Dick Gephardt

Mr. GEPHARDT

Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to make one simple fundamental point. We can do better than a budget that takes health care from the elderly to pay for tax breaks for the privileged few. I say to my colleagues, ``If you ask me, this budget is not just reckless public policy. It's a repudiation of everything this country stands for and every purpose that we came here to serve.'' Mr. Speaker, tax cuts for the privileged few and budget cuts for the middle class is the most egregious redistribution of income from workers to the wealthy since Republicans ruled the White House, and I suppose this should not come as a surprise because that is what trickle-down economics is really all about, survival of the richest last time the Republicans tried it in the high rolling 1980's, two- thirds of all the new wealth went to the top 1 percent of Americans. The most privileged of the privileged, the decent, hard-working, middle-income families who are the strength and soul of this country, barely got a dime. And now the Republicans are saying that after a decade and a half of economic disaster and decline for the middle income people it is time to try it all over again. It is time to ravage health care for the elderly and disabled, rob people's pensions, and pass a back-door tax increase. It is time to slash the earned income credit, which nearly 40 percent of all families with children depend upon sometime in the decade to keep themselves out of poverty. It is time to cut education, and increase the cost of student loans and eliminate summer jobs for worthy young people. Mr. Speaker, this is a dark moment in the history of our House. This budget is so unfair, so extreme, so reckless in redistribution, my guess is that many on the other side even find it offensive. That is why we are offering this motion to instruct. That is why we want this opportunity to build a better budget and a fairer budget. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to turn aside trickle-down economics not out of partisanship, but out of an abiding sense of justice, and fairness, and decency and what is right. Vote for this motion. Let us put an end to tax breaks for the privileged few and budget cuts for the middle class. We can and we must do better for the people of this country.

Mr. GEPHARDT

Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to ask Members to vote for this motion to recommit. I do it in a bipartisan way. We have always had a bipartisan foreign policy for this country. We have always tried to stop partisanship at the water's edge. And we have always tried to write these authorization bills for foreign policy together. And we have always tried to balance the power of the President with the power of the Congress in reaching our foreign policy. In all humility, I suggest to all of my colleagues that this bill does not carry on that tradition. I was proud of the House last night when in a bipartisan way we refused to give up powers that I think it was important for the Congress to keep with regard to how we declare and make war. And I ask tonight that we pass this motion to recommit; we leave more of the power in reordering the structure of our foreign policy [[Page H5733]] to the President, that as we make these cuts we give the President more authority in exactly where the cuts ought to be made. Let me finish with this simple thought: Foreign aid and foreign policy are not popular and never have been in any district in these United States. But it is vitally important to every one of our citizens that we have a good foreign policy that is in the deep self-interest of every American citizen and in our great country. The best way to do that is to make it bipartisan and keep it that way. I urge Members to send this bill back to the committee along the lines the distinguished ranking member has made and let us return to the successful tradition of foreign policy that we have had in this country, which has served this country very well.

Mr. GEPHARDT

Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to pay tribute to a remarkable act of courage that has taken place in the war-torn land of Bosnia. I am talking about the rescue of Capt. Scott O'Grady, who had been missing for nearly a week, since his F-16 jet was shot down by the Bosnian Serbs. Many had almost given up hope of Scott's return. But for 6 days, he survived on his own in the woods--and stayed out of enemy hands-- because of what one marine colonel called his ``guts and his training.'' That is when an outstanding team of marines, led by Col. Martin Berndt, responded to his radio call, and braved fire from Serb forces to bring this American patriot back home. Mr. Speaker, there are no words to express the gratitude of each and every American to Captain O'Grady, who placed his life on the line in the service of his country. His valor, his perseverance, his cunning and skill in the toughest of circumstances are a tribute not just to the U.S. Marine Corps, but to America's fighting spirit itself. As for his rescuers, I think it should be clear today that, as much as we need our weapons systems--as much as we need the sophisticated technology that keeps our troops safe and helps them do their jobs--the heart of our Armed Forces is the drive, the dedication, the determination of our men and women in uniform to do their best for America. On behalf of every Member of this Congress, I salute them--I thank them--and I am grateful for the gift of Captain O'Grady's return to family and country.

Mr. GEPHARDT

Mr. GEPHARDT. I understand the gentleman will be asking unanimous consent that the Committee on National Security will be allowed to file the Defense authorization bill during the recess. Would the gentleman tell us when he expects that important bill to be considered by the House?

Mr. GEPHARDT. That is right. I know the gentleman is interested in doing that. Maybe the gentleman and I can figure out how to catch and throw back some of these fish. Mr. Speaker, let me just simply report what the gentleman said, so Members who may not have been paying as close attention as they might will understand this. As I get it, we will not expect votes on Monday, Tuesday, or Friday of the week we get back from the Memorial Day recess.

Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman. I want to again note that we have these three fish hatchery bills. I know the gentleman's great interest in fishing, and I know that he wants these fish to be hatched as much as I do, so we are all looking forward to getting these three bills passed next week or the week after next.

Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to proceed out of order for 1 minute in order to question the distinguished majority leader about the schedule for next week. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the distinguished majority leader to ask about the schedule for next week and the week after.

Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, and wish him a prosperous, effective, and successful district work period.

Mr. GEPHARDT

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

Mr. GEPHARDT. Will the gentleman tell us what time he is intending to adjourn tomorrow?

Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York.

Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Speaker, I ask for this 1-minute for the purpose of inquiring of the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Rules about the schedule for the rest of today and tomorrow.

Mr. GEPHARDT

Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Speaker, now that the Republicans have forced their budget resolution through this House, it is easy to get lost in a sea of numbers and statistics--to forget about the impact this trickle-down travesty will have on the hard-working people of America. But I cannot forget--because every time I walk the streets of my district in St. Louis, I meet the people who stand to lose health care benefits, pension benefits, and student loans--all to pay for a tax cut for the wealthy that is so unfair, so unnecessary, so This is a picture of Shawn D'Abreu, a student at Webster University in St. Louis. He depends on student loans, as well as college grants and a part-time job, to pay his way through college. To lose any part of his financial aid package could put Shawn's college career in jeopardy, forcing him to delay his degree, or find some source of outside income to make up the difference. Under the new Republican budget plan, Shawn would have his student loan cut by about $5,000. That is a cut he simply cannot afford to sustain. If you ask me, a budget that sacrifices Shawn's college education to line the pockets of the wealthy is a dangerous reversal of priorities. The Republicans want to let billionaires renounce their citizenship and pay no taxes. But Shawn, who is the very future of this country, gets stuck with the bill. That is what the Republicans voted for--tax cuts for the wealthy, and student loan cuts for struggling young people like Shawn. If you ask me, the Senate had it right: That kind of reckless redistribution of income is just plain wrong, and has no place in the United States of America.

Mr. GEPHARDT

Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Speaker, I rise to first answer the charge that has been made that this President is not concerned about victims of natural disasters. In my view this President and this Federal Emergency Administration has done more faster to help people who are in need in natural disasters than any administration I can remember. We will get a piece of legislation to his desk that will handle those problems. But I rise today to make one fundamental point. Shame on those who vote for tax cuts for the wealthy and budget cuts for children from struggling families. Make no mistake about it, that is what this bill does. It cuts food and nutrition for pregnant women and babies, a program that saves nearly 4 times what it costs. It eliminates the summer jobs program, which has enabled so many young people to lift themselves out of poverty and off of welfare. It even cuts medical equipment that is desperately needed to care for our veterans. And heat for the low-income elderly, a program that literally saves people from freezing to death. These cuts would be reckless and unfair no matter what purpose they served. But to make these deep and dangerous cuts to pay for a tax cut for the wealthiest people in the country, to give a $20,000-a-year windfall to the people who do not need it, those earning more than $350,000 a year, is simply unconscionable. Mr. Speaker, when this bill was originally passed in the House, we at least had a guarantee because we had voted for the guarantee that not a dime of these cuts would be used for tax breaks for the privileged few. Now that guarantee has been stripped out of this bill. The money saved by these cuts goes right from the hardworking middle class to the wealthiest people in the country, the most outrageous redistribution of income since the days of the robber barons. That is why we have to vote against this bill in the name of the deficit but also in the name of common decency. I urge Members of defeat this wrongheaded rescission bill. We do not need more tax perks for the privileged at a devastating cost to the people of this country.

Mr. GEPHARDT

Mr. GEPHARDT. I thank the gentleman.

Mr. GEPHARDT. And, finally, I would ask the majority leader, when we return from the Memorial Day recess, will we return for votes on Monday, June 5, or do you think it will be on Tuesday, June 6?

Mr. GEPHARDT. I thank the gentleman. Could you also advise us what rule he would expect on the American Overseas Interest Act?

Mr. GEPHARDT. I would like to ask the gentleman if he could advise us when the last vote might be expected on Tuesday.

Mr. GEPHARDT. I would say to the gentleman I know of his interest in fish hatcheries and trying to improve fishing conditions all over the country. So I know of the importance of this legislation to the gentleman and to other people who are so interested around the country. I would like to ask when the first vote would be expected on Tuesday, approximately what time?

Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Speaker, I ask for this time for the purpose of inquiring of the distinguished majority leader the schedule for next week.

Mr. GEPHARDT. I yield to the distinguished majority leader.

Mr. GEPHARDT

Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Chairman and Members of the House, this vote that we are about to take is perhaps the most important vote of the 2-year period that we will serve in the House of Representatives, and for a moment I would like you to take out of your mind all of the charts and all of the graphs and all of the numbers and all of the statistics that we have flooded the floor with and the airwaves with over the last 2 days and to remember that when we pass a budget, unlike anything else we do here, we affect the lives of millions of our people, all of our people. I would like you to focus on a picture, 70-year-old Cecil Whitner and his wife Ethel, from Affton, MO. All of his life, Cecil has served his country and his community. He fought five major battles in World War II, and he was rewarded with the Bronze Star for his bravery in action. For more than three decades, he worked as a meatcutter in a grocery store in St. Louis. He always paid his taxes, he paid his Medicare taxes, he paid his Social Security taxes, he did what this society asked him to do, as did his wife. Now that he is retired on disability and over 70, he depends every month on Social Security and Medicare, on the money that he paid into these programs for more than 35 years. I say to my colleagues, this budget that you are about to vote on would take approximately $1,300 by the year 2002 between Medicare costs and this pension from Social Security from their annual income, $1,300. It would be one thing if what we are asking them to do was to simply balance the budget, but it is not. In addition to allegedly balancing the budget, we are taking in $1,300 from these folks so that we can give a $20,000 a year tax break to families earning $350,000 a year or more. I would like to show my colleagues another picture, a younger family. In this picture we see Gina Stacer, whose husband, Roy, works as a car salesman in St. Louis. They are trying to save desperately for their twins' education as well as for their own retirement, but I say to my colleagues, when you live paycheck to paycheck, as most of our people do, that's pretty hard to do. Gina's parents are both retired, and they pay astronomical medical bills with Medicare and Social Security. But this budget would cut those benefits, and Gina and Roy would have to use their savings, not to build their children's future--they would like to go to college--but to have to protect their parents' lives. I say to my colleagues, these issues that you vote on today are not just the issues of the elderly. They are issues that affect every American and every American family. Young people who are working have a responsibility to take care of their parents, and they take that responsibility very seriously, and, if their parents are in trouble with medical bills, or they cannot support themselves on Social Security, and if they are living on Social Security, then they have got to step into the breach, and, as all of you know, these middle-income families and families trying to get in the middle income are already pressed without having to do what this budget would ask them to do. Now in the final analysis this budget is about our values. It is about what we believe is right and wrong, just and decent, and I urge my colleagues to understand that as they vote that they are not voting for just charts, and graphs, and numbers. They are voting for flesh- and-blood people who depend on us to represent them in this most important of all transactions that we do as a people. The value of my party, and I hope of a lot in the other party, is that we must invest in people for the things that they cannot do for themselves. All of us believe our budget must be brought into balance. All of us believe we have go to get our fiscal accounts in order. It is the question of how to do it, and what I argue to my colleagues is, if we're going to balance the budget, let's figure out how to balance the budget, but in that toughest of all transactions let us not represent a value that says we're going to take money from middle-income people who are already struggling, $1,300 a year, to give a $20,000 a year tax cut to families who are earning $350,000 a year. I realize the value that says we must invest in people who already have it made, and that investment will make its way down to the middle class eventually, but I believe as public servants we have a duty, a responsibility, in justice and decency and for what is right, to continue to make the needed investment in the people of this country, which is the greatest resource of this country, and let the people who have it made continue to make their contributions to this great society as well. Defeat this resolution. We can do better.

Mr. GEPHARDT

Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent that the time allotted to me under the rule be yielded to the gentleman from Utah [Mr. Orton], a key author of the amendment, and that he may control the time.

Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Chairman, pursuant to the rule, I offer an amendment in the nature of a substitute.

Mr. GEPHARDT

Mr. GEPHARDT. Mr. Speaker, it is my high honor to be here today and to welcome our former colleagues. As I look around the room, I see many Members that I had the honor and pleasure to serve with, and we welcome all of you to the Chamber today. If there has ever been a time in our history when we need to explain our form of Government to the American people, it probably is right now. We have a lot of reaction among the public, people saying, Why do you all go up there and argue and bicker so much? I understand their frustration and concern, but all of you well know that that is what this place is about. It is about the resolution of conflict. People have to be a little more willing to have conflict resolved in our great society and, of course, that is what goes on in this room and in the room across the other way of the building. I tried to stop, as I handed the Speaker the gavel a few months ago, and remind Americans that we should celebrate the passing of power, in this case after 40 years in the House of Representatives, from one party to another with peace and civility and respect. That is the hallmark of our society. I simply wanted to rise today to congratulate all my former colleagues who have been such an important part of carrying on that tradition and, I am sure, are still carrying on that tradition as they continue to relate to the public and explain the meaning of what goes on here. Mr. Speaker, it is good to be part of this ceremony today and to welcome our friends back. We look forward to talking to them today and greeting them.