Hal Rogers

Mr. ROGERS

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Chambliss]. (Mr. CHAMBLISS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, I would ask the gentleman, does he realize that the amendment that is being offered by the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Durbin] is being directed at the small tobacco growers, not Phillip Morris? They would benefit. They would be allowed to grow tobacco by the tons of acres. It is the small farmers that are being hurt by this amendment, does the gentleman realize that?

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

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Payne].

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Jones].

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 2 minutes. Mr. Chairman, I rise to speak against the amendment. Let us be clear what the Durbin amendment does. This amendment does not reduce spending in this appropriations bill. Read it for yourself. We will not cut a penny in this bill. What the amendment does do though is discriminate against the small farmers in the tobacco growing regions of this country in favor of large corporate growers. Let us be sure what we are doing here. You are giving the big advantage to the big corporate growers, and you are cutting out the very small one acre plot growers. That is who you are hurting, I would say to the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Durbin]. That is who this amendment hits. Whether the gentleman is aiming there or not, that is where it hits. They will be denied basic assistance available to any other farmer, particularly the big farmers. The corn farmer in the gentleman's district is welcome to get help from the extension agent, thank you very much. But my farmer is told, ``No, we don't like what you grow, we are going to refuse to help you.'' It says to my farmers, ``Even though Federal law requires you to participate in the crop insurance program, we are prohibiting you from doing so,'' forcing that small family farmer to break the law that this Congress wrote. The intent of this amendment, as the gentleman said, is to get people to quit smoking. Well, let me explain to Members how this thing works. The gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Durbin] does not understand that the tobacco allotment program holds down production of tobacco. If you lift that program, the big, huge corporate growers are going to grow tobacco like it is going out of style. They will import tobacco from all over the world. People are going to smoke cigarettes, it will be foreign tobacco or big producer tobacco, and the cigarette prices will plummet, and you will see a rash of smoking increases. The tobacco control growth program holds down the production of tobacco, propping up the price of cigarettes. You remove that, and cigarettes go dirt cheap. Mr. Chairman, I ask you, is that what you really want? While you promote smoking, you are killing off the small growers in the country in favor of the large corporate growers. I urge Members, reject Durbin.

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Hefner]. (Mr. HEFNER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from western Kentucky [Mr. Whitefield] to explain that there is no tobacco subsidy anymore.

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Bishop].

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Gordon].

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute, Mr. Chairman, to the gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Kingston].

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida [Mr. Peterson].

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Rose].

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to my colleague, the gentleman from Kentucky [Mr. Ward].

Mr. ROGERS

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Speaker, the Shriners Hospitals for Crippled Children have always been recognized for the quality medical care they deliver in their 22 orthopaedic and burn hospitals located throughout North America. Recently, I was pleased to learn that the Shriners Hospitals have been honored for their latest initiative as the 1995 recipient of the prestigious NOVA Award sponsored by the American Hospital Association. Since being founded almost 75 years ago, the Shriners Hospitals have been providing completely free care to their young patients without any Government payments, any insurance payments or payments from any third party. All expenses are covered through the generosity of the American people. The Shriners Hospitals have received the 1995 NOVA Award for their innovative CHOICES program. CHOICES is the acronym for Children's Health Care Options Improved through Collaborative Efforts and Services, and it represents a new era of public-private partnership in the delivery of health care services. Launched in 1988 at the Shriners Hospital in Lexington, KY, in collaboration with the Kentucky Commission for Children with Special Health Care Needs, the CHOICES program coordinates the care of special needs children to avoid duplication of services for some and lack of care for others. CHOICES helps to fill this gap in services through facilitated referrals and coordinated care between the Shriners Hospitals and community-based government providers. At the conclusion of CHOICES' Phase I, 4 Shriners Hospitals and 10 State programs were participating in the partnership. Phase II will involve six more Shriners Hospitals and the States that they serve. The CHOICES program stands as an example of the type of creative, comprehensive response we need to meet the challenges of health care delivery for the 21st century. I am proud to congratulate the Shriners Hospitals for their forward looking approach and for their seven decades of commitment to the special children they serve.

Mr. ROGERS

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

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

Mr. ROGERS. Mr. Chairman, if the gentleman would yield, I think we are making pretty good progress. I suppose we can go along with the procedure for a little while longer and see how we are in a few minutes.

Mr. ROGERS. It is OK in central Utah, but not in Appalachia.

Mr. ROGERS. Does the gentleman want us to zero out that project?

Mr. ROGERS. Does the gentleman want us to zero out the project----

Mr. ROGERS. Four million dollars----

Mr. ROGERS. We increased the funding for that project in this bill by how much, Mr. Chairman?

Mr. ROGERS. As a matter of fact, there have been over a billion dollars spent on the Central Utah Project----