Bob Ney

Mr. NEY

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, this is going to be a big week for Americans. We want to talk about tax cuts and what we can do to help children. But Carol Browner, Director of the U.S. EPA, is at it once again. She has made her final ruling, with agreement by the White House, that there are going to be some new ozone rules. They did not look at the sound science. We know that from George Wolf that heads up the subcommittee. They did not release the information when we asked for it. Now in fact they might have cut some deals across the country that some areas do not have to go under these new rules, but they will not tell us whether they have or have not. We need the truth, Mr. Speaker. The American people need the truth. These policies are not going to help people with respiratory problems. They are simply going to throw people out of work. Most important, Mr. Speaker, this is the United States. It is time, no matter where we stand on these issues, that we do not let unelected bureaucrats decide national law. The people send Members of Congress here to talk about national law. The Director of the U.S. EPA is trying to mandate that we will do a certain policy without addressing the give-and-take of talking to the Congress. Mr. Speaker, we have got to get behind the gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Klink] in his efforts.

Mr. NEY

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, several weeks ago we lost a great individual in Tom Closser. He was a good friend of mine who served the people of eastern Ohio admirably and effectively for years, and he will be greatly missed. Tom was born in Yorkville, OH, in 1937. He moved down the river to Marietta in 1969. Since then he worked to improve the entire Appalachian region in Ohio. He was president of the Eastern Ohio Development Alliance and a trustee of the Appalachian Development Corp. He is survived by his wife Loretta Closser, who he married in 1965, two daughters, Cynthia and Leslie, a sister, a cousin, and a granddaughter Lauren. My heartfelt sympathy and condolences go out to everyone who knew and loved Thomas Closser. He worked for the people every single day to improve their lives. He will be truly missed, Mr. Speaker, by all of us in eastern Ohio.

Mr. NEY

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I commend the following article to my colleagues. Each city or town has a person who is dedicated to improving the community and making it a better and more enjoyable place for people to live, work, and raise their family. Joseph Minder has been this person for the city of Martins Ferry, OH. Throughout his career, Mr. Minder has worked tirelessly for the city of Martins Ferry. He served as recreation director for over 9 years, service and safety director for over 13 years, and as an administrative assistant until his retirement. He continued to serve the city, and the people who have made Martins Ferry their home, as a volunteer as well. Joseph Minder was a member and often chairman of such events as the Betty Zane Frontier Days, the Strawberry Festival, and he also worked to bring fireworks to Martins Ferry for Independence Day. Mr. Minder's greatest accomplishment was overseeing the new, state- of-the-art waterplant in Martins Ferry. This plant just went on line in May. Again, Mr. Minder's hard work and determination benefited the people of Martins Ferry, OH. Joseph Minder's service and commitment to Martins Ferry are commendable, and Mr. Minder's work is deserving of the thanks and praise of the people of his community. I ask my colleagues to join me today in thanking Mr. Minder, and wishing him luck and success in his retirement.

Mr. NEY

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I commend the following article to my colleagues. I am proud to join the city of Shadyside, OH, in congratulating the Shadyside Odyssey of the Mind Classics team in taking top honors at the world competition. This eighth grade team captured the world crown in the ``Can You Dig It?'' division II category by performing a skit, song, and dance which presented them as an archeologist and people from ancient civilizations in order to interpret the Can You Dig It? problem. Team members included Laura Kaluger, Megan Landerholm, Jessica Melankao, Natasha Minwer, Mary Ostrander; Dave Runyon, with Lori and Marty Runyon, and Blanche Ostrander acted as coaches. This Odyssey of the Mind team competed against 62 other teams in their Division to take the world title for the first time. The students and their coaches practiced diligently to prepare for this competition, and their hard work was rewarded with a well-deserved victory. I am proud of the students' successful performance as well as the support the community of Shadyside gave to the team by helping them raise money to cover the costs of the competition. The members of the Shadyside Odyssey of the Mind team have set an example of academic excellence for other students to follow. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today in congratulating the Shadyside Odyssey of the Mind team and recognizing their hard work and perseverance.

Mr. NEY

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today in congratulating Frank Fregiato, Belmont County Court judge. Judge Fregiato, who began serving the Belmont County Court on January 1, 1997, is the first Italian judge in Belmont County History. Judge Fregiato began his career in law at the Ohio State University College of Law. After graduating, he joined the Thomas, Fregiato, Myser, Hanson, & Davies law firm in Bridgeport, OH. Since beginning his work in private practice, Judge Fregiato has been an active member in the legal community. He is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association and Belmont County Bar Association, which he has served as president. In addition, he is a member of the St. Clairsville Rotary, the Knights of Columbus, and the Sons of Italy. The Ohio Valley is fortunate to have Judge Fregiato as a member of the Belmont County Court. I am sure that Judge Fregiato will continue to serve the court and the citizens of Belmont County honorably, and will show the same dedication to the bench as he has shown throughout his career. I ask my colleagues to join me today in recognizing Judge Fregiato's achievement and to wish him further success.

Mr. NEY

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time of the gentleman from South Carolina [Mr. Graham].

Mr. NEY

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, this is a great discussion tonight because we are talking about the American people being able to keep more of their hard-earned money. That is why we came here. Some of the Members sitting here tonight from the 104th, now in the 105th, and we actually are so close to that goal and that reality, and I hate to even mention what I want to say tonight to put a damper on this, but I think it is important that we at least communicate a little on this issue. That is the fact that while we here in Congress are trying to do this, we have an unelected bureaucrat, Carol Browner, the head of the United States EPA, what she is attempting to do is to put a new wave of requirements on us, on ozone, and once again shut down some jobs. Somebody in an unelected position, who will not come here to the floor to debate this, is trying to stifle the growth of the American people, is trying to take away their money. And if it did something to help people, I guess it would be a different story we could talk about. But these new regulations, we have lived with them in the Ohio Valley and across the country, and they have really been hurting us. We have tried to comply. We have tried to do coal bonds in Ohio, about $100 million worth. We have tried to do everything we can do, but, once again, she does not want to be reasonable. Just this week we became aware of some reports in the press about maybe she is cutting deals with a few districts across the country and to let them out of it but the rest of us will pay. We all have to support a clean environment. We want that, but we surely want a reasonable discussion on it. I think the bigger picture on this too, and it is a frame of mind I guess that this whole government can get into, but the idea that veterans fought so we could have a democracy, so we could have a great energetic give-and-take on public debate, but the veterans did not fight so unelected bureaucrats could make a decision no matter what side of the issue we are on. So tonight I think we really need to talk about what we are doing for tax relief for the average American, but also we have to be aware that down the street there is someone that is trying to once again dip into the wallet of the working people. And that is why we are here, to protect the wallets of the working people. Because it is what that worker puts into the wallet and what the government tries to take out, and once again we are trying to give them more of their take home and somebody down the street is trying to take a little more back.

Mr. NEY

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate and recognize Vasilios Pyrovolikos for his service during World War II in helping to contribute to the success of the Allied forces. Mr. Pyrovolikos, like many other civilians, supported members of the Allied forces in the Mediterranean Theatre during World War II. His support and service has been noted in a certificate awarded to him by H.R. Alexander, Field Marshal and Supreme Allied Commander in the Mediterranean Theatre--1930-45--for help given to the sailors, soldiers, and airmen of the British Commonwealth of Nations, enabling them to escape from or evade capture by the enemy. Mr. Pyrovolikos has also been honored by Col. Harry S. Aldrich, U.S. Army, commanding, for his service with the United States Army Forces in the Middle East under the supervision of maritime units of the Ministry of the Merchant Marine, Athens, Greece, for the period of June 1, 1944, to October 15, 1944, in appreciation for his contributions to the success of the Allied forces. It is because of the dedication of people like Mr. Pyrovolikos that this country and our Allies, both then and now, enjoy the freedoms to which we are so accustomed. Mr. Speaker, it is my great honor to salute Mr. Pyrovolikos for his courageous and devoted actions in the name of freedom.

Mr. NEY

Mr. NEY. Well, if the gentleman would further yield, it could be whatever country that violated from this point forward.

Mr. NEY. Mr. Chairman, the countries that would be affected would be those countries who, in fact as the amendment states, the President feels has violated the U.N. sanctions. So it could be any country of the world in fact that would allow for a situation like the flotilla to land in their country and they would violate U.N. sanctions. So it is not specific to what countries, but it would be any country who violates the already existing U.N. sanctions.

Mr. NEY. Mr. Chairman, if the gentleman would continue to yield, I would just note that I am willing to communicate during the process, of course, and I know the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Hamilton] would agree that we would have to be narrow in the scope so that certain unforeseen situations such as the ones that were mentioned, but I think that we would have to be careful, obviously, to always encourage countries to not deal with such regimes, but again, I think we can definitely have a discussion of what situations are appropriate, and also note the language. There is a certain amount of executive flexibility which we can communicate on.

Mr. NEY. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote, and pending that I make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. NEY. Mr. Chairman, I feel that the two countries that allowed him to land, and of course the United Nations has to make that decision, which was Niger and Nigeria, but this amendment would be a deterrent to future situations where a country would allow the leader, Moammar Qadhafi, in fact to land on their soil.

Mr. NEY. Yes, Mr. Chairman, it is.

Mr. NEY. Mr. Chairman, Steven Burrell, Shannon Davis, Christopher Jones, Sarah Phillipps, Cynthia J. Smith, these are names of students, not the names of students who I would like to say today are in their communities and able to continue their education and add to their communities' benefit, and maybe one of these names could have found a cure for cancer, maybe one of these names would have done a great humanitarian effort. No, Mr. Chairman, the names I read, Steven Burrell, Shannon Davis, Christopher Jones, Sarah Phillipps, Cynthia J. Smith, these are the names of just a few of the 35 students from Syracuse University who cannot be with us today and never will be with us because they were passengers on Pan Am Flight 103, which was blown out of the sky by a powerful bomb over Lockerbie, Scotland. All told, all 259 passengers and crew aboard the plane were killed, along with 11 people on the ground. After one of the most extensive investigations in history, two Libyan intelligence agents were implicated for planting an explosive device on the plane that murdered all of the passengers on the plane. After repeated requests, I stress repeated requests, and Libya's failure to extradite the two Libyan agents, the United Nations imposed a ban on air traffic in and out of Libya as a result. Last week, in a reckless attempt to have the sanctions lifted without actually delivering the two suspects, the Libyan Government, under the direction of Moammar Qadhafi, sent a direct appeal to the families of the victims talking about a compromise. Unfortunately, the letter was more of a cynical propaganda ploy aimed at manipulating the victims' families than it was an actual concession, and the victims' families recognized this publicly. On top of murdering the families, I think one of the worst things that could have been done was to try to involve them in a propaganda ploy of the Libyan Government. Now, why did this happen? It happened because earlier this year, on May 8, the Libyan leader, Moammar Qadhafi, defied the U.N. ban on all traffic in and out of Libya. He flew a flotilla of four Boeing 727's to two Libyan countries, Niger and Nigeria. Now this matter is currently being pursued in the U.N. Security Council and the Sanctions Committee. My amendment, very simply, will prohibit any funds made available through this bill from going to any government that assists Libya in circumventing the U.N. sanction. We took upon ourselves, and the United Nations agreed, these sanctions for a reason. Not for the pleasure of Moammar Qadhafi to do as he pleases without doing the right thing, which is to turn these people over for trial that killed all of the people on the Pan Am flight, but on top of it, Mr. Chairman, it is blatantly obvious that Moammar Qadhafi does not take the U.N. sanctions seriously, and that Libya continues to harbor and finance terrorist groups that share Qadhafi's anti-Western views all over our planet. However, real problems begin to arise when other nations of the world assist rogue governments and rogue countries like Libya in circumventing U.N. sanctions. That does not add to the peace or the security of any citizen of any country who at any point in time can fall victim to the rogue activities of a rogue government headed by a ruthless rogue leader, which is what Moammar Qadhafi is. The United States has the ability, however, to help deter other countries from assisting Libya through the threat of withholding American assistance, and that is the sole purpose of my amendment. Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues' support of this amendment on behalf of the innocent Americans and the innocent peoples from all around the world who were on this flight and for the other people who have fallen victim to the hideous ways of this brutal leader. I again urge my colleagues' support of this amendment. I would also like to thank the gentleman from New York [Mr. Gilman] and his staff for all of the hard work that they put into this bill. They have done a wonderful job.

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

Mr. NEY. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.

Mr. NEY

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Bellaire Lions Club which will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of their charter on May 21, 1997. The Bellaire Lions Club was chartered in district 13-G on May 21, 1947, with 24 original members. The district's motto is ``Positive growth through teamwork,'' and the club is asked ``to encourage service-minded men and women to serve their community.'' The Lions Club in Bellaire, OH, has exemplified this motto through 50 years of support and service to the Bellaire community and Belmont County. Over the past 50 years, the Bellaire Lions Club has had many dedicated members. These members adopted the motto ``We Serve'' and chose work associated with the prevention and awareness of vision related illnesses. To promote the well-being of the community and awareness of vision related illnesses, the Bellaire Lions Club has sponsored eye testing, glaucoma clinics, and street signs. The club has also been active in area schools by donating science awards for Bellaire High School and St. John's High School as well as trophies for area sports teams. The Bellaire Lions Club has stood as an example of the importance of volunteerism and helping one's neighbors. Their commitment to the Ohio Valley and to service continues today as they celebrate the 50th anniversary of their charter. I am proud to represent the members of this organization who generously give their time to others and work to improve their community. I ask my colleagues to join me today in congratulating the Bellaire Lions Club members on the 50th anniversary of their charter, and to wish them continued success.

Mr. NEY

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Tri-State Christian Day Care and Preschool Center in St. Clairsville, OH, on the occasion of their first child care appreciation ceremony as part of National Child Care Week in March. The teachers and child care providers, under the direction of Pastor E. Keith Stevens and Administrator Connie Patton, are dedicated to providing a caring, learning environment for the many children who attend the Tri-State Christian Day Care Center. Today, there are many demands and responsibilities parents must balance while raising their children, and it is often necessary for both mothers and fathers to work to support their homes and their families. It is comforting for parents to know that their children are safe and being cared for by dedicated teachers, volunteers, and aides. The Tri-State Christian Day Care and Preschool Center plays an important role in the lives of their students and the children who attend their day care center. The teachers and volunteers at Tri-State share a commitment to the child care ministry and to teaching God's word to the children who attend the day care and preschool center. As a parent, I am thankful that there are facilities like Tri-State Christian Day Care and Preschool Center which provide this important service to families and children. I would like to thank the Tri-State Christian Day Care and Preschool Center for inviting me to attend their first child care appreciation ceremony and see the excellent services they provide for Ohio Valley families. I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Tri-State, and child care centers like Tri-State, that are helping families by providing a caring atmosphere for children to learn and grow. I wish them continued success.

Mr. NEY

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, just tonight I was talking to Rich Riley. He works for the Attorney General in Cleveland, OH. He has been a successful young man, and we were talking about his position. I was commending Rich on how well he has done service to the people of the State of Ohio. His comment, Mr. Speaker, was that he owes it, his success, to his teachers. That is what I am here about tonight. This week we celebrate National Teacher Appreciation Week. As a teacher by degree, I know firsthand the work and dedication it takes to be an educator. That is why I would like to take a few minutes to commend one of the many great teachers in Ohio's 18th Congressional District. Cathy Priest is in her 11th year at Coshocton High School in Coshocton, Ohio. Last year Cathy was named Ohio Teacher of the Year and Ohio University Educator of the Year. As her representative in Congress, I would like to personally thank Cathy Priest for her wonderful accomplishments and service to her community and to her students. Cathy teaches world history, American history, sociology, current events, and was student council advisor for 9 years. In 1992, she began an ongoing video library project as a member of the technology committee for Coshocton High School. She is also a member of the video classroom resource team for the Discovery Channel and the Learning Channel. In the capacity of consultant and workshop facilitator, she provides professional development in the use of television to enhance curriculum, media literacy education, and on-line training. Cathy has worked with media specialist Sandra Marvin to develop an extensive video library featuring cable in the classroom programming to meet curricular needs for grades K through 12. She also conducts staff development workshops designed to enhance the curriculum by using television as an instructional tool while also incorporating media literacy education. Mrs. Priest received her BA in English and history from West Liberty State College in West Virginia, her Masters in social science from Ohio University, and is a graduate of the Harvard Institute of Media Education and the International Space Program. She also did postgraduate work at the University of Alabama and Ashland University. Over the years, Cathy Priest has made a real difference in her community. She is a model teacher who inspires her students through dedication and hard work. In 1992, three of Mrs. Priest's students won a national academic contest sponsored by the Discovery Channel. As grand prize winners, she and her students traveled to Tanzania for an extended safari. In large part because of her hard work and belief in her students, they were able to take part in a truly exciting, life- changing experience. Mrs. Priest is currently involved as a mentor for the Coshocton Youth Foundation. This first-of-its-kind organization is philanthropy by, with and for young people. Recently Cathy has been chosen to represent the State of Ohio in the People's Republic of China for the U.S. China Conference on Education. This conference has been set up for educators to learn about one another's cultures, customs and country, as well as to forge educational partnerships for the 21st century. During the conference, Mrs. Priest will present a paper titled ``Technological Literacy, an Educational Goal.'' There is nothing more important, Mr. Speaker, to the future of our country than the opportunity for a high quality education for all Americans. I commend teachers all over the country who have chosen the important task of educating tomorrow's leaders. In order to build on and improve our education system, we need to emphasize what works; namely, back-to-basics education, parental involvement, safe and disciplined schools, and sending dollars to the classroom. If we work together as lawmakers, teachers and parents, I believe all of our children can reach the limits of their talents to exceed their ambitions and to progress beyond the dreams of their parents. With a strong educational foundation and teachers like Cathy Priest, there is nothing our children can not do. For that, we will be forever indebted to our Nation's teachers.

Mr. NEY

Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 129 authorizes $149.9 million over 2 years for the basic operation of 18 House committees in the 105th Congress. I think it is important to note today that this is a $46.3 million decrease from the authorized level in the 103d Congress, a 24- percent reduction. Let me repeat that, Mr. Speaker. This is a $46.3 million decrease. This allows the U.S. House to continue officially to operate on behalf of the taxpayers the committees that are established here in Congress, but also due to the great guidance of the gentleman from California [Mr. Thomas], our chairman, and the members of the committee, we have a fiscally responsible plan that provides a decrease, yet allows us to do our duties and to carry forth the process of the committee. Historically, Mr. Speaker, I would like to mention this today, the minority party was funded far below the one-third targeted amount that we are trying to achieve in this new Congress. In 1991, the minority party was funded at 19 percent. In 1993, the minority party was funded at 18.5 percent. Beginning in 1994, with the 104th Congress, not only were we able to again decrease the amount of funding to the committees, but we were able to start the process of having the funding begin to rise for the minority on the committee. In 1994, the minority party was funded at 21 percent, and in 1995, the minority party was funded around 29 percent. These are averages, Mr. Speaker, of the entire committee funding. Let me give just a few details. There are 7 committees that the minority staff is funded at 33 percent or more, far above the 19 percent type of average that we were dealing with in 1993 and 1994. So there are 7 committees that the minority staff is funded at 33 percent or more. There are 7 committees that the minority staff is funded at 25 percent to 32 percent funding. And there is one committee that the minority staff is funded at 20 percent to 24 percent. There are no committees that it is funded less than 20 percent. Our goal is to have the minority funded at one-third and we are not far from that goal. It has been hard in some cases to achieve it but, frankly, previous to the 104th Congress, the minority was so low in most of the cases that it is tough to build that base back up. What do we have? We have promises that we have made and promises that we have kept. We promised to cut the committee staff, and we did that. In the 103d Congress, the approximate number of committee staff was 1,645. In the 104th Congress, we reduced it by one-third, to 1,100. This is a good proposal we have today, and I would surely credit the gentleman from California [Mr. Thomas], the chairman, and the members of the committee for being so responsible and for also conducting the business of the House in a fiscally responsible manner.

Mr. NEY

Mr. NEY. Mr. Chairman, I would like to inquire how much time is left for the debate.

Mr. NEY. I thank the gentleman from New York [Mr. Lazio] for yielding me this time. Mr. Chairman, I guess we have heard it all today. The people I assume we are saying are investors make money. The people who are building projects, the people who are building housing should in fact, I guess, volunteer some time also? So I am assuming that the union working people that work for those companies should also volunteer time because they are working on the projects? Is that what we are saying? Is this some type of great philosophy we have today? We are talking about the residents. I have got plenty of residents in my district who would like to put in a little time, 2 hours a week, to feel productive, to do something toward the housing that in fact the Government is cooperating with them to provide some living situations for their family. That is all we are talking about. To stretch this out to who builds it and maybe the workers for that company should in fact put in some volunteer time, that is not what this is about. This debate is occurring today because let me tell you what the U.S. Government did from 1937 forward, when the poor of this country, the people that needed some housing, needed some assistance, came to their Government and said, ``Help me. I need some help for my family.'' The Government looked at those individuals and said, ``OK, we're going to put you all in one category, we're going to consider you all the same, we'll build something called a project, then we'll create a bureaucracy to oversee that project. We won't try to help you out in neighborhoods. We'll just take you to a high-rise. We'll warehouse you. We'll make it effectively easy for drug dealers and thieves to have a captive audience to get at your families.'' That was the philosophy. I think we should have had the attitude in 1937 to put people in neighborhoods, just like we were raised, in neighborhoods with rich and with poor, and with middle-class working Americans. We will probably, Mr. Chairman, see some pictures shown on this floor today of some nice housing community projects, and there are some in the country. Let us look at the realities. In October 1994 in Chicago, IL, a 5-year-old boy was tossed to his death from a 14th floor window at the Ida B. Wells public housing project by two other young boys. Mr. Chairman, there are other nightmare stories, and there are some good housing units and projects in this country but it is time for a change. It is a big difference of how we are going to approach helping people that need help from their Government. The way we are going to do it is to give more flexibility to be able to tell drug dealers that they are not going to come into these projects, to be able to defend families that are living there, to have a voucher system to try to eventually have people go into neighborhoods and for the Government to cooperate with them, for the Government to help them, for the Government to help them up the economic ladder. But there are nightmare stories. All is not good in paradise across the United States in these projects. We need to help the people of this country.

Mr. NEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Delaware [Mr. Castle].

Mr. NEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kansas [Mr. Snowbarger].