Kenny Hulshof

Mr. HULSHOF

Mr. HULSHOF. I appreciate the gentleman's remarks and especially his efforts and was happy that his resolution the week before last did pass this body. I am happy, Mr. Speaker, to yield to a good friend from Texas, Mr. Sessions. Of the 32 new Members on the Republican side, Mr. Speaker, 30 of us sought congressional seats for the first time this time. My friend from Texas and I, however, gave it a shot back in 1994.

Mr. HULSHOF. Mr. Speaker, I certainly appreciate the comments of the gentleman and know that prior to his election here to this esteemed body that he had quite a probusiness background and certainly a very successful career. We are glad and honored that he is one of our number, and we look forward to continued success in the well of this House.

Mr. HULSHOF. I appreciate the gentleman's remarks and his courage and discipline, not only for the Members of his district in Texas but for the country. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Indiana.

Mr. HULSHOF. I appreciate the gentleman's comments. Mr. Speaker, I know time is drawing short, and I yield to the gentleman from South Dakota [Mr. Thune].

Mr. HULSHOF. Mr. Speaker, I think the gentleman's points are well taken, particularly as far as the workplace is concerned. I think that of course when you have two-parent families and both parents are having to work to pay the tax bill, I think what we have done today, again, is a step in that direction as far as helping provide some balance in the workplace with more flexibility for employees, and again, this is just a step, I think, in the right direction. I know that the dean of our Republican delegation, the gentleman from Missouri, Jim Talent, who is the chair of the Committee on Small Business, also has measures that he will be addressing, like home-based businesses and really promoting ways that home-based businesses can help balance the job as well as family responsibilities.

Mr. HULSHOF. Mr. Speaker, I think the gentleman is correct. I think that the misnomer, perhaps some of the misinformation about the flexibility act is that somehow it abolishes the 40 hour work week which of course it does not. I see the gentleman from Alabama is in the well of the House. I yield to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Riley).

Mr. HULSHOF. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman's comments. Mr. Speaker, to conclude as we have discussed newly elected Republican Members, as we try to create and help fashion a vision for our country tonight, we have focused on strengthening the families in ways that this body can provide family friendly legislation such as the measure we passed today. Our message is rooted in hope and in optimism because that is indeed what our country was founded on.

Mr. HULSHOF. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate very much the remarks, especially the commitment to family. I know the gentleman touched on through his remarks some discussion about relief, tax relief. And certainly I think that is, of course, what we are learning as new Members of Congress, that that is the challenge that lays ahead of us, trying to fashion some tax relief for middle income families and all Americans. I know estate tax relief, I think the gentleman referred to, is an area that I have a special interest in. I also know it is something that our friend from Mississippi cares deeply about. I yield to our new Member, the gentleman from Mississippi [Mr. Pickering].

Mr. HULSHOF. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Colorado [Mr. Bob Schaffer].

Mr. HULSHOF. Mr. Speaker, there has been a lot of discussion about what came out of Hershey, PA. Of course, the tone of civility and discussion about civility was probably the predominant theme. However, there were matters of substance. In fact, David McCullough, an award-winning author, provided some pretty inspiring comments for those of us who chose to attend. Mr. McCullough invited us, really, to take stock of history so we could get a perspective of where we want to go as a Congress and what agendas we wish to promote. Mr. McCullough pointed out that, of course, back in the 1860's when Abraham Lincoln was sworn in as President, as our 16th President of this country, the national agenda was focused around the civil strife that our country was enduring. Moving ahead in history through the Great Depression, the national ambition was, of course, to pull ourselves out of the Depression, as well as with World War II and eventually the cold war with the growing Soviet menace. All those things had outside forces essentially dictating what the national policy was to be. Mr. Speaker, now that the cold war is over, I think outside forces no longer are dictating our national agenda. I think we stand on the verge of a historic opportunity. I believe it is time, Mr. Speaker, that we create a new vision for this country. The newly elected Members of the Republican class of the 105th Congress have been speaking out in a positive way about the new vision that we hope to foster in the coming months and years ahead. Last week, Mr. Speaker, Members may recall we focused as a class on community renewal. We touted real life success stories from individual districts that showcased creative ways that faith-based charities and private industries and communities were reaching out to the poor and needy, and ways to help the poor and needy, and ways Government could be a partner, rather than a parent. Tonight, Mr. Speaker, our class has decided to focus on the family, and ways that this institution can help promote a family friendly agenda. We believe that strong families can make for a better America. In that fashion, Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield to the newest member of our class who joined us after a special election in December. I yield to the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Brady].

Mr. HULSHOF. I thank the gentleman, and I especially welcome him to our group, and I appreciate very much the leadership that he has taken on this particular issue. I think his points are well taken. We have begun that road. We have got a great distance to travel, and we look forward to working with the gentleman during this 105th Congress. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield to the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Paul], another Texan, and I do not know necessarily that Texans have a corner on family virtue, but I am happy to yield to my friend.

Mr. HULSHOF

Mr. HULSHOF. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman mentioned some very creative and innovative ways that individuals who have these creative ideas have worked as a partner rather than as a parent, especially the Reverend in his district whose mission is to help those who are hungry. It is, of course, noteworthy that when hunger strikes, it does not ask for party affiliation. Hunger does not care if one is a liberal or a conservative or a Democrat or a Republican. In fact, when the pangs of hunger are most sharply felt, it is often by those 13 million who are not even old enough to vote. But the good news, I suppose, is that hunger is a curable disease. Hunger relief is in transition, but I think as the Federal Government, Mr. Speaker, steps out of the equation, then the solution does shift to the faith-based and community-based charities to reach out to those in need. And I think this transition actually strengthens the resolve of those creative people, those ministers, lay ministers, and others within the communities, to reach out to those in need. I have begun as my friend from New Jersey has to examine those scattered throughout the Ninth Congressional District of Missouri and have begun to actually witness the commitment that those individuals have to reaching out as individuals within their own communities, to reach out to those in need. One of those hunger relief agencies of particular note that I would like to mention, Mr. Speaker, that is making a true difference is the Central Missouri Food Bank. The Central Missouri Food Bank is probably considered a medium-sized organization but yet distributes about 3.5 million pounds of food each year. There is a network of over 120 agencies, its service area is about 29 counties in central and northeast Missouri, and much of that area is overlapped by my congressional district, about 17,000 square miles, with a total population of about half a million. The demographics of that particular region are largely rural and much agricultural-based. Central Missouri Food Bank has actually a paid staff of nine full-time employees and one part-time with an operating budget of less than a half million dollars, about $490,000, and not one penny comes from the Federal Government. The director of the Central Missouri Food Bank is a very fiery sparkplug named Peggy Kirkpatrick. I think it is interesting to note that she has been the director of the Central Missouri Food Bank for about 5 years and has shared with many of us in our district how she first got involved in hunger relief. As she worked and walked daily to her job, she would walk past various dumpsters that were surrounding the University of Missouri campus and how she was touched by witnessing and watching those homeless and hungry who were foraging in the dumpsters for food. She decided to try to make a difference, one individual, with a lot of energy and a lot of great ideas, and became director of the Central Missouri Food Bank. That is something that I think each of us has encountered at least once in our lives, especially here in this city, where we may have panhandlers that walk up to us asking for some spare change, or we pull into a convenience store and we see the contingent of so-called societal misfits who appear like a patchwork quilt outside the convenience stores. Yet if we actually take the time to notice, we either have one or two reactions. We may struggle within ourselves, do we try to provide some help in our small way, do we dig into our pockets for loose change or do we shrug deeper into our coats and think that, well, the Federal Government is there to help and the Federal Government will help those individuals. But that misses the point, Mr. Speaker. These men and women live as individuals within our communities. And as members of our communities, I believe then we have that individual responsibility to reach out to those in need. The Central Missouri Food Bank recently had its report card, an annual awards banquet. Here are some of the things that the Central Missouri Food Bank has been able to accomplish. There were enough supplies to supply soup kitchens and shelters and pantries, day care centers, and senior programs to provide 200,000 meals to over 60,000 people. The estimated wholesale value of the food was about $5.6 million. The Central Missouri Food Bank initiated two Warehouse on Wheels which actually transported food to the far reaches of its area to help distribute those foodstuffs in a more timely and efficient fashion. In fact, they even acquired a semitrailer to help accomplish that goal. They started the green team, which is a pilot gardening project along with our local Boone County sheriff's department that utilizes prisoners who raise fresh produce for the hungry; recruited seven new food pantries in high need areas; worked with the media and others to stimulate and reach out to the community. In fact, one of the innovative ways that they reached out to local businesses was the Score Against Hunger Campaign. It is interesting that the Central Missouri Food Bank, unlike many other food banks, in fact, the Central Missouri Food Bank is one of only two second harvest food banks in the entire Nation that does not participate in the shared maintenance program. What that means is that the foodstuffs they collect, they do not charge food pantries and shelters for. They give it away for free. Their decision to do that was at a crisis time. It was back in 1993, and in the Midwest I am sure my friend from New Jersey watched accounts of how the flood of 1993 really had a devastating impact upon a lot of us. Against that backdrop, the Central Missouri Food Bank took the bold step and decided at that time they would no longer charge for the food they collected as they distributed it. As a result, they had an enormous outpouring, the business community was more than ready and willing to give additional moneys, and the Score Against Hunger Campaign was one innovative way in which the Central Missouri Food Bank teamed up with our local university at the University of Missouri in Columbia, now has actually extended the program to other colleges in the Ninth Congressional District, in conjunction with the football season. And if the home team scores a certain number of points, then there is a corresponding amount of donations that comes in that have been pledged by individuals. Even when the USDA cut the commodities that were going to these food pantries, they continued to innovate and utilize these efforts to reach out to those thousands and thousands of hungry people that they serve. But many of the challenges and probably one of the most frustrating things in visiting with the Central Missouri Food Bank, those who continue to see their mission to feed the hungry without Federal Government involvement, some of the obstacles even come from within. In fact, a couple of weeks ago a hunger relief agency issued a national press release as this hunger relief agency was coming to Washington, DC, to try to create and promote a legislative agenda. In the context, the very text of the press release, this was what this hunger relief agency said: The charitable response to hunger is no substitute for good social policy and the appropriate allocation of public resources. It is the responsibility of the Federal and State governments to cure hunger. This is an agency whose mission it is to help the hungry across the country. I suppose, Mr. Speaker, that even as we try to do the best we can, occasionally we lose sight of our mission, and sometimes our vision gets blurred. I think the gentleman mentioned tomorrow, there are some new visionaries, and I think in a true bipartisan spirit Representatives Jim Talent from the Second District of Missouri, whose district adjoins mine, as well as J. C. Watts from Oklahoma and also Mr. Floyd Flake, a good Congressman from New York, a Democrat, are going to launch the American Community Renewal Act. Has the gentleman heard much about their efforts in that regard?

Mr. HULSHOF. I would be happy to yield to my friend and colleague from New Jersey.

Mr. HULSHOF. Mr. Speaker, I hope in the moments that I have in this late hour to answer part of the debate and some of the questions that the distinguished gentleman from New York has asked, specifically regarding the poor and the needy within our society. Mr. Speaker, many of us who have run for office, in fact our own elected President, has oft quoted the statement that the era of big Government is over. I believe that the last Congress, the 104th Congress, helped make that claim a reality when it began to wrest away control from the Federal bureaucracy and began to send power and control back to State governments and city councils and county commissions and local school boards. One of the major accomplishments of the last Congress was the end to the Federal entitlement to welfare. And I recognize that there are many skeptics, many doomsayers who wail and lament and beat their chests and say that society, specifically those poor and needy in our communities, that they are doomed. Mr. Speaker, just as the era of big government is waning, volunteers and faith-based charities and community outreach are moving in to fill that void. Of course, we recognize how tough it is. There are single parents. There are two-income families that are struggling to juggle family and jobs. There are businesses that are swimming mightily against the tide of regulation and bureaucracy which often dissuades them from getting involved in community outreach. But I believe we must begin to forge a new vision, and our vision in this new era must be to empower communities to address the needs and problems within those communities. We have to reignite volunteerism among the young and among the young at heart. Yes, the Government will continue to provide a safety net, but individuals helping individuals is the kind of positive action that weaves a strong social fabric.

Mr. HULSHOF. There are so many ideas, innovative ideas that are sprouting up like seeds all across this country. I think it is incumbent upon us as a body, a legislative body, Mr. Speaker, and again certainly the Government has a role, but I think that role should be a limited role and that government should get out of the way, as the gentleman mentioned, and allow some of these projects to take place and to allow them to grow. A couple of weeks ago, Mr. Speaker, I recall that Ralph Reed of the Christian Coalition announced his group's new Samaritan Project which was dubbed as a very bold and compassionate plan to combat poverty and to restore hope, and that project, the Samaritan Project, actually took aim at the economic and moral deficits that pervade a lot of the black and Hispanic inner city neighborhoods. As the gentleman from New Jersey mentioned, the impetus from those programs would also come from the church which is one of the few institutions in some of these communities that is willing and able to undertake such a task. I recall watching the press conference of that unveiling, Mr. Speaker, and along with Ralph Reed of the Christian Coalition, also standing next to him was the Rev. Earl Jackson. Rev. Earl Jackson was a Harvard Law graduate who also attended Harvard Divinity School. The Rev. Earl Jackson had this to say as he teamed up with Ralph Reed: ``I'm a black pastor who has worked in the black community for 20 years before heading up this project, and the ministers supporting this program are leaders in their communities in their own right.'' The quote again from Rev. Earl Jackson. I believe, Mr. Speaker, that these ministers and activists are, of course, intelligent, I believe they are rational individuals, I believe they are quite knowledgeable, and they care deeply about the troubles afflicting their communities. This is an example of the new type of visionary that I believe will be filling the void as big Government moves out. I look forward, Mr. Speaker, tomorrow as our colleagues, both Republicans and Democrats, introduce the community renewal project which builds upon efforts in the last Congress. In summary, Mr. Speaker, I think it would be a terrible thing if the efforts of these visionaries across this country, as they rethink our approach to government and poverty and inner city and rural problems were simply dismissed as some new gloss on an old agenda, because, Mr. Speaker, I happen to believe fervently that the era of big Government is over, but that the era of big citizenship is dawning.

Mr. HULSHOF

Mr. HULSHOF. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. HULSHOF

Mr. HULSHOF. Mr. Chairman, I have pledged to the people back home in the 9th Congressional District that I do not intend to make a career out of politics.

Mr. HULSHOF. Mr. Chairman, I have made that statement public, yes.

Mr. HULSHOF. Mr. Chairman, it will be incumbent upon me in the next couple of months to prove that declaration to be false, yes.

Mr. HULSHOF. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. HULSHOF. Mr. Chairman, I have here in my hand a copy of the Constitution, about which there has been much debate here today. I believe that the Founders created this document which outlined the principles by which we have been governed and continue to be governed, but they also provided, through article V, a means by which we can add to this document. That is why we are here today, to determine whether, under article V, Congress shall deem it necessary to enact term limits, and I am in favor of a constitutional amendment subject to ratification by the States. We are a government of the people, not a government of a select few. Our Founders fled the shores of England to come to this great country to escape a tyrannical leader and a government of elitists. The fact is, Mr. Chairman, I am a newly elected Member here, and there has been some discussion about the word ``arrogance.'' Let me give my colleagues an example of arrogance. During the waning weeks of the 1996 campaign, the former Congressman from my district, a 10-term incumbent career politician, exhorted the voters in my district to repudiate my candidacy with the words, ``a freshman cannot accomplish anything in Congress''. That arrogant attitude with which that statement was uttered is somewhat the same self-important attitude that is the subject of this debate and drives some in the opposition. They say we cannot trivialize the Constitution, as I have heard mentioned. Mr. Chairman, this is a living document, and it is time for us to enact the will of the people. Let the one among us who believes himself to be irreplaceable in this Chamber, let him cast the first vote ``no.'' But as for me, Mr. Chairman, I intend to enact the will of the people.

Mr. HULSHOF. Absolutely, I would be happy to. Of course that is dependent upon the good people of my district, but when I ran for this seat back in 1994 unsuccessfully, and again here in this last election, 12 and 12 as proposed by the gentleman from Florida [Mr. McCollum].