Martin Frost

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, we have no remaining speakers, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I urge a no vote on the previous question. If the previous question is defeated, I shall offer an amendment to the rule which will make in order the amendment by the gentleman from Mississippi, Representative Taylor. The Taylor amendment seeks to allow HCFA to reimburse DOD for treatment in military medical facilities of military retirees and their dependents over the age of 65 who are Medicare eligible. Mr. Speaker, I include the text of the proposed amendment to the rule at this point in the Record. On page 2, line 15, of H. Res. 472, immediately after ``waived.'' insert the following: ``Notwithstanding any other provision of this rule, it shall be in order to consider an amendment to be offered by Representative Taylor of Mississippi or his designee, which shall be in order without intervention of any point of order (except those arising under section 425(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974) or a demand for a division of the question, and shall be considered as read.'' Mr. Speaker, at the beginning of this Congress the Republican majority claimed the House was going to consider bills under an open process. I want to point out that 60 percent of the legislation in this session has been considered under a restrictive process. Mr. Speaker, I include the following extraneous material for the Record:

Mr. FROST. 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. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Connecticut [Ms. DeLauro].

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, the Appropriations Committee recently recommended that the U.S. Government Printing Office look for additional opportunities to privatize its operations. Already the GPO contracts out between 75 percent and 80 percent of all printing jobs it receives. The GPO has one of the finest performing procurement operations of any in the U.S. Government, and GPO saves the taxpayers millions of dollars every year through this process. The only work that continues to be done inhouse at GPO is work that would be very difficult and very expensive to contract out. The GPO performs almost all congressional work inhouse, working closely with the House, and Senate leadership on an hourly basis to ensure that Congress' business can be transacted each day. What kind of control would we have over contracted printing. Would we get the Congressional Record, conference reports, business calendars, and bills on time? The GPO keeps personnel on standby to meet all of Congress' needs and contingencies regardless of the hour of the day or night. How many contractors could do that? And, at what cost would it be to the Government? The U.S. Government Printing Office charges only its costs to do congressional work. Contractors would charge cost plus a profit. More than 100 years ago, most congressional printing was contracted out, and it was a disasterous program. Work was late, some of it never got done, and contractors charged outrageous prices. The GPO was created to put an end to that very expensive and corrupt process. It has been an incredible success and a truly loyal servant to the U.S. Congress. With the GPO's outstanding record, we need to take a long and hard critical look at proposals to privatize congressional printing.

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the distinguished gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Dingell].

Mr. FROST. 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. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New York [Mr. Manton].

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Utah [Mr. Orton]. (Mr. ORTON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Oberstar].

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and in partial response to my friend, the chairman of the committee, I would like to insert some material in the Record. Mr. Speaker, at the beginning of this Congress the Republican majority claimed that the House was going to consider bills under an open process. I would like to point out that 60 percent of the legislation this session has been considered under a restrictive process. Mr. Speaker, additional information for the Record follows:

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Dingell]. (Mr. DINGELL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. FROST. I have no remaining requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas [Ms. Jackson-Lee]. (Ms. JACKSON-LEE asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Connecticut [Ms. DeLauro].

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes and 30 seconds to the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Stenholm]. (Mr. STENHOLM asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Sabo].

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Markey].

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Pallone].

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this rule. This is an open rule which will allow for amendment and ample debate on the important issues related to funding for the Veterans' Administration and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. However, many of my colleagues will oppose this rule and during the debate, it is my intention to yield to opponents in order to allow them the opportunity to explain their position. Mr. Speaker, I also rise in support of H.R. 3666. This bill reflects a spirit of cooperation between the majority and minority to craft an appropriation for these agencies that was not present in the last funding cycle. I commend the subcommittee chairman, Mr. Lewis, for working closely with his ranking minority member, Mr. Stokes, to create this bill. Mr. Speaker, the programs funded by this appropriation affect a wide range of essential Government services and projects--everything from low-income housing, to health care for our Nation's veterans, to our space program. Reconciling the funding needs of all these programs within the limits established by the budget resolution is no easy task. While this bill is not perfect and many Members may disagree with the priorities it establishes, this bill does reflect an honest attempt to fashion a bipartisan agreement. I would also like to thank the Appropriations Committee for providing the funds necessary to begin construction of a new national veterans cemetery for the Dallas/Fort Worth area. For nearly 10 years I have worked closely with north Texas veterans to establish this cemetery. The Dallas/Fort Worth area is home to one of the most concentrated veterans' populations in the country--more than 1 million people eligible for burial in a veterans cemetery live within 100 miles of the site of this new cometary, yet there are currently no burial facilities for eligible veterans in this area. The Veterans' Administration has cited the North Texas region as one of the top 10 areas in the Nation most in need of additional burial space. This funding, a total of $16.2 million, will change this situation and will enable this facility to open by the spring of 1999. For the veterans of the north Texas region who have worked so diligently on this project, the inclusion of these funds is the culmination of years of work. I want to thank them for all of their assistance in seeing this project through, from start to finish. I also want to especially thank Chairman Lewis and Mr. Stokes for ensuring that this project was included in this appropriations bill. Mr. Speaker, while this bill does not adequately fund many programs that are of vital importance to many Americans, we all understand that funding levels for domestic programs are rapidly shrinking. Given that fact, this bill represents an honest effort to fund the programs encompassed by the VA-HUD appropriations bill, and I urge support of this rule so that the House may move on to the consideration of this appropriation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Colorado [Mrs. Schroeder].

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, at the beginning of this Congress, the Republican majority claimed that the House was going to consider bills under an open process. I would like to point out that 63 percent of the legislation this session has been considered under a restrictive process. Mr. Speaker, I submit for the Record the following material:

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this rule and of this bill. Maintaining a strong defense of our Nation is one of the paramount responsibilities of Congress, and I am pleased that this bill meets that responsibility head on. As reported, H.R. 3610 provides appropriations of $245.8 billion for the functions of the Department of Defense in fiscal year 1997 which is $11.1 billion above the administration's request. While some may disagree with the funding levels and priorities established by this bill, the simple fact is that in end, these priorities will protect the best interests of the United States. These priorities will keep us strong and deserve our support. Mr. Speaker, the rule will allow any Member to offer amendments to cut funding levels in the bill and thus ensures that we will have a full and fair debate on the defense programs funded here. In addition, the manager's amendment made in order in the rule will cut an additional $800 million from the reported bill to bring it in line with the conference agreement on the budget for fiscal year 1997. I commend Chairman Young and his ranking member, Mr. Murtha, for their willingness to adjust this bill to meet the requirements of the budget resolution. I would also like to commend the Appropriations Committee for not including in the bill the social issues that generated such controversy in the fiscal year 1996 appropriation. Mr. Speaker, the purpose of this appropriation is to fund programs of the Department of Defense that relate to our military preparedness. Passage of this appropriation for those important programs should not be slowed by adding to them social issues that are of importance to a certain extreme element of the Republican Party. I am gratified that this year my Republican colleagues have seen the wisdom of adhering to the rules of the House and have kept those controversial issues out of the appropriations bill. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3610 is a forward looking appropriation. This bill accelerates the acquisition of several important weapons systems, accelerates the research and development programs relating to the next generation of several others, and funds quality-of-life programs that insure that we will be able to recruit and keep the young men and women who serve as our soldiers, airmen, sailors, and marines. I am particularly gratified that the committee has provided advance funding for the acquisition of additional C-17's and V-22's. The accelerated acquisition of these two aircraft systems will save the U.S. Treasury nearly $9 billion. Saving $9 billion while ensuring for our Nation's defense is no mean feat and I congratulate the Defense Subcommittee for making these recommendations to the full House. Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3610 and the rule providing for its consideration. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. FROST asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks and to include extraneous material.)

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon [Mr. DeFazio].