Walter Jones

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No. 515, I was inadvertently detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.'' personal explanation

Mr. JONES. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to strike the last word to enter into a colloquy with the gentleman from Ohio.

Mr. JONES. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Regula] agreeing to take a few questions regarding the fate of the coast of eastern North Carolina. Mr. Chairman, it is my understanding that there are really two separate groups of leases off the coast of North Carolina. One is called the Manteo Unit, the large natural gas prospect covering 21 leases in a contiguous area, while the remaining leases are a series of 32 individual leases which are widely scattered. Is that correct?

Mr. JONES. I yield to the gentleman from Ohio.

Mr. JONES. Mr. Chairman, the Manteo Unit is the only prospect in which industry has expressed any interest, is that the gentleman's understanding?

Mr. JONES. Mr. Chairman, does the repeal of the Outer Banks Protection Act have any effect on the status of the Manteo Unit?

Mr. JONES. Therefore, the repeal of the Outer Banks Protection Act does nothing to change the status of the area most likely to be drilled?

Mr. JONES. Mr. Chairman, the repeal of the Outer Banks Protection Act will allow the remaining leases, which are extremely unlikely to be drilled, to expire over the next couple of years, I would ask the gentleman?

Mr. JONES. I thank the gentleman, Mr. Chairman. amendment offered by mr. fox of pennsylvania

Mr. JONES. Unless this provision is repealed, these leases will remain under suspension indefinitely, and at some point could be open for exploration and drilling?

Mr. JONES. Mr. Chairman, therefore it is clearly in the interests of the coasts of eastern North Carolina to allow these leases to be removed from suspension so they can be allowed to run their course?

Mr. JONES. Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No. 512, I was inadvertently detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.'' announcement by the chairman

Mr. JONES. Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No. 513, I was inadvertenly detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. JONES. Mr. Chairman, on rollcall No. 514, I was inadvertently detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``Yes.'' amendment offered by mr. tiahrt

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, I have one simple proposal to strengthen Medicare--and that is to simplify Medicare. Nearly all seniors have two parts to their Medicare coverage--Medicare part A and Medicare part B-- in addition to a MediGap policy. This system is too complicated. There is too much paperwork. There are too many confusing forms. There are too many documents written by lawyers rather than real people. There are too many difficult rules and restrictions. There are too many examples of fraud and abuse by doctors and hospitals. Medicare must be simplified so that all of us, not just lawyers, can understand the Medicare system. By simplifying Medicare, we can preserve and strengthen Medicare for those who are currently on it, and for those who are counting on it. Simplifying Medicare is a change seniors deserve and want.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. I can honestly say that it is a hot topic back in my district and has been for the last 6 months. You might also find this of interest. I have had at least two CPA's to tell me that they would like very much to see a much simpler and fairer system. We do have a great deal of support throughout this country in my opinion.

Mr. JONES. I think each one of us know this figure that I am going to share with the viewers, but if we do not balance the budget, a child born today that lives to be 75 years of age, she or he will have a responsibility of $187,000 to pay on the interest on the debt. That is how important it is that we balance the budget.

Mr. JONES. Just the interest.

Mr. JONES. Does the gentleman from Ohio feel as I do that as we begin to tackle the welfare reform which we passed on the House side and hopefully the Senate will follow suit, but we are also looking to work closer with the States to take over the welfare program because we think the States can do a better job, a more efficient job than the Federal Government has done? Does the gentleman agree?

Mr. JONES. You touched on a point that I wanted to pick up on. One theme throughout this campaign, when I was campaigning for Congress, people were telling me, we are working longer and harder and taking home less, and that is exactly what the gentleman said. The American family and retired people who have worked, are working [[Page H 6909]] hard and have worked most of their lives and want to save and try to invest, under the liberal Democrats of the past as the majority party, and they have penalized people for saving and investing. Again, the average working man in my district feels that he and she are finally being represented in the Congress by people that will listen to them. That is something that the gentleman from Ohio said a while ago. We finally have a Congress that is listening to the people, and that is going to make the difference in the success of this new 104th Congress, because again, as we go home, we continue to hear it. People will stop me in a grocery store and say, Walter, or Mr. Jones, or Congressman, we like what you are doing. These are the people that work hard every day trying to do for their families and finally, they are getting some relief from Washington, thanks to the new majority.

Mr. JONES. Steve, when I have been home, I have seen people on a daily basis speaking to groups and senior citizens in the 19 counties that I have the privilege to serve. I can tell you that what we are doing in the new Congress is helping to rebuild the trust that the citizens and the voters have lost because the past Congresses were not listening to them. I can honestly tell you I get so upset when I am on the floor, as a member of the theme team, to hear the other side, particularly the liberals, trying to scare the senior citizens. And as I said, and everyone has been saying since we started talking about the Medicare trust fund, that we have no other alternative. We want to protect and save and guarantee for the future needs of our senior citizens. I do not know how in the world they can continue to say that when you go from, 1995, from roughly $4,700 to the year 2002 to $6,300 that that is a cut. But I can honestly tell you that back home the senior citizens that I have had a chance to talk to really understand what we are trying to do and they support us. So I can say that in the 6 months that we have been here I have been home every weekend but one. Every time I went home I was having the opportunity to meet and to speak with people. And I can tell you, frankly, that as long as we stay focused, we keep trying to balance the budget by the year 2002, then I think every day that we are here in the Congress as a new majority we are helping to rebuild the trust that has been lost.

Mr. JONES. Will the gentleman from Ohio yield for just moment.

Mr. JONES. If I could ask the gentleman, do you think that this true tax reform, whether it is the flat tax or consumption tax, would even be discussed in the U.S. House of Representatives if it were not for the Republican majority?

Mr. JONES. I would like to add to the point the gentleman made. The election last year, the people said we want less government, less taxes, and they realize, as you just stated and the gentleman from Illinois, that we must balance the budget. The average family in America today will spend more on paying taxes than that same average family will spend on clothing, housing or food. And yet, the other side keeps saying that the Republican Party only cares about the rich. Again, I want to make this clear, we care about the working man and woman in this country, and that is why I think every day we are helping to rebuild that confidence that I mentioned earlier. One other point that the gentleman from Kentucky made reference to, the Medicare board of trustees, which includes three of Clinton's own cabinet members, released a report last April stating that the Medicare hospital insurance trust fund, part A, will be bankrupt in seven years. If that is allowed to happen, more than 37 million Americans will lose their hospital insurance. That is why this Republican majority is working so hard to do what we can to ensure and to protect the Medicare Trust Fund. And we will do it, because the American people sincerely believe what we are saying and they want to see us protect the Medicare Trust Fund. And I believe that we have got the support of the majority of the senior citizens.

Mr. JONES

Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, Republicans are continuing to cut Government bureaucracy and waste today as we finish consideration of the energy and water appropriations bill. Keeping our promise to balance the budget by the year 2002, we have cut $1.6 billion from the 1995 funding level, which is $2 billion below the President's request. We have eliminated scores of Federal programs focusing on energy and water research which are more suited for the private sector, while at the same time preserving the basic scientific research programs that will allow our Nation to remain universally competitive. We have not forgotten what the people sent us here to do--cut spending first--that was their mandate back in November. Through this bill and others, we make the Government smaller, less costly, more efficient, and more accountable to the American people.