Robert Matsui

Mr. MATSUI

Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I rise in tribute to Reverend Edward R. Sherriff. On October 20, 1999, Reverend Sherriff was stabbed to death in his home in Sacramento. A memorial service will be held on November 7 at River City Metropolitan Community Church's Cathedral of Promise in Sacramento. As the community mourns his loss, I ask all my colleagues to join with me in saluting the career and efforts of this exceptional person. Reverend Sherriff was born in Serdro-Wooley, Washington and raised in Northern California on the Hupa Reservation. He began preaching locally at age seventeen. This childhood interest grew into a career. He was the pastor of several congregations and coordinated churches in the Northwest U.S. and in Canada. In 1965, he was dismissed as a result of his sexual orientation, and he did not enter another church for 19 years. His life in ruin, Reverend Sherriff borrowed money to buy a restaurant. This venture eventually expanded to five extremely successful eateries. During this time, he also financed a homosexual hotline in Spokane, Washington, taught nursing for the state of Washington, and volunteered his time to help the needy and hungry. In 1983, Reverend Sherriff attended a service at Emmanuel Metropolitan Community Church in Spokane, Washington. Because of this open and caring environment, he was convinced to rejoin the ministry. Reverend Sherriff briefly served as a pastor of the MCC church in Boise, Idaho, and he served as District Coordinator of the Northwest District, Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches from 1987-1992. From 1990 to 1992, Reverend Sherriff served as Executive Director of the Hope House, a low-rent residence facility operated by Loaves and Fishes. Edward Sherriff began his tenure as Associate Pastor of River City Metropolitan Community Church in Sacramento in 1987. His office was located in the church building in Oak Park, a multicultural community in a depressed area of Sacramento. He made a practice of inviting cold and hungry people off the street to come in for a cup of hot coffee. As the news spread, more and more people began to flock to the Reverend's door. Due to his nursing background and interest in feeding the needy, nutritional concerns were of utmost importance in formulating his outreach to the community. In 1990, he began cooking a pot of soup for the 10 or 20 hungry people who had nowhere else to go for a warm meal. In the early 1990's Reverend Sherriff and MCC began the Samaritan Center to provide held for the needy regardless of religious affiliation, race, creed, sex, or sexual orientation. The Samaritan Center used volunteers and the church's kitchen to prepare the meals and used the church's social hall to serve the meals. The number of hungry people continued to grow, and in 1992, Reverend Sherriff resigned his District Coordinator position and dedicated his time to the Samaritan Center. In 1994, MCC's Activities Building, which housed the Samaritan Center, burned to the ground. At the time, the Samaritan Center was providing about 400 hot meals per day. As a result, the center was promptly moved to a new location and continued the services to the community. In September of 1999, the Samaritan's Food Bank program, together with Reverend Sherriff's coffee shop, had helped feed over 4,200 people. Mr. Speaker, as the community of Sacramento gathers to mourn the loss of one of its finest citizens, I am honored to pay tribute to Reverend Edward R. Sherriff. His tireless service to the community and people of Sacramento will be dearly missed. I ask all of my colleagues to join me in mourning his loss and celebrating his achievements.

Mr. MATSUI

Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I rise in tribute to the Community Service Honorees of the Japanese American Citizens League. On Thursday, December 9th, the JACL will host a recognition dinner to honor these citizens' outstanding contributions to their community. I ask all of my colleagues to join with me in saluting this special occasion. This year's first nominee for service to the Nikkei community is Midori Hiyama. A long time faculty member and head of the English Department at Sacramento City College, she is being recognized for many decades of service to the Sacramento Japanese American community in the academic field. Along with Henry Taketa and others, she built up the Sacramento JACL Scholarship Program to the largest such program at the chapter level. Next, the JACL will honor Percy and Gladys Masaki. The late Percy Masaki and his wife Gladys have dedicated many years of service to the Sacramento JACL, especially during the early formation of the local chapter. Their contributions included providing many years of rent-free space and committing thousands of hours of volunteer time. Their volunteer efforts focused in the areas of coordination of community events and the publishing and distribution of the chapter newsletters. Another esteemed honoree will be Shigeru Shimazu. Known simply as Shig, Mr. Shimazu is being honored for his forty years of invaluable service to the Sacramento Nikkei community. He has remained a consistently active and productive member of the Japanese American community. Although he is not always openly visible during his participation in community functions, his contributions during the past decades have been outstanding. The Sacramento JACL would also like to recognize the contributions of the Union Bank of California. Union Bank will represent the corporate honoree at this year's Community Service Recognition Dinner. This financial institution has remained supportive of the JACL and many other Japanese American organizations in the entire state. The contributions of the Union Bank of California have extended beyond the JACL to areas such as various churches, tanoshimi kais, the Asian Community Nursing Home, Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce, and public television's Channel 6. Their policy of service charge free accounts to all non-profit organizations has been appreciated. In addition, Anne Rudin has been selected for recognition. The former mayor of Sacramento will be the only non-Nikkei honoree of 1999. She has been extremely active in the Japanese American community for the past three decades. Not only was she the first Honorary Chair of Matsuyama-Sacramento Sister City Corporation, but she has traveled to Japan several times as a delegate to the Japan-U.S. Mayors Conference and as a member of the Sacramento contingent to the Sister City conferences. The last nominee of this year's banquet will be James Maddock and the Sacramento Bee. Mr. Maddock of the FBI and the Sacramento Bee (represented by Howard Weaver) are being nominated for their support during the recent arson attacks on three Jewish synagogues. Because of their intensive and active support during the aftermath of these terrible events, the citizens of the Sacramento area have rallied together in opposition to such hate crimes. Mr. Speaker, as these exceptional people and organizations are honored by the Japanese American Citizens League, I am proud to give my heart-felt endorsement. These people and organizations have all contributed immensely to the betterment of the Japanese American community in Sacramento. I ask all of my colleagues to join with me in wishing the honorees and the JACL continued success in the future.

Mr. MATSUI

Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I rise in tribute to B.T. Collins. The date of November 6, 1999 will see the dedication of the B.T. Collins Army Reserve Training Center, currently under construction at the old Sacramento Army Depot. Because of this great honor, I ask all of my colleagues to join me in acknowledgment of this event. This twenty million-dollar facility will provide training for 1,200- 1,400 soldiers each month. These men and women will receive training in field medical surgical hospital techniques, field mess preparations, high tech communications, and other basic or advanced military occupational specialty training. The lobby of this new training center will house the B.T. Collins Museum. This will provide a permanent home for many of the historical photographs, letters, uniforms, and other paraphernalia that B.T. Collins had collected throughout his Army and political careers. His sisters and friends will donate much of the collection. They will also work closely with the military and the builders to insure that the museum will reflect B.T. Collins' love of country, family and community service. On this extraordinary day, perhaps the most notable event will be the dedication of a bust of B.T. Collins to be placed at the entrance of this important facility. The artist, Garr Ugalde has been commissioned to create the bust, and he has presented a preliminary wax model of his work that amazingly captures B.T. Collins in his green beret. This bust will be donated by his family and friends. B.T. Collins' friends and family made a promise that they would not allow his memory, patriotism, ideals, and contribution to his country to be forgotten. This memorial is one way to make good on that promise. It is their sincere hope that this museum will inspire soldiers to emulate the ideals that B.T. Collins espoused. Mr. Speaker, as the friends and family of B.T. Collins gather to celebrate this landmark event, I am honored to pay tribute to one of Sacramento's most outstanding citizens. B.T. Collins' contributions to his community, state, and country are commendable. I am sincerely pleased that this museum and monument to this great man will preserve his memory for generations. I ask all of my colleagues to join with me in wishing B.T. Collins and his family continued success in all their endeavors.

Mr. MATSUI

Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to close now. Mr. Speaker, I am just going to close by saying that everybody has really acted in good faith on this legislation. It has been a very, very difficult piece of legislation. It has had a number of committees involved in it. Obviously, feelings were very high, and there were a number of components to this legislation. But I think it is well taken on both sides of the aisle, both Republicans and Democrats have problems with some of the offsets. When we get into conference, it is my hope that we will have time to vent some of these issues, find out what the implications of them are, which I am sure everybody will want to do, and then come up with a very good piece of legislation. We should try to finish this before we leave, otherwise, undoubtedly, if we go into the year 2000, it could get stale, and advocacy groups will, maybe, lose some kind of involvement in it. So we need to finish this quickly. But we really need to know the implications of these offsets, because they have come up at the last minute. I urge strong support of this legislation. Everybody works hard in good faith, and we need to do this for the disabled of America.

Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman).

Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).

Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee).

Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Baldwin).

Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 3 minutes. I do not know if I will take the entire 3 minutes, in which case I will reserve my time; but let me just say that this bill passed in the last Congress with over 400 votes. Only one Member voted against it, and obviously it has strong bipartisan support at this time. It is a kind of bill that all of us obviously realize is extremely important for the disabled. Basically what it will do that is so important to the disabled is continue Medicare benefits once the disabled person is in the work force. The real issue here is that we give, instead of 4 years, we give them a total of 10 years; and in my opinion this will go a long ways in keeping people that have disabilities in the work force. In addition to this, one of the major components of it is that it sets up a program that allows the disabled to go into private or public type agencies for support services such as job training, job searches and things of that nature. I want to commend both the majority and the minority staff for their leadership in making this work out. We did have some problems obviously before the committee markup and after the committee markup and during the committee markup. On the other hand, I think the results that we have today on the floor of the House are excellent. I want to also commend both the Committee on Commerce and the Committee on Ways and Means for working together and ironing out our differences. Hopefully, this bill will get to conference soon so that we can get it to the President, and there is no politics in this issue. I think people had a good-faith belief in their differences, but we were able to resolve them and come to some conclusion. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the very distinguished gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown).

Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from the State of Maryland (Mr. Cardin), the ranking member of the Committee on Ways and Means and the Subcommittee on Human Resources.

Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time each side has remaining?

Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Becerra). (Mr. BECERRA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Texas Mr. Bentsen). (Mr. BENTSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. MATSUI

Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I rise in tribute to the B'nai Israel Congregation of Sacramento. This year, the congregation will be celebrating its 150th year anniversary. As the members gather together to celebrate, I ask all my colleagues to join with me in saluting this commendable achievement. B'nai Israel's humble beginning can be traced back to the ``Gold Rush'' days of 1849, when shop owners and crafts people gathered to celebrate the High Holy Days in Old Sacramento. Among these people was Moses Hyman, who invited fellow Jews into his Front Street home. Later, Hyman became known as both a pioneer of California Judaism and the father of Temple B'nai Israel. A fire swept through Sacramento just two months after Hyman helped dedicate the congregation's first synagogue in 1852. The fire destroyed the chapel as well as 85 percent of the city. However, Congregation B'nai Israel persevered. In 1858, the congregation purchased another place of worship from the Methodist Episcopalian group, which had been built on the same property as the congregation's first chapel. Unfortunately, nature continued to conspire against B'nai Israel. After another fire and floods that destroyed the synagogue, the congregation established its third permanent home in a former concert hall for the First Presbyterian Church in Sacramento. Here, B'nai Israel continued to grow and thrive for decades until the split of Orthodox and Reformed Jews in the early twentieth century. This split, however, only served to strengthen the congregation. Touting itself as a congregation of ``Reformed Israelites,'' Congregation B'nai Israel had grown in size to over 107 families. Their new home, on Fifteenth Street in Sacramento, served as B'nai Israel's religious home for over 30 years. In an effort to expand the congregation, President Dalton Feinstein successfully promoted the idea of relocating to the present temple site at 3600 Riverside Boulevard. To make this dream a reality, a major fund-raising campaign was successfully launched. The new temple was finally dedicated in 1954, thanks to the dedication of volunteers who raised money and found others to donate materials. An education wing, named after Buddy Kandel, was added in the early 1960's. Throughout the years, the congregation has been involved in several community services and causes. Such involvement includes demonstrations against pogroms after World War I, organizing institutes for Christian clergy members to improve Judeo-Christian understanding, and conducting services at Folsom State Prison. Rabbi Lester Frazi, who took over the pulpit in January 1974 and remained over 20 years, continued the B'nai Israel tradition of service to the greater Sacramento area. In addition to serving as president of the Interfaith Service Bureau, his areas of focus included helping pregnant teenagers, feeding the hungry, and supporting the gay and lesbian community. In 1995, Rabbi Brad Bloom was installed as Rabbi Frazi's replacement. Under this leadership, the congregation has been involved in several areas, including Shabbat food deliveries to people with AIDS, Mitzvah Day, children's book collections, High Holy Day food donations to the Sacramento Food Basket, and more. On June 18, 1999, arson fires were set at B'nai Israel, Kenesset Israel Torah Center, and Beth Shalom. Despite this horrifying act, the congregation has remained strong. In addition, support from the community during this time of trial has been overwhelming. On June 21 at the Sacramento Community Center, over 4,000 people joined in a Unity Rally in a show of solidarity. At the rally, patrons were greeted with signs bearing the sentiment, ``We are strong. We are proud. We are together.'' Despite its many tragedies in its existence, B'nai Israel has grown stronger and stronger. Mr. Speaker, as the members of the B'nai Israel Congregation gather to celebrate their 150th anniversary, I am honored to pay tribute to one of Sacramento's most exceptional organizations. Concerning their trials, the perseverance and dedication of this congregation are particularly incredible. I ask all of my colleagues to join with me in wishing B'nai Israel continued success in all its future endeavors.

Mr. MATSUI

Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I rise to extend a sincere thanks to Chairman Walsh, and the Ranking Member, Mr. Mollohan, for their support of funding Sacramento projects included in the conference report on H.R. 2684, the VA-HUD-Independent Agencies Appropriations for FY 2000. I would first like to thank the committee in providing support to the Sacramento Combined Sewer System. The City of Sacramento's 100 year old combined sewer system is no longer capable of handling both the stormwater and sanitary wastewater flows it was designed to carry. The City remains committed to providing a minimum 50 percent of the cost share in meeting the construction-related needs of this project. It will complement overall efforts to improve the California Bay-Delta's water quality and will greatly assist the City's efforts to protect the public health. Most importantly, the project will stop the flow of sewage into City streets and the Sacramento River, which serves as the primary source of drinking water for more than 20 million Californians. Additionally, I also appreciate the committee's continued support for the Sacramento River Toxic Pollutant Control Program. The Sacramento River currently exceeds water quality criteria recommended by the state of California and EPA for metals such as copper, mercury and lead. Past funding provided by Congress has been used to successfully organize a multiyear monitoring and management effort with a regional stakeholder group that includes representatives of federal, state, and local agencies, agriculture and industry organizations, environmental organizations, and public interest groups. Together, the region has developed an integrated water quality monitoring program in collaboration with other ongoing efforts in the watershed, leveraging resources among programs and producing consistent reliable information on important water quality characteristics. Continued funding will allow the region to move forward with critical steps needed in the development of the pollutant reduction plan. Finally, I am grateful that the Committee was willing to provide much needed funding to the Franklin Villa Housing Development in Sacramento. The Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA), which serves the interests of both the City and the County of Sacramento, has identified Franklin Villa as one of the most pressing priorities for the region. Once a senior center, the units in Franklin Villa became privately held, most by absent organizations, national non-profit entities, local government representatives, and private sector companies such as Freddie Mac. SHRA also is working closely with the Department of Housing and Urban Development on issuers relating to the revitalization plan, including current efforts aimed at concluding a joint agreement on the management of HUD-owned units. With a full-scale revitalization plan developed, and with work continuing at the local and national levels to move the plan forward, the primary obstacle that remains is the availability of sufficient funding. Existing housing programs from the Department of Housing and Urban Development such as the HOME Program and the HOPE VI Program cannot be brought to bear on the Franklin Villa project because these important programs only target public housing, not privately-held housing. Therefore, federal seed funding for the Franklin Villa project, absent congressional direction, would not be available. Again, I remain grateful for the assistance given to these projects that are so vital to the needs of the Sacramento community. I commend the leadership of the committee and the commitment put forth by the conferees to address these important issues.

Mr. MATSUI

Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I rise in tribute to the Buddhist Church of Sacramento. On October 16, 1999, this church will be celebrating its 100th year anniversary. As the church members gather to celebrate, I ask all my colleagues to join with me in saluting this monumental achievement. The Buddhist Church of Sacramento was established on December 17, 1899. The first meeting was held that day at 1221 Third Street, and the next year, a temple building was purchased at 418 O Street. Today, this small gathering of people has grown to over 1,200 families from throughout Sacramento, Yolo, and Solano counties. In the past, this church has not been without its share of tragedy. On April 15, 1923, an arson fire destroyed the dormitory housing for children of working parents. Ten children perished in that fire. Additionally, after the outbreak of World War II and the issuance of Executive order 9066, Japanese-Americans from Sacramento were relocated to internment camps throughout the United States. During that time, the U.S. government assumed responsibilities for the church and used it as a military induction center. However, the members of the Buddhist Church of Sacramento have persevered. Two years after the infamous arson fire, the church members constructed a new temple. A social hall was constructed in 1937 to provide additional recreational and social facilities for the Japanese- American community. As a result of the Sacramento Redevelopment Project, a new temple complex was constructed. It was dedicated on June 27-28, 1959. Today, the church has grown to host several youth programs and events. For instance, over 200 community youths participate as members of Boy Scout Troop 50, Cub Scout Pack 50, and Girl Scout Troop 569. The church also sponsors various youth sports programs including basketball, volleyball, and golf. Community programs at the Buddhist Church of Sacramento are not limited to youth activities. The church hosts the Tanoshimi-kai, a weekly lunch program attended by 150 seniors. The church's facilities are open to various Bonsai and other Japanese cultural groups for meetings and gatherings. In addtion, the church conducts Japanese language classes, which are attended by over 100 students of all ages. One crowning achievement of the Buddhist Church of Sacramento is its involvement in the Triple R Day Care Program. The program, sponsored by the city of Sacramento since Spring, 1999, chose the church as its first satellite site, the first Asian program, and the first site hosted by a church. Currently, there are nine program participants. As a theme for this year's Centennial Celebration, the Buddhist Church has chosen: ``Gratitude, Dedication, Aspiration.'' This theme symbolizes the relationships of the past, present, and future at the church. It represents a time to reflect on the past, a time to celebrate the present, and a time to plan for the future. Mr. Speaker, as the exceptional people of the Buddhist Church of Sacramento gather to celebrate their church's centennial anniversary, I am honored to pay tribute to one of Sacramento's most outstanding organizations. The Buddhist Church of Sacramento's contributions to the youth and overall community are commendable. I ask all of my colleagues to join with me in wishing the church continued success in all its future endeavors.

Mr. MATSUI

Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, I would just hope that the author of this resolution, and I have not checked, and I will not check, but I hope he voted against all of the appropriations bills before the August recess and since we have come back, because, from what we understand, you have already dipped into the Social Security trust fund by passing all these appropriations bills. The Senate has as well. In fact, Mr. Crippen on August 26 pointed that out. So I just want the gentleman to understand that he has already done that. Secondly, I think everybody knows that this will not save Social Security. This will not add one day to the life of the Social Security system, because this is just a resolution. It has no meaning at all. It is kind of interesting, this resolution. It is about the 18th resolution on Social Security. It says, basically it expresses the desire of the House of Representatives not to do all of these bad terrible things that the gentleman from California (Mr. Herger) does not want us to do. It is kind of interesting, it is like talking to yourself. The House should not do this to the House. The reality is that this is irrelevant. It has no meaning at all. At least the resolution we just took up, the Taiwan resolution, expresses regret to the people of Taiwan for the earthquake. This one here is telling ourselves what to do. What we really should be doing, instead of wasting our time, as we are on this issue, is actually do it. But, undoubtedly, what this is is just a political gimmick. I think everybody understands that. So we will pass this thing, play our games and hope that the American public does not understand that in the next 3 weeks we are going to bust those caps. This resolution is ludicrous.

Mr. MATSUI

Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I rise in tribute to Judge Ronald W. Tochterman. He is retiring as judge of the Superior Court in Sacramento, CA. As Judge Tochterman is honored by his many friends and associates, I ask all of my colleagues to join with me in saluting his remarkable career. Judge Tochterman was born April 27, 1938. An avid reader and sports enthusiast, he also enjoys teaching night law classes. He and his wife Linda have been married for 38 years, have two adult sons, Joel and Jeffery, and two grandchildren, Isabella and Leo. After receiving his bachelor of arts degree in general curriculum from the University of California, Berkeley in June, 1959, he went on to receive a L.L.B. from U.C. Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law. Here, he was a recipient of the Bancroft-Whitney Prize for Excellence in Evidence. Before coming to the bench, from May 1967 to October 1979, Judge Tochterman served in the capacity of Deputy District Attorney, Supervising Deputy District Attorney, and Assistant Chief Deputy District Attorney for Sacramento County. In 1979, the California District Attorneys' Association named him ``Prosecutor of the Year''. Prior to that, he spent 1 year in private law practice with Friedman & Collard, 2 years as a Law Clerk to U.S. District Court Judge Thomas J. McBride, and 1 year as Deputy Legislative Counsel with the State of California. Judge Tochterman has been on the faculty of the California Center for Judicial Education and Research since 1985 and the California Judicial College in Berkeley from 1981-1984. He has been an Adjunct Professor in ``Advanced Criminal Procedure'' since 1986 and an Instructor at University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, and Lincoln University Law School. He has lectured at the University of California, Davis, School of Law and worked as an instructor for the Sacramento Police Academy. In addition to his achievements as a lawyer and professor, Judge Tochterman has authored several papers and articles. His works include several articles regarding the insanity defense and the role of psychiatrists in criminal cases. Several of his other articles focus on prosecution ethics, search and seizure, discovery, grand jury, plea- bargaining, death penalty, and psychiatric defenses and are published in various prosecution journals. He is also a member of several prestigious organizations including the California Judges Association, and the Sacramento County Bar Association's Criminal Law Committee and Committee on Liaison with the Judiciary. Several of his former memberships include the California District Attorneys' Association, California State Bar's Committee on Criminal Law and Procedure, and Attorney's Ad Hoc Committee to Support California Rural Legal Assistance. On a more personal note, he is an active member of our community as a member of the Board of Directors for the Jewish Federation of Sacramento, WEAVE, Inc., and Stanford Settlement, Inc. He is also in the Advisory Committee for the Curbstone Youth Service Center. Mr. Speaker, as Judge Ronald Tochterman is honored by his many friends and colleagues, I am honored to pay tribute to one of Sacramento's most outstanding citizens. His devotion to the law and tireless contributions to the Sacramento area are commendable. I ask all of my colleagues to join with me in wishing him continued success in all his future endeavors.

Mr. MATSUI

Mr. MATSUI. Was the gentleman from Florida asking a rhetorical question or asking me an honest question?

Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel), the Ranking Democrat on the Committee on Ways and Means, for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, I think what we are seeing now is an example of the Republicans trying to get themselves out of a hole that they created back in February and March and April in this year when they came up with their budget. The budget was inconsistent. That is why, with the fiscal year ending on Wednesday or Thursday of next week, we only have one appropriations bill signed by the President. They are struggling. They want us to work this weekend, but then they change their mind because some of their folks had fund raisers. So as a result of that, now we are going to find ourselves in a crunch in the middle of next week. That is exactly what is going on. So they are really relieved that the President vetoed this bill, because now the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Shaw) want to bring up a Social Security bill sometime before we recess this year. That bill, as we all know, or we will find out very soon when they start to move that bill, is about $1.1 trillion over the next 10 years. It would wipe out the entire tax cut. What is also interesting, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Shaw) said earlier that their Social Security bill will balance out in 75 years. I hope all of us are alive in 75 years. But in the next 35 years, by the year 2035, and I hope that the Republican Members know this when they vote for this bill, they will have a general fund transfer of money to the Social Security fund of $11.7 trillion which, in 35 years, will be in constant dollars only about $3 trillion, about twice the Federal budget today. So what we can really do is, my colleagues can lament about the fact that the President vetoed this, but they are privately very happy because then, in the next month or so, they are going to bring up Social Security. They will bring that to the floor. That will go down in flames because they do not have 218 votes. After all, they are in charge of this institution. They should be able to pass legislation. But it will fail. Then they will say, well, we tried to do all of these things. But the only accomplishment, unfortunately, will be to pass these appropriations bills. I do not even know if they are going to be able to do that. But I hope they are going to be able to do that because we cannot afford to have social security checks in the next 2 months be delayed because of the incompetence of the leadership.

Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, the President of the United States has a plan in which will reduce the debt, will actually not cut benefits.

Mr. MATSUI. Will the gentleman from Florida let me finish? He asked the question.