Doc Hastings

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 1953, a bill to tax more fairly workers at Federal facilities which border two States. This bill incorporates legislation I introduced earlier in this Congress to end the double taxation of Army Corps of Engineers employees working on dams across the Columbia River between Washington and Oregon. Mr. Speaker, these Federal employees are currently being forced to pay income taxes to a State in which they do not work, live, vote, or receive benefits. For example: These workers can enter their dams from Washington State and need not use Oregon bridges or roads; workers paying taxes to Oregon have been denied Oregon unemployment benefits when they are laid off; they and their children are denied in-State tuition at Oregon universities; and they do not qualify for in-State fees for fishing and hunting licenses. Nor are they eligible for Oregon's comparatively inexpensive vehicle registration fees. In short, these citizens never receive a single benefit from the taxes they are compelled to pay to the State of Oregon. Beside the burden of paying taxes to two States, these workers must also bear the administrative burden of recording the percentage of their work day spent on each half of the dam. This is an unreasonable burden on these employees, who must frequently walk back and forth across their dams to carry out routine tasks. Furthermore, this costs the American taxpayers who must pay these Federal employees to track their time and movements when they might otherwise be doing the actual work for which they were hired. H.R. 1953 would settle this problem in a manner consistent with previous legislation. In the Amtrak Act of 1990, Congress determined that railway employees who frequently cross State lines should only be required to pay income taxes to their State of legal residence. In the 104th Congress we passed the source tax bill which stipulated that pension benefits should be taxes only in the recipient's State of legal residence. In both cases, Congress intervened to clarify an interstate tax issue. The administration has stated that congressional action is needed. The Human Resources Department of the Army Corps of Engineers in Portland has informed their employees that: ``Congressional action will be required if we are to get this situation fixed.'' You may recall that the House debated this issue last fall. Since that time hearings have been held, and we have worked with the Oregon delegation to address the concerns expressed earlier about this situation. Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend the excellent work of Mr. Gekas, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law-- together with Mr. Nadler, the ranking minority member of the subcommittee--in introducing H.R. 1953. Following hearings on this issue in April of this year, Mr. Gekas prepared a bill which addresses double-taxed workers in Washington, Tennessee, and South Dakota, while preserving the right of States to collect taxes within their borders. This is an excellent bill, and deserving of all of our support. I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan, commonsense measure which protects working people and their families from unfair taxation.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to lay on the table the motion to reconsider the vote.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to table the motion to reconsider the vote.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to table the motion to reconsider.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California [Mr. Calvert].

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Florida [Mr. Goss], a member of the Committee on Rules.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida [Mr. Weldon].

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Nebraska [Mr. Bereuter]. (Mr. BEREUTER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. McDade]. (Mr. McDade asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 194 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Moakley], the distinguished ranking member of the Committee on Rules, pending which I yield myself as much time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time is yielded for purpose of debate only. (Mr. HASTINGS of Washington asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 194 is an open rule providing for the consideration of H.R. 2203, a bill making appropriations for energy and water development for fiscal year 1998. The rule provides for 1 hour of general debate, equally divided between the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on Appropriations. The rule waives clause 2 and clause 6 of rule XXI, prohibiting unauthorized appropriations, legislative provisions in general appropriations bills, and reappropriations in appropriations bills. Mr. Speaker, these waivers are necessary because so many programs funded by this bill have not been reauthorized. The measure also includes transfers of certain funds and contains minor legislative provisions on which the committee has consulted closely with the appropriate authorizing committees. In addition, the rule permits the Chair to accord priority in recognition to Members who have preprinted their amendments in the Congressional Record. The rule also allows the Chair to postpone recorded votes and reduce to 5 minutes the minimum time for electronic voting on any postponed votes, provided voting time on the first in a series of questions shall be not less than 15 minutes. Finally, the rule provides one motion to recommit, with or without instructions. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. McDade], the chairman, and the gentleman from California [Mr. Fazio], the ranking member, are to be commended for their outstanding effort on this legislation. Together, they have worked hard to provide adequate funding for a number of important programs, while contributing significantly to the vitally important task of deficit reduction. H.R. 2203 appropriates $20 billion in new budget authority for fiscal year 1998 for the Department of Energy and related programs. I am pleased to report that that amount is $573 million less than last year and $2.6 billion less than the President's request. The subcommittee has essentially met its 602(b) allocation for discretionary spending. The vast majority of the bill's funding, some $15.3 billion, goes to various programs run by the Department of Energy, including the cleanup of nuclear wastes on a variety of Federal facilities, including the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in my own district. The bill also allocates $4 billion to the Army Corps of Engineers, $910 million to the Department of Interior, mainly for its Bureau of Reclamation, and $194 million for related independent agencies. Mr. Speaker, the funding provided in this bill is necessary to protect important investments in our Nation's water and energy infrastructure and to maintain and operate facilities and programs within the subcommittee's jurisdiction. In closing, Mr. Speaker, I commend the Committee on Appropriations and its Subcommittee on Energy and Water for seeking an open rule on H.R. 2203 so that the House may work its will on this important legislation without unnecessary restrictions. I urge my colleagues to support this open rule. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Weller]. (Mr. WELLER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this rule. This is an open rule, and I think what it represents is what the Committee on Rules has been trying to do on many occasions, which is to have an open rule so we can have open discussion on any issues that the Members want to bring to the floor. Mr. Speaker, I also want to commend the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. McDade], the chairman, and the gentleman from California [Mr. Fazio] for their work on this. It certainly shows that when there is a will, that we can get something done with bipartisan support on a bipartisan basis. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution. The previous question was ordered.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, let me start by saying to the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. McDade] I appreciate the work that he has done on my behalf. My district is home to nearly two-thirds of the Nation's nuclear waste. This is a legacy of World War II and the Cold War and a testimony to the role that the Hanford Nuclear Reservation played in producing much of the Nation's plutonium over the past 40 years. As a result, I am concerned by the committee's decision to reduce funding for the department's cleanup privatization program. We all agree that the Department of Energy has a poor track record in managing large-scale cleanup projects. As a result, the gentleman from Washington [Mr. Dicks] and I introduced legislation in the 104th Congress to require that the department utilize the expertise of private sector experts in solving these complex problems. Unfortunately, the department has not done an adequate job explaining their new way of doing business and the committee has reduced the privatization program from a $1 billion request to only $70 million. These are significant reductions in a critical environmental program. As a result, I would seek an assurance from the subcommittee chairman that this year's action does not indicate the committee's intent to abandon the Hanford tank waste cleanup program in future years. When final contracts are submitted next year, Congress needs to be willing to support an aggressive cleanup program.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I thank the gentleman.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I would just say to the gentleman that those negotiations are going on as we speak. Mr. Speaker, if I may, to indulge the gentleman, since we have time, I yield 3 minutes to my friend, the gentleman from Colorado [Mr. McInnis]. And maybe at the end of that time, we can have closure on this.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This amendment cosponsored by the gentleman from California [Mr. Cox] and the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Hall] is intended to be a substitute for the Cox amendment published in the Congressional Record on July 15, 1997. It is a compromise fashioned by the gentleman from California [Mr. Cox] and the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Hall] to address the critical issue of food aid delivery for North Korea. I stress that it is a bipartisan amendment, and I urge its adoption.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I hope we can have closure on this. Mr. Speaker, I offer an amendment, which is at the desk.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds, and I would like to respond to my friend from Ohio. The gentlewoman asked me very respectfully if she had some questions, if I would respond, and I said, and I remember saying this because I did not want to use my time, that if she wanted to ask me a question on her time I would be more than happy to respond if my remarks, if my remarks regarding the rule did not answer all her questions. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, will the gentlewoman yield?

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, we are waiting for this to be drafted. Does the gentleman have some time that maybe perhaps he would like to yield.