Jerry Lewis

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 469, I call up the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 68) making continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 2006, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I hope I do not consume very much. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to bring to the House the continuing resolution for fiscal year 2006. The CR will run through November 18. It is a clean CR without exception. Several Members are pushing the extension of dairy programs, adding emergency spending for the Corps of Engineers, and a whole host of other ideas. We have rejected them all. These items can be addressed in the next supplemental, regular fiscal year 2006 bills, or in reconciliation. The CR will fund agencies at the lower of three levels: the House-passed level, the Senate-passed level, or fiscal year 2005 current rates. Agencies funded in the Labor-HHS, Treasury, Transportation and Defense bills will be funded at the lower of the House-passed or current rates since the Senate will not pass these bills by October 1. The House and Senate have not passed a CR under the current framework since 1994. By returning to a traditional CR that funds the government operations at the lowest possible level, it will provide a strong motivation for this Congress to complete its work in regular order and produce individual appropriations bills and conference reports. I want the body to know the Committee on Appropriations is strongly committed to bringing back to this floor individual conference reports for each and every bill. The committee does not support an omnibus or minibus in any form and will do everything in its power to ensure that that does not happen. I remain committed to moving these bills individually and within the framework of the budget resolution. In order to help the Senate with the difficult process of passing the Treasury, Transportation and Labor-HHS bills, we will continue to push the lower rate, long-term continuing resolution prospect. I am convinced that this is the only way for us to get back to regular order. The House and Senate committees on appropriations are both committed to this goal. With regard to the regular order appropriations bills, the Interior and Legislative branch conference reports have been signed into law. The Homeland Security conference concluded just this morning, and we expect to file a conference report today. The Senate has now passed eight appropriations bills, and the ninth is expected to be completed by early next week. We have begun giving notional allocations to Energy and Water, Foreign Operations, Science, Justice, State and Commerce and Agriculture subcommittees so they can begin negotiating. We are making very good progress. This continuing resolution is an important step toward achieving our goal of restoring regular order to the congressional appropriations process. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I make a point of order under clause 7 of rule XVI. The instructions proposed in the motion to recommit range far beyond the subject matter of the joint resolution.

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.J. Res. 68 and that I may include tabular material on the same.

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Chairman, I rise to express my support of the work of both the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Kolbe) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier) on this very important matter. They have done great work together. I appreciate it. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank my colleagues Jim Kolbe and David Dreier for taking the lead on this extremely important measure. This amendment is about meeting federal responsibilities, about fairness to our states, and about making sure federal policies make our streets safer, not more dangerous. There can be no debate that immigration is a federal responsibility. The Supreme Court has ruled again and again that the states cannot take the lead on immigration, even if they want to. Every President has insisted that the federal government must control, and be responsible for, immigration. And Congress throughout history has passed laws that ensure we will help states cover the costs of immigration. I want my colleagues to understand this point: The SCAAP fund is not a grant program. We are reimbursing State and local governments for money they have already spent to arrest, process and incarcerate criminal aliens. These aliens should not be here, creating a burden on our society. We all agree that if the federal government was protecting our borders effectively, this would not be the problem it is. Yet every year, more than $635 million is spent by California and our local governments to incarcerate criminal aliens. This is not an estimate--to qualify for SCAAP, the states must clearly document their costs and get federal verification that the convicts are aliens. Nationwide, the costs are nearly $2 billion a year to jail more than 200,000 criminal aliens in state and local lockups. Let me be clear on this: This is $2 billion that has been spent on criminals who everyone agrees are federal responsibilities. This is $2 billion that is not being spent by states, counties and cities on more law enforcement officers, better courts and reducing the prison population. This is not a partisan matter. When Mr. Kolbe and Mr. Dreier introduced an amendment to increase SCAAP reimbursements this year, it was passed easily in a bipartisan vote. The Senate has passed this reauthorization legislation unanimously. It is time for Congress to reaffirm this federal responsibility. Please vote for the Kolbe-Dreier- Lewis amendment.

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Bureau of Land Management California Desert District Manager Linda Hansen, a dedicated public servant who has been a leader in balancing the protection of our vast public lands in the California desert with the needs of our public to use those lands in the most beneficial way. Throughout my years here in the House of Representatives, I have had the honor and pleasure of representing much of the Southern California desert lands, which range from the Sierra Nevada on the north to the Mexican border. The land itself is some of our nation's most unique and unspoiled, and the people who live, work and recreate there are very unique in their own ways. Many desert peaks provide vistas of hundreds of miles in every direction with no sign of civilization. But often a short drive down a canyon road can reveal a group of homes, a working ranch or rare mineral mine that are every bit as vital to the desert experience. It takes a special leader to balance the needs of the desert lands and their users. For the past 3\1/2\ years those needs have been very well balanced by the capable hands of Linda Hansen, the manager of the 10.5 million-acre California Desert District of the BLM. She has found ways to protect desert dunes and grant access to off-road vehicle riders. She has helped preserve desert wildlife like the Bighorn Sheep and met the needs of the thousands of hunters who know those arid lands so well. Linda Hansen joined the BLM by chance 28 years ago, taking a job as a receptionist in the Carson City office after her family moved there. She worked her way up through the ranks over the years, serving in both the state and national offices, and was finally named in 2002 to be the first female director of the Desert District. During her three years, the BLM has completed regional land use plans to guide management of public lands in the Northern and Eastern Colorado Desert, Northern and Eastern Mojave Desert, Coachella Valley, and the Imperial Sand Dunes. She also oversaw the final stages of development of the largest Habitat Conservation Plan in the United States in the West Mojave Desert, slated for completion by the end of 2005. She has improved the working relationship with her federal management partners, including the Forest Service, National Park Service, Department of Defense, and Fish and Wildlife Service. An Imperial Valley native, she has helped forge a compromise that allowed off-road enthusiasts to use the Imperial Dunes, while at the same time protecting much of the Dunes' fragile eco-system. At the same time, she has forged the United Desert Gateway, helping communities like El Centro and Brawley reap the benefits of the increased visitation there. Along the way, she has gained a reputation for being fair and patient in dealing with everyone who is dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the desert. Mr. Speaker, after 31 years of federal service and 28 years with the BLM, Linda Hansen will soon be retiring. Please join me in thanking her for her dedication, patience and perseverance, and wishing her well in her future endeavors.

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield for the purpose of making a unanimous consent request to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey). (Mr. GINGREY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, as I go about introducing my final speaker, I was very impressed by the gentlewoman's comments and her willingness to work in a bipartisan way regarding the challenge ahead of us. I wanted to mention to her we have been looking very seriously at the problems in the region of the gulf for a long time. In the last 5 years, the Congress has appropriated some $1.9 billion for flood control in Louisiana. I might mention only $1.4 billion has been appropriated for all of California, seven times the population. So we have been truly focusing upon that region. Just last Friday, as you know, we passed a $10.5 billion package for this immediate crisis, and today we have over a $50 billion package before us. So the Congress is attempting to focus upon this very real challenge. I am very happy that the gentlewoman recognizes that we do need to work together in terms of finding the why of all of this, but right now it is most important to respond to the challenges and needs of the American people in danger. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. DeLay), the majority leader of the House.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I first want to say that I appreciate the gentleman bringing this to our attention, as chairman of the Committee on Small Business. Indeed, I will be happy to continue working with the gentleman over time regarding this matter, and I look forward to that effort.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Boustany).

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Alexander).

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Bonner).

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, it was less than 1 week ago that Congress approved $10.5 billion in disaster aid to begin providing immediate assistance to the people of the gulf coast. That emergency supplemental bill was the first of what will likely be several supplementals addressing the urgent needs of our citizens affected by Hurricane Katrina. I plan to be very brief in my remarks. The human needs in the gulf region are all too apparent. The President has promised an unprecedented level of assistance and, once again, Congress is backing that promise with the funding and resources to keep the aid flowing. This is a straightforward supplemental providing $51.8 billion for emergency response and recovery needs associated with this disaster. Our effort today will ensure that there is no disruption in funding for needed relief efforts. We fully expect to be approving still more assistance once we have an assessment of the full scope and costs of this disaster. It is important for our Members to know that we are insisting on proper oversight for those appropriated dollars to ensure that funds are being spent wisely. Specifically, we have added a provision allowing the transfer of up to $15 million from FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund to the Homeland Security inspector general. Congress also will provide that every dollar needed is spent to rebuild, but we will require accountability for every dollar that is spent. The destruction along the gulf coast will require months and even years of intense effort to recover and rebuild. Congress and the Bush administration are fully committed to the rebuilding process. One final thought in closing. I recall vividly the scene of Republicans and Democrats standing on the steps of the Capitol singing ``God Bless America'' on the evening of September 11, 2001. We stood not as partisans or political opponents, but as American citizens united in our grief and resolve. We would all do well to follow that model of comity and civility. Our success in rebuilding in the wake of this natural disaster demands that we tone down our political rhetoric and weigh our words and actions carefully. The lives and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people are at stake. The temptation to point fingers is great in the aftermath of a tragedy of this magnitude. Regardless of party affiliation, we must all resist this temptation to point fingers when our citizens are suffering and in need. There will be plenty of time to assess how and why this disaster occurred, but not today, not now. We must stand together as we did on 9/11, united as Americans, to assist our citizens in need. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Homeland Security.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Manzullo).

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah), a member of the committee.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3673) making further emergency supplemental appropriations to meet immediate needs arising from the consequences of Hurricane Katrina, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2005, and for other purposes.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Kirk), a member of our committee.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to mention, as I did in my opening statement, that we have changed this a bit by adding $15 million to make sure our inspector general is assisting us in making sure that every dollar that will be spent, and it is necessary to help those people who have been affected by this tragedy, that indeed it is our intention to ensure to the American public that every dollar is spent well. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3673.

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, the funds provided in H.R. 3673 to meet the urgent needs arising from the consequences of Hurricane Katrina are designated as emergency requirements for the purposes of section 402 of H. Con. Res. 95, 109th Congress. The requirements funded in the bill meet criteria outlined in section 402(c) since they are in response to a situation which poses a direct threat to life and property, is sudden, is urgent and compelling, is unpredictable, and is not permanent in nature. The funds are also essential to the continuing recovery effort. The devastation that has occurred in New Orleans and around the Gulf Coast as the result of Hurricane Katrina is of monumental proportions. It already is the most costly natural disaster in the Nation's history, and most government natural disaster assistance experts anticipate recovery needs far beyond the $62.3 billion to be provided by Congress in the first two Hurricane Katrina supplemental measures. The funds in H.R. 3673 will provide urgently needed food, shelter, security, and reconstruction. The funds will help to save lives. Clearly, the funds meet emergency needs and are consistent with the criteria outlined in the budget resolution.