Alan Mollohan

Mr. MOLLOHAN

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, I reserve a point of order against the amendment.

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, I make a point of order against this amendment because it proposes changing existing law, constitutes legislation on an appropriation bill, and, therefore, violates clause 2 of rule XXI.

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This amendment would attempt to validate an agreement entered into by the Justice Department under the Bush administration. We think that the gentleman's approach is ill considered, that the Bush administration in the 1988 consent decrees require that the Teamsters pay for court supervision of the 1991 election, which cost about $19 million. We oppose the amendment because we feel that we should have the flexibility to participate and to ensure that the elections are conducted fairly. Granted, that is an imperfect process, but nevertheless, because of the history of these elections and the seriousness of the charges, and they are being repeated here, certainly the Government should have a role in this and through the process of oversight. Obviously if this is knocked out we would not be able to participate in that. So, Mr. Chairman, we oppose the amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, if the gentleman would yield further, without debating that issue further, we are also operating under a very constrained unanimous-consent agreement here, and I think that it would set a bad precedent with some of these amendments that are coming up if we were to allow for them to be amended.

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, no, the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Doggett] is going to have a clear field here.

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment as a substitute for the amendment.

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, in response to the gentleman from Pennsylvania's representations about my position here, this may be a bit of role reversal, but we are arguing for less paperwork and less administrative responsibility here because this information is already available, virtually. So the gentleman is correct, except we are opposing the amendment simply on the basis that it is unnecessary. It does not do anything, so why do this? Mr. Chairman, I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado [Mr. Skaggs].

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, the question is, What will we learn if this amendment becomes law that we do not already know, that will make a real difference in our ability to do oversight of the Legal Services Corp.?

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, at best this amendment is unnecessary. I am advised by the Legal Services Corporation that it is extremely burdensome and costly. Some of the privacy concerns that many had with regard to this amendment originally, some had been addressed by the gentleman, and I would be pleased to look at those as the process moves forward, and particularly in conference. But at this point, Mr. Chairman, the changes in the reporting system would be costly. The amendment does not address any identified problem, really, nor does it serve any specific purpose. It costs a considerable amount. We appreciate his addressing some of the other concerns, but just because of the unnecessariness, we have a tight budget, and this has put additional administrative burdens, something that the gentleman has fought against for many years, putting paperwork burdens, administrative burdens on people. That is what this really does, representing a considerable additional cost. On that basis, Mr. Chairman, I have to at this point oppose the amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Yes, Mr. Chairman. I am opposed to the amendment.

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, I reserve a point of order.

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Colorado [Mr. Skaggs].

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to my distinguished colleague, the gentleman from Colorado [Mr. Skaggs], a member of the committee.

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, I just want to compliment the gentleman from Wisconsin. He has raised a real fairness issue here. The INS has gone out, trying to address the tremendous numbers of fingerprints they have to process, and contracted with the private entities to do this, and now the Congress is looking at all that, and I am satisfied with that policy; we are pulling that back in. And it is only fair, and I appreciate the gentleman bringing that to the committee, and I know that his constituents and all those private sector entities across the country are performing this service and will appreciate his bringing this to our attention too.

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentlewoman from Oregon [Ms. Furse].

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, we have one more colloquy.

Mr. MOLLOHAN

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

Mr. MOLLOHAN. I would like to add to that, every law that we pass here, we pass it because we understand there is a proclivity out there to violate the laws. That is the same with the restrictions we put on Legal Services Corporation. There was a lot of this activity out there before we put these restrictions on. It is reasonable to assume there are going to be some people who are zealots, or for whatever reason, who are going to violate the rules. The gentleman is going to be pleased to know and he does know probably, because I know he is a student of the legislation that comes on the floor, that in this bill we have disbarment as punishment for those grantees who violate the restrictions that we have put on in the past. So we are addressing these concerns, and I know the gentleman would be pleased that we are addressing them, and I hope the fact we are addressing them in good faith and in a serious manner will lead the gentleman to look favorably upon the underlying purposes.

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

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, pursuant to the unanimous consent agreement entered into last night, I offer an amendment on the Legal Services Corporation that affects title I.

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Connecticut [Ms. DeLauro].