George Radanovich

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. RADANOVICH. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I am amazed that whenever we come to budget discussions and a balanced budget that the minority party seems to trot out the blue dog budget, which was created by 20 Members of the minority party and supported by not much more, in order to show that they are so much for a balanced budget. It strikes to me the issue. I think what the American people used to decide is who is really serious about balancing this budget. Now we come back to the budget resolution that we have before us. It includes tax cuts, something that I support and I think something that is very, very necessary in order to generate economic growth and get us to a balanced budget sooner, even if that means increasing the debt in the second year. I am not real happy about the fact that the Senate stuffed about $2.8 billion more worth of spending in this bill. But the American people need to realize who they are going to trust to eventually get to a balanced budget in 7 years. It sure as heck ain't going to be these people. It is going to be us. That is why I support this budget resolution and I support every other member of this conference in supporting it so that we can go on and continue on toward a balanced budget.

Mr. RADANOVICH. Bill Clinton vetoed that budget, I say to the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Doggett].

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment and will introduce it at the appropriate time.

Mr. RADANOVICH. This is, yes.

Mr. RADANOVICH. I yield to the gentleman from Alabama.

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Chairman, in this turbulent century we have witnessed humanity's great potential for good and bad, but the world has triumphed more often in the last 96 years and it has been disappointed. And yet while focusing on humanity's successes is always more attractive----

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

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

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Chairman, in this turbulent century, we have witnessed humanity's great potential for good and bad--but the world has triumphed more often in the last 96 years than it has disappointed. And yet, while focusing on humanity's successes is always more attractive than remembering any stumbles, we as civilized peoples, countries, and nations must not deny the immorality of such stains on history as the Holocaust and the Armenian genocide. Therefore, Mr. Chairman, today I offer an amendment which provides a practical incentive to Turkey to join the community of nations in recognition of a tragic chapter in its history. Let me explain the amendment. This amendment links Turkey's denial of the genocide to United States foreign aid levels. In other words, the amendment states that if Turkey joins the United States in acknowledging the atrocity committed against the Armenian population, and takes all appropriate steps to honor the memory of those innocent victims, it will then receive the full portion of aid appropriated to it in H.R. 3540. This amendment is reasonable. The levels of economic aid we propose to withhold from Turkey is approximately 2 percent or $3 million. The figure of $3 million is equal to the amount the Turkish Government spends on swaying opinion in Washington. Mr. Chairman, let me conclude by saying that such distinguished individuals as Ronald Reagan, Winston Churchill, and Woodrow Wilson, have recognized the terrible tragedy suffered by Armenians from 1915- 1923. Today this body has the opportunity of encouraging Turkey to respect the memory of those Armenian victims. I ask that you vote in favor of this amendment.

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

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to congratulate Ernie Bedrosian, founder of Raisin Bargaining Association. On Friday, May 24, 1996, in my district in Fresno, CA, the Raisin Bargaining Association will be honoring their founder, Mr. Ernie Bedrosian. He will be commended for his excellent work on behalf of the California raisin growers and packers. Mr. Bedrosian founded the RBA at the age of 29 in 1966 and his work on behalf of California raisin leaders is legendary. I send to Ernie and the RBA my very best wishes for continued success.

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I don't favor an increase in the minimum wage. In fact, I am opposed to the whole concept of a minimum wage. In the private sector, the minimum wage is an interference with employer-employee contractual relations. Big brothers in the Federal bureaucracy aren't happy unless they can control conduct throughout the workplace. And, recalling my own experience as a county supervisor, I know the minimum wage is just another unfunded mandate. It represents Washington's dictating to States and local governments what they must pay without providing the dollars to accomplish it. There are economists from coast to coast who have exposed the minimum wage, showing that it doesn't lift people from poverty. Instead, it denies realistic opportunity for first-time workers and those with little experience as well as impairing small businesses. Minimums, whether in wages or freedoms, are not American ideals. As a society, we should strive for maximums, gained by hard work, not by regulation and restriction.

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time. I am pleased to be here, and I want to congratulate the other side of the aisle for submitting a budget that really expresses concern for the care of the poor and the needy and for the less fortunate in this country. I applaud them for their compassion, their good will, and I would like to say that we share their concern and their compassion for the care of the poor and needy and also for those less fortunate. We share their concern in wanting to provide more opportunity for more Americans in this country, but I want to point out a couple of things. One, referring to this chart right here, if this chair was America, which I believe it is, say this chair represents America, only a fool wants to sit in a chair like this, simply because Government is way too big. This is a result of the Great Society. The chair is ready to tip over. The Government is the Great Society in the chair and it is way too large. At the same time, look at our religious institutions, look at our business institutions, look how we have decimated the family unit over the last 30 years. This is a result of the big government approach to solving problems in this country. This is the fruit of 30 to 40 years of the Great Society, where Government steps in, identifies a problem, tries to solve it with a Government solution. Let me say, too, that we all care about how to take care and create more opportunity in this country. The question is how do we do it. No. 1, reducing the ranks of the poor and needy; No. 2, creating more opportunity for every American. This is a tired old system. Today a child born into America has a very little chance of having a stable family, No. 1. No. 2, Government is overregulating and overtaxing so that he or she has no opportunity to go out and create. and No. 3, we have a system or a country today where religions have been devalued in this country. And look what they have to deal with; a value-neutral Federal Government that hands out dollars and does not provide for any stability or security in this country. I am sorry, but this is the kind of budget that we are considering now that is being offered. What the Republican budget seeks to do is this: It seeks to equalize the legs in the chair. Government is reduced. Everybody knows that the people on this side of the aisle are trying to reduce Government, but I will tell my friends why. It is too free up the other institutions in this country. It is to free them up so that they have more influence on the individual lives of every American, so that a child born into America today is born into strong families; is also born into a business environment that provides opportunity, not only so that that person can either get a job but that they can go out and are trained to create a job; that they are born into a country that has more significance, where more value is placed on the religious institutions in this country; and that they are born into a country where there is less Government interference in their life. Now, this is the Republican budget that we are considering, and I would request my colleagues to join the Republicans so that we can produce a budget that cares for the poor and needy, that meets the needs of the less fortunate, but also provides more opportunity for every American. I would ask that we reject this amended budget that was brought in and support the Republican budget and the Republican efforts to make America a better country for everybody.

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, on Saturday May 3, 1996, in Los Angeles the Right Reverend Father Moushegh Mardirossian, Locum Tenens was elected as Prelate of the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America. I wish to add my sincere congratulations to Prelate Mardirossian upon his elevation. Prelate Mardirossian studied at the Armenian Seminary of the Great House of Cilicia in Antellias, Lebanon. Upon graduation from the clerical college of the seminary in June 1974 he was ordained deacon. He served in the Catholicosate as vice sacristan-sexton and secretary to Catholicos Khoren I and Catholicos Karekin II in the chancery. In the seminary he served as administrator and an educator, while teaching courses. In 1979, he was assigned pastor to the Armenian Community of Thessalonika of Greece. When in Thessalonika, he attended classes in Greek language and philosophy at the Aristotelian University. For his thesis on a translation and critical analysis of John's Gospel, he earned a doctorate of the Armenian Church, in December 1979. Beginning in 1982, he served as assistant to the Prelate and held pastoral positions in the Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of North America. In recognition of his service, in 1987, he was elevated to the rank of Father Superior and was ordained. In the same year, he was assigned to the post of dean of the Forty Martyrs Armenian Apostolic Church of Orange County. With the Western Prelacy he has been a member of the National Representative Assembly and member and chairperson of the Religious Council. Since 1991, he has served as vicar general to the Prelate. Prelate Mardirossian is currently pursuing a master's degree at Fuller Theological Seminary. On November 17, 1995, the Joint Session of the Religious and Executive Councils of the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America unanimously elected the Right Reverend Moushegh Mardirossian Locum Tenens of the Prelacy. On May 3, 1996, in Los Angeles, he was elected to the position of Prelate of the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America and for this honor I sent my sincere congratulations. I wish Prelate Mardirossian every continued success in his new position serving the Armenian Church and the Armenian people, many of whom I have the honor of representing in California's 19th District.

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize a special leader from the 19th Congressional District, Gen. Vang Pao. He is deserving of the highest commendations for his many contributions to the development of the Hmong and Laotian communities in central California. In his native country, Gen. Vang Pao served in the military to promote democracy and freedom for the Laotian people. He was a young military leader in the Royal Lao Army in association with the French Government during World War II and the chief military commander of the 2d Military Division in the Northern Provinces of Laos, 1960-75, in partnership with the United States during the Vietnam war. During the war, Gen. Vang Pao's troops helped block the supply line running from North Vietnam through Laos to South Vietnam, and he and his troops helped to save thousands of American lives and rescue hundreds of American pilots who had been shot down near the Vietnam/Loas border. In 1977, Gen. Vang Pao founded the Lao Family Community and established branches throughout the United States to provide employment services, vocational training, counseling, cultural orientation, health education, English classes, and resettlement services for Southeast Asian refugees. In 1982, he founded the Hmong National Council to preserve Hmong culture and to help the Hmong people in the United States in areas of social adjustment, family services, and integration into the American mainstream. Gen. Vang Pao founded the Lao Movement for Democracy to seek and promote peace, democracy, and human rights for the Southeast Asian nations. The contributions that Gen. Vang Pao has made to the Hmong and Laotian people of California have been invaluable. He was made a lasting impression on those individuals with whom he has been associated. I am pleased to have him as a constituent in California's Central Valley.

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I have a question. I hope I will get some answers here. Was I not mistaken? Did you not say that the current amount that a beneficiary gets from Medicare is about $4,800 a year?

Mr. RADANOVICH. Thank you very much, Mr. Ehrlich from Maryland and Mrs. Seastrand from California. In closing I would like to say that our case to the American people, and you are right, this is the opportunity for us to come unedited to the American people and let them know our opinions and let them judge for themselves, because through the ballot box, the American people are the ultimate judge of who should sit in this Congress and whose philosophy should prevail. But I would say that we are here to do a job, and the job is not to promote class warfare, not to make the rich more richer at the expense of the poor, or the poor more rich at the expense of the rich. It is simply to build a better country. And we believe that by our efforts of balancing the budget, using the balanced budget as a blueprint to change this country, that we are changing America for the better, for the betterment of everybody, for equal opportunity for everybody. We are changing America for the better. We are not playing silly games, and we are determined to do that, and that is our job. And I hope people will realize that the changes that we want to make through a balanced budget process, by localizing government, by privatizing government, will make America a better place, will make America a better place not only for you and I, but for every American in this country.

Mr. RADANOVICH. It is equal in its percentage of return. Only a bumblehead would buy the argument that that is tax breaks for the rich.

Mr. RADANOVICH. I want to propose something here. Say for example person A paid $20 in income taxes to the United States Government and person B paid $10 in income taxes, and we in the Congress decide to give a 50 percent tax rebate. So the person paying $20 in taxes gets a $10 rebate. The person who pays $10 worth of taxes gets a $5 rebate. Now, that is basically because one person paid more and the other paid less. They get the equal amount in percentage backs. My question is, if you believe that, do you really think that you want the Federal Government getting involved in income redistribution, which would mean that the person that paid in 20 does not get 10 back, he gets 5 back, and the person who paid in 10 does not get 5 back, they get 10 back? Do you really trust the Federal Government to start getting involved that closely in that detail in your life, and do you really believe in income redistribution? Is that what we are here to do? It is a simple fact that the person who paid 20 gets 50 percent back. The person who paid 10 also gets 40 percent back. That is not unfair. That is fair. You cannot call that tax cuts for the rich.

Mr. RADANOVICH. I think you need to get back to the fact that when the gentlewoman from California, Andrea Seastrand, was mentioning that the rank and file member, even the rank and file members of the unions, they want a balanced budget. They want welfare reform. They want these changes to the American society. Not because they want to give tax breaks to the rich, not because they want to promote class warfare to keep things the way they are, simply because they see that as the road to a better country, to a better America, not for certain people but for everybody so that everybody, depending on how they were born into this world and what their lot in life is, has the opportunity to better themselves. That is what is so scary, I think, because after 40 years of operating things the way that they have been used to operating in this House, they love it in the mud and they do not want to change. It has become very comfortable. Change is scary, and you have got to learn a new way to count. That is not all that easy. Those are the things that we come up here--by the way, we are all freshmen and proud of it, and I think that those are the changes that scare the living daylights, not out of the American people, because they know what they want, they tell us what they want. They want a balanced budget. They want welfare reform. They want a better country as a result of that for them and everybody else. It is not that they are scared. It is those that have been hanging on to power and having been so used to having power for the last 40 years. They cannot begin to grapple with the idea that maybe their philosophy was wrong to begin with and they have to begin to accept new realities. That is what the freshmen have done here in the new Congress. That is the beachhead that we have established. That is the change that is beginning to operate in this town finally.

Mr. RADANOVICH. Is the gentlewoman telling me those folks were paid to picket you?

Mr. RADANOVICH. Excuse me, you two, but that is very extreme, I want to tell you.

Mr. RADANOVICH

Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.