Jack Kingston

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for yielding time to me. Mr. Speaker, I just wanted to say that I support this rule because I support ultimately the budget. I support the budget for a number of reasons. Number one, I think it is time that we in this Congress address the national debt. I have four children. I want the national debt gone. I am glad that this budget takes a very serious look at it. I also believe that it is time to decrease the taxes on our citizens. When I was growing up in the 1970s, the tax burden on my parents and their generation, the income tax, was about 16 percent. Now, the generation before that in the 1950s had a 5 percent income tax burden. Today, that average tax burden is 24 percent. I think for middle-income Americans it is time to have tax relief. I am glad this budget takes a swing at that. Then finally, Mr. Speaker, I support this budget because it has commonsense spending. It keeps the priorities of education, Medicare, Social Security, important social service programs which government should be funding, and yet at the same time it says, after we take care of those obligations, those priorities, after we take care of those normal, important functions and obligations of the government, after we pay down the debt, we are going to return and we are going to rebate to the American people the money which is theirs. Somehow, somewhere along the way to Washington, many of us have forgotten this is not our money, it is the money of the hard-working taxpayers, and they deserve to keep as much of it as possible.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, it is indeed an honor to be here before you to recognize Rabbi Avigdor Slatus and Rebbitzen Rochel Slatus today. They are truly a special couple who have touched the lives of so many people throughout my district. This weekend, these people of God will be celebrating with their Synagogue, the Congregation Bnai Brith Jacob, upon their 20th anniversary of distinguished leadership in the city of Savannah. As a result, I felt compelled to make it known throughout the nation what the people of Savannah already know, Rabbi and Rebbitzen Slatus are great Americans and even greater servants of God. Rabbi Avigdor Slatus has inspired our community to a new level of Torah appreciation through various classes, shiurim, and lectures. In depth shiurim in Gemarah, Chumash, Halacha as well as beginners programs for those who have never experienced authentic Torah education. Rabbi Slatus has been actively involved in helping to build a day school for all Jewish children in the city of Savannah, and now has an enrollment of approximately 170 children. The Rabbi has also introduced a Kollel to Savannah which presents Torah classes on a variety of topics and issues for the entire community. Rochel Slatus learned the importance of seniors growing up in the nursing home facility her parents owned in Chicago, Illinois. As a first generation American and a daughter of Holocaust survivors, she is keenly aware of the plight of her people and has been a distinguished companion in her husband's efforts to elevate spirituality and growth within the Savannah Jewish community. She has weekly adult education classes and has taught kindergarten in the Rambam day school for many years. Currently, she devotes much of her time to the senior citizens who live at Buckingham South, the retirement home she started next door to the synagogue. The Rebbitzen is among the first to arrive there every morning and is always the last to leave. Every night she tucks each person in before she goes home and many on her staff have told me that she is their personal hero. Both the Rabbi and Rebbitzen have devoted their lives to our community and spreading the Word of God to whomever their paths may cross. It is this devotion that they share that compelled me to speak about them today. I am honored to know them and call them friends, but I am also honored to thank them on behalf of my district for their twenty years of service. I hope and pray to God they are able to do so for many more years to come.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I had the honor of being visited by the Savannah Christian Middle School, and in the back row of this large crowd of students, there was a young woman named Amy. Amy made about $20 a day working for her father, but, of course, she only took home about $16. Mr. Speaker, $4 going for taxes. Amy and the other students understood that we in government need taxes to pay for roads and bridges and military and education and all those things. She did not regret that. She did not begrudge that a bit; but I said to her, Amy, if you knew we could do all that, plus debt reduction for $3.50, what would you want done with the remaining 50 cents? Would you want me to keep it and expand government and take away more rights and privileges from you, or would you like to keep that 50 cents? She said, with all the other students, give it back to me. It is my money. What a pity that our Washington bureaucracy does not understand this principle. If Amy has that money, what she is going to do is buy more CDs, more hamburgers, more clothes. It adds up. When she does that, small businesses expand, they create jobs and opportunities for people. More people work. More people are paying taxes, and it is a win-win. Mr. Speaker, we need tax relief. It will get the economy moving.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I am honored today to pay tribute to those brave men who fought in Desert Storm and the families who supported and prayed for them back at home. Families much like the Hart's from my district, who went without a father for almost two years. Steve Hart was not designated to fight in the Gulf Crisis, but rather volunteered to go overseas to protect American values and beliefs. Upon his return, he was welcomed back with a hero's reception as were all of our deserving soldiers. Perhaps the greatest reward was given to him recently, when his son wrote a tribute to him and his colleagues. I would like to submit that tribute, written by Steve's son David. I think it speaks for itself. The Pride of an Army Son As a young adult blessed with the opportunity to have been born and raised in the United States of America, I feel it is essential for every American citizen to reflect on the fact that the many freedoms, which we enjoy, were bought with a price. The Declaration of independence issued by our forefathers reflected centuries of struggle for freedom from England. From the battlefields at Lexington, Concord, and Yorktown, came our Constitution of the United States and a form of government that provides Americans freedom, opportunity, and justice under the law. However, neither the victory at Yorktown nor the Constitution would have come about without the perseverance, dedication, and ingenuity of the American soldier. Millions of Americans have put on this nation's uniform in war and in peace since those brave early Americans who fought for our freedom in the Revolutionary War. While our independence was won more than 220 years ago, it has been secured by those who have stood sentry over those ideals since. It gives me great pride to acknowledge the fact that my Father is one of the many members of the United States Army who protect the way of life that sets our nation apart from the rest. One incident in particular epitomizes the privilege I celebrate to have been born into the military community. My mind is drawn to 1990 and 1991 when my family (my Mother, brother and I) was separated for seven months due to my Father's deployment to the Persian Gulf for Operations Desert Shield and Storm. I recall not having my Father around to take me Trick-or-Treating during Halloween. I remember how solemn the normally joyous Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays were in 1990 because our family unit was disrupted. And my thoughts are brought back to how cavalier my friends were about the pending war with Iraq, with seemingly little regard for the death and destruction that accompanies war. I am proud of my Dad, for he volunteered to go the Persian Gulf. His section was not scheduled to deploy. Dad's job was supposed to stay at Fort Steward, Georgia and support the soldiers from behind the front lines. I remember him telling me that he ``had to go.'' He likened the call to duty like being on the sports team and not getting playing time. He said he could not live with himself knowing that his friends and comrades were going to fight a war without him. Dad said, ``there's plenty of time to accomplish things in civilian life; right now, my country needs me.'' I remember how much I worried about my Dad being wounded or killed on the battlefield. I would always take refuge in the text of his many letters and his words during the few phone calls he was able to make. He told ``me'' to be brave, that everything would be all right and he would be home soon. As the deployment wore on, my friends, as did much of America, experienced a renewed sense of patriotism. During the height of the Gulf War, many in my neighborhood would show their support for the soldiers of Fort Steward and Hunter Army Airfield, and the entire country, by displaying flags. I saw flags on people's homes, on kids' lunch boxes, on neckties, and on marquees. When our soldiers came home, there were marching bands, colorful parades and an admiring public. The people of Coastal Georgia and the nation lavished heartfelt thanks upon its returning soldiers, both for their victory and their sacrifice. Although most of the men and women from Fort Stewart did return safe-and-sound, many returned severely wounded or with emotional scars. Some did not return at all. As our nation and its democratic ideals and institutions have evolved since colonial times, so, too, has our flag's message of freedom, equality, justice, and hope evolved to embrace all who choose the American way of life. Our members of the Armed Forces know the loneliness of separation from family and friends, and the fear of dying in a foreign land, alone, far from home, away from their families. In serving America, they sweat, they bled, and they agonized. They have served for their devotion to duty and their love of this country and its ideals. This is the sacrifice paid by the military and their families to maintain the way of life enjoyed by every United States citizen. The next time you take for granted your freedom of speech, your civil rights, your academic freedom, religious freedom, and the freedom of the press, remember, those freedoms were bought with a price.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time, and I want to start out just asking a couple of questions here. Should a grocery store employee be prohibited from bagging a turkey that weighs more than 15 pounds? Now, I have a family of four, so if I can find a 15 pound turkey, I am going to buy it. Now, my wife can pick up a 15 pound turkey because she has been picking up four children. Most kids quickly get to be in excess of 15 pounds. But let us just think this through. Libby Kingston goes to the Piggly-Wiggly to buy the 15 pound turkey and she lifts it up; yet the 18-year-old football player from Savannah High School, Johnny Simmons, cannot lift it from the cashier to the bag. Maybe we need to install forklifts at all the Piggly-Wigglys so that we can get those 15 pound turkeys into the bags so that the mamas can pick them right up and carry them and put them into the SUVs. Another question. Should hospitals and nursing home employees be restricted in their ability to help lift patients from their bed? I have an employee right now whose father, very sadly, has suffered a stroke, and he needs assistance when he goes to the bathroom. Now, under these rules it is no problem, all an employee has to do is say, Well, you are on your own. We know you had your stroke, but, good luck, sorry, I am on break right now. That is what these rules do. Should a worker be prohibited from spending more than 4 hours a day at a keyboard? I am glad the previous speaker said her employees seem to be suffering from this every day at the word processors. I do not know, but maybe she should move them to another job. My folks over at the first district of Georgia, they can spend 4 hours a day at a keyboard. And if they cannot, they can tell me and we can work it out. Here is one of the questions. Maybe not all employees should be picking up 15 pound turkeys, maybe not all employees in hospitals should be helping patients go to the bathroom, and maybe not all employees should be sitting at a keyboard for 4 hours; but that, my colleagues, should be the decisions made locally at the place of employment, not by some bureaucrat in Washington who knows everything. What is it with the Democrat Party that they think the wizards of Oz are in Washington, D.C. and that they should dictated to all the businesses all over the country who should do what, when they should do it, and how they should do it? I will give another example. A couple of years ago this same outfit came into my district and told a woman who runs a courier service with two cars, she takes packages from the north side of town to the south side of town, it is real complicated business, from a government standpoint, they came in and told her that she would need to have a smoking and a nonsmoking car for her smoking and nonsmoking employees to deliver packages to smoking and nonsmoking businesses. She said, ``Guys, I only have two cars. I can figure this out in Savannah, Georgia. Why don't you all go back to Washington and solve real problems. Get a real life.'' All this is about is common sense. We are not pulling out the rug on workers' safety. This is saying there is still going to be Federal worker-protection laws. There will still be State worker-protection laws. There will be all kinds of insurance and business premises rules and regulations. I know it is hard for some people to understand, but there are business owners and entrepreneurs who do not want their employees hurt. Hey, what a revolutionary thought for the liberal party. The fact is the National Academy of Sciences was coming out with rules and regulations on ergonomics; but the Clinton folks, on their way out of town, along with pardoning a lot of people at 2 in the morning, decided, hey, lets jam this through on the small businesses and the entrepreneurs of America on the way out of town, and let the next administration try to make sense of it. That is all this legislation does. It lets the current administration try to make some sense, some common sense, out of another bureaucratic nightmare out of Washington, D.C.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, regrettably, I was unable to be in Washington on March 1, 2001 to cast a vote on H.R. 333, The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2001, when it came to the House floor. At President Bush's request, I was attending an event in my home state of Georgia with the President. Had I been here, however, I would have voted in favor of the Bankruptcy Reform bill.

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Chairman, I have been a strong supporter of this bill throughout its formulation. Despite the healthy economy these past few years, people are still going bankrupt in record numbers. This legislation included some much needed reforms in the area of bankruptcies, especially in terms of personal credit. I have also been very actively engaged in a section of this bill which deals with bankruptcy judges. In 1998, there were over 26,000 bankruptcy cases filed in the Southern and Middle Judicial Districts of Georgia alone, with only one shared judge to manage this tremendous volume. I fought hard to ensure that this bill would establish a new judgeship in the Southern Judicial District, which is the 7th busiest in the United States. The new judgeship would benefit most of the state, spanning five congressional districts, covering 3 million people. Finally, I would like to thank Chairman Gekas for his hard work in this area, and for the work of Alan on his personal staff, and Susan on the committee staff. Without everyone's team effort in dealing with this legislation, we would not have been successful.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, on this 90th birthday of Ronald Reagan, I think all of us should be inspired; and we unfortunately are a country that has grown so cynical that, okay, it is not cool to say something nice about Ronald Reagan because I am a Democrat or it is not good to say something about Jimmy Carter because I am a Republican. Yet, I think all people who have served in public service in the courthouses, in the school boards and in the Nation's Capital, in the State legislatures around the country deserve respect for their contributions and for their attempts to make the world a better place. I was a college student when I first knew of Ronald Reagan. He was running for President in 1976. I was in the Ford camp, but I listened to his speeches very carefully and realized over the next several years that he, in fact, had something to contribute and something to say. Reagan's ideas, I would say, were probably basic conservative philosophies of less government, of individualism, of people solving problems and not government solving problems, and yet beyond that there seemed to be something else in him, a little twinkle in the eye that maybe captured our imagination; in the words of a poet, maybe took the ordinary and made them extraordinary, and had this ability to galvanize the people of America to try to do their best. In his inaugural address, his closing line was, ``Good Morning, America.'' And he would say repeatedly, after all, we are America; America, where great things happen. I had the opportunity this weekend to hear our new President, George W. Bush, speak, and I saw a lot of the same tendencies, a sincerity. The ideas are ideas that we in this Congress have debated many, many times, and yet there seems to be something new. There seems right now to be a new energy, a new chemistry in this town. People, I think, Democrat and Republicans, are excited. Here we have a President of the United States who went to the Republican retreat this weekend, where we were doing our budget planning. No big deal, a Republican President going to a Republican retreat. Yet, after that he went to the Democrat retreat to talk to them, to reach out to them. Indeed, he has met several times over the past couple of weeks with Democrat group after Democrat group, Democrat leader after Democrat leader, holding out his hands. In that Republican retreat this weekend, rather than taking a partisan swing at the Democrats, who often were not so kind to him and did not show the same benevolent spirit or the magnanimity that he has, he held everything up with high integrity. He referred to Mr. Daschle with great respect. He referred to the institution of Congress and the passing of legislation with great respect. I am looking forward to working with this gentleman. I like his ideas on education, local control for local school boards, the teacher in the classroom who knows the kids' names, where she will have a lot more input in the process. After all, that teacher knows what the needs of the classroom are. More professionals, more computers, more classroom space, more bricks and mortar. The teacher who knows the children's names, who knows which ones need a hugging and which ones need an A or a B; they are the ones who should be leading education, not the bureaucracy out of Washington, D.C. I am very interested in his passion for education. On the subject of taxes, it is just this easy: If you knew that the Federal Government could operate, pay all of our obligations and all of our normal functions of government on your contribution as a taxpayer, you would probably say, okay, I do not like paying my taxes but you need the money, fine. But if you found out we could do it on less than what you were paying in, you would probably want the money back. I had the opportunity to talk to a little girl at Johnson High School over the break. She had a job, senior in high school, made $7.00 an hour. So I said to her, Julie, if you work for two hours, you make $14. Do you get to take it all home? She said, no. I have to pay about $4 in taxes. I said, okay. On the $14 you earn, you have to pay $4 in taxes. If you knew that I could run the government on $3.50 of that money, what would you want me to do with the extra 50 cents? She said, give it back to me. Now, why does she want it back and what is she going to do with that money? She is going to buy more CDs, more hamburgers, fill up her tank a few more times; and when she does that, she stimulates the economy, businesses expand, jobs are created, more opportunities, more people are working. Therefore, less people are on welfare, more are paying taxes, more paying into the system than taking out of the system, and it is a win/win. It is what Adam Smith, the great economist, called the invisible hand of America that makes the whole engine thrive. If this senior in high school at Johnson High in Savannah, Georgia, could understand that, why is it so many people in Washington are confused about it? The surplus does not belong to the government. It belongs to the 17-year-old Julies around the country, and Bush understands this. I am looking forward to working with the new President on this. On Social Security, he supports a lockbox. He says, we are going to save Social Security, not just for the next election but for the next generation. And in doing so, we are not going to change benefits for near-retirees or for retirees. We are not going to have a tax increase, and that is important. And from there on we are going to work on a bipartisan basis to do what is best for the American people. The reason I believe that we have a new President and a new administration in the White House is because George Bush dared to stick his foot in the water of issues. Rather than skirting around the edge, he got into the water. I think the American people are ready for a substantive debate on real issues that affect all of us. So on this birthday of Ronald Reagan, let me wish the Reagan family the best, but let me also wish the best to the Bush family and make a pledge that this Member of Congress is ready to work.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, today I recognize a great American hero, from my district Savannah, GA, George K. Gannam, for being awarded a purple heart for his service in World War II. We should all stand up and applaud Mr. Gannam for his dedication and service to our country. He was a brave and heroic man and deserves to be recognized as such. Mr. Gannam was killed in the Japanese attack on Hickam Field on December 7, 1941. He was the first person from Chatham County to die in World War II. An eye witness reports that Mr. Gannam received mortal wounds while assisting other airmen to remove airplanes from a burning hangar during the height of the attack. Medical records indicate that Mr. Gannam died of multiple shrapnel and machine gun bullet wounds. As a result of his heroic actions he was awarded a purple heart. The American Legion Post #184 in Thunderbolt, GA was named after him. This is a great recognition and will help keep his name alive for years to come. Mr. Gannam's presence and dedication to our country helped insure the freedom we enjoy today. His unselfish acts made a difference to the families of each person he helped. America's military has always served with pride meeting the challenges necessary to maintain our national security, to protect American interests at home and abroad, and to guarantee our freedoms and way of life, and Americans owe them a great deal. Please join me again in applauding Mr. Gannam. The dedication of this brave man helped shape our history. Without him our country's history would be different. Our society needs more people like him who unselfishly dedicate and give their lives as they fight for freedom for our country. This man was a very brave person and deserves to be recognized as an American Hero. I am pleased to submit a tribute of his life in the Congressional Record.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I think we are all learning where all the counties in Florida are located. Let me ask the gentleman this: Does the gentleman use the butterfly ballot in his county?

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I am joined tonight in this 5-minute Special Order with the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica) who, of course, has been very involved with this Florida situation. I wanted to just start out the evening to ask him, what is the gentleman's home county?

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, what kind does the gentleman use?

Mr. KINGSTON. Now, the purpose of the butterfly ballot is what?

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I understand, however, ironically, that Mr. Gore's political operative here, William Daley, whose father, Richard Daley was notorious for ballot fraud, that is the word for it, in Cook County, Illinois, for so many years, his son, and I am not saying it is like father, like son, although others have; but his son is down here on behalf of Mr. Gore as his point man; and yet this is the same type ballot that they have in Illinois; is that not true?

Mr. KINGSTON. In 1996, 15,000, and this year, 19,000. Duval County, which leads Republican, actually 26,000. We have, Mr. Speaker, a copy of the actual ballot that was used in Palm Beach County, Florida, and here it is. I will tell my colleagues, I know people get confused. However, when we think about Veteran's Day just passing and all of the people who have sacrificed their lives and died and been injured for the freedom of our country, one would think that the American electorate would at least take their time to fill out their ballot right and not do a lot of whining if they made a mistake. Here we have an arrow, George Bush for President; arrow, Patrick Buchanan, an arrow; and I understand it is absolutely legal to have the names on the right hand and the left-hand side of the arrow. Al Gore, an arrow. David McReynolds, an arrow, 6, 7; Harry Brown, an arrow. I am really confused, Mr. Speaker, as to why this is so hard for people to understand. But then again, I know we get rushed on Election Day and people are entitled to make a mistake; but that is why they simply just walk out, say I made an error, I filled out the wrong arrow, give me another ballot; and that is what has, in fact, happened. I would ask the gentleman if that is not right.

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I think it is important to point out that in Palm Beach County, in 1996, 15,000 ballots were in the same situation.

Mr. KINGSTON. Okay. So Duval County, 26,000 were thrown out. Are the Gore people working Duval? I have not heard of the Reverend Jackson going down there.

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, we keep hearing about these 19,000 ballots that were thrown out. A point of clarification. Actually, those are only the number of ballots that were discarded, people who did do their ballot wrong to step out and say, I messed up, could you give me another one, that ballot gets thrown in this discarded bin and then they go back in there, and they could do that four or five times.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to ask the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica), through the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Smith), I wanted to ask, the Governor has recused himself. Jeb Bush, Governor of Florida, since he is George Bush's brother, the President-elect, almost, he has taken himself out of this. I know there are a number of judges who have donated to the Gore campaign. Now, I think it is obvious everybody involved probably has voted for one candidate or the other. A few may have voted for the third-party candidates, but generally speaking, most people in all of these rooms will have voted for Bush or Gore, so that is a given. But I noticed there was a judge named I think LePore, another one named Kroll, all had given generously to the Gore campaign. Have they also taken themselves out or recused themselves?

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman referenced this quote. And maybe while we are looking at it, ``We have accomplished so much in this session of Congress in a bipartisan fashion. It has been one of the most productive sessions.'' President Bill Clinton, October 30, 2000.

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, we are joined here tonight by the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Hayworth) and the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Gutknecht). What we want to talk about is what we have tried to do in our individual careers, and we believe that this Congress has, and that is putting people above politics. See, when we were elected in Arizona, in Minnesota, and, in my case, Georgia, we did not go out there and say I am going to be a Republican, and I am going to only be a Republican and I am going to only represent Republicans. We went out there to say the American people want a change. We are going to try to put people above politics. We are going to try to stick to that. Do my colleagues know what, I have found that a lot of times in these negotiations, the Democrats have a lot of good things to offer. What we try to do is put the best of the Democratic ideas and the best of the Republican ideas forward for the best for the American people. That is one reason why we are still here in Washington after the Senate has already adjourned. It is one reason we are still here to fight for the things that we believe in. It would be a lot more convenient for us during this election time to be back home pounding the streets in our own districts, but there are some things that we need to fight for. My wife, Libby, often reminds me that she does not mind driving the car pool alone and being alone at parties and taking care of the kids and sitting down at the dinner table and seeing my empty chair night after night if I am here to make a difference. But if I am not making a difference and it is politics as usual, then it is time to go home. But so far we are here to put people before politics. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Hayworth).

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, it is ironic, and I am not trying to give anyone a geography lesson, but it is interesting that here we are in Washington, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Gutknecht) is in Washington, the gentleman from California (Mr. Horn) is in Washington, 300-some-odd Members of Congress are in Washington, and I will point out 73 Democrats are not, but the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt) is in Missouri campaigning, the leader. Mr. Clinton is here in California in the district of the gentleman from California (Mr. Horn) politicking. Again, the rest of us, 300-some-odd people, have flown to Washington for negotiations to try to finish up; and yet they have decided to leave Washington. And you cannot get your work done. It takes two to dance, and you have to have two at a bargaining table as well. And you cannot bargain, you cannot negotiate when other people have walked out of negotiations. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Gutknecht).

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I want to kind of underscore what we are talking about, four million people who sneaked into the United States illegally against laws, the President wants to give blanket citizenship to. When we say ``amnesty,'' we mean citizenship. That is the size roughly of Montana, Delaware, Alaska, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Vermont. That is what we are talking about. And on just one stroke of the pen, the President wants to make them citizens.

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Stenholm) has joined us. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman.

Mr. KINGSTON

Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, here we are in Washington and the situation is that we have passed 13 out of 13 appropriation bills, and we are trying to work with the President of the United States to finalize these bills. This is always the case. It has always been this way. Both sides always claim victory, but in truth Democrats and Republicans come together because the American people want something done, but now we are unable to do that. The first time in history the Congress cannot adjourn. And why can it not adjourn? Because the President, as I speak, is in California today campaigning. Now, if he was in the Middle East avoiding war, hey, I am with him all the way. If he was in North Korea, if he was in Haiti or something, we are with him all the way. He is in California. Congress is here in Washington, D.C. The Democrat leader, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt), is home in St. Louis campaigning. Because of this, taxpayers have a government that is somewhat in limbo. When we get the new President, Mr. Bush, I hope he will bring both sides together because that is what we need.