Doug Ose

Mr. OSE

Mr. OSE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, S. 1707 would make the position of Inspector General of the Tennessee Valley Authority a presidential appointment. The bill would also authorize a Criminal Investigator Academy and Forensic Laboratory for the Inspector General community. Offices of Inspector General are independent, nonpartisan, and objective units that exist in nearly 60 Federal departments and agencies, including all Cabinet departments, major executive branch agencies, and many smaller boards, commissions, corporations, and foundations. The primary distinction between the offices of Inspector General in the larger Federal agencies and those in smaller government entities is the method by which the Inspector General is appointed. Inspectors General at larger agencies are appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Inspectors General at smaller Federal entities are appointed, and can be removed from office by the head of the agency. Regardless of the process, however, the mission of all Inspectors General is the same: to conduct audits and investigations of agency programs in order to promote an economic and efficient operation, and to combat any waste, fraud, or misuse of public money. The Tennessee Valley Authority's board of directors currently appoints and can remove its Inspector General. S. 1707 would turn that responsibility over to the President. With an annual budget of more than $7 million and a staff of more than 80 full-time equivalent employees, the Tennessee Valley Authority is larger than some government entities whose Inspectors General are appointed by the President. S. 1707 would elevate the status of the Tennessee Valley Authority's Inspector General, and would further enhance the independence of this important office. S. 1707 would also establish a Criminal Investigator Academy and General Forensic Laboratory for all Federal Inspectors General. These facilities would be housed in the Department of the Treasury and would provide high caliber investigative training and forensic services for Inspectors General at all departments, agencies, and government entities, regardless of size. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. OSE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on S. 1707.

Mr. OSE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill (S. 1707) to amend the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) to provide that certain designated Federal entities shall be establishments under such Act, and for other purposes.

Mr. OSE

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

Mr. OSE. Madam Speaker, I also urge adoption of this bill. Having no other requests for time, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. OSE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3218) to amend title 31, United States Code, to prohibit the appearance of Social Security account numbers on or through unopened mailings of checks or other drafts issued on public money in the Treasury.

Mr. OSE

Mr. OSE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 5016, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. OSE. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. OSE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5016) to redesignate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 514 Express Center Drive in Chicago, Illinois, as the ``J.T. Weeker Service Center,'' as amended.

Mr. OSE

Mr. OSE. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. OSE. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Goodling).

Mr. OSE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 5210.

Mr. OSE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5210) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 200 South George Street in York, Pennsylvania, as the ``George Atlee Goodling Post Office Building''.

Mr. OSE

Mr. OSE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 460) to amend title 5, United States Code, to provide that the mandatory separation age for Federal firefighters be made the same as the age that applies with respect to Federal law enforcement officers.

Mr. OSE

Mr. OSE. Mr. Speaker, as my colleagues know, in California we have an interesting process called the initiative process. And on this year's ballot we have Prop 36, which is labeled Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act of 2000. I have a copy of it here. And it is interesting. I have gone through and I have flagged the various parts of it that are so troublesome. This is about 4,500 words in total. And it is interesting, it is being marketed on the basis of treatment. It provides treatment to people, that if we approve this, Californians will receive treatment. But of its 4,500 words, only 383 of them speak directly within the initiative to providing treatment for people. So can you imagine that, less than a tenth of the words in this initiative. Let me tell my colleagues that what this initiative really does is it imposes the wisdom of a criminal defense attorney, it interjects that into California statute under the guise of providing treatment for folks who need drug treatment. There is nothing in here that provides treatment to Californians. It changes criminal statute to allow people who violate our laws as it relates to drug possession and use are treated, but it does not provide a single dollar for drug treatment to people who desperately need it. And keep in mind that this is an initiative written by a criminal defense attorney. The initiative itself was funded by three people who do not even live in California. There is no medical analysis, no medical input to drafting this. It is a shameful fraud being, attempting to be perpetrated on the voters of California. In fact, Mr. Speaker, just in the course of our committee hearings, the gentleman and I have heard time after time after time from medical professional after medical professional after medical professional that drug testing is an inherent and integral part of a successful drug treatment program. This initiative, the $120 million to be appropriated under this initiative, not a dime of it can be used for drug testing whatsoever. So the initiative eliminates the chance to use the most successful tool we have. I just want to make that clear. I appreciate being able to come down here and visit with the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica).

Mr. OSE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for yielding to me. And I do want to commend his efforts on the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources, on which I am honored to serve with him as chairman. He has in fact been to my district for a hearing, and at that hearing we heard the traumatic tales of families whose very fiber was ripped from seam to seam from the abuse of drugs by folks who should know better. I was hopeful, if I might, Mr. Speaker, if I could just have just a few moments to speak about, frankly, a fraudulent initiative on the California ballot that will contribute to a far more pronounced number of experiences than we have even today.

Mr. OSE

Mr. OSE. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Armey), the majority leader, yielding me this time. His earlier comments focused on our attempt to override the President's veto of the marriage tax penalty relief. In that legislation there were two primary components. One was relief for marriage tax penalty consequences, the other was an adjustment to the threshold at which earned income tax credits could be realized. In my district where we have a significantly higher or above the norm unemployment rate, we have a number of young people, a number of elder Americans who actually work for wages, hourly wages who would be eligible for the earned income tax credit if it had been adjusted for inflation over these past 8 years. But in fact just as the Democrats walked out of here back when we passed that bill, this Clinton administration has walked out on lower-income people for an adjustment in the earned income tax credit. The President's veto of the marriage tax penalty relief right here in this bill also was a veto of an inflation adjustment to the level, the threshold at which the earned income tax credit would be eligible for. That veto cost a low-income family with two children $421 per year in terms of the earned income tax credit. That is real money.

Mr. OSE

Mr. OSE. Mr. Speaker, when the Children's' Health Act was passed by the Senate, the Anti-Methamphetamine Proliferation Act was added as an amendment. I wish to speak about the importance of this provision in the fight against methamphetamines. Those of us who live on the east coast have not experienced the devastation that methamphetamines can wreak on a community. Unfortunately, in California, where 80 percent of the Nation's Meth supply is produced, we know all too well the dangers of this drug. Methamphetamines are a powerful drug that leaves a path of destruction in its wake. Meth is highly addictive, giving the user a sense of power and paranoia. As a result, a staggering proportion of violent crime in many communities is tied to Meth use. Would you believe that in Sacramento, 27 percent of male arrestees tested positive for Meth? In other western cities, the numbers are equally alarming: San Diego--26 percent; Salt Lake City--25 percent; San Jose--24 percent; Spokane--20 percent; Portland--19 percent; Las Vegas--16 percent; Phoenix--16 percent. The Meth crisis is full of youth tragedies as well. Since Meth is largely produced on kitchen stoves, children are extremely vulnerable to exposure to lethal chemicals. In addition, I have personally heard horrific stories of child abuse at the hands of Meth users. In March of this year I hosted a congressional field hearing in Woodland, CA to discuss the Meth crisis. During the hearing I heard from State and local law enforcement officials who fight the Meth crisis. From them I learned the unique challenges that this drug presents. The Anti-Methamphetamines Proliferation Act, for the first time ever, takes a comprehensive approach to fighting Meth and addresses those very problems that I heard from my local sheriffs and police chiefs. The Anti-Meth Proliferation Act would: increase penalties for possession of precursor chemicals used to make Meth; add $15 million to the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTAs) specifically targeted towards fighting Meth; increase funds to help state and local officials clean up Meth labs, which are filled with dangerous chemicals that threaten both human lives and the environment; adds funds for research and treatment of Meth. I congratulate the gentleman from Utah, Mr. Cannon and the gentleman from Florida, Mr. McCollum for their hard work on this important bill. With this legislation, we are finally giving our law enforcement officials the resources they need to fight Meth production and distribution. Let's pass this bill and get serious about fighting the scourge of methamphetamines.

Mr. OSE

Mr. OSE. Mr. Speaker, I have come to the floor today to share with my colleagues some of the information we dug out last week in a series of hearings in the Committee on Government Reform focusing on the energy challenges we face as a country. I would like to specifically address the issue of electricity and how it is generated and distributed throughout the country, particularly the Southwest of which California is a certain portion. In our hearings last week, we had the various investor-owned utilities come and testify with us, a couple of environmental groups, we had the Department of Energy, we had the administrator for the EPA and we had one of the representatives of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission come and visit with us. What became apparent is that the mix of electricity in this country is quite complex. There are different generators of different sizes and utilities that contribute to us having electricity throughout our country. Interestingly enough, two of the largest electric generators in the country are the Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineers. I would like to specifically focus my comments today on those two entities. In the West, the Bureau of Reclamation is a huge power generator. The Army Corps of Engineers more so in the Northwest at Bonneville but the Bureau, along the Colorado River and elsewhere, generates huge amounts of electricity. If you look at our electric markets and you consider different end users, California in fact is a huge end user of this electricity. Now, the challenge we face is how do we plan for the delivery of electricity to the end users in a manner timely enough to make it possible for our economy to continue to thrive and for people to be cool in their homes in the summer and warm in the winter. If you look at the Bureau of Reclamation Web site, you will see on their map, they have four different regions in the West. The two that I would like to specifically address today are the Sierra Nevada region and the Desert Southwest region. In particular, the Desert Southwest region focuses along the Colorado River and in fact includes southern California as part of its delivery market. If you examine the facilities that the Bureau runs in the Desert Southwest region, you will see the Hoover Dam; and you will see a number of other facilities, one of which is the Glen Canyon Dam. In the midst of power shortages this summer in June, July and August, the interesting thing that you will see in this information is that the Bureau of Reclamation was running most of their facilities flat out, all the way to the red line, but the Glen Canyon Dam was running at a rate 50 percent of what it was running at last year. In other words, the Bureau had reduced generation by 300,000 megawatts in the face of severe energy shortages. Now, that manifested itself in San Diego and elsewhere, because electricity is very fluid. It comes from somewhere, it goes somewhere, and when one is down, another might be up in terms of generating capacity. The consequence, the reality is that Glen Canyon's generating capacity was reduced, for what? For what purpose? If you track back the legislation or the historical data, you will see that in 1992, the 104th Session of this Congress, legislation was passed that allowed the Bureau, working with the Fish and Wildlife Service to try and experiment with the water flow from Glen Canyon that is used to generate electricity in the turbines. The legislation is very clear. It says, you will test this low flow regime along the Colorado River to see its environmental benefit. But the legislation also includes a waiver provision that says in a period of huge or unexpected power disruptions, the Bureau is authorized to run the turbines flat out. In other words, abandon the low flow regime. In June, July, and August, the Bureau chose, they elected, they made a conscious decision to keep generation low. What that did was it hammered areas like San Diego and Silicon Valley and others who rely on this electricity to power industry and provide jobs and to cool houses and the like. It is interesting. Last Monday, the Bureau issued a waiver and they ran those turbines up to respond to a peak demand for electricity in the Desert Southwest region. But that was the first time this summer they have done that. Mr. Speaker, the very clear message here is that this administration chose to run Glen Canyon over the summer at 50 percent of capacity and the consequence in San Diego and elsewhere in California were brownouts, blackouts and seniors having to choose between maintaining a low temperature in their house, for instance, and being able to buy food or prescription drugs. That is a reality. It is as much a reality as any other comparison we have. The administration is at fault. I have yet to hear a rational explanation of why this had to occur.

Mr. OSE

Mr. OSE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me the time. In the interest of time constraints, I will be brief. Mr. Speaker, I do want to note that I am a strong advocate and cosponsor of this bill. It is interesting. I have three older sisters and two young daughters; and we need to bring an end to this violence against women. The bill itself, under the guidance of the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella) who, by the way, is to be commended for her strong advocacy of bringing this to the floor, will give us another leg up on curing this problem and finally providing some safety and security to women in our country who otherwise might have to face this terrible scourge. Mr. Speaker, in the United States, rape, sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking affect the lives of millions of women each year regardless of financial means, race, religion, or country of origin. Violence not only affects women in their homes, but in their workplace, schools, and every arena of their lives. The effects of such violence is felt not only by each individual woman, but by their children, families, loved ones, employers, and communities. Five years ago, Congress passed and the President signed into law, the Violence Against Women Act as part of the 1994 Crime Act. At that time, VAWA began an ongoing, comprehensive agenda to address violence against women. The enactment of VAWA marked the first time that the federal government committed funds and law enforcement to join state and local entities within the justice system in responding to violence against women. Congress now has the opportunity to continue and extend the fine programs within VAWA. The National Domestic Violence Hotline, battered women shelters, training for judges and other court personnel, counseling services, and child abuse prevention programs all benefit from H.R. 1248. Today's bill enhances the original VAWA by including authorization for new programs regarding dating violence, elder and disabled abuse, transitional housing, full faith and credit for protection orders, and supervised visitation centers. Reauthorizing this legislation will continue the Congressional commitment to making our streets and homes safe for women and children. I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. OSE

Mr. OSE. Mr. Speaker, oftentimes, I am reminded by others who are smarter than I, when an organization does what one is hoping it does, perhaps the best thing one can do is just sit down and be quiet. However, I did want to offer a few remarks on the passage of H.R. 1113. H.R. 1113 is a win-win for my district in that it provides the opportunity to complete work that was commenced under my predecessor's tenure. When Vic Fazio was here in the 105th Congress, he worked with Members on both sides of the aisle, the purpose of which was to bring some flood protection to the Colusa Basin and its residents. He was, I believe, able to get this package passed through the House twice, actually; but, unfortunately, it got caught in a time crunch at the end of the 105th and, as such, did not get signed by the President. We are back here today on the first step of the new travels of the new journey. We pass it here in the House. It will go on to the Senate from here. The essential components of this bill are that we provide flood protection for people in the Colusa Basin, hopefully averting up to an average of $5 million a year in flood damage that occurs on seasonal streams off the Pacific Coast range. It provides up to 10,000 acres of new wetlands and habitat for wildlife along the Pacific flyaway. It is supported by the Yolo, Glenn and Colusa Boards of Supervisors, the California Farm Bureau, local organizations like the Family Water Alliance, the Sacramento Valley Landowners Association, the Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District, and also by the municipalities such as Willows, Colusa and Orland. It is also somewhat of a unique vehicle in that the Colusa Basin Drainage District has entered into a memorandum of understanding somewhat unusual in this, laying out the parameters under which the 10,000 acres of new wildlife and habitat area will be managed. It is unique in that sense. It is perhaps a vehicle we could mimic elsewhere in the country as we work to balance our needs between the demands of humans for flood protection and our needs to help in the environment and the like. Again, I want to express my appreciation to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Gilchrest) and the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega) for allowing me to come and speak.

Mr. OSE

Mr. OSE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today representing California's Third Congressional District in celebrating the Sesquicentennial of the great state of California's admittance to the Union. California's Third District is one of the truly diverse regions of the country. The district stretches from Sacramento's urban, southwestern suburbs to the spacious northern country of Tehama, serving as a bridge between the flat agricultural lands of the upper Sacramento River Valley and the state's northern, timber-rich highlands. From East to West, the District lies between the majestic Sierra and Coastal Range. The roots of the Third District can be traced parallel to those of the state. On January 24th, 1848, James Marshall reached into the icy waters of the American River near Sacramento and found the first gold nugget. People from around the globe came to California in search of their dreams. By August of 1849, the City of Sacramento was born and nearly a year later, in September of 1850, the State of California was made into the 31st State. The Northern portion of the district is home to some of this country's most beautiful sites, including both the Lassen National Park and the Mendocino National Forest. The picturesque Sutter Buttes are considered the smallest mountain range in North America. Today, the District is one of the leading producers of agricultural crops, including an abundant production of rice, tomatoes, peaches, pears, almonds, pistachios and avocados. The Third District is also the home of the University of California at Davis, one of the leading research universities in the country. But most of all, what makes the Third District special are the people who reside in it. The tight-knit communities in counties like Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Sacramento, Solano, Sutter, Tehama and Yolo instill a strong sense of family values that will carry on through future generations. I am extremely proud to reside in and represent the Third Congressional District of California. It is with honor that I rise today to recognize the 150th anniversary of this Great State and our wonderful district.

Mr. OSE

Mr. OSE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Oklahoma for yielding time to me. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this resolution. It is interesting, the first day I was here I stood over by the painting of Lafayette. This room was empty, and I was there with a radio reporter from my town. Unbeknownst to myself, I was violating the rules of the House when I conversed and they were recording the tape. But the point of that conversation was that if one was quiet enough in this Chamber, one could hear the voices of the people who have come before us, and yes, those who built this place came before us, the slaves that the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) talked about, those who have built this country that we have not to date given satisfactory recognition to. This resolution is a first step. I thank the gentleman for bringing it. I am grateful for the opportunity to support it.

Mr. OSE

Mr. OSE. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 429, I was unavoidably detained due to a plane delay. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''