Martin Frost

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the rule, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconin [Mr. Obey].

Mr. FROST

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 will offer an amendment to the rule which will make in order two amendments: One by the gentleman from Utah [Mr. Orton] and the other by the gentlelady from Florida [Mrs. Meek]. The Orton amendment would make any tax cuts dependent upon the Congressional Budget Office certifying that the total budget would in fact be balanced by 2002. We should not be promising tax cuts until we are sure that the budget is balanced. The Meek amendment would eliminate the earned income tax credit reductions that take $20 billion from the working poor and provide offsets by denying tax breaks to the rich. Vote ``no'' on the previous question. I include the text of the amendment and accompanying documents for the Record at this point in the debate.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida [Mrs. Meek]. (Mrs. MEEK of Florida asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California [Mr. Beilenson]. (Mr. BEILENSON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

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

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I was pleased to read on the front page of the Washington Post that the administration is finally considering imposing sanctions on China for the piracy of United States intellectual property rights. The flagrant and illegal piracy of United States intellectual property rights continues to flourish in many parts of the globe, most notably in China. USRT has estimated that the piracy of U.S. patents and copyrights and the counterfeiting of our trademarks costs the U.S. economy billions of dollars annually. Piracy undermines our ability to compete in the global marketplace by denying U.S. companies access to new markets. Such unfair trading practices ultimately result in the loss of jobs here at home. The piracy of intellectual property rights is an issue which I have followed for several years. I, along with many of my Texas colleagues, have written the United States Trade Representative on several occasions requesting that strong action be taken against China for the piracy of United States intellectual property rights. in fact, this week, I agreed to cosponsor a measure soon to be introduced by Congresswoman Pelosi to impose sanctions against China for their intellectual property rights violations. I firmly believe that the United States Government must take forceful action to convince China to crack down on this piracy. The United States simply cannot tolerate the theft of its industries' valuable intellectual property. I urge the Clinton administration to follow through on their warnings and impose stiff sanctions on China.

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Vermont [Mr. Sanders].

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Meehan].

Mr. FROST. Including the Speaker and the majority leader and the majority whip who also did not serve. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas [Ms. Jackson-Lee]. (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina [Mr. Spratt].

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California [Mr. Dellums].

Mr. FROST. I yield to the gentleman from New York.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon [Mr. DeFazio].

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I thank the gentleman from New York for yielding the customary 30 minutes of debate time to me. I personally support House Resolution 430, the rule to H.R. 3230, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997. However, there is opposition to the rule because it does not allow for any amendments that would provide for a reduction in defense spending. Specifically, the Foley-Shays amendment would reduce the overall authorization level of the bill to $264.7 billion, which is the same level for fiscal year 1996 and a decrease of $2.3 billion from this year's authorized level. Congresswoman Schroeder also offered an amendment that would cut the overall level of defense spending by $13 billion. Both amendments were not made in order by the Committee on Rules. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3230 reflects the country's continued effort to revitalize America's defenses in order to meet the security requirements of the post-cold-war world. The world has undergone tremendous changes over the last few years. The Soviet Union is no longer the dominant military threat it once was. However, we are still seeing other trouble spots breaking out throughout the world. It is therefore critical that we maintain a strong defense. I commend the committee's fine job in bringing this bill to the floor and its commitment to maintain the technological advantage enjoyed today by U.S. military forces and to ensure that edge in the future. Mr. Speaker, I believe this bill does just that. The bill authorizes a total of $267 billion for DOD programs for fiscal year 1997--$13 billion above the President's request. And $7.5 billion of this increase is slated for weapons procurement. In particular, this bill authorizes funding for 10 C-17's for fiscal year 1997, an airplane that is critical to our Nation's future airlift capabilities. The bill also increases the administration's request and authorizes $732 million for procurement of six V-22 Osprey--the tiltroter aircraft that will provide medium lift capabilities for our forces. In addition, the bill authorizes funding for six F-16 aircraft in fiscal year 1997 and $2 billion on continued development of the F-22 stealth fighter. I also commend the committee for recommending an increase of $290 million to the administration's request of $528 million, to accelerate the conventional conversion of the B-2. Other programs which strengthen our national defense and ensure our ability and readiness to respond forcefully to threats to our security are also authorized in this bill. Mr. Speaker, 109 amendments were filed on this bill. Forty-one were made in order. While we would have wanted more to be made in order, this is a good rule, Mr. Speaker, and I urge its adoption.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would only caution my friend, the chairman on the other side, about certain remarks. I would remind him that the Speaker of the House, Mr. Gingrich, did not serve in the military. The majority leader of the House, Mr. Armey, did not serve in the military. The majority whip of the House, Mr. DeLay, did not serve in the military. I know the gentleman served in the military, as did I, but I would urge the gentleman not to make remarks about the Clinton administration and people who did not serve in the military when there are leaders on his side of aisle who also did not serve in the military.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 7 minutes to the gentleman from California [Mr. Dellums], the ranking member of the committee.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute, and then I will yield the remaining time to the gentleman from California [Mr. Dellums]. 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 86 percent of the legislation this session has been considered under a restrictive rule. Not only are the Republicans restricting the process on the floor, they are also restricting Members' input during the committee process. I find it unfortunate that 48 percent of the legislation considered this session has not been reported from committee. In fact, 13 out of 27 measures brought up this session have been unreported. Mr. Speaker, I insert the following extraneous material in the Record:

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I would advise the gentleman from New York [Mr. Solomon] we only have one speaker remaining on our side who will close for us. I do not know if the gentleman has any other speakers.

Mr. FROST. The gentleman from California [Mr. Dellums].

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that my name be removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 1972.

Mr. FROST

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. First, Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on the previous question. If the previous question is defeated, I will offer an amendment to the rule which would make in order a substitute amendment. My substitute simply directs the International Relations Committee--using existing resources--to do the very same investigation the Republicans would have their new subcommittee do. There is no dispute that the appropriate committees ought to review and investigate the foreign policy decision of this or any other President. But before you can say we need to create a new subcommittee, you have to establish that the existing committees aren't capable of doing their job. No one has made that case. Frankly, the only difference between the Republican resolution and our substitute is whether to create a million dollar subcommittee or whether to carry out the investigation within the current committees using funding already available. Vote ``no'' on the previous question.

Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.