Dave Obey

Mr. OBEY

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow for morning- hour debate and 10:30 a.m. for legislative business.

Mr. OBEY

Mr. OBEY. I thank the gentlewoman for the time. Madam Speaker, 41 years ago my friend and mentor, Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson, had a surprisingly simple idea. At the time, the country was fighting an unpopular and unwinnable war, and students were rising up in protest and holding teach-ins on college campuses all over the country. Senator Nelson looked around him and realized that those teach-ins were an invaluable tool in helping to educate people and calling attention to the need to end the war once and for all. In 1969, when the Senate contained such environmental giants as Ed Muskie, Scoop Jackson, Gaylord Nelson, and Bob Stafford, he gave a pivotal speech at the Seattle Science Center. In that speech he suggested that just as Americans had been involved in teach-ins to protest the Vietnam war, that they should also set aside a day to call attention to the environmental problems facing the planet and to demand real leadership from public officials on producing solutions. Wire services carried the story from coast to coast. And as history shows, the response was overwhelmingly positive. Earth Day was born. The first Earth Day launched an Environmental Decade, an unparalleled period of legislative and grassroots activity that resulted in passage of 28 major pieces of environmental legislation from 1970 to 1980 alone, including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Quality Education Act, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, and others. And Gaylord was at the center of them all. Forty years later his legacy endures, and half a billion people in 180 countries are expected to gather this week to help clean up their communities and to demand leadership and real solutions to the very real problems facing the planet today, problems like toxic pollution, mercury in our air and water, and climate change. As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, it is fitting that we pass this resolution honoring the founding father of that day. When he initially set the date for it he was roundly criticized by, of all groups, the John Birch Society, because they attacked him for selecting the same day that Lenin was born. Gaylord pointed out that since there were only 365 days in a year, that each day was bound to be the birthday of both good and bad people throughout the world. And he pointed out, for instance, that, yes, it was the birthday of Lenin, but it was also the birthday of St. Francis of Assisi. But he said, ``more importantly, it's also the birthday of my Aunt Tilly.'' Without the leadership of the late Senator Gaylord Nelson, the air we breathe would not be as clean, we would not be swimming in lakes and rivers as safe as they are today, and we would not be enjoying the beauty of public lands that we were able to protect under the laws he championed. We are certainly a long way away from perfection on those grounds, but we are a whole lot better off than we were when Gaylord started the movement. And we would not be holding Earth Day celebrations around the globe each April 22nd either. Today we honor Gaylord Nelson and celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. No wonder he was awarded the Nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, by President Clinton in 1995. His leadership is still felt today.

Mr. OBEY

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1204, I call up the bill (H.R. 4899) making emergency supplemental appropriations for disaster relief and summer jobs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 4899.

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute. This a very simple bill. It provides $5.1 billion as requested by the President for FEMA disaster relief because FEMA will run out of money in the next 2 or 3 weeks. Consistent with all prior year FEMA supplementals and the President's request, this $5.1 billion is designated as an emergency. The bill also provides $600 million for youth summer jobs. This funding will support over 300,000 jobs for youth ages 16 to 21. This age group had some of the highest unemployment levels in the country: Last, the bill extends the successful small business lending provisions that are contained in the Recovery Act for another month and provides up to $60 million for that effort. Again, that new funding is offset. The bill rescinds emergency funding that is not needed in order to provide for the offsets. With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. OBEY. I yield myself 2 minutes. Mr. Speaker, I would simply note that the gentleman is complaining because the committee is using precisely the same procedures that it used in the past when he was chairman and his party was in control of the situation. When Republicans controlled the House, they brought supplementals to the floor in five out of six Congresses that were handled by the chairman and the chairman alone. That is no different than is happening today. In fact, from 1995 through 2006, while Republicans controlled the institution, the House considered 12 supplemental appropriation bills handled in just that same way. Secondly, with respect to the so-called runaway spending for summer youth jobs, that spending is fully offset by other cuts in the bill. So much for runaway spending. I can't recall similar fiscal rectitude when the other party was running this place. Thirdly, let me suggest that when the gentleman complains about not offsetting the funding for the emergency disaster relief program, I would point out that the past administration asked us to do the very same thing eight times in a row, and the Congress did. Let me also say, by the way, that I would invite the gentleman from California to join me in cosponsoring legislation, which I have introduced in this House several times, which would set up a State- funded disaster program which would be experience rated so that each State would pay into that fund ahead of time on the basis of how much they have drawn out of it in the past.

Mr. OBEY. I yield myself 1 additional minute. I would point out that more than half of all disaster relief since 1993 has gone to just four States: Louisiana, Florida, California--the gentleman's home State--and Mississippi; and 80 percent of all disaster relief since 1993 has gone to 10 States: those four plus Texas, Puerto Rico, Alabama, Iowa, North Carolina, and New York. As a Representative of a State that is not in that 10-State group, I am perfectly happy to end the need for virtually all disaster payments paid for by Uncle Sam by establishing the kind of proposal that I have supported for years. I doubt very much the gentleman from California would like that because then California would be paying into it in the same measure that they are drawing out of it through the years. But I would, nonetheless, invite any Member interested in fiscal rectitude, whether from a recipient State or not, to join me in that effort and then we won't have these meaningless debates on the floor anymore.

Mr. OBEY. I yield myself 30 seconds. I would simply say, Mr. Speaker, that the White House submitted this request for disaster relief over a month ago. Everyone in this institution has known about it; in addition to which, the gentleman's staff has known for a good 2 weeks that we would be considering this disaster relief. The only thing that's different is that we found offsets within the past few days that would help to fully pay for the summer jobs program so, therefore, we included that in the proposition. This is hardly a complicated matter. I am sure that the gentleman from California is up to a full understanding of it. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price).

Mr. OBEY. Will the gentleman yield on that?

Mr. OBEY. I would yield to you 30 seconds so I might ask you a question.

Mr. OBEY. Why do you keep saying we're borrowing money to add to the summer youth program when this bill fully offsets every dime that we're spending on it?

Mr. OBEY. No. Would you answer my question? We are not adding one dime to the deficit by what we are adding to the summer jobs program. We are fully paying for it by cuts in other programs. I have great respect for my friend from Kansas, but he needs to be accurate in what he says.

Mr. OBEY. That's new math.

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds. I invite the gentleman's attention to page 4 and page 5 of the bill. If he will read those two pages, he will see that every dollar of additional spending for summer jobs is paid for by a reduction in other government spending programs.

Mr. OBEY. I yield myself 30 seconds. Let me simply say I largely agree with my friend from Oklahoma. We have one simple dilemma: both in the case of the Cobell settlement and the Pigford settlement, the administration has asked us to provide the money. We do not yet have an understanding of whether that will be provided through an emergency designation or whether it will be fully offset. We cannot proceed until the decision is made to move one way or another. As soon as it is, we want to bring both of those to the floor because I agree with you, we need to deal with both of them.

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee).

Mr. OBEY. I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Loebsack).

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I would make only one additional point. This bill also provides for a 1-month extension of the Recovery Act Small Business Lending program and provides an additional $60 million for that program. Through March 12 of this year, the Recovery Act Small Business Lending program has supported nearly $23 billion in small business lending which, according to SBA, has helped create or preserve over 500,000 jobs. I think it is well worth the effort. We need to keep this program alive.

Mr. OBEY. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I would raise a point of order against the motion.

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I make a point of order against the motion because it constitutes legislation on an appropriation bill, which is in violation of clause 2, rule XXI. The instructions in the motion include an amendment proposing to include language in the bill that would provide for the rescission of previously appropriated funds made available in other appropriation acts. This is clearly a legislative proposition, Mr. Speaker. Section 1052 of the House Rules and Manual states, in part: An amendment proposing a rescission constitutes legislation under clause 2(c). The amendment is, therefore, legislative in nature and is in violation of clause 2, rule XXI, and I ask for a ruling from the Chair.

Mr. OBEY. I move to table the appeal of the ruling of the Chair.

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. OBEY

Mr. OBEY. Madam Speaker, there is one difference between my friends over here who are speechifying against health care reform today and 50 million Americans. The difference is that the roughly 15 Americans over here all have health insurance, and it is largely paid for by the taxpayers. Fifty million Americans don't have that good fortune. In fact, that difference is shameful, that difference is immoral, and I hope to God that this House has the courage and the decency to vote to change it this week.