Jesse Helms

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. What is the pending business, Mr. President?

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I am advised that a Senator on the other side who does not wish this amendment to pass, despite the clamor for it by Cuban people everywhere--and we have millions of Cubans in this country--I understand that the distinguished Senator is going to raise a point of order claiming that this amendment is legislation on an appropriations bill. Well, la-di-da. We legislate regularly on every appropriations bill. The Appropriations Committee itself reports out legislation on just about every appropriations bill. But let it be known, if such a point of order is raised, it is a ruse to do nothing about Fidel Castro in Cuba. Anybody voting to support that point of order will be voting to do nothing about Fidel Castro. True enough, sooner or later, we will get to it in the normal process of the Foreign Relations Committee, of which I am the Chairman. But I do not want to delay one more day for the removal of Fidel Castro from Cuba. He is a tyrant, a Communist tyrant who has been so cruel in his treatment of his own people. So I wish to forewarn Senators that any point of order based on this amendment's being legislation on an appropriations bill is nothing but a ruse. You cannot get to it any other way, so you are going to try to get it defeated on a point of order. I hope that the Senate will not buy that turkey because it is not justified. I reiterate, again and again as Franklin Roosevelt used to say, every appropriations bill that comes through this Chamber has legislation in it, often put there by the Appropriations Committee itself. So do not be deceived. A point of order is just a ruse to defeat this amendment when no other avenue of defeat is available to any Senator raising such a point of order. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. HELMS. Is it correct that the yeas and nays have been ordered on that amendment?

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, let us say it again: Anyone even remotely familiar with the U.S. Constitution knows that no President can spend a dime of the taxpayers' money that has not first been both authorized and appropriated by Congress. So if you hear a politician or an editor or a commentator declare that ``Reagan ran up the Federal debt'' or that ``Bush ran it up,'' just bear in mind that the Founding Fathers made it very clear that it is the constitutional duty of Congress to control Federal spending. The fiscal irresponsibility of Congress has created a Federal debt which stood at $4,851,012,058,348.35 as of the close of business Tuesday, March 7. Averaged out, every man, woman, and child in America owes a share of this massive debt, and that per capita share is $18,414.53.

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, needless to say I thank the Senator from Rhode Island. His proposition is fair. Every piece of legislation ought to stand on its own merits. Even though I think this is a ridiculous situation extant at Fort Bragg, NC, it is the same kind of ridiculous situation that is confronting businessmen all over this country. I am glad the Senator is working on that proposition. In view of what has been said here, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the yeas and nays be vitiated.

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I was astonished to learn this morning that President Clinton's advisers have recommended that he ease up on the embargo against Fidel Castro's Communist Dictatorship in Cuba. If these advisers are parading under the flag of expertise, it's a false flag, and they are doing great harm to the President with such advice. This is no time to be reducing U.S. pressure on Castro. It is precisely the wrong way to go. Backing off on Castro will help the Castro Communist dictatorship and do great harm to the Cuban people-- who already have suffered too much for 36 years. I have made it clear that, as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, doing everything possible to bring freedom and democracy to Cuba is at the top of my priority list. That is why I introduced the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity [Libertad] Act as my first piece of legislation as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. Fidel Castro's brutal and cruel Communist dictatorship has persecuted the Cuban people for 36 years. He is the world's longest reigning tyrant. Let me be clear: Whether Castro leaves Cuba in a vertical or horizontal position is up to him and the Cuban people. But he must--and will--leave Cuba. I categorically reject suggestions to lift or soften the embargo. For 36 years, both Republican and Democratic Presidents have maintained a consistent, bipartisan policy of isolating Castor's dictatorship. There must be no retreat in that policy today. If anything, with the collapse of the U.S.S.R. and the end of Soviet subsidies to Cuba, the embargo is finally having the effect on Castro that has been intended all along. Why should the United States let up the pressure how? It is time to tighten the screws--not loosen them. We have an obligation--to our principles and to the Cuban people--to elevate the pressure on Castro until the Cuban people are free. The bipartisan Cuba policy has led the American people to stand together in support of restoring freedom to Cuba. As for my legislation, it incorporates and builds upon the significant work of the two distinguished Senators from Florida, Connie Mack and Bob Graham, and of a number of our colleagues in the House of Representatives. The message we should be sending to both Castro and those who want to do business with him are contained in the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act now at the desk. The message is: Isolate Castro until the Cuban people are free. We can achieve this by strengthening international sanctions against the Castro regime by prohibiting sugar imports from countries that purchase sugar from Cuba and then sell that sugar to us; and instructing our representatives to the International Financial Institutions to vote against loans to Cuba and to require the United institutions if they ignore our objections and aid the Castro regime. We can accomplish this objective by urging the President to seek an international embargo against Cuba at the United Nations, and by prohibiting loans or other financing by a United States person to a foreign person or entity who purchases an American property confiscated by the Cuban regime. My legislation reaffirms the 1992 Cuban Democracy Act, revitalizes our broadcasting programs to Cuba, and cuts off foreign aid to any independent state of the former Soviet Union that aids Castro, specifically if that aid goes for the operation of military and intelligence facilities in Cuba which threaten the United States. This bill encourages free and fair elections in Cuba after Mr. Castro is gone and authorizes programs to promote free market and private enterprise in Cuba. The bill also helps U.S. citizens and U.S. companies whose property was confiscated by the Castro regime by denying entry into the United States to anyone who confiscates or benefits from such property and by allowing a U.S. citizen with a confiscated property claim to go into a U.S. court to seek compensation from a person or entity which is being unjustly enriched by the use of that confiscated property. Mr. President, the Cuban people are industrious and innovative. In countries where people are allowed to live and work in freedom, they have prospered. My hope and the hope of the cosponsors of this bill, is that this bill will hasten an end to the brutal Castro dictatorship and make Cuba free and prosperous once more. Mr. President, I yield the floor. Mr. DOLE addressed the Chair.

Mr. HELMS. I was not aware of that. I ask unanimous consent that it be temporarily laid aside so I can discuss my amendment.

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I send to the desk a printed amendment and I ask the sponsors be identified by the clerk in the preface to the bill. I ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I withdraw the amendment.

Mr. HELMS. I thank the distinguished majority leader. Mr. President, parliamentary inquiry. This amendment is to an excepted committee amendment. Is that not correct?

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. HELMS. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. HELMS. Madam President, I send an amendment to the desk and ask that it be stated.

Mr. HELMS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. HELMS. I send the modification to the desk.

Mr. HELMS. I thank the Chair. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. HELMS. I thank the Chair. Madam President, as we always say around this place, this amendment is simple and straightforward. I have never heard of an amendment being offered that was not simple and straightforward. This amendment proposes to stop the Federal Government and its bureaucrats from, first, preventing the Department of the Army from carrying out its national security mission and, second, wasting taxpayer dollars in the process. The amendment addresses a problem the Army is having at Fort Bragg, NC. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has listed a red-cockaded woodpecker as a threatened and endangered species and has designated Fort Bragg as a major recovery area for the red-cockaded woodpecker. The bureaucrats at the Fish and Wildlife Service have forced the Department of the Army to go to great length and great expense to set aside land, create tank trails, create nesting areas, and restrict construction--all to meet an arbitrary plan to protect woodpecker nests. The Department of the Army has been required, first, to set aside 12,000 acres of land just to protect the woodpecker; second, to prepare a 44-page report that limits training activities of the Army; third, since fiscal year 1989, the Army has spent more than $5 million as a result of the efforts to protect the woodpecker; fourth, to halt eight construction projects at the base. Madam President, it is my understanding that four species are being protected at Fort Bragg and another one is going to be added soon--a butterfly--to make that five species. There are 70 more State and Federal species in line to be added. If four species require almost 13,000 acres of protection, what is going to happen 5 or 10 years down the road when there will be 70 species? Will there be any land at Fort Bragg left on which to train our troops? The last time I checked the function of the Army is to defend the national security interests of the United States and not birds in trees. To carry out its national security function, the Army must have the ability to train its troops in battlefield situations. But as any military expert will tell you, training exercises are impeded when planners must work around protected woodpecker nests. This is in fact the case at Fort Bragg. Madam President, there is another point: The Army is currently attempting to purchase an 11,000 acre parcel of land--known as the Overhills tract. This purchase has aroused some controversy inasmuch as it will take a significant amount of valuable land off the tax rolls in Harnett County, NC. Part of the reason the Army must acquire this parcel, is to protect the red cockcaded woodpecker. Let me quote from a letter I recently received from the Department of Army: Purchasing this land would bring us much closer to attaining the number of active RCW (red cockaded woodpecker) colonies established by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Once the RCW population has been recovered, Fort Bragg will have much greater freedom in training and siting construction to support our mission. The Army is being forced to buy more land, using taxpayers dollars, to protect woodpecker colonies. Gen. Robert E. Lee wrote these words to his wife on December 25, 1862: What a cruel thing is war: to separate and destroy families and friends, and mar the purest joys and happiness God has granted to us in this world; to fill our hearts with hatred instead of love for our neighbors, and to devastate the fair face of this beautiful world! There will always be threats to our national security. The cold war may be over, but there still remain threats to our national security. We owe our soldiers the best possible training. troops on the altar of environmentalism. I ask for the yeas and nays on the amendment.

Mr. HELMS. Madam President, may I inquire if my distinguished colleague from North Carolina, Mr. Faircloth, has been added as a cosponsor of this amendment?

Mr. HELMS

Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, before contemplating today's bad news about the Federal debt, lets's have our little pop quiz again: How many million dollars are in $1 trillion? When you arrive at an answer, bear in mind that it was Congress that ran up a debt now exceeding $4.8 trillion. To be exact, as of the close of business yesterday, Monday, March 6, the total Federal debt--down to the penny--stood at $4,840,905,153,915.08--meaning that every man, woman, and child in America now owes $18,376.42 computed on a per capita basis. Mr. President, again to answer the pop quiz question, How many million in a trillion? There are a million million in a trillion; and you can thank the U.S. Congress for the existing Federal debt exceeding $4.8 trillion.