Joel Hefley

Mr. HEFLEY

Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Chairman, first of all, I have two amendments at the desk. Amendment No. 33, I am going to give the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays) and this body a present by withdrawing that amendment, because I believe the amendment by the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. McInnis) covered that, so I will withdraw number 33. Amendment Offered By Mr. Hefley to the Amendment In The Nature Of A Substitute No. 13 Offered By Mr. Shays

Mr. HEFLEY. I am not arguing with the gentleman. I said I cannot tell him for sure whether that is or not. I assume it might be.

Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Chairman, if the gentleman will yield, that is correct. The gentleman understands it exactly.

Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, this amendment, again, I think, is about common sense. It reads: If the President, Vice President, or the head of any executive department uses Air Force One for transportation for any travel which includes a fund-raising event for the benefit of any political committee or party, such political committee shall reimburse the Federal Government for the actual costs incurred as a result of the use of Air Force One. In plain English, this simply means that if you are going to use Air Force One and part of that is for political purposes, then you pay the cost of it. It is estimated that the cost is about $36,000 an hour to operate Air Force One. This amendment will apply to whoever holds the office. So we have had a lot of partisan back and forth here this afternoon or this evening, but this amendment applies to whomever holds the office regardless of party affiliation. However, the current administration's blatant abuse of this practice compared to past White House occupants gives the Congress strong reason to accept this amendment. Currently, the amount that is reimbursed to the taxpayers for use of Air Force One is based on a secret formula created by the Clinton Administration and the Democratic National Committee. The formula supposedly calculates what percentage of the trip is for political purposes and what percentage is for official purposes. This amendment stipulates that any excursion that includes any fund- raising activity must be reimbursed for the entire trip. No formula. No ambiguity. If the President wants to fly to Ohio to pitch his child care initiative, that is fine. He can use Air Force One to do that. But if while he is there he wants to drop by, as he did recently, to raise $850 thousand in one evening for the DNC, then under this amendment, the DNC would have to reimburse the taxpayers. This is not a partisan amendment. But I will conclude with some of the figures that signify the amendment is particularly relevant under this administration. Under Presidents Reagan and Bush, reimbursement payments were made a total of 60 times in a 12-year period. Under the Clinton administration, prior to the 1996 election, 145 such payments were made in only 4 years. I urge adoption of the amendment and reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Chairman, if the gentleman will yield, I cannot tell him for sure about that.

Mr. HEFLEY. I listened to the gentleman's comments about that on a prior bill, and it seemed to me to be kind of foolish questions in that Congress does not control any airplanes. The administration controls airplanes. Congress does not control airlines. If the gentleman wants to reclaim his time, I will respond later.

Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Chairman, I offer Amendment No. 34 to the amendment in the nature of a substitute.

Mr. HEFLEY

Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Speaker, July 22, 1998, will mark the 150 anniversary of the birth of Winfield Scott Stratton, a great Colorado humanitarian. In Colorado, this date will be recognized by 25 different events celebrating his life and good deeds. It is appropriate that we commemorate the deeds of this distinguished humanitarian from Colorado Springs, Colorado. He reached out to his fellow man in so many ways during his lifetime. His biggest contribution and blessing was his endowment of the Myron Stratton Home. Some of his benevolent good deeds include buying the old courthouse in Colorado Springs and furnishing the county with the money to build a new courthouse on a city block that he provided. He also purchased a corner lot downtown for $70,000 offering it to the federal government for half of its value in order to build a new post office. It was recently named the Winfield Scott Stratton Post Office by a new Congressional Act. In addition to these contributions, Stratton also built a convention hall and pavilion seating 35,000 people for the use of the city and gave five thousand dollars a year to keep it maintained. He donated supplies worth $50,000 when the fire of 1896 in Cripple Creek Colorado left 5,000 people without shelter or goods. He also gave $25,000 to the Colorado School of Mines to complete the ``Hall of Metallurgy'', recognized by Colorado's 13th General Assembly. He made gifts of $70,000 to Colorado College and $25,000 to the Colorado Deaf and Blind School. Stratton donated approximately $85,000 to feed and house the homeless; made substantial contributions to churches, supported miners, laborers, laundry women and others in need. Stratton's most lasting gift was a bequest in his handwritten will directing that his wealth be delivered to the trustees of a charitable institution for acting and maintaining a free home, ``for poor persons without means of support, and who are physically unable by reason of old age, youth, sickness or other infirmity to earn a livelihood.'' This home is called the Myron Stratton Home in honor of his father. After Stratton ``stuck it rich'' he continued to live frugally and simply by helping the poor, saying ``I count my money as a gift from the father of us all, and I am responsible for its administration as a good steward.'' Stratton backed his philosophy with action and no other individual gave so generously to so many individuals and organizations. Stratton's benevolent gifts in today's world would be astronomical. Before he died in 1902, he gave away over $3 million. In any time of prosperity there will be many children from broken homes who could be helped by homes like the Myron Stratton Home. Winfield Scott Stratton, was a man of vision and one of Colorado's greatest humanitarians. His good deeds continue to be a good example of our need to help one another.

Mr. HEFLEY

Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Speaker, even as angry U.S. taxpayers cry out for overhaul of a tax system that many believe is unfair, oppressive, and unworkable, the Federal Government is spending millions of dollars annually exporting the idiotic system to other countries. That is right, the United States Agency for International Development, USAID, is spending $15.3 million over a period of 3 years to ``help the Russian government in the reformation and reorganization of its tax code.'' As if Russia's government is not in enough disarray already, we have decided to make it even worse. The $15 million grant, which is being administered through Georgia State University, is in addition to the already active $30 million in grants the university has received from USAID for Russia. I think the money would be better spent on scrapping our own Tax Code. Words of wisdom to the officials in Moscow, and especially to the Russian citizens: Whatever these guys suggest, do the opposite. The U.S. Agency for International Development gets my porker of the week award.

Mr. HEFLEY

Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Chairman, I rise to make a point of order on section 409 of the bill because it violates clause 2 of rule XXI and constitutes legislation on an appropriation bill.

Mr. HEFLEY

Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Speaker, it is time to take stock of the 105th Congress. Despite a slim majority in the House, a Senate that lacks the 60 votes necessary to break a filibuster and a liberal Democrat in the White House, the Congress has managed to pass an historic balanced budget agreement, middle class tax cuts, and a transportation bill that addresses the needs for improved, safer roads in America. But while Republicans are proud of that record, they are not satisfied. The cost of government is too great, Washington spending is still too careless, and education reform is being blocked by the usual suspects. The remaining time in the 105th Congress should be devoted to more progress in these areas. The President has on his desk important legislation to help parents save for their children's education in the form of education savings accounts. Normally this would not even be controversial, but the special interests oppose it, and the prospects for the President signing it are slim. That leaves us with more tax cuts and fiscal restraint. When it comes to tax cuts, Republicans believe in ``more rather than less, sooner rather than later.'' Of course, we intend to honor that pledge.

Mr. HEFLEY

Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Speaker, the President just got back from his trip to China, and I read in the newspaper while we were home for the break that this trip was symbolic. I began to think, what is it symbolic of? I think it is symbolic, maybe, that the President told them ``symbolically'' that we do not care that they are building the biggest nuclear arsenal in the world; and we do not care that they are selling that technology to people around the world; and ``symbolically'' the President was also saying that we do not care that they are invading a little nation like Tibet, that never hurt anybody, and have occupied it for all these years; and ``symbolically'' he is saying that we do not care that they persecute people because of their faith and their beliefs and religion; and he is telling them ``symbolically'' that we do not care that they threatened Taiwan, that could not do them any damage, and that they even threatened the cities on the West Coast of the United States; and ``symbolically'' the President said, oh, it is okay that their army gave money to his reelection campaign. And to show them ``symbolically'' that we do not mind any of this, we are going to give them some missile technology to help their intercontinental ballistic missiles function more appropriately. The President must be proud of his symbolism.

Mr. HEFLEY

Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Speaker, these are technical amendments to make the resolution come into compliance with our House rules, and I would move the amendment.

Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on International Relations be discharged from the further consideration of the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 230) honoring the Berlin airlift, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Speaker, I offer an amendment to the preamble.

Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Speaker, this is a sense of Congress resolution regarding the celebration of the Berlin airlift that should include a presentation of a suitable gift of representational art from the citizens of the United States of America to the citizens of the Federal Republic of Germany commemorating the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of this great city. And this, as my colleagues know, was one of the great moments in history when the United States stepped in and saved a city that, if there was ever intention it was going to be choked to death, there were about 2 million people that were assisted by this airlift, and I think this is a very important and appropriate thing for the Congress of the United States to recognize. And, with that, I would hope the gentleman would remove his right to object.

Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. HEFLEY

Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution. As a member of the Committee on National Security, I believe it is imperative that we form this investigative committee. We need to find out whether or not America's national security has been or is being harmed by current policies which govern the transfer of dual-use missile and satellite technology to China. Presently, the Committee on National Security and the Committee on International Relations are holding a joint hearing on this very subject. One thing we are consistently being told by the Clinton administration officials is that the current policies are no different than the policies under President Reagan and President Bush. Mr. Speaker, that is simply not true. Under Presidents Reagan and Bush, all military sensitive technology was licensed by the State Department. This licensing authority was further backed up by the veto power granted to the Department of Defense if they felt our national security could be compromised by a particular transfer. Under President Clinton, the licensing authority has been taken away from the State Department and given to the Department of Commerce. The Commerce Department's goal is to promote business, not to protect national security. Additionally, the veto power of the Department of Defense has been removed. Clearly, economic and commercial benefits have become the most important factor in this administration's licensing determinations. But all of that aside, that is not why I support this resolution. This committee is not to serve as a political witch-hunt, but instead a bipartisan investigation into whether or not we should be more worried about our national security today than we were yesterday. We are dealing with the only Communist country in the world with nuclear capability. I urge the support of all Members on this resolution, because we are talking about the safety of our Nation. We are talking about the safety of our families.

Mr. HEFLEY

Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Speaker, we have seen this year that the American people have a hard time saying good-bye, good-bye to anything. The final episode of Seinfeld was a national event earlier this spring. We made it clear that we did not want to say good-bye to our favorite cast of characters. And after the Denver Broncos won the Super Bowl this year, the big question was whether John Elway would return and come back to defend the crown. Fans of the Broncos begged John to return for just one more year. We did not want to say good-bye to one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play the game. The NBA Finals this year received huge ratings, partly because America knew we might be saying good-bye to a sports dynasty. Mr. Speaker, we have an opportunity this year in this place, this day, to begin saying one more good-bye. If we pass this bill, we will say good-bye to 800,000 words of Tax Code. We will make the statement, our Tax Code is not worthy or capable of reform, but of replacement. Mr. Speaker, the American people have spoken. Some of them want a national sales tax. Some of them want a flat tax. But all of them seem to agree on one thing: They want to scrap our current Tax Code and start over. Most importantly, it is time to say good-bye to the IRS. America held Seinfeld parties, we held Superbowl parties, we held NBA parties. Mr. Speaker, let me assure my colleagues that if Congress votes to sunset the Tax Code, we will see parties across this country like we cannot believe. America does not like to say good-bye, but in this one case I think we would be willing to make an exception.

Mr. HEFLEY

Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Speaker, make no mistake about it, Asia is in a full blown nuclear arms race, and I think Bill Clinton is personally responsible for it. The sad truth is that Bill Clinton permitted the sale of satellite and missile technology to China. China provided nuclear assistance to Pakistan and Iran. That prompted India to boost its nuclear weapons program, not because it was afraid of Pakistan, but because it was afraid of China, and then Pakistan upped the ante. At best, this represents striking incompetence on the part of the Clinton-Gore administration. It will require congressional and other investigations to establish whether corruption also played a role. Presidents Reagan and Bush restored America's credibility and left America and the world safer places. Clinton has systematically eroded our credibility abroad and he is irresponsibly squandering the presidential legacy he inherited. So what does this President do? He jumps on India and Pakistan and jumps on a plane to China, which is the source of the problem. Outrageous. I suppose consistency is too much to expect from this administration.

Mr. HEFLEY

Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume before I yield to the chairman of the Committee on National Security. I find it unusual that the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton) and I are ever in disagreement on anything, and I think it illustrates that people of goodwill and with good reading ability can read the same thing and find very, very different meanings in it. What this is meant to do is exactly what the gentleman said he would support, and that is not to have a standing U.N. army. As to the gentleman's explanation, I do not want all of those things either, I would say to the gentleman. I do not want to undermine our efforts to get others to participate, but for 50 years we have gotten others to participate without a standing U.N. army. The gentleman talks about us letting others plan. That is the very idea. We do not want others to plan our command and control of our troops. They are not to be a standing army. If we are going to get involved with the U.N., we want it to function like it has over the last 50 years. We get involved. Generally we take the lead. Generally we do the planning. Generally the others join in with us as in the Persian Gulf War to accomplish a U.N. mission. So I think the goal is the same. The gentleman is reading into this amendment things that I simply do not see there. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spence), the chairman of the Committee on National Security. (Mr. SPENCE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. HEFLEY. I yield to the gentleman from Florida.

Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Chairman, I would say to the gentleman, we have already put $200,000 into it, and we did not stop it. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Idaho (Mrs. Chenoweth).

Mr. HEFLEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Ryun).