Martin Sabo

Mr. SABO

Mr. SABO. Mr. Speaker, one out of every seven children is growing up without health insurance. These 11.6 million children--including 76,000 in my home state of Minnesota--are less likely to get preventive care to keep them healthy, or see a doctor when they get sick. This lack of health insurance coverage can have lasting effects. For example, children whose ear infections go undiagnosed and untreated can suffer from permanent hearing loss. Sadly there are signs that the prognosis for the health of America's children is getting worse. The percentage of children covered by private insurance has declined from 71.5% in 1990 to 67% in 1997. Additionally, premium costs for family coverage are on the rise, placing health insurance beyond the reach of an increasing number of working families. It is time for all of us to commit to solving this problem. Today, I am introducing two bills that would move us in the direction of a comprehensive solution. First, I am introducing the Children's Health Coverage Improvement Act of 1999. This legislation would make children's-only policies widely available at group rates to employees who are already covered by a group policy. Federally regulated self-insured health plans would be required to offer these policies as one of the options available to covered employees. Many low-income working families simply cannot find room in the family budget to pay the increasingly large premiums for family policies. Moreover, many financially-strapped single parents cannot afford to pay family premiums designed to cover two adults plus children. Kids-only policies could provide an answer for these hard- working and hard-pressed families. This legislation is sensitive to employers' concerns that they cannot assume further insurance costs. Instead of requiring an employer to shoulder a specified portion of insurance costs, this bill allows the dynamics of the group insurance market to create affordable children's- only policies for the dependents of group health plan beneficiaries. I am also introducing a second bill to enhance the well-being of federal employees' children. This legislation would allow enrollees in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) to purchase an employee and children-only benefit option at a lower cost than current family coverage options. My bill would help those federal employees who, because of cost, defer purchasing family health coverage. The bill authorizes the Office of Personnel Management to offer group-rated employee and children only coverage to enrollees of the FEHBP. There is a real need for a health insurance product that better addresses the needs of low-income and non-traditional families than family policies that are currently available. Group-rated employee and children-only policies would help meet this unfilled need. Shoring up the decline in employer-sponsored health care is one way to help get kids insured. America's 11,600,000 uninsured children need help. It's time for all of us--in the private and public sector--to pitch in and make sure they get it.

Mr. SABO

Mr. SABO. Mr. Speaker, the American economy continues to grow at a remarkable rate and to defy the troubles striking many other parts of the world. Yet despite the strength and prosperity of our economy, the income gap between rich and poor in this country is still on the rise. The benefits of the past 20 years of growth are being shared very unevenly--the richest 20% of households now earn as much as everyone else in America put together. It was not always this way. In the years from the end of World War II through the 1970s, economic growth brought with it greater equality. But in the past two decades this progress has been reversed, and our country now has a more unequal economy than we did in the 1940s. As the income gap grows, working Americans are finding it harder to make ends meet. The dark secret of the 1990s expansion is that almost half of all American families have not seen their incomes return to the same purchasing power as they had before the 1990 recession. With so many people having stagnant incomes and only a few reaping most of the gains from the economy, we risk splitting our society in two. Although many forces lie behind the growing inequality of income and wealth in America, it is clear that both government and corporate America have roles to play in narrowing the gap. For this reason, I am introducing the Income Equity Act of 1999. This legislation addresses the problem by encouraging corporate responsibility. For too many years, the trend in corporate America has been to pay top executives lavishly, while thinking of other employees as an expense or not thinking of them at all. My legislation will encourage companies to take a closer look at how they compensate their employees at both ends of the income ladder. The Income Equity Act would place a new limit on our government's practice of subsidizing excessive executive pay through the tax code. My bill would enhance the current $1,000,000 cap on the tax deduction for executive compensation with a cap set at 25 times the company's lowest full-time salary. For example, if a filing clerk at a firm earns $18,000, then any amount of executive salary over $450,000 would no longer be tax deductible as a business expense. This bill will not restrict the freedom of companies to pay their workers and executives as they please. It will send a strong message, however, that in return for tax deductions, the American taxpayer expects companies to compensate their lowest-paid workers fairly. Economic inequality is a problem that will, if not addressed, tear apart the fabric of our democratic society. Our government has every reason, and every right, to encourage responsible corporate citizenship. The Income Equity Act is not the ultimate answer to the widening gap between the rich and the poor, but it is an important step toward ensuring that all Americans can share in our nation's prosperity.

Mr. SABO

Mr. SABO. Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to take part in the celebration of Black History Month this year by recognizing a distinguished civil rights leader from the state of Minnesota--Mr. Roy Wilkins, who led the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) from 1955 to 1977. Roy Wilkins was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1901, but he grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota--raised by an aunt after his mother died when Wilkins was only four years old. He attended Whittier Grade School and graduated from the Mechanic Arts High School. Wilkins attended the University of Minnesota, and graduated from the University in 1923. After serving as editor of the University of Minnesota's newspaper, the Minnesota Daily, Wilkins started his professional career in Kansas City, where he served as managing editor of the Kansas City Call, an African-American newspaper. He used his role on the newspaper staff to encourage fellow blacks to vote and take advantage of the opportunity to make their political concerns known. Upon joining the NAACP in 1931, Wilkins set to work identifying and correcting examples of racial injustice. He investigated working conditions for blacks on Mississippi levees, targeting those cases in which blacks were unfairly treated like slaves. As the years passed, the fruits of Wilkins' labors as a civil rights advocate grew more obvious, and now he is widely recognized as the ``Father of Civil Rights.'' Perhaps his greatest victory in the NAACP included the United States Supreme Court's 1954 decision in Brown vs. the Board of Education, which overturned the ``separate-but-equal'' doctrine in the South's educational system. Furthermore, Wilkins is extensively credited for his role in helping to pass the Civil Rights Acts of 1957, 1960, and 1964, as well as the 1965 Voting Rights Act. To recognize Wilkins' pivotal achievements, President Lyndon Johnson presented him with the country's highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom, in 1967. Roy Wilkins served the NAACP for a total of 46 years. Although Wilkins passed away in 1981, his legacy lives on in an extraordinary piece of public artwork in St. Paul, Minnesota--the Roy Wilkins Memorial. The Roy Wilkins Memorial was unveiled in 1995 on the Capitol Mall of the Minnesota State Capitol. The Memorial, with its intriguing symbolic features, serves as a fine reminder of the life and work of this revered man. The walls of the monument signify the obstacles and barriers created by racial segregation, while the spiral shape of the sculpture represents the cycle of Wilkins' achievements in the form of advancements for minority rights. This spiral extends above and through the walls of the monument to illustrate how racial equality can be met by means of effective legislative actions. Finally, the Memorial's obelisk, decorated with African relics, is a moving tribute to the ancestors of modern-day African Americans. Mr. Speaker, today I challenge my colleagues--and all Americans--to become active participants in Black History Month and all that it represents. I encourage them to learn more about Roy Wilkins, and, if possible, to visit the Roy Wilkins Memorial in Minnesota and see this fine monument for themselves. This is just one example of the many ways we all can recognize, explore and honor the civil rights leaders who guided our nation toward racial equality and understanding.

Mr. SABO

Mr. SABO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member of the Committee on Rules for yielding time to me. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill. I intend to vote for it, but I think that never, in all my life, in a long legislative career, have I ever done anything so much on faith as signing this conference report. For the people who are wondering, this is a conference report on the transportation bill. I think that is probably less than 10 percent of the bill, but the conferees who have signed it are those of us on that particular bill. So I put my signature on that conference report, and 90 percent of it is something that I am taking on faith. I know there are some good things in it, but I am really not taking responsibility for everything that is in it. It is sort of what one would call an institutional obligation, to move the process on. Mr. Speaker, within the transportation bill I commend my friend, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf). I think we have produced a good bill within the restraints of the budget deal and with the fundamental transportation problems in this country. I also have to say, Mr. Speaker, I guess this is it, this big pile of paper representing all of these bills that have been combined in a process such as I have never seen, really with very minimal involvement of many of the Members who were involved in writing the specific bills. We have this huge bill now before us. Clearly, it is hard to ask somebody to vote for it. That I cannot do. But, Mr. Speaker, I think we have no other choice at this time but simply to vote ``yes'' and move this bill forward.

Mr. SABO

Mr. SABO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call World Population Awareness Week 1998 to the attention of my colleagues. October 25-31, 1998 marks the 13th annual celebration of World Population Awareness Week. More than 300 family planning, environmental educational, community and service organizations in 61 countries are co-sponsoring the week in an effort to raise awareness of the need or universal voluntary family planning. I commend to the attention of my colleagues the following proclamation, made by the Governor of Minnesota, the Honorable Arne H. Carlson: World Population Awareness Week Proclamation-1998 Whereas world population stands today at more than 5.9 billion and increases by more than 80 million per year, with virtually all of this growth in the least developed countries; Whereas the consequences of rapid population growth are not limited to the developing world, but extend to all nations and to all people, including every citizen of the State of Minnesota concerned for human dignity, freedom and democracy, as well as for the impact on the global economy; Whereas 1.3 billion people--more than the combined population of Europe and North Africa--live in absolute poverty on the equivalent of one U.S. dollar or less a day; Whereas 1.5 billion people--nearly one-quarter of the world population--lack an adequate supply of clean drinking water or sanitation; Whereas more than 840 million people--one-fifth of the entire population of the developing world--are hungry or malnourished; Whereas demographic studies and surveys indicate that at least 120 million married women in the developing world--and a large but undefined number of unmarried women--want more control over their fertility but lack access to family planning; Whereas this unmet demand for family planning is projected to result in 1.2 billion unintended births; and Whereas the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development determined that political commitment and appropriate programs aimed at providing universal access to voluntary family planning information, education and services can ensure world population stabilization at 8 billion or less rather than 12 billion or more. Now, therefore, I, Arne H. Carlson, Governor of the State of Minnesota, do hereby proclaim the week of October 25-31, 1998 as World Population Awareness Week, and urge citizens of the State to take cognizance of this event and to participate appropriately in its observance.

Mr. SABO

Mr. SABO. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. SABO. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion to instruct conferees.

Mr. SABO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, when H.R. 4328, the fiscal year 1999 transportation appropriations bill passed the House, it was a bill that was relatively free of antienvironmental riders. However, the Senate has attached to the bill several controversial riders that undermine important environmental protections. Mr. Speaker, this Motion to instruct addresses the most controversial of those riders which would amend the Alaskan National Interest Lands Conservation Act to permit helicopters to operate inland in all national wildlife refuges, national parks and wilderness study areas in Alaska. This motion to instruct directs the House conferees to disagree with this provision which is not in the House bill. Mr. Speaker, the Senate rider has no place in the transportation appropriations bill. First, the provision is a legislative provision that amends the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, a law that is within the jurisdiction of the House Committee on Resources. Second, this provision is not simply a provision to clarify as some have claimed. It would rewrite 18 years of national environmental policy with potentially far-reaching impacts that, according to the National Park Service, could fundamentally change the character of national parks in Alaska. Currently, helicopter landings are allowed in Alaska wilderness areas only for emergency reasons and on a case-by-case basis for nonemergency uses in nonwilderness areas. These restrictions were carefully constructed when ANILCA was adopted in 1980. This amendment would lift those restrictions, allowing helicopters to land routinely in the remote areas of the Tongass National Forest, the glaciers of Kenai Fjords National Park, and the inlets of Glacier Bay, primarily for the benefit of helicopter tour operators and cruise ship passengers who want to take these sightseeing tours. Mr. Speaker, the administration has strongly objected to this provision. The Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture have previously recommended that bills containing similar provisions be vetoed. Federal land management agencies have already considered the expanded use of helicopters on wilderness lands in Alaska and found it to be inappropriate. Numerous environmental groups also have objected to this provision. They fear that the constant buzz of helicopters dropping tourists into fragile ecosystems on the tops of mountains, near isolated lakes, and in other pristine areas for purely recreational purposes could destroy the very essence of these wild areas, disturb wildlife, and disrupt habitat protection activities for threatened and endangered species. Further, hunting and sporting organizations have objected to this provision. They are asking us to safeguard default hunting and sporting opportunities in Alaska by rejecting this provision. Mr. Speaker, this anti-environmental rider is controversial and complex and should not be included in the conference report on the transportation appropriation bill. I urge adoption of this motion. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. General Leave

Mr. SABO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his support of this motion. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to my good friend, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Vento).

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

Mr. SABO

Mr. SABO. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing a bill that will enhance the well-being of federal employees' children by improving their access to health care. My bill will allow enrollees in the Federal Employee Health Benefit Program (FEHBP) to purchase an employee and children-only benefit option at a lower cost than current family coverage options. We have worked hard this Congress to enact far-reaching legislation to correct the pervasive problem of children who go without health care. The billions of dollars allocated for the new State Children's Health Insurance Program in the Balanced Budget Act will help states reduce the number of low-income children without health coverage. However, I believe we can and must do more to insure the millions of children in this country who go without health benefits by expanding children's access to health care in the private market One barrier to private coverage is the expense of family health insurance policies. Many working, financially-strapped families cannot afford premiums designed to cover two adults plus children. Since children are less expensive to cover than adults, employee and kids- only policies could provide an affordable option needed by these working families. My bill helps those federal employees who, because of cost, defer purchasing family health coverage. The bill authorizes the Office of Personnel Management to offer group-rated employee and children-only coverage to enrollees of FEHBP. This new option will make health coverage even more affordable by allowing different rates for enrollees with one child, two children, or more than two children. There is a real need for a health insurance product that better addresses the needs of low-income and non-traditional families than family policies that are currently available. Group-rated employee and children's-only policies would help meet this unfilled need. By establishing an employee and children-only coverage option in FEHBP's benefits package, this legislation will provide a greater range of options and will encourage more federal employees to seek health coverage for their children. Finally, it will set an important example for other private insurance markets that serve millions more American families.

Mr. SABO

Mr. SABO. Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Furse).

Mr. SABO. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. Mr. Chairman, let me indicate that the Department has some serious reservations about this provision. I expect we will adopt it tonight, but I would indicate to our friends from New Jersey, I think this is something we need to keep visiting about as we go to conference.

Mr. SABO. Mr. Chairman, I thank the distinguished gentleman from Maine for bringing this important issue before the House. I agree that we need to aggressively pursue new technologies that will make our transportation infrastructure safer, more economical and friendlier towards the environment. As the House and Senate conferees meet, I assure the gentleman that as the ranking minority member of the subcommittee, I will certainly do all that I can to ensure that the funding for this important activity receives full consideration.

Mr. SABO. So, it is probably close to 60 percent of the operations actually comes from general revenue and not from the trust fund.

Mr. SABO. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman.

Mr. SABO. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Gejdenson). (Mr. GEJDENSON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SABO. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey).

Mr. SABO. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SABO. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I congratulate the gentleman from Virginia (Chairman Wolf) on a good bill. It is a bill that deserves to be passed this evening. There are two or three rough spots that have to be worked out, in particular the Coast Guard clearly needs some additional money, but this is a good bill. Let me in specific thank the staff that has worked very hard on this bill. From the minority staff Cheryl Smith and Marjorie Duske, the majority staff, John Blazey, Rich Efford, Stephanie Gupta, Linda Muir and David Whitestone. The committee, with their aid, has produced a very good bill. Mr. Chairman, the evening is late. I am ready to vote, but I think we may have a couple of amendments and a couple of colloquies. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar). (Mr. OBERSTAR asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.) (Mr. OBERSTAR addressed the House. His remarks will appear hereafter in the Extensions of Remarks.)

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

Mr. SABO. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the amendment, but might I address a question to the gentleman? Does the effect of the combination of the point of order, the gentleman's amendment now implementing that, mean that significantly less than half of the operations budget of the FAA now comes from the Airport Trust Fund?

Mr. SABO. I yield to the gentleman from Virginia.

Mr. SABO

Mr. SABO. My understanding is that under this bill sticky vouchers can be used for renewal after the first year.

Mr. SABO. Mr. Chairman, if the gentleman would yield, my understanding is that one of the things that helps remedy the situation are the so-called sticky vouchers which can be used where these projects are converted.