Gene Green

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise as a proud cosponsor of this resolution. There is a need to set aside our flag as a special item and in a special place; an exception to the freedom of speech. That is what this constitutional amendment is about. We can disagree on particular language that we have, and I am sure that the U.S. Senate will even make some changes in it. But I think what we are doing today is so important. We need to make the flag designation a separate symbol of our country. Once again, I rise again in proud support of this resolution.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I met with 100 senior citizens from my district to talk with them about the cuts they will be facing under this new Republican budget plan that came out of the conference committee. They do not understand why leaders in Washington would cut their senior health care plan in order to finance a tax cut. Frankly, Mr. Speaker, I do not either. I also had a chance to visit with some doctors who asked me not to cut Medicare. These doctors were declared Republicans. They said, for the first time in 30 years, they have been able to adequately provide health care for seniors through the Medicare program. We should cut fraud in Medicare by funding Operation Restore Trust, to eliminate fraud in health care, but we should not arbitrarily cut Medicare to finance our egregious tax cut plan. The Republican budget agreement cuts Medicare, education, job training, and then cuts taxes. They want to cut taxes and also cut Medicare at the same time. Then they say that are not cutting Medicare to finance their tax break. Something is fishy. Mr. Speaker, Congress should work hard to cut the waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicare. I hope we can agree that seniors should not be used to balance the budget for sound bites in Washington. Let us be fair to the students and seniors and not punish them for a balanced budget. It's not good government. Mr. Speaker, I submit for the Record an article from the Houston Chronicle. Congressmen Warn Seniors of GOP Budget Cuts (By Stefanie Asin) Democratic U.S. Reps. Dick Gephardt and Gene Green told about 100 senior citizens Monday the Republicans want to balance the budget at their expense. The GOP wants a $270 billion cut in Medicare and Medicaid spending, and if the GOP's budget agreement passes this week in the House, seniors could expect $1,000 more a year in medical costs, said Gephardt, House minority leader from Missouri. ``It is wrong to do this,'' he said. ``A lot of you live on your Social Security. You're already having trouble paying for rent, housing, groceries and prescription drugs.'' Gephardt, who heard support from the seniors as he spoke, encouraged them to speak out and fight the proposed cuts. Congress should cut defense spending instead, he said. ``I strongly object to the priorities that have been set,'' said Green of Houston. ``You can't balance the budget on the backs of the senior citizens.'' Green said 286,000 Harris County senior citizens receive more than $1.5 billion in Medicare payments annually and cannot afford to lose their health care. GOP leaders say Medicare spending must be slowed before the system goes bankrupt. If Medicare payments continue at their current rate--$4,700 to the average person per year--the fund will be bankrupt by 2002, said Tom Hoopes, spokesman for Rep. Bill Archer, R-Houston, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. ``If we don't slow the increase, these people will get absolutely nothing,'' Hoopes said. ``We think it's foolhardy for political gain to spend too much now and end up with nothing after the next couple of elections. We would tell the senior citizens we are truly concerned about Medicare and its future.'' Susie Davis, 85, and several others asked the congressmen many questions about how the Democratic and Republican proposals would affect them. Davis, who lives alone [[Page H 6379]] with no family left, said she needs subsidized health care. ``I don't have anything else,'' she said. ``It's bad to do us that way.''

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, today I take the floor to honor the 1995 National Basketball Association back-to-back champions, the Houston Rockets. Let me take a minute out of our day because we are going to talk about the defense budget, to say that the Houston Rockets have definitively proven hard work, great coaching, great teamwork, and uncompromising drive are the best ingredients for champions, just like our country has shown. Hakeem Olajuwon, the most valuable player in the finals for 2 consecutive years, was a teammate of Clyde Drexler, and they both played at the University of Houston during the 1980's. They can now share the world championship. The Houston Rockets are coached by Rudy Tomjanovich. Their outstanding players include, Robert Horry from Alabama, Sam Cassell from Baltimore, Kenny Smith, who played college basketball at North Carolina, and, again, Clyde Drexler, a Houstonian and graduate of Sterling High School in Houston, and Hakeem Olajwon, who was born in Nigeria, joined by our team owner, Les Alexander, who is actually from Florida. They have shown each of us what hard work and teamwork and pride can do. They also demonstrated that especially immigrants have a great deal to offer to our society. Because, my fellow Members, as Americans we all come from somewhere but we also are all in this together. Our congratulations to the 1995 Houston Rockets, again, back-to-back champions.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the rescission bill was bad policy. It cuts education programs for children. The rescission bill cuts safe and drug-free schools, drastically reducing the funding to a little less than $10 million. Yesterday I was honored to be at the White House when the President honored 98 schools who received safe and drug-free school funds for their commitment to education in fighting crime and drugs. One of those schools recognized was Crespo Elementary, in Houston independent school district, an inner-city school district located in the 29th Congressional District. When the doors of Crespo Elementary opened in 1992, it was an inner- city school. Everyone expected it to be low performing. In 2 years that school has been recognized as a school by the Texas Education Agency for its academic performance and its positive drug-free environment. I applaud Crespo's teachers and parents and administrators and students for their active programs. That is what works in this country. I stand by President Clinton's veto of the rescissions bill on behalf of the 20 million schoolchildren in Texas and the hundreds at Crespo elementary who benefit from the antiviolence and drug funding.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, continuing to reserve the right to object, could we possibly have the words read to the House, both the sentence before, and frankly in two cases during the 1 minute of my colleague I heard the word ``liar.'' I would like to hear both of them.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, if we could also make sure a sentence before the term ``liar'' or ``liars'' is used so we can see the total context, if that is possible.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I would ask that the gentleman's words be taken down. Twice during this time, he called the Members of Congress liars and I would like to have those words taken down or an apology issued.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I also missed rollcall vote 356. I was attending a drug free schools event at the White House. If I had been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, let me take just a minute away from the budget cutting debate and the foreign aid debate. Tonight the world champion Houston Rockets will be playing in the finals with the Orlando Magic. I just wanted to talk about it, because this is the second year in a row those of us in Houston have been honored to have the Rockets in the world championship. This has been a tough year. That is why we are starting in on the road, even though we are world champions. We are blessed by not only a great basketball team but a great city in Houston. I was honored a couple months ago to receive an award along with Hakeem Olajuwon, an outstanding alumnus of the University of Houston. I am proud that the University of Houston is playing a part in tonight's world championship, because both of the Rockets' stars, Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, were on the University of Houston teams in 1983 and 1984 when they went to the NCAA championship. The Rockets are fighting to have a back-to-back championship. They have overcome adversity and injuries to become the Western Conference champions. I see my colleague from Phoenix. There are great teams in Phoenix and other western divisions. I hope they [[Page H5626]] will join us in trying to keep the title in the western division.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in opposition to the Republican budget proposal as it specifically relates to higher education. Yesterday, I talked about cuts in our elementary and secondary education funds that will hurt our children in public schools. Today, I am going to talk about the House proposal that will increase college costs for 4.5 million college students by eliminating the in-school interest subsidy on Stafford loans. Families who rely on Stafford student loans would pay up to $3,000 more for the cost of a college education. These extra costs could put a college education out of reach for many young people in my district. I have a picture here of a young lady, Yuroba Harris. Yuroba is an honor student at the University of Houston. In order to earn extra money for books and tuition, she works in my district office part time, serving the constituents of the 29th District in Houston, TX. Elimination of the in-school interest subsidy could put college out of reach for a lot of young people like Yuroba and other middle-class and poor young people all over my district. There is an old proverb: Give a person a fish and they will eat today. Teach them to fish and they will eat for a lifetime. Let us not cut education. Let us make sure they can eat for a lifetime.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I was unavoidably detained and was not able to vote on the Wynn amendment, rollcall No. 352. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes''. amendment offered by mr. bereuter

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to object to the budget put forth by the majority Republicans as it relates to education cuts. The majority Republicans have been saying for the past few weeks that their budget is one for the children of America. Honestly, Mr. Speaker, their drastic budget cut slams the door in the face of our children. Many young people today see education as their only way to become part of the middle class, and they are right. If we cut title I funding, if we cut bilingual funding, if we cut national service assistance, if we cut student loans, if we cut job training, where are they going to get the education and training they need to earn a decent income and become taxpaying citizens? It does not save taxes next century by cutting education today. Our children will not have a job in the next century to pay taxes if they do not have access to a good education today. Mr. Speaker, I am particularly concerned about the elimination of bilingual education in the Republican budget. These two children in this picture are from the Love Elementary School in the Heights area of Houston. Love has an incredible success rate in the bilingual program at their school The children are learning English, they are excelling in their studies, and the program works. The students are continuing into junior and senior high. But, they will not if we pass the Republican budget because it cuts education funding.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I voted for line-item veto both in the committee and on this floor of the House this year. After serving 20 years as a legislator in Texas and living under the line-item veto, I have no fear about it. I think it has been oversold to an extent because in my 20 years as a legislator, I found out that it did not do as much for reducing the budget as it did for getting the attention of members of the legislative body, whether it be Members of Congress or the individual State legislature by the executive branch. Nevertheless, I support it because I think we can live with it and in the few times that we will actually see budget efforts impacted by it, it is good ammunition or a weapon in the arsenal to try to control spending. I heard my colleague, the gentleman from West Virginia [Mr. Wise], mention the concern about why we did not make this motion on March 23 instead of 2 months later. Again as a supporter of the line-item veto, we might have been much further along with the conference committee and maybe even having the bill to the President's desk, although knowing the opposition to it and the product that came out of our body and the Senate and the problems that we may have in this conference. I am concerned that again this motion is a little over 2 months late in having an impact particularly on this year's appropriations. But again I support the line-item veto and I would hope the conference committee would move as quickly as we can to again give the President the ability to do that.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the ranking member of the Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities for setting up this special order so we can talk about the budget cuts that we will consider the next couple of days. Mr. Speaker, I speak with a little different accent from some of my colleagues, but I learned in Texas, even though I live in an urban district, that you cannot eat your seed corn and expect to provide for your future and the Republican majority's budget is doing just that. The budget is intended to move this country to a balanced budget and I agree, we should work toward that end and we started during my first 2 years here in Congress. However, I strongly disagree with the Republican majority's plans on how they go about balancing the budget. Education is one of the areas that a person can directly affect their income. In other words, education is our seed corn and this budget will eat that seed corn. On the average, a college graduate earns just under $60,000 while a high school dropout earns just a little over $20,000 a year. Congress should not be deemphasizing education by cutting the Department of Education and by cutting the Department of Education or the education programs by billions of dollars. That is our seed corn in this country. One program which will receive these cuts is the title I funding which is due to be cut which would not allow 700,000 disadvantaged youth to take part in extended classroom time. Title I education funds in Texas alone would be cut $66 million. That is our seed corn for these children. The Republican majority claims to believe in the war on drugs while at the same time cutting the funding for the safe and drug-free schools, in Texas alone, $29 million. Another area which the Republican majority claims they support is self-improvement. We all want to expand our horizons, yes, but in the Republican majority budget proposal, Perkins student loans are cut by $1.1 billion, for someone who wants to improve themselves, $1.1 billion in cuts. Perkins loans provide low-interest loans to the 700,000 students who cannot afford to pay tuition while they attend schools, and we are talking about a loan. If the Republican budget passes, we will be eating our seed corn. One fact the Republican majority failed to take into account is that one out of every two college students today receives some type of Federal assistance to go to college. Not all students are headed for college but the Republican majority cuts programs such as bilingual education in our elementary and secondary education program and even adult literacy which moves the adult person through the process who may not be going on to college. Congress should help all Americans to reach the highest point in education, not just to benefit that person because of their effort on building their self-esteem but for very selfish reasons, because a high school dropout earns a little over $20,000 but a college graduate earns just under $60,000. They bring additional tax revenue to our country to pay for the future. Again, our seed corn. Congress can ensure revenues by maintaining an educational system that is the envy of the world because we educate everyone. We try to provide the education for everyone. Let's provide our Nation's future and provide education funding for everyone. Let's don't eat our seed corn. Again, I thank the chairman, or the ranking member for that time. Hopefully after the 1996 elections, you will be chairman.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, what the Republicans really want to do over the next six years is privatize and eliminate Medicare. A couple of weeks ago I saw Speaker Gingrich on TV saying the cuts in the budget were going to be large but painless. Painless for whom, I wonder, Not painless for seniors and not painless for children. the seniors in my district or across the United States. In fact, the Republican majority has proposed to slow growth or, as most of us would say, dramatically cut billions from Medicare over the next 7 years. The Republican cuts would result in an increase in copayments, deductibles, and premiums for senior citizens in Houston, TX and across the country. The budget plan is a broken promise to working families and their parents. The Republican majority has promised us they would balance the budget without devastating families and senior citizens. That is one promise they cannot say they kept. While I understand and promote the need for a balanced budget, there is a right way and a wrong way to do it. Balancing the budget on the backs of senior citizens while you give tax breaks is not what the American people want or hopefully the Republican majority would want.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the new Republican majority has shown great courage and guts, as we heard from another speaker, to cut and balance the budget. They are balancing their budget by making significant cuts in Medicare, the cost of living for Social Security, education funds, and job training funds. That takes a lot of guts and courage to pick on the least fortunate of our society. The Republican majority call their drastic budget cuts in Medicare slow growth. Either way, it is less money for the next 7 years than expected for the growth in senior citizens, so it is a cut, whether we call it that or not. Medicare is not a bank to be raided by the Republicans, just because they want to pay for a tax cut. The Republican majority also changes the way the Consumer Price Index is calculated, ultimately cutting the COLA's for seniors. I thought our new leadership told us Social Security would be sacred. I want everyone in Congress to know that Democrats want to work with Republicans, but we refuse to balance the budget on the backs of Medicare, on the backs of cost of living for seniors, or education funding, or the least fortunate of our society.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the Republican majority is almost a month late in meeting the statutory deadline for passing a House budget resolution, but finally they've decided to prepare a budget that is even uglier than we thought. If the Republican majority wanted to balance the budget, they could do that today if we cut Medicare, Social Security, and COLA's, but no, their budget is going to cut it 5 or 7 years from now. Medicare faces cuts in excess of $256 billion. It is true. Despite the public outcry not to cut Social Security or Medicare, Republicans are united in a plan that will directly cut Medicare to pay for a tax cut. They also intend to cut the COLA for Social Security recipients by readjusting the formula. The worst part is that Republicans are telling us they are not cutting, they are simply slowing the growth. They can call it what they want, but if someone is 65 in 1998 and they do not have Medicare, that is a cut. This bill is a cut for that person who is now 62 and needs Medicare 3 years from now, so it is a cut. I do not think we need to play with words. I think the Republican majority needs to be honest with the American people: that in order to balance the budget and pay for tax cuts for the rich they stand united in their effort to cut Medicare.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Medicare should not become a political football because millions of our seniors in America depend so heavily on it for their health care. In today's edition of the Houston Chronicle that I picked up before I left home this morning, it talks about the Republicans laying plans to slash billions from the budget. The Republican majority should come up with a plan to reform the Medicare system but not cut $250 billion, $300 billion, $400 billion out of it. I spoke and met with many seniors yesterday in my district, and they want the fraud and abuse out of Medicare. But they do not want less health care than they have today. The Medicare system was made solvent for 3 more years in 1993 without one Republican vote. Now the Republican majority is planning to cut it in the name of reform. The savings should be used to increase the benefits for seniors and increase the reimbursement rates and not just to pay for tax cuts. I cannot support billions in Medicare cuts when they would not help the system become more solvent in 7 years. Medicare should be reformed but not to save $380 billion and help pay for tax cuts for the rich U.S. citizens.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, leadership is tough. During the welfare reform, the Republican majority pulled seniors out of that legislation and I agreed with that decision. And now it appears Medicare is off the table to pay for tax cuts and budget reduction. The Republican majority, which is attempting to balance the budget by the year 2002, plan to cut $400 billion out of Medicare. The Republican majority is realizing what President Clinton, and a number of other Democrats, and I said last year, when we were first elected, that to have a balanced budget we must control health care costs. The Republican majority has promised not to cut Social Security or the military budget, and interest on the national debt, which is 20 percent of our budget, has to be paid. Guess what? Medicare is 25 percent of everything left. And now they have promised not to tamper with that. In 1993, the Democrats made Medicare solvent for 3 more years, without President and Democrats for not coming up with a plan before they introduce a budget. Today the majority criticizes us for not providing leadership on Medicare. Well, they are the majority. Leadership is tough. If the Republican majority wants to continue to live in a dream world and think that they can balance the budget without cutting health care costs, they need to come up with a plan. Medicare should not be a cut.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on a note of sadness because this is our first full day of being in session, but on April 19, Oklahoma City was awakened by a bomb blast which killed both children and people either working or doing business in the Murrah Federal Building. Oklahoma City along with the Nation rushed to the help of a neighbor, including some of my constituents from Texas. The terrorist bomb ripped at the foundation of the Federal building and ripped at the fabric of our society. The Federal building was targeted for what are now unknown reasons, but at this point there is all sorts of conjecture, but whatever the reason is, some people were killed and injured. At times, the rhetoric of hate and distrust paints a picture of faceless bureaucrats, but the people in that building were hardworking people and children playing in that day-care center, and there were people literally waiting there for Federal Government services. Many Americans, not just in Oklahoma but now all over America, do not feel it is safe that we should allow any terrorists to rip our Nation apart. The terrorists did not affect the way Americans rush to help other Americans when times are tough, though. When there is an earthquake or flood or any other natural disaster, we have volunteers running to help. This disaster was not natural, but neighbors still were providing a helping hand. Houston firefighters, along with firefighters from around the Nation, flew to Oklahoma City to assist in the rescue and recovery of victims from the blast. Southwestern Bell provided telecommunications and donation of cash assistance. Petrochemical companies from the Houston area provided assistance. Providing a helping hand in times of need shows that when times are hard for America, we come together. We come together to show that any terrorist group inside or outside America, that Americans will stand together and there is nothing that can stop them. If that message has done nothing else than to go forth from these halls of Congress, I would hope that the perpetrator and whoever is found guilty, that they recognize that Americans, we do come together, and we stand together on this tragedy.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, today I was unavoidably detained in flying back to Washington from Houston and missed rollcall vote No. 303. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the circus is in the District of Columbia today, and it is actually outside these doors of the Capitol. So we a cannon and sell cotton candy wrapped around a capital gains cut. Who is left paying at the ticket booth? Well, our senior citizens, our grade school and college students who have already sustained cuts, construction workers, mothers, and finally all taxpaying Americans. Today the Republican majority will attempt to pass a bill which will create the largest deficits that have been proposed recently. Welcome to the real circus under our Capitol dome. The Republican majority are working to give the top 2 percent Americans 58 percent of that $180 billion tax cut. The 10-year cost will be $630 billion. Now that really is under the big top. The bears and elephants are not eating peanuts but hundred-dollar bills at our expense, from the pockets of hard-working Americans. Children are paying $2.3 billion in cuts in education and school nutrition programs. I hope they enjoy the circus today because it will be the last one for 10 years. The Greatest Show on Earth is not Barnum and Bailey, it is under our Capitol dome.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. If I believed that rationale, I would be voting for it tomorrow, but obviously I do not.

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. I will further yield.