Michael McNulty

Mr. McNULTY

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Chair's approval of the Journal.

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

Mr. McNULTY

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to salute the Honorable John J. McNulty, Junior, the mayor of the village of Green Island, New York. Yesterday, Mr. Speaker, Jack McNulty celebrated the 50th anniversary of his first election to public office in November of 1949. At various times during his career he has served as the supervisor of the town of Green Island, as the mayor of the village of Green Island, as the sheriff of Albany County, and as a member of the New York State Commission on Correction. Mr. Speaker, if we ask anyone in public life in upstate New York, Republican, Democrat, liberal, or conservative, about the reputation of Jack McNulty, they will tell us that he stands for everything that is good and honest and decent about public life. So I am very proud to salute this constituent today, Mr. Speaker. And oh, yes, incidentally, he is my dad.

Mr. McNULTY

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

Mr. McNULTY

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

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

Mr. McNULTY

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out today to the families of Prime Minister Sarkisian, Speaker Demirchian and all of those who lost their lives yesterday in the violent attack in Yerevan. And we join with freedom-loving peoples throughout the world in expressing solidarity with President Kocharian and the Armenian people as they continue to promote democracy in their great country. Mr. Speaker, if the forces of violence think they are going to reverse what happened in September of 1991, they are sadly mistaken. I was in Armenia on its independence day. I watched in awe as 95 percent of all the people over the age of 18 went out and voted. I watched them stand in line for hours to have that opportunity which had been denied to them for so long. Their spirit is strong. They shall not be deterred. The dream shall never die. Ketse azat ankakh hayastan. Long live free and independent Armenia.

Mr. McNULTY

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, today Dr. Jerri Nielsen is in her home State of Ohio to receive treatment for breast cancer. In itself, this fact is not miraculous. But to think that just days ago she was stranded performing improvisational chemotherapy on herself at the South Pole, one could consider her rescue to be heaven sent. Doctor Nielsen's prayers were answered by the Air National Guard's 109th Airlift Wing based in Glenville, New York, and I am proud to say, Mr. Speaker, in my district. The only guard unit trained to fly such a dangerous mission, the 109th skillfully landed the mammoth C-130 Hercules cargo plane, a plane equipped with skis for landing gear on a runway of ice and temperatures of 58 degrees below zero completing an 11,410 mile trip. The pilot, Major George McAllister, Jr., became the first person ever to land on a polar ice cap at this time of year. Mr. Speaker, Major McAllister and the crew of the 109th literally traveled to the end of the Earth, risking their own lives to save another, and I am sure that my colleagues as well as Dr. Nielsen and her family join me in recognizing and thanking these true American heroes.

Mr. McNULTY

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object and, of course, I will not object, Mr. Speaker, but I have listened to the colloquies that have been going on and I just want to say that if there are any two people in this body who represent the ideals that all Americans hold dear, they are the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel), and I rise in strong support of this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.

Mr. McNULTY

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of this amendment for the reasons that have been outlined by my other colleagues, especially the gentleman from New York (Mr. Hinchey). I come from Albany, New York, home of the Samuel S. Stratton VA Medical Center. I have seen the adverse impacts of this program in my community: Fewer services to veterans, fewer jobs for health care workers at that particular facility. But let me just address the more global concern that I have. Have we lost all of our priorities around here? Do we not realize that we would not have the privilege of going around bragging about how we live in the freest and most open democracy on the face of the earth had it not been for the men and women who wore the uniform of the United States military through the years. Have we forgotten that? My brother died in the service. He did not have a chance to come back and take advantage of benefits to veterans. He came back in a casket. But think about all the others who put their lives on the line, came back disabled, and need help, especially in their later years. Think of all those who just served and took the chance that they might lose their life so that they could defend what we stand for here in the United States; yes, the freest and most open democracy on the face of the earth; the beacon for freedom for people all around the world. I will never forget as long as I live being in Armenia on their independence day. I traveled throughout the northern part of that country, and I watched people stand in line for hours to get in for that privilege to vote for the first time ever. And then when they finished voting, they would not even go home. They had these little banquets at every polling place celebrating what happened. But what was most uplifting about it all was to be with them the next day in the streets of Yerevan as they celebrated and danced and shouted and sang ``Long live free and independent Armenia.'' And then they said, ``The example of what we want to be like is the United States of America.'' That is what they said. And on that particular day I was never more proud to be an American. We should be proud to be Americans today and be proud of the people who went before us and put their lives on the line so that we could be enjoying all the blessings that we enjoy today. And we are failing in that regard. I ask my colleagues to think about that as they contemplate this amendment and support our veterans by supporting the Hinchey amendment.

Mr. McNULTY

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my leader for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, we will hear a lot of speeches today, and a lot of them are going to sound the same. Mine will be different in one minor respect. I am not going to attack the other side of the aisle. I am just going to ask what I think is a very salient question. Do we not learn anything from history? In the 1980s, the leaders of this country, in a bipartisan fashion, decided to attack the national budget deficits, and a Republican president proposed and this Democratic House of Representatives adopted a plan which called for a massive tax cut. It was bipartisan. So if there is any blame to go around, there is plenty for everyone. But I hearken back to the words of President Harry Truman again. Let us look at the record. What happened when we did that? We had the largest budget deficits in the history of the United States of America. In the ensuing 12 years we quadrupled the national debt. All of the debt accumulated in this country from George Washington to Jimmy Carter was quadrupled in a period of 12 years. So I do not attack the other side today. I just make a very simple plea. Let us not make the same mistake. Let us not do it all over again. Let us pay down the national debt and stop stealing our children's money.

Mr. McNULTY

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, several years ago we seemed to realize that classrooms around this country were overcrowded, and we decided that we needed smaller class sizes. The Democrats proposed funding for 100,000 new teachers to go out all across the country to teach our children. After much wrangling, and in a rare moment of bipartisanship, we finally passed the funding to provide for those new teachers. Now we have the first wave of them, tens of thousands of new teachers going out across the country. Guess what, there is no place for them to go. There are no classrooms for them to teach. Now we have proposed, on the Democratic side, something to correct that situation, a school modernization program, so that the classrooms are available for all these new teachers. Mr. Speaker, I do not want these new teachers to be instructing our children in hallways, broom closets, and trailers. Let us pass H.R. 1660.

Mr. McNULTY

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

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

Mr. McNULTY

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. McNULTY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks, and include extraneous material.)

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

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, as I grow older, I try to keep my priorities in proper order. I am not always successful at that, but I work at it. That is why when I get up every morning, the first two things that I do are to thank God for my life and veterans for my way of life, because had it not been for my brother Bill and all those who gave their lives in service to this country through the years, had it not been for people like Sam Johnson and Pete Peterson and John McCain, who endured the torture as prisoners of war, had it not been for people like Pete Dalessandro, a World War II Congressional Medal of Honor winner from my district who was just laid to rest last week in our new Veterans National Cemetery in Saratoga, if it had not been for them and all of the men and women who wore the uniform of the United States military through the years, I would not have the privilege of going around bragging about how I live in the freest and most open democracy on the face of the Earth. Freedom is not free. We paid a tremendous price for it. So today, Mr. Speaker, based upon the comments that I made earlier and on behalf of all 2,063 Americans who are still missing in Southeast Asia, I ask my colleagues to join me, the American Legion, the National League of POW/MIA Families, the National Alliance of POW/MIA Families, the National Vietnam Veterans Coalition, the Veterans of the Vietnam War and the Disabled American Veterans in supporting this resolution of disapproval.

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Sanchez) who represents the largest number of Vietnamese Americans in the country.

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lofgren).

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Brown).

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Sanchez).

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Joint Resolution 58 which disapproves the President's determination to waive the Jackson-Vanik Freedom of Information requirements for Vietnam. Others have pointed out that this debate is not about extension of normal trade relations to Vietnam, but rather about the more limited issue of whether Vietnam should be eligible to participate in U.S. credit and credit guarantee programs. Technically, Mr. Speaker, that is correct. However, I think we all know that this debate is about something much more. In granting this waiver, we send a message of support to the government of Vietnam. We are telling the government of Vietnam that despite their continued failure to assist us in finding lost servicemen, despite their refusal to allow Vietnamese, including Vietnamese who bravely fought alongside us, to leave Vietnam, despite their blatant disregard for human rights, that we support them. These are not the values for which 58,000 U.S. servicemen and women gave their lives. The trade embargo with Vietnam was lifted in 1994. In the intervening years, what progress has Vietnam shown? There are still 2,063 Americans still unaccounted for in southeast Asia. While the remains of some of those Americans may not be recoverable, it strains belief that the Vietnamese have no information as to the fate or location of all of these men and women. Much will be said today about increased cooperation between the United States and Vietnam. In my opinion, Mr. Speaker, it is too little and it is coming too late. It has been 25 years since the communist takeover of the entire country, and in that time the Vietnamese have only cooperated with us when it would benefit them, and then only to the extent that they saw fit. This is not my definition of cooperation. Mr. Speaker, I do not oppose the eventual, eventual, normalization of relations with the people of Vietnam. I do, however, oppose normalization of relations with this government under these circumstances. Now, some may claim, Mr. Speaker, that I have an emotional attachment to this issue, and they are correct. On August the 9th, 1970, HM3 William F. McNulty was killed in Vietnam. He was a medical Navy corpsman transferred to the Marines. He spent his time patching up his buddies, and one day he stepped on a land mine and lost his life. That was a tremendous loss for our family, and I can tell my colleagues from personal experience that the pain may subside, but it never goes away. But there is a difference between what the McNulty family went through and what an MIA family goes through. Because Bill's body was returned to us, we had a wake and a funeral and a burial. What we had, Mr. Speaker, was closure. I can only imagine what the family of an MIA has gone through over these past 25 years and longer. Mr. Speaker, until there is a more complete accounting for those missing in action, until there is progress on the immigration front, and until there is respect for human rights, this waiver should not be granted. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that half the time be yielded to the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher) and that he be permitted to allocate that time as he sees fit; and that, further, I be permitted to yield the time that I have remaining.

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I claim the time in support of the joint resolution.

Mr. McNULTY

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