Scott McInnis

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. I yield to the gentleman from Alabama [Mr. Bevill].

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Chairman, I yield to the chairman of the Committee on Resources, the gentleman from Alaska [Mr. Young]. (Mr. YOUNG of Alaska asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, first of all, in response to all this money-raising garbage, frankly, that I have been hearing this morning, how interesting it is that the President of your party tonight kicks off his fundraising. Do you want to dock his pay? One of your people just proposed you dock the pay for the time they spent. Take a look at that. Second of all, to my colleague that was just preceding me, who talked about the cutoff of voting rights, why do you not bring the videotape up here and set up the TV camera? To my colleague, the videotape does not lie. They were in violation of the rule. They were not down here in the well. They had gone beyond the 17 minutes. Do not cry lack of fair play. Bring up the video and show the American people the truth. Are you afraid to do that? Of course you are.

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, to my colleagues, as we know from our history, this country was built into the best country in the whole world, built on character, based on character, based on honesty, and based on integrity. With that in mind, I want you to note a very important date, that is this next Tuesday, June 20 when in New York a welcoming committee will give a hero's welcome to a convicted rapist, Mike Tyson. This is what the Wall Street Journal says. Enough is enough. Mr. Tyson has expressed no remorse for his unfortunate encounter with Ms. Washington, the young black woman he was convicted of raping. He has been quoted as saying, ``I like to hurt women when I make love to them. It gives me pleasure.'' And now this country is going to give him a hero's welcome. I wonder if that welcoming committee is going to show up to welcome Captain O'Grady. I wonder if that welcoming committee could find time to honor the best teacher in New York State or the best teacher in Colorado or some of the highest graduates from our colleges across the country? Mike Tyson is a disgrace to this country, and in this American's opinion, he is no hero.

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, as we know, there was a horrible tragedy in Oklahoma City, and our Federal Government has responded accordingly, as they do to other natural emergencies or manmade emergencies. They go down and offer assistance to help the affected area rebuild, and that is exactly what they have done in Oklahoma City. First of all, keep in mind what is above the Speaker. It says, ``In God we trust.'' The Federal Government went down there and said to the businesses in Oklahoma City, ``Whether you own a saloon, whether you own a moviehouse that shows X-rated films,'' not exactly regardless, but almost regardless, ``we will help you rebuild. There is one exception. The only people trust will not help rebuild in Oklahoma City are churches. Churches, don't you come to the Government and ask for one penny. Forget the fact that you were the temporary mortuary. Forget the fact the FBI used you as a headquarters. Forget the fact you suffered damage like every other business in Oklahoma City. We are the Federal Government. We will help the local saloon. We are not going to help the local church.'' What do you call this? In God trust? What a great thing to hear about the Federal Government: Not one penny for a local church.

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, on June 4, 1992, on ``Larry King Live,'' then-candidate Bill Clinton said, ``I will present a 5-year plan to balance the budget.'' About 3 weeks ago, President Clinton said that he would balance the budget within 10 years. What do we have today? We have got nothing. It is 3 years later from the original promise and the American people are still waiting to hear from this President on a balanced budget. Two nights ago on ``Larry King Live,'' the President once again artfully dodged Larry King's question about the lack of any attempt by the administration to balance this budget. We have got to balance the budget in this country. We have a huge problem in this country that is accumulating at a rate of $33 million an hour. What does our President do? He goes out and vetoes the first serious attempt in a long time to cut spending. Does he have an alternative? The answer is no. Can he balance the budget in 5 years? The answer is no. Can he balance the budget in 10 years? The answer is no. Is he even going to try? The answer is no. Mr. Speaker, it is up to us, the Republicans in the U.S. Congress, to balance this budget.

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, once again I stand in front of my colleagues of the great House of Representatives bringing sad news from the State of Colorado. On Friday, April 28, 1995, a mad killer drove into a local grocery store in South Jefferson County. As he drove into that grocery store, he walked, and got out of his car, walked into the grocery store, shot his wife dead, then shot the store manager dead, and then a police officer, the first officer responding to the scene, Sgt. Tim Mossbrucker, was shot before he even knew what hit him. Sergeant Mossbrucker was a father, he was a husband, he was an officer strongly admired by his fellow officers in Jefferson County. He was a young father. He was a father of five children, with a sixth child on the way. Once again, a police officer has given his life in the line of duty, and, once again, as too often happens, his wife, Lynn, who in her own respects is a strong, wonderful woman, will be delivering their child without his presence. Once again we have children who will be raised through life without their father, because their father gave his life in the line of duty. Lynn, his wife, tucked 3-year-old Alex into bed that Friday night, saying, ``A bad person hurt daddy bad--so bad that he can't come home.'' Lynn, his wife, will have to go through life maintaining the strength she has so far shown in life. Mr. Speaker, I would like to read a poem that was presented at the service for this fine officer. First of all, for the officer, from mother to son. Mother to Son God gave me a wonderful little pride and joy, a bouncing baby boy. And as he grew straight and tall, he was always ready to give it his all. A policeman he decided to be, as he studied life sitting on my knee. He exceeded far beyond expectation, honest and smart, care and loving. A little soul, entrusted to my care, always helpful, his goodness he would share. Growing straight and tall, a protector of life he became, until one Friday morning an angel came. Swift and graceful, taking him from me. No more ``Hi, Mom,'' or sweet smile I would see. A role model for his children had always been his fame, but in the calm, a hero for his community he became. Lovingly he left me, a strong young woman and the little flock of six, all in all, a glorious mix. But that's not all, I am truly blessed you see, two more sons and a daughter gave to me. They grew, too, in much the same way, adding more to our family, making me proud every day. With a husband, daughters, sons, grandchildren, parents and friends, now ``our little hand.'' Steadfast and strong we make our stand. Timothy Michael was your name, it occurred to me long before you came into my life to stay. I love you more than I can say. God bless and keep my little boy, my strong, straight and tall deputy son, For your hard fought battle has been won. Until some day when we meet again, fighting the good fight as best we can. Tim, guide us in God's great and wondrous plan. Love, Mom. The sergeant was a true professional, a true professional that was taken from us by a despicable killer. But we also had two other lives that were lost that day, and I should point out that 11 children as a result of this incident were left without a parent: Lynn, Matt, Erin, Annie, Alex, William, Moss, Iralee, Mark, David, and Mindy. Mr. Speaker, all too often we have to appear in front of this body and speak of an officer, a man or woman in blue, who has given their life for the rest of us. Mr. Speaker, I make these statements for the Record as a memorial and as a thank you from the United States of America, not only to the fallen officer, but to his strong wife and his wonderful children. I also include for the Record a tribute from Russ Cook, the Chief of Police of the Golden Police Department. To the Editor: Residents of South Jefferson County were shocked last week when they were awakened by a tragic crime, usually thought to occur in big cities. No one could have suspected that an angry and enraged killer was about to walk into their local grocery store and [[Page H5555]] gun down his wife, the store manager, and wound an innocent, unsuspecting pregnant woman. Sheriffs deputies were doing their job responding to the many daily calls where violence is anticipated and usually resolved by their skills and training. But Friday, April 28, 1995 was going to be different! Certainly, Sheriff's Sergeant Tim Mossbrucker didn't know that when he turned into the parking lot of this sleepy little suburban grocery store, he would be gunned down in cold blood. I'm sure that other deputies responding did not know that they would be confronted by gunfire that was going to take the life of their colleague and friend. How they must feel. You can rest assured that how they feel is how we all feel. What can be done about someone who has so much rage and anger that he is willing to cut down members of society by simply pulling a trigger? I know that the entire law enforcement community shares the grief and sense of helplessness that must be felt by members of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department. I, too, share the grief and despair that they are experiencing. Sadly, this will not be the last law enforcement officer we will put to rest; this is not the last time we will have innocent victims taken from us over senseless violence. I would hope the next time you see someone who is willing to put his/her life on the line for little pay and lousy hours, you will tell them that you appreciate them and what they do. It is quite possible that each time they put on a uniform and start a tour of duty, it could be their last. Russ Cook, Chief of Police, Golden Police Department. May 2, 1995.

Mr. McINNIS

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

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Well, first of all, to the gentlewoman from Illinois, your statement about shameful back-room politics is garbage. I do not know what you are objecting to. We have an open rule. What more do you want? If I understand the gentlewoman from Illinois, you now want a closed rule? Let me explain, as I understand it, there was no deal broken by bringing this bill to the floor so Members could offer amendments to it. As I understand it, I know the committee worked in a bipartisan manner. No commitments were made, from what I understand, in the committee about the status of the bill when it got to the floor. After they had the committee markup I spoke with the chairman of the committee who said members had come up to him, and that was at the testimony yesterday in the Committee on Rules, that members came up to him and asked him for amendments. So the chairman of the committee then agreed that this should come to the floor instead of on suspension and be offered under an open rule. So I yield to the gentlewoman to explain, is she proposing a closed rule? What is her objection?

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 125 is a very simple resolution. It is an open rule providing for 1 hour of general debate. The general debate is to be equally divided between the chairman and the ranking minority member of the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight. After general debate, the bill shall be considered for amendment under the 5-minute rule. Finally, this resolution provides one motion to recommit, with or without instructions. This open rule was reported out of the Committee on Rules by voice vote. This open rule demonstrates that the new majority intends to honor its commitment to have a more fair and open legislative process. The resolution provides the House with an opportunity to review the bill, debate it, and yes, if necessary, to amend the legislation. The Contract With America includes a commitment to protect and strengthen the rights of families. H.R. 1271, The Family Privacy Protection Act of 1995, provides for parents' rights to supervise and choose their children's participation in any federally funded survey or questionnaire that involves intrusive questioning on sensitive issues. This legislation responds to the concerns of many parents and guardians that certain federally funded surveys have inquired into matters that should be left to the families themselves. The Family Privacy Protection Act, establishes a consent requirement for those conducting a survey or questionnaire funded in whole, or in part, by the Federal Government. Simply put, individuals seeking responses of minors on surveys or questionnaires must obtain parental consent before asking seven types of sensitive questions. The bill also provides five types of commonsense exceptions from this requirement. I urge my colleagues to support the rule, and the underlying legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from California [Mr. Beilenson], pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During the consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. (Mr. McINNIS asked and was given permission to include extraneous material).

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

Mr. McINNIS. Reclaiming my time, I do not get that understanding at all. I think that when the chairman is there after the markup and members have come up to him--and there was no deal made in the committee markup about this, about coming to the floor. When members came up to the chairman and said ``Look, the bill appears to be noncontroversial. We have a few amendments that appear to be noncontroversial that we would like to have on the floor.'' I still do not understand through all the rhetoric that I have just heard what the gentlewoman's objection is to an open rule.

Mr. McINNIS. Reclaiming my time, there was no deal that was broken. There was not any deal made. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Souder].

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and I make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for an opportunity to address this. I think the gentleman is absolutely right, Mr. Chairman. He used to be a sheriff. I used to be a police officer. Let me tell the Members, it makes a difference on the streets. I think the gentleman from Ohio brings up a good point, that hey, it may not thrill the inspector general, but when is the last time the inspector general rode out there in a squad unit or was out on the streets? It is going to make a difference. We have huge amounts of fraud going out there with food stamps. The food stamp program has lost its credibility across this country because of the fraud, and frankly, not only because of the fraud, but the failure of somebody to do something about the fraud. This is a very simple maneuver. It is not going to require a lot. It is not going to require big cost. It did not require us much to put that picture on our voting card. That is our picture. I can bet the Members money none of them are going to take this. This is a small crowd. and it is like the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Traficant] says, it is like an empty squad car. When we would go out for our coffee breaks we never parked our squad cars behind the building. We parked them right out on the street, because everybody coming up thought they were getting radared. It is the perception that counts. The perception will count in cutting down on food stamp program fraud. I stand in strong support of the amendment of the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Traficant]. I think we have to move this argument to the street. What is the streets' perception?

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Chairman, I agree with the gentleman, and I agree with the inspector general, whoever perpetrates the fraud walks into the store and has a willing participant on the other side of the counter. What we are talking about is before they walk into the store, there are people who will take that card with fraud intended, and with the photos on there, they are not going to go into the store. Of course it is going to have savings. Of course it will cut down on fraud.

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Chairman, I think this amendment reflects an idea that works. In the United States a very interesting statistic is that 4 percent of on their car payments. Almost 50 percent of the population that is legally obligated to pay child support is behind on their child support payments. This amendment works. It is a good idea. Now, some people will say that it is not a good amendment, it is not a good idea, because you are taking away the ability for these people obligated to pay child support from driving to work. But I ask you to take a look at the statistics where it has been tried. For example, in Maine, they only had to revoke 41 licenses. Just the fear of the revoking of the license brought in $23 million. In California, they collected $10 million without revoking one license. Mr. Chairman, I commend the sponsors on both sides of the aisle on this amendment. This is an idea that works.

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

Mr. McINNIS

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the fine gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Goodling], the chairman of the committee.

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to my good friend, the gentlewoman from Washington [Ms. Dunn].

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Manzullo].

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 20 seconds. Mr. Speaker, as to the gentlewoman's comments from the State of Florida, I take strong exception to her comments that there is laughter on this side of the aisle. While we may disagree with her point, her comments are taken with respect. I rather suspect that her comment about laughter was probably written into her speech. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes and 30 seconds to the gentleman from Kentucky [Mr. Bunning]. (Mr. BUNNING of Kentucky, asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, while I am a little baffled by the gentleman from Tennessee's allegations about the back room drafts on this, the rule has not even been reported. The Committee on Rules meets at 5 o'clock. I invite you to come up and see about the back room thing. There is going to be media there. There is no back room drafting. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Delaware [Mr. Castle].

Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, of course, I take strong exception to the comments about the Republican filibuster in the last year. There is no filibuster in the House of Representatives. Rather, it is the Republicans who are taking the bull by the horns. Furthermore, as to the bill, the punishment to our children is, if we do nothing, if we maintain the status quo, that is where the real punishment to our children comes from. Frankly, I think it is somewhat baloney when they say this bill takes away love from children and will leave children out there hungry, and so on, and so forth. I think that is political rhetoric, and we need to get beyond that to the meat of the bill. In that regard, Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to my good friend, the gentleman from Florida, [Mr. Goss]. (Mr. GOSS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)