Jim Gibbons

Mr. GIBBONS

Mr. GIBBONS. Madam Speaker, we all have responsibilities in life. Unfortunately, the Clinton-Gore administration is once again irresponsibly blocking the road to prosperity for American people. Our seniors should not be forced to choose between food and medicine, and under our debt relief plan they will not have to make this tough choice. This Republican-led Congress wants to put 100 percent of Social Security and Medicare surpluses in a lockbox, and create another lockbox strictly for debt reduction to protect all our senior citizens. We want to guarantee that the surplus created by the tax dollars of the hardworking people of America be used for debt reduction and not big government spending. Our fiscal discipline will ensure that as we continue to pay off the debt, we will have more money to save for Social Security and Medicare. And this means more security and a better quality of life for our seniors. Let us keep the Washington bureaucrats out of our surpluses, out of our pockets, and out of our medicine cabinets. Let us build true prosperity and security for every American, young and old alike.

Mr. GIBBONS

Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, we have an historic opportunity to do what is right for America. We have an opportunity to make a real commitment to paying down our $5.6 trillion public debt by committing 90 percent of our budget surplus to debt reduction. Republicans are committed to paying down the national debt, to protecting the economy, and the economic prosperity of future generations of Americans. The Clinton-Gore administration, on the other hand, have other priorities. They want to spend the surplus on more big government programs. Mr. Speaker, I learned in Economics 101 that this is irresponsible to spend money when we are in debt, especially when we have a $5.6 trillion debt. So I rise today to urge the administration to put their partisan and irresponsible agenda aside and join with this Republican Congress in committing 90 percent of the surplus to paying down our national debt. Join with us to do the right thing for all Americans today and for generations to come.

Mr. GIBBONS

Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, as you heard my colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Herger), say, it has been 23 days since this Congress asked the President to join us in dedicating 90 percent of next year's surpluses to paying off the debt; and once again, they still have had no response to that request. The Clinton-Gore administration made it very clear they have a priority on reducing the debt for Third World nations, in distant countries away from our shores. Yet they remain silent on this issue of debt elimination for our own country, for our own American working men and women. Under this Republican-led Congress, we have already paid down $350 billion in debt since 1998, and our plan is to further reduce the debt by an additional $240 billion in the year 2001 and completely eliminate the debt by 2012, while at the same time preserving and protecting Social Security and Medicare. Eliminating the public debt is good for the economy and lowers interest rates for minor consumers on everything from home mortgages to credit cards, saving American families over $5,000 a year. Once again, I call upon the President to join me and my colleagues on this responsible middle ground to eliminate the public debt and ensure a stable future for Americans through generations.

Mr. GIBBONS

Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, obviously, I am no medical doctor. Therefore, I would never presume to know what medication, for example, would be better to treat the heart condition of a 72-year-old woman in Winnemucca, Nevada. Yet, the Gore plan thinks that Washington bureaucrats should know best which drug should or should not be used by my constituents 2,000 miles away in Nevada. After all, that is what his Medicare Modernization Act calls for, 182 new mandates on prescription drug delivery, including a government formulary to cover prescriptions. If a drug is not listed in the Gore formulary, Medicare will not cover it, and a needy citizen, a senior, will not be able to obtain their life- saving medication. Mr. Speaker, this same plan has failed miserably in Canada and Europe. My fellow citizens in Nevada and across America should not be denied access to the prescription drugs they need by Washington bureaucrats whose only medical credentials are that they have visited a doctor for their yearly physical. I yield back the Gore government-run prescription drug plan that has Washington, D.C. deciding which medicines should be in our cabinet.

Mr. GIBBONS

Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, the first responsibility of government is to protect and defend the American citizens from threats. To meet this responsibility, the United States must maintain a modern, highly skilled and well-trained military force. As a veteran of both the Vietnam and Persian Gulf Wars, I am very proud of this Republican-led Congress that remains committed to rebuilding and strengthening our military and to treating our troops with the respect that they deserve. In addition to bolstering America's military readiness, this Republican-led Congress is working to provide a better quality of life for our servicemen and women. We are working to ensure sure that no U.S. serviceman or woman will ever have to rely on food stamps just to feed their family. Again, this Republican-led Congress is committed to providing our military members, both current and past, with quality health care service. Mr. Speaker, I am proud of the accomplishments of this Republican-led Congress, and I am proud of all the men and women who have served and sacrificed for their country in our military service.

Mr. GIBBONS

Mr. GIBBONS. If the gentleman will continue to yield, as the gentleman says, our oil right now, we are 60 percent dependent upon international deliveries of oil. When we reach the point where mining is overseas and our metals and strategic metals are now produced overseas, we will then become dependent upon those countries, as well, and we will end up making the choice, do we send our sons and daughters over there to defend the vital national interests of those strategic minerals to the United States?

Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Peterson), my colleague and good friend, for inviting me to join him in this dialogue this evening and on a very important issue about the future of rural America and its importance to this great country. As the gentleman has just said, our rural economies and our rural areas are so valuable to the natural resources of this Nation. Mining, of course, like the gentleman before us from Oklahoma (Mr. Watkins), who spoke about the oil industry and the fact that we are becoming so dependent upon industries outside of the borders of this country for our economy and for our well-being and for the quality of life that we have. Mining also fits into that very same category. Mining is endangered at this very point, because of the policies of this administration and as well as I can imagine under any type of administration from a Gore administration would be as well. How are they doing that? They are taking the control of the public lands upon which most mining occurs. They are regulating through the administration these businesses out of business. Secondly, they are taking away the utility of our natural resources and our ability to produce them and keep the economy of this great country going. In doing so, what their ultimate choice is is to endanger both the economy and the national security of this great Nation. Let us look at how they control vast areas of this country. As the gentleman has said, approximately 800,000 square miles of the United States, the western part of the United States, a size equal to most of the leading industrialized world combined, including Japan, Germany, Great Britain, France, and Italy, plus Ireland, and Denmark, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, as well as a few Luxumbourgs thrown in for good measure, 815,000 square miles of public land is regulated by the administration. Upon those lands are where we gain much of our natural resources, including mining. Mining is indeed part of our everyday lives, and as we know, most individuals, every man, woman, and child in this great country consumes about 44,000 pounds of mined materials in one form or another every year. That is 44,000 pounds of mined materials, whether it is coal, fuel, the electricity plant that generates the energy for our daily living, or whether it is metal mined for a vehicle to drive us to and from work, that we use in our jobs, or even the jewelry that we wear is part of our everyday life. And especially when we start thinking about medical apparati, medical technology, the mining industry has indeed provided us with the quality of health care that we have today that is indeed pushing out new frontiers and keeping America alive, making our own lives longer, and giving us a better quality of life due to mining. Well, with that 815,000 square miles, and this administration seemingly hell-bent on acquiring more land and using administrative procedures to push the public off the public land to push mining companies off of land and force them overseas, we are growing into a new dependence, for all the strategic minerals and metals that we need for our armed forces and for everyday living, on countries where they can go mine and have the opportunity to do so. Therefore, like oil, we are soon to become dependent for these metals and materials. We are left with two very critical choices. Mr. Speaker, we are left with a choice of whether we develop our own resources and keep our children, our sons and daughters, home, or do we go ahead and allow for mining activity to move overseas at the insistence of the Gore administration, and following up by sending our sons and our daughters over there to defend the national security when those vital critical elements to our economy are cut off at some point? So we have those very delicate balancing choices we need to make. I am really concerned about what this administration is doing through the United Nations as well. I heard recently that many of the leaders of the United Nations have tried to enlist 25 specified international agreements to establish a legal framework of international governance, a body of binding rules that would also affect how we operate in this country and make it even more difficult for mining to succeed. Such conventions and protocols are the primary interest of environmental programs which have been on a campaign to make new world environmental organizations the deciding factor in what we do at home. Let me say just one quick analogy here. If resources were the measure of a country's wealth, the United States would not be the number one economy in the world, Russia would be. Russia has more oil, gas, more timber, more mined minerals than any other Nation. But because Russia could not develop those natural resources, because Russia had to depend upon outside sources, Russia is not the number one economy in this world, the United States is, because the United States learned long ago how to develop its own natural resources, whether it is timber, whether it is mining, whether it is farming and agriculture, developing the land and making those resources work for us. I am interested in what these candidates stand for and how an administration is going to critically hurt our rural America. I looked at the vice president's book, Earth in the Balance. The vice president himself argued that some new arm of the U.N. should be empowered to act on environmental concerns in the fashion of a Security Council, and in other matters. There should be global constraints and legally valid penalties for noncompliance. Well, most mining companies today have a very strong, very hard dependent environmental quality that they use in their operations every day around this world. I will be the first to admit that there are some historically bad practices out there in the past that have given mining a bad image, but today's practice is environmentally sound. We have most mining companies, they are shareholder-owned, citizen-owned. They have a responsibility to their shareholders, a fiduciary responsibility, and they are going to keep our country and our resources in this world I think used with the highest priority and safety, environmental safety, that we have. Let me also say that the administration under Vice President Gore has proposed a new tax on the mining industry, a tax that amounts to a royalty on mined minerals that would amount to about $200 million a year over a 10-year period. That is a $2 billion new tax. At a time when our government is flush with surplus tax revenues, they want a $2 billion tax increase. Do Members know what they plan to do with that money? I think they plan to acquire more public land, kicking the public off. Nevada is one of those States where I think it has the highest percentage of land in its borders that is managed and owned by the Federal government, at about 89 percent. That leaves us with about 11 percent for our real estate tax base developed property. It takes away a lot of the area that mines could go and work with private individuals. So buying up more land only excludes the public from this land. It excludes our mining industries, again forcing them overseas, so buying up that land is not in the best interests of rural America. It puts people out of jobs. It puts communities on the brink of disaster and failure and financial bankruptcy. All of this makes those rural communities become more and more dependent upon urban communities for their support. I am sure America does not want that. I am also worried that the next president must understand mining, and our president must make great strides in becoming a responsible steward of the land. He must understand that mining is a responsible steward of the land. I would hope that he understands that mining is as important to our urban communities as mining is to our rural communities, not just for the jobs but for the direct result of what they produce and put out for consumption to the American public. We need an administration that will invite all interested parties to the table. When it comes to establishing public policy, this administration has not. It has relied solely on extremist environmental groups to make those decisions. They have dictated mining out of existence. It is not my nature to stand here and join with my colleague and be so political, but I believe this election is going to be particularly important to America. It is going to be particularly important to rural America. It is going to be pivotal to the future of this country. It will be pivotal to determining the future of mining. Because there is an old saying: Mining works for Nevada, but if it works for the rest of the Nation as well, then it is a good product. It is a good organization. It is a good industry to have. There is one final saying that I want to leave my colleagues with here today about mining. That is, in mining, you have to remember that if it isn't grown, it has to be mined. I want to thank my colleague, the gentleman from Pennsylvania, for allowing me to stand here and give a little bit of introduction on the value of mining. I just want everybody to remember the 44,000 pounds we each consume every year of mined minerals. It is critical to the future of this country and to the quality of life each and every one of us have. I thank the gentleman for allowing me to be here.

Mr. GIBBONS

Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, when I was getting ready to come to Washington today, I put on this suit which I had not worn in quite a while; and when I reached into my pocket, I found, much to my surprise, a $10 bill. I pulled it out and said to my wife, Dawn, ``Look, honey, $10.'' It was kind of like having free money. But she quickly reminded me and shook her head, took the $10, and told me that we still had bills to pay. It reminded me of the budget battle that we are facing today here in this House. And since our Democrats like our Nation's surplus, think of it as free money, but it is not. My colleagues, we still have a big bill to pay of our Nation's public debt. And the surplus would not have been possible without the common sense policies of this Republican Congress. And now we must exercise the same responsibility with the surplus and reject the Democrats' big spending plans. We can pay down the national debt and meet this Nation's most pressing needs, like enacting prescription drug plans that offer seniors real choice. But we must commit 90 percent of the surplus to paying our bills to wiping out our public debt, because no one is going to reach into the pocket of an old suit and pull out $6.5 trillion.

Mr. GIBBONS

Mr. GIBBONS. Madam Speaker, after 7\1/2\ years of no energy policy and skyrocketing fuel prices, the Clinton-Gore administration plans to release 30 to 35 million barrels of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. It is not that we do not appreciate the gesture, but it is just a 2-day supply. But there is a bigger problem. This is the first time that the reserve has been tapped since 1991, when the United States was in the middle of the Persian Gulf War and our oil supply was in danger of being cut off. Madam Speaker, the administration's decision is ill-conceived, illogical, ill-advised, and perhaps even illegal. Even the administrations's own top advisors oppose tapping the oil reserve, including Treasury Secretary Summers, who said that the decision would be ``a major and substantial policy mistake.'' This Republican Congress has tried to promote a sound energy policy, both domestically and abroad, but the administration has vetoed every attempt at doing so. Yet 46 days before the election, the Clinton-Gore administration announces a desperate plan, which will not lower oil prices but will endanger our national security. Madam Speaker, I yield back the Clinton-Gore plan as a blatant political ploy.

Mr. GIBBONS

Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, it is often known that in times of crisis, family and friends join together to support one another, and today that is exactly what is happening in Las Vegas, Nevada, for Captain Nathan Pechacek of the Las Vegas Fire Department. Earlier this week Captain Pechacek was seriously injured as his car was crushed and knocked on to its side by a drunk driver. Within minutes, fire fighters from Pechacek's own station arrived on the scene to rescue the injured driver from the wreck, not even knowing at first that the injured driver was their own captain. Now, Captain Pechacek's fellow firefighters are keeping a vigil at the hospital, during which they have organized a blood drive to help him and others and volunteered to help Captain Pechecek's son with his homework in his father's absence. We all wish Captain Pechacek a full and speedy recovery and his family strength during this difficult time. And to all those Las Vegas firefighters, we commend you on your heroism and loyalty. Finally, I would like to end with a comment made by Las Vegas Fire Chief Mario Trevino. He said that they ``always treat an accident like it was our mother or father or sister or brother. This time it really was.''

Mr. GIBBONS

Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, this Republican Congress is working hard to pass legislation that meets the needs of Americans, such as providing prescription drug coverage, protecting the Medicare and Social Security trust funds, and paying down the national debt. Unfortunately, this administration and our colleagues on the other side of the aisle have rejected our proposals each and every time. Now is the time, Mr. Speaker, to meet the needs of the American people. Nevada is pioneering a plan for prescription drug coverage for our seniors, and this Congress should look seriously at providing similar coverage to all needy American seniors as well. But, like most Nevadans, we are tired of waiting for the Democrats to enact Social Security and Medicare lockbox acts, and they are tired of waiting for a real commitment by the Democrats to pay down our national debt. This Republican Congress has acted on these priorities; and now, we too are tired of waiting. It is time for this administration and the House Democrats sign into law legislation which has passed this House and meets the needs of the American people. I yield back the inaction of the Clinton-Gore Administration and the House Democrats, who are more concerned with political rhetoric than serving the American people.

Mr. GIBBONS

Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me the time to speak on this important piece of legislation for the Second District of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, although America is enduring what I believe to be one of the most unprecedented economic boom times of all, not every American is benefitting from these most economic prosperity times. And that is certainly the concern in Nevada, because some of the constituents in Lincoln County believe that this economic boom has passed them by. Mr. Speaker, since Nevada's historic inclusion as a State to this Nation, the Federal Government has laid claim to a very large percentage of the land within the State boundaries and Nevada counties are in a catch-22 because they are land locked in Federal property, unable to progress and grow and generate taxes. And to top it all off, the Federal Government has not ever completely funded their payment in lieu of taxes as a property owner in our State. This is a time when Congress must fight for working families, our counties and our communities that are barely surviving. To help to rectify this difficult situation, I have introduced this bill before us today. Lincoln County, Mr. Speaker, encompasses about 10,132 square miles of the State of Nevada, which is larger, by the way, than the State of Maryland, 98 percent of which is owned by the Federal Government. With only 2 percent of the property for a tax base, the revenues that that county is able to generate for their highways and roads, schools, and infrastructure is about $1.1 million; and that is not enough to even provide the basic services needed and mandated by laws to the citizens of that county. Lincoln County School District is in a critical situation, as its elementary and high schools are literally uninhabitable because of the lack of private property tax funds necessary to maintain them. And I know because I have had the opportunity to visit them and see for myself what is going on there. If Lincoln County is unable to provide an adequate education to its young people, its future is in serious jeopardy. So by allowing the BLM the opportunity to sell land that it wants to divest itself of, a set amount of Federally owned land, it will increase Lincoln County's annual property tax base by more than 10 times once it is fully put to use. In fact, when the land is simply purchased by private individuals, it will immediately double the tax base of Lincoln County. H.R. 2752 stipulates that a small portion of the money derived by the sale will stay in Nevada to benefit Nevada's students, its infrastructure, and the environment. Five percent of this money will go directly to the State education fund. That is a common practice that we have done in the past. Ten percent, however, of the money will go to Lincoln County to rebuild these condemned schools. The remaining bulk of the money will be used by the BLM in our State to protect archaeological resources, develop a multi-species habitat conservation plan and cover the costs associated with these land sales, among other things. Under this legislation, the children of Lincoln County will be able to attend school in a safe structure with an environment aimed toward a good education. Lincoln County and its school district will gain badly needed property tax revenues, the City of Mesquite will gain much needed room for expansion that is consistent with its master plan for growth, and the Federal Government will be fairly compensated for the sale of public lands. H.R. 2752 will give this rural county the vital economic infusion they are going to need to survive and grow and allows the affected parties to control their own growth and make their own land use decisions. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. GIBBONS

Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, last Tuesday, the Nevada Mining Association and two government agencies began closing the final 8 of 13 abandoned mine sites in Clark County, Nevada. Six private mining companies are picking up 100 percent of the cost of making these abandoned shafts and caverns inaccessible and safe. The first five abandoned mines were backfilled 2 weeks ago, and these efforts show the willingness and the capability of our Nation's mining companies to work with the Federal and State governments to protect the public from any danger proposed by abandoned mines. Mr. Speaker, our mining companies are dedicated to working with the government to protect the environment. We should encourage these efforts and support the mining industry in the United States. By supporting our mining industry, we will ensure that all Americans can maintain the quality of life style to which they have become accustomed, including advancements in medical research technology and communications. Mr. Speaker, mining impacts our lives every day and in every way. And as the old saying goes, ``If it can't be grown, it has to be mined.''

Mr. GIBBONS

Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me the time. Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate and commend the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Chairman Goodling) and the ranking minority member, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee), for their hard work on this very important part of our children's education. Mr. Speaker, I rise in proud support today of H. Con. Res. 399, to recognize the 25th anniversary of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, later renamed the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA. This law currently benefits 200,000 infants and toddlers, as well as 600,000 preschoolers and over 5.4 million school-aged children in the United States. Mr. Speaker, these numbers are indeed impressive, but we must do more. We must look beyond these numbers to see how IDEA has improved and enriched education in America. IDEA has enabled millions of students with disabilities to stay in public school and receive a quality education. These students have the opportunity to learn and interact with other children in the classroom and on the playground. And these same children grow up and enroll in college and graduate programs, fully recognizing and realizing their potential and making a real difference in their communities and families. IDEA has also united parents, teachers, and school administrators who work together to develop quality education programs that fully meet the needs of every child. IDEA provides the funds for these accomplishments to occur every day in every school across this country. Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate this 25th anniversary, it is my hope that we can continue our work to fully fund IDEA so that millions more children will have the opportunity to receive the same quality public education.

Mr. GIBBONS

Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I proudly rise today to recognize one of Nevada's great statesman who, at the end of this Congress, will be retiring from the United States Senate. Senator Richard Bryan, a native of southern Nevada, has been a leader from a very young age, ever since being elected president of his eight grade class at John Park Elementary School. Senator Bryan's distinguished career in public service has spanned more than 3 decades, culminating with his two terms as a United States Senator. Throughout his tenure in the Senate, he has been committed to protecting Nevada's interest in Congress, and with only four Members in Congress to represent the entire State of Nevada, I learned during my first days here in the House the importance of a good working relationship with the other Chamber. It has been an honor for me to have the opportunity to work with such a fine legislator and dedicated Nevadan as Senator Richard Bryan. Mr. Speaker, I wish him all the best in his future endeavors after the 106th Congress comes to a close.

Mr. GIBBONS

Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and commend the emergency medical personnel that responded with skill and excellence to a tour bus crash which occurred on September 7 in a remote area, 20 miles north of Tonopah, Nevada. The accident scene was every EMT's worst nightmare; 41 passengers trapped inside a bus which had turned over on its side and skidded for over 300 feet. Yet in a record 69 minutes, emergency crews from three counties treated, stabilized, and transported all of the patients, many of them critically injured, to three area medical facilities. Mr. Speaker, although it is difficult to put into words the magnitude of this grave disaster, it is easy to express the respect and praise that I and my fellow Nevadans have for these emergency response personnel. Their commitment, courage, and dedication is an inspiration to every American. Forty-one people are living testimony today because of their heroism. So today, Mr. Speaker, to all of the men and women who responded to the September 7 crash, and to all emergency response personnel in America, we thank you for a job well done, and God bless.

Mr. GIBBONS

Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, it astounds me and most of my fellow Nevadans as well when we hear that the Clinton-Gore administration intends to veto the Treasury-Postal appropriations bill, a bill which this Chamber passed just last week; veto it simply because the bill does not give enough money to the IRS. The IRS is demanding $224 million more than their current $8.6 billion budget to pay for 5,000 more tax collectors. Mr. Speaker, what the American people need is not more tax collectors; what the American people need is a tax break. The overwhelming tax burden currently placed on the American families is simply unconscionable and by vetoing the Treasury-Postal bill President Clinton also vetoes the repeal of the telephone excise tax, a tax passed over 100 years ago to fund the Spanish American war. Not one single Nevadan has ever asked me to fight for more IRS tax collectors. Americans do not want the bloated bureaucracy of the IRS to expand; they want and deserve a tax break.

Mr. GIBBONS

Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Lori Harrigan, a Las Vegas native, who made history this weekend. Lori pitched the first-ever solo no-hitter in Olympic history. Nicknamed ``Vegas,'' Lori Harrigan lead the United States team to victory over the Canadian team in the first softball game of the Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Harrigan was also a member of the U.S. Olympic softball team that won the gold medal in Atlanta in 1996. The United States is honored to have such talented and distinguished athletes representing our country in the Olympics. And while the U.S. team still has several more games to play before making it to the gold medal game later this month, I want to join with my fellow Nevadans in wishing Harrigan and her teammates the best of luck in extending their 111 gaming-winning streak in Sydney. And to every other U.S. Olympian in Sydney, America is very proud of you and your accomplishments. Best of luck in the coming weeks of Olympic competition.

Mr. GIBBONS

Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, a call to action has been given. The Clinton-Gore administration has been called upon to join this Republican Congress in protecting the future of the younger generations of Americans. The Republican leadership has called upon the President to make a real commitment by joining our effort to use up to 90 percent of the surplus to pay off the national debt. Yet, what has been the President's response to this call to action? Well, so far it has been ambivalence. He has said, well, that depends on ``what the various spending commitments are.'' Well, Mr. President, that simply is not good enough. It is time to stop wasteful Washington spending and pay off our national debt. This fiscally responsible Republican Congress is protecting the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds; and now it is time to pay off the public debt so that our children will not be burdened by it in the future. Mr. Speaker, I call upon the administration to join with us and my colleagues on this fair, middle ground to pay off our national debt and to protect the future of our Nation and of our children.

Mr. GIBBONS

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

Mr. GIBBONS

Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, last week, many parents throughout our districts sent their wide-eyed, youthful, energetic and anxious children off to their first day of school. What is disturbing to every one of us who may be a parent is that on any given school day, 46 children are diagnosed with cancer and two out of three will not survive. September is Childhood Cancer Month, placing the spotlight on pediatric cancer, the number one disease killer of our children. While these statistics may be depressing, the research and innovation into providing early diagnoses and finding a cure proved to be very hopeful for many of us parents. Mr. Speaker, Congress must remain committed to funding cancer research programs, especially for pediatric cancer. As we participate in the Childhood Cancer Gold Ribbon Day, let us remember the youthful victims of cancer. Congress must fully fund pediatric cancer research to ensure that they become youthful survivors instead of youthful victims.

Mr. GIBBONS

Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, this week Congress will have a unique opportunity of righting a wrong and helping American families, all with just one vote. This week, we will vote to override President Clinton's veto of the Marriage Penalty Relief Act. In an era of unprecedented tax surpluses, our Federal Government continues to force married couples to pay, on average, $1,400 more in taxes than two single people earning the same salaries. It seems obvious to me and to the people of the State of Nevada that this tax discrimination is simply wrong and must be corrected, and now we will have the opportunity to correct this wrong. Eliminating the marriage penalty will also help lessen the biggest concern facing American families today, and that is financial security. I want to give the working families of Nevada the opportunity to save more of their hard-earned money for their retirement, their children's education, and their families' future. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the hard-working American family and eliminate the unfair marriage penalty. It is time to give our families a break.

Mr. GIBBONS

Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, it never ceases to amaze me just how out of touch the Clinton-Gore administration is with the problems, the real problems, facing this Nation. For example, more than 5 million acres of beautiful forest lands have burned to a black ash due to years of mismanagement and neglect by this administration, and yet the Clinton-Gore administration has decided to focus its time, its energy, and the taxpayer dollars of every hardworking American on whether or not the Boy Scouts should be allowed to camp on public grounds. That is right, Mr. Speaker. This administration has launched its latest politically motivated attack against one of our Nation's most respected institutions, the Boy Scouts of America. Everyone knows that the Boy Scouts have done more for this country than the Clinton-Gore administration and the Boy Scouts are out educating young adults in character, responsibility and citizenship, three qualities that have not often been used to describe this administration. Mr. Speaker, it is time that the Clinton-Gore administration stop attacking every group that is making our Nation great and instead start focusing on the problems of this Nation.

Mr. GIBBONS

Mr. GIBBONS. Madam Speaker, last week Vice President Gore criticized the State of Nevada for its innovative prescription drug plan for seniors. Mr. Gore said it would not work. Mr. Gore said it was a complete failure. He also said insurance companies would not participate. Well, Mr. Speaker, I rise today to respectfully say that Mr. Gore's statements about Nevada's prescription drug plan were false and misleading, and Mr. Gore should apologize to the hard-working people of Nevada. At least five insurance companies have asked to serve as the vendor for the State's program. The State of Nevada will provide the selected insurance company with help and, in turn, Nevada's low-income seniors will truly benefit from reduced prescription costs, starting next year. Providing an insurance-based prescription drug benefit can work and Nevada is leading the way. It is time to get Washington, D.C. out of the medicine cabinets of American seniors. It is time to follow Nevada's lead and provide a voluntary, flexible, and affordable prescription drug plan under Medicare.

Mr. GIBBONS

Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, today is just another typical Wednesday for the average hard-working American family because, Mr. Speaker, millions of hard-working people will punch a time card at work in order just to put food on the table and clothes on the back of their children. Yet, every day, the IRS takes far more than its fair share out of the average American's paycheck. The continual greed of a bloated and inefficient Washington bureaucracy is being financed on the back of hard-working Americans. Mr. Speaker, by providing meaningful tax relief, parents will not have to spend their extra time at a second job to make ends meet. Instead, these hard-working parents will have more time to spend with their kids or to lend time to their elderly family members. Tax relief can bring about a family renewal. I am proud to be a part of a Republican Congress dedicated to helping American families by keeping Washington in check, balancing the budget, paying off the national debt, protecting Social Security, strengthening Medicare, and reducing taxes on every hard-working American. Thank you and I yield back.