will do it.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I take this opportunity to recognize the achievements and contributions of Larry Murray, who is retiring after 21 years as the founder and director of the Area Agency on Aging of Western Michigan. His work and dedication have been superb over the years. He will be sorely missed by our community and the people he has come in contact with. A native of Pittsburgh, PA, Larry attended elementary and high school there. He went on to graduate from Duquesne University in his hometown. In 1939, Larry began his professional career as a sales trainee for the United States Gypsum Co. After learning the ropes of the industry, he rose quickly through the ranks and eventually became the company's national sales manager of insulation products. Three years after he began his first job, Larry enlisted in the U.S. Army to serve his country during World War II. Four years after enlisting Larry was honorably discharged, and he returned to his job with the United States Gypsum Co. He remained with the company and began his association with Grand Rapids, MI. Larry remained involved in the gypsum industry for another 14 years, working as a sales manager for the Grand Rapids Gypsum Co. Midway through his tenure with the company Larry was appointed as vice president of sales and marketing. As vice president, he oversaw all phases of the marketing program including prices, policies, and profits. In 1970, he retired from the gypsum industry to pursue a personal business venture. From 1970 to 1974, Larry owned and operated a consulting service geared toward the construction industry. In 1974, Larry was appointed as director of the newly developed Area Agency on Aging of Western Michigan. The agency is responsible for planning, coordinating, and serving as a funding agency for older adult programs in nine-county area. As director of the agency, Larry dedicated himself to providing the best possible services for area seniors. Larry's contributions to the care of seniors have been recognized not only by the citizens of west Michigan but also across the Nation. Throughout his 21 years with the Area Agency on Aging, Larry has been applauded by his peers and recognized with awards and leadership roles on various boards. He is one of the founders of the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging and served on the first board of directors for two terms. In 1986, he received the ``Distinguished Area Agency Director Award for the United States'' from the director of 675 Area Agencies on Aging in the United States. He also served as a representative to the 1981 White House Conference on Aging. This litany of activities demonstrates that he has been very active on State and national levels in promoting aging related issues. Not only has Larry blessed many people with his commitment to helping, he has also been blessed with a wonderful, caring family. Providing support over the years for this dedicated man have been his wife Mary Lou of 52 years, and his children Dr. Lawrence Murray III, Patrick J. Murray, Mary Anne Timmer, and Jim Murray. Mr. Speaker, I have only touched the surface of the many contributions Larry has made to our community. I want to personally thank him for all that he has done in marking west Michigan a better place for the seniors of our community. It is with great pleasure that I take this time today to honor the many achievements and contributions of this outstanding and dedicated citizen.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I have a point of order.

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I made the point yesterday with precisely the same speaker that it is out of order, according to the House rules, to discuss a matter that is pending before the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, there has been a great deal of discussion about Medicare in this Chamber, but I believe it is time to begin the discussion of Medicaid. I recall when I served on the Michigan legislature some of the oldtimers told me when the original Medicaid bill was passed a Member got up and refused to vote for it. He said, ``I predict that someday this State will spend $50 million a year on this program.'' Mr. Speaker, he was wrong. Today the State of Michigan is spending $2 billion on that program every year, approximately 20 percent of their general fund budget. That was true for State after State. In my State of Michigan, Mr. Speaker, when I was in the legislature, it was very frustrating because we knew where we could save money in the Medicaid program, but the Federal Government refused to give us the freedom to pursue the actions that we wanted to pursue. I believe it is very important that we proceed with the approach the Republicans are advocating, giving the States leeway in how they go on the program and giving them block grants so they can run it efficiently and properly. I urge that we adopt the new Medicaid approach operating through State block grants.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, my point of order is that the gentlewoman from Connecticut [Ms. DeLauro] is speaking out of order and discussing a matter that is currently before the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I have a point of order.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I have a point of order.

Mr. EHLERS. My point of order is that the Member is proceeding to discuss a matter pending before the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct and that is out of order.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Once again, Mr. Speaker, I rise to make the point of order that the gentleman has mentioned a case pending before the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct and it is not in order to make those comments.

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I have a point of order.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, for the past several months we have had considerable discussion and debate on the floor of the House regarding Medicare, an extremely important program, particularly to the senior citizens of this Nation. I have been very disappointed in the debate that we have had. I come from an academic background where you concentrate on the facts and you discuss and debate based on those facts. One fact is uncontrovertible: The trustees of the Medicare Program have said it will be bankrupt in 7 years if the Congress does not do something about it, and the debate should focus on that. But it has been a very partisan debate. My disappointment is the other side of the aisle has not engaged in a serious debate on the facts. I turn to the Washington Post, scarcely a conservative paper, but they have written an objective editorial about what has happened in this debate in the past few months. This is what the Post has to say about the Democrats' Medi-scare campaign. These are actual quotes from the editorial, labeled Medigogues: ``Crummy stuff; demagoguery big- time; scare talk; expostulation; it is irresponsible.'' On the Republican side, the Post has this to say: ``Congressional Republicans have confounded skeptics. It is credible. It is gutsy.'' I think we should all listen to the Washington Post.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I take this opportunity to recognize the efforts and achievements of an outstanding man from my hometown of Grand Rapids, MI. Rev. W.L. Patterson of the True Light Baptist Church has given 41 years of unselfish civic and spiritual service to the residents of our community. Reverend Patterson was born and raised in Arkansas, and in 1954 was called to the pastorate of the True Light Baptist Church. He is known throughout our community as a man of great integrity, ambition, and leadership. His work and dedication have helped improve the quality of life for a countless number of people. Since being ordained 56 years ago, Reverend Patterson has continually served as a church pastor, and dedicated the last 41 years to the True Light Baptist Church. He has accomplished many outstanding services for the church such as building a new church, purchasing two parsonages, and purchasing property for the church, in addition to serving the spiritual needs of his parishioners. Reverend Patterson has conducted daily commentaries and has appealed to those in need of prayer and counseling over the airwaves of WKWM radio. Reverend Patterson has used the power of the radio medium to deliver prayers and worship for those who are unable to attend services in person. His radio worship services have given him the distinction of being one of the first pastors to use this form of communication to deliver his message. His involvement with the community extends beyond the pulpit of the church. He was instrumental in forming the Ambassadors Club, an organized Bible study class that later became a community service group. He also founded the Kennedy Day Care Center which served the youth of our community for more than 20 years. People with substance abuse problems have also benefited from Patterson's caring ways. His Operation Faith program was established to help those with substance abuse problems deal with their dilemmas through alternatives other than drugs and alcohol. His skills and leadership have also been tapped by numerous organizations in the community. He has served as a member of the Kent Skills Committee on Relocation and he has also been involved as a board member of the Salvation Army's Genesis House. He has also held membership in the Grand Rapids chapters of the Urban League and the NAACP. Not only has Reverend Patterson blessed the lives of many during his years of service, he has also been blessed himself by a wonderful family. Providing loving support for this dedicated man have been his wife Ruth White Patterson and his children Willie Patterson, Jr., Allena Ruth Cross, Rev. Irma Jean Jones, Ralph Patterson, Rev. H. Calvin Patterson, Barbara Brazil, Thedosa Baker, and his deceased son, Walter Patterson. Mr. Speaker, I have summed up just a sampling of the many accomplishments and achievements of this remarkable and dedicated man. It is with great pleasure and privilege that I take this time to honor Reverend Patterson for all of his work in helping provide a better way of life for those he has come in contact with.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the proceedings had during the recess be printed in the Record.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, today, as for the past several months, Members will hear during these 1-minute speeches various screams of anguish about the Medicare system, particularly from the other side of the aisle. Today I come here as a scientist, because I am interested in the facts. I come here as someone who is just a few years from retirement, with a personal interest in having a Medicare system that will last. Let us look at the facts. The trustees of the Medicare system have said that the system will be bankrupt in 7 years if we do not do something about it: Fact 1. Fact No. 2: The costs of the Medicare system are rising roughly 2\1/ 2\ times as fast as they are rising in private sector insurance. That is fact No. 2. Fact No. 3: is that the revenue coming into the Medicare system this year for the first time is going to fall behind the money being spent by the Medicare system. That is fact No. 3. The Republicans have no plans to cut Medicare. In fact, we want to preserve it. That is fact No. 4. What do we want to do? Frankly, from my perspective, we want to improve Medicare. We want to have it persist. We want to give people choices, HMO's and other things. We want competition, we want efficiency, and we want a better system. That is what we are going to work for.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I am very disappointed once again this morning to hear the other side of the aisle talking about imaginary cuts to Medicare, cuts which have never been proposed by the Republicans and which we never plan to implement. I want to show you the cuts that the Republicans are implementing, and this chart shows the beginning of that effort. We might call it a Sav-O-Meter. The legislative branch we have cut by $150 million; foreign aid by $1.5 billion; the energy and water budget by $1.6 billion; the Interior budget by $1.6 billion. We are just starting. We are only partway through the appropriations process, and we have already cut $5 billion out of the Federal budget compared to last year. We expect to go up to about $21 billion. What does this mean to Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer of America? Roughly at this point about $50 per family in cuts already. We expect to get up in the neighborhood of $210 to $250 in cuts for the average American family. Those are real cuts. Those are cuts the people will notice. They are not the imaginary cuts the other side talks about.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, yesterday marked another important step in our efforts to reform the internal operations of the House of Representatives. As a member of the Committee on House Oversight, I heard the testimony offered by the outside auditors retained to evaluate the books of the House, the first outside audit of House finances in over half a century. The auditors state that they had ``No opinion.'' That is a CPA's term for saying they could not express an opinion because they could not even figure out the books in order to know whether or not they were in order. Things are in such disarray in terms of the House finances and the House books that the auditors said we have to revamp the entire system. I believe it is very important that we brought this situation to light. It is extremely important that we address the situation. As the Committee on House Oversight, we are pledged to bring this to the attention of the House of Representatives, to put the books in order, and to make sure that all the money spent by the House of Representatives is fully accounted for and properly expended.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment offered by my fellow scientist, Mr. Olver. Something that many of you may not be aware of is that I spent a considerable amount of my earlier scientific career dealing with subjects relating to energy conservation. I can assure my colleagues that there is no other source of energy available as cheaply and as readily as that which is obtained through conservation of energy. I believe it is very important for us to have appropriate energy standards which inform the public of the use of energy by the appliances they buy. I label the Olver amendment as a consumer information amendment. It is very important that the Federal Government serve as a neutral source of information that is available to the public so that they can buy appliances which are energy efficient. I can relate a simple experience I had when my wife and I first got married and we went shopping for a refrigerator. She decided on the refrigerators she liked because of the features it had, and narrowed it down to two models. One refrigerator cost $250, and one cost $500. Obviously, it seemed, the cheaper refrigerator would be the better buy. However, I did an energy consumption analysis of those refrigerators, because it was before the time of energy standards, and discovered that in fact the $500 refrigerator over its anticipated lifetime would cost considerably less than the $250 refrigerator. We bought the more expensive model and saved a lot of money. I hope we, as the Federal Government, can provide enough information so that everyone can make those kinds of decisions.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I have not been in Congress a long time. I was elected approximately a year and a half ago in a special election. But it took a very short time after my arrival to realize that there was something wrong with the way the books of the House were kept. I have always insisted on keeping track of the finances in my office during my years in the legislature in Michigan, and I tried to do the same here, and found I simply could not get the answers I needed from the Finance Office. It is clear that some action had to be taken. I am delighted that at the beginning of this Congress, we passed a resolution virtually unanimously, 430 votes to 1 vote, we passed a resolution asking for an independent outside audit from a major accounting firm. Today we received the report from the auditor, and the auditor's opinion was that he had no opinion. He could not state an opinion because the House books were in such a mess that he could not conclude whether there had been anything done wrong, any misdeeds performed, or whether the books in fact balanced. This is a more serious indictment than we expected, and certainly has to be dealt with. The auditor may not have an opinion, but I certainly have an opinion, and my opinion is that we have to straighten this out and straighten it out soon. I am very pleased that the Committee on House Oversight under the chairmanship of the gentleman from California [Mr. Thomas] has taken action, and we plan to straighten the House books out as soon as possible. Furthermore, and this resolution speaks to that, we will maintain them in order. We will insist on regular outside audits to make sure that the House books continue to be in order from henceforth. I think it is incumbent upon us to do that. There is a matter of public accountability. We are responsible to the people of the United States for the money we expend, and we have insisted on the various departments of our Government giving us accountability for the money that we allocate to them. At the very least, we as a House must have accountability to ourselves and to the public for the money that we spend for the operation of this august institution. I speak strongly in favor of adopting the resolution, and ensuring not only that we straighten out the House books, but also that they will remain in good condition from henceforth. Mr. Speaker, I pledge to my constituents, I pledge to our colleagues, and I pledge to my colleagues on the Committee on House Oversight, to do everything I can to assist in this effort by the Committee on House Oversight to ensure that the House can be proud of the financial operation of its own affairs.

Mr. EHLERS

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No. 512, I was not present because my flight was delayed 3\1/2\ hours by severe thunderstorms. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.'' personal explanation

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No. 515, I was not present because my flight was delayed 3\1/2\ hours by severe thunderstorms. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.'' personal explanation

Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No. 514, I was not present because my flight was delayed 3\1/2\ hours by severe thunderstorms. Had I been present, I would have voted ``Yes.'' personal explanation