E. Shaw

Mr. SHAW

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 432, a bill to name the North-South Center after our former colleague, the late Dante Fascell. It is fitting that Congress is naming the North-South Center, which Dante helped found, in his honor. During his long and distinguished career in the House, Dante used his position as chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee to promote understanding and cooperation between nations of the Western Hemisphere. To advance this view, in 1984 Dante helped establish the North-South Center, located in Miami. This educational institution helps promote better relations between the United States and the other nations of the Western Hemisphere through cooperative study, training and research. Today, the North-South Center plays an essential role in the conduct of American diplomacy. Mr. Speaker, one of Chairman Fascell's top priorities in Congress was to promote closer relations among our allies in this hemisphere. Dante was also a tireless fighter against tyranny and oppression in Latin America and the Caribbean. Since the North-South Center is essentially carrying on Dante's work, it is fitting that this organization be named in his honor. I hope the naming of the North-South Center will remind future generations, and especially South Floridians, the gratitude we owe Dante Fascell for his tireless efforts. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 432.

Mr. SHAW

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce's acquisition of its 1,000th member. The membership of Redhead Yacht Charters, owned and operated by Mr. Jerry Janaro, bring the Delray Chamber's membership to 1000, placing the Chamber in an elite group of just 30 Chambers in Florida to have reached this landmark. The Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce has an 86 year history of serving the South Florida business community boasting over 175 businesses which have been members for 15 years or more, including a select group which is celebrating their 50th anniversary with the Chamber. Although Mr. Janaro's Redhead Yacht Charters is a new member, Jerry is not new to the Chamber. Jerry joined the Chamber in 1984 and has served on the executive board, holding positions as Vice Chair of area committees as well as Chairman of the Board. Jerry has joined other chambers now that his business takes him up and down the coast, but says, ``None can beat the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce for value, services and friendliness. It's the best chamber around.'' The mission of the Chamber is to provide ``leadership, promote the economic well being of our total community, preserve our free enterprise system, and promote business growth and development.'' Mr. Speaker, the Delray Chamber is doing a fine job in promoting their mission and I congratulate them on their milestone 1,000th membership.

Mr. SHAW

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4856, a bill making Miscellaneous Technical Corrections to Trade Law. Mr. Speaker, while H.R. 4856 contains many worthy provisions, I am especially pleased that the text of H.R. 4819, the Passenger Services Enhancement Act was included in this legislation. I introduced H.R. 4819 earlier this month, and its passage today is crucial to the economic well-being of my home state of Florida. As my colleagues may recall, last year the Customs user fee expired, and thereby caused a possible diminution in Customs inspectors at Florida ports where the fee was being collected. To avoid disruptions in the cruise ship industry, Congress passed a bill I introduced (H.R. 3034) which preserved Customs inspectors in Florida for fiscal year 1998 only. That bill passed on the final day of the first session of the 105th Congress. Now that we are in a new fiscal year, Customs inspectors serving Florida cruise ships are again in jeopardy. Passage of the Passenger Services Enhancement Act will ensure that Customs inspectors at Florida ports are preserved, and it will also allow the cruise ship industry to schedule new cruises without being impeded by a shortage of manpower at Customs. While this legislation is good news for Florida, I am especially pleased that an agreement was reached to reduce the price of the Customs user fee to $1.75. My colleagues may recall that at one time, this fee was as high as $6.50. At this new level, few can consider the Customs user fee burdensome or unreasonable. I will however, be requesting a GAO study to verify that this amount, which was recommended to me by Customs, is the true cost of processing a cruise ship passenger. The cruise ship business is an important component of Florida's largest industry, which is tourism. If Florida were to lose Custom inspectors, it would cause grievous harm to my state's economy. Enactment of the Passenger Services Enhancement Act will prevent job layoffs, disruptions, and financial losses to this vital industry. Mr. Speaker, I am also pleased that the amended text of H.R. 2770, a bill I introduced last year, was included in this bill. This provision would defer the duty on large yachts imported for sale at boat shows in the United States. Boat shows, be they in New York, Chicago, Miami, or Fort Lauderdale are important generators of economic activity, and this legislation will promote greater commerce in the yachting industry. For my constituents, it is a pleasant coincidence that this legislation will hopefully be signed into law when the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show starts later this month. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4856.

Mr. SHAW

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, when the Florida State Legislature reconvenes in 1999, it will do so without one of its most valued leaders. State Representative Fred Lippman of Hollywood, Florida is retiring from the Florida House of Representatives after twenty years of dedicated public service to Broward County and our home state. In the thirty years I have known Fred, our friendship has transcended party politics. We have joined forces in numerous community endeavors, including serving on the Broward County Charter Review Commission. I have enjoyed working alongside Fred in true, cooperative bipartisanship. His exemplary record and committed leadership have been invaluable to the community development of Broward County. For two decades, Fred Lippman has been an advocate for children's health and the voice of the people of Broward County. His most notable legislative accomplishments include the design of the Healthy Kids statewide insurance program, revision of Florida's child abuse laws, and one of the country's first laws mandating the use of child-safety seats. Although he is retiring from the Florida House of Representatives, I doubt that Fred will ever retire from public service. As a testimony to his tireless work in the community, a family center and a local shelter have both been named in his honor. He has received numerous awards from groups such as Florida's teachers, firefighters, children's advocates, and the American Lung Association. I am certain his dedication to the community will continue. Mr. Speaker, I commend State Representative Fred Lippman for his twenty years of service in the Florida House of Representatives.

Mr. SHAW

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4757, a bill to name the North-South Center after our former colleague, Dante Fascell. It is fitting that Congress is naming the North-South Center, which Dante helped found, in his honor. During his long and distinguished career in the House, Dante used his position as chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee to promote understanding and cooperation between nations of the Western Hemisphere. To advance this view, in 1984 Dante helped establish the North-South Center, located in Miami. This educational institution helps promote better relations between the United States and the other nations of the Western Hemisphere through cooperative study, training and research. Today, the North-South Center plays an essential role in the conduct of American diplomacy. Mr. Speaker, one of Chairman Fascell's top priorities in Congress was to promote closer relations among our allies in this hemisphere. Dante was also a tireless fighter against tyranny and oppression in Latin America and the Caribbean. Since the North-South Center is essentially carrying on Dante's work, it is fitting that this organization be named in his honor. I hope the naming of the North-South Center will remind future generations, and especially South Floridians, the gratitude we owe Dante Fascell for his tireless efforts. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4757.

Mr. SHAW

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 518. Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to travel to Gabon recently with the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Archer, and the gentleman from Tennessee, Mr. Tanner. While there, we met with President Bongo and learned first- hand of the changes that have been made over the past eight years. In 1990, responding to popular demands, President Bongo convened a National Conference to institute major political reforms. A new constitution was approved by participants from over 70 political parties and organizations as the first step away from single-party rule. Also in that year, the first multi-party elections were held, and opposition parties won 45% of the 120 seats in the National Assembly. Since 1990, a firm foundation for Gabon's democracy has been laid. I am pleased that the International Foundation for Electoral Systems has a team in Gabon as I speak, conducting a pre-election assessment of the presidential elections to be held in December. I wish to recognize the cooperation of the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Archer, the gentleman from Tennessee, Mr. Tanner, the gentleman from New York, Mr. Gilman, the gentleman from California, Mr. Royce, and Dr. Susan Rice, Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, in obtaining funding for this assessment team. While in Gabon, I also witnessed the struggle for conserving the scarce natural resources of the rainforest and its inhabitants. In a step toward conscientious stewardship of Gabon's natural resources, the first national park of Gabon was recently established as a reserve for orphaned young gorillas. President Bongo has made a public commitment toward responsible use of natural resources, including the establishment of guidelines for the appropriate harvesting of Gabon's oil resources for trade on the local and international market. It is evident that much progress has been made toward positive economic, ecological, and political development in Gabon. President Omar Bongo is to be commended for his efforts to establish democracy in the tumultuous region of Central Africa. To this end, my recent experiences and discussions have impressed upon me the importance of a free, fair, and transparent presidential campaign and election to stabilize Gabon's fragile, new democracy.

Mr. SHAW

Mr. SHAW. I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the chairman and all on the Judiciary Committee who took on a most neglected portion of the law which has been racked by abuse in the last years and has really brought us a very, very good bill. I intend to support this bill, but I must express my disappointment as to a provision that was dropped in the conference which I feel is very, very important. As the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Boucher) has just stated, bringing up child support from down at a lower level on priorities right up to the top was a very, very good thing. In order to further implement this, I offered an amendment which was accepted by the House during the passage of this legislation which put a mechanism for enforcement of this very important provision in place. I felt it was very reasonable and I felt also it was very necessary because so many times a mother receiving child support does not know the ins and outs and legalities of being able to enforce her particular priority. I would hope should this bill come back to the House for any reason whatsoever either because of action of the Senate or action of the President that they will reconsider the Shaw amendment and place it back in the bill as a very reasonable enforcement tool for those millions of American women who are struggling to raise their children and are in desperate need of the funds they receive each month in the form of child support.

Mr. SHAW

Mr. SHAW. Madam Speaker, two businessmen, Ted Forstmann and John Walton, are, in my opinion, American heroes, and here is why. American public schools are in crisis. The crisis is starkly illustrated by the results of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study which found that only Cyprus and South Africa have 12th graders who knew significantly less about math and science than United States students. The major cause of poor United States performance is that our public schools have a near monopoly on education and secondary education, stifling student's academic development. To counter this dilemma, Americans across this Nation are seeking much greater freedom of school choice. And here is where Forstmann and Walton come in. Last year, through the Washington Scholarship Fund, they awarded over 1,000 scholarships to poor children in Washington, D.C., but they had requests for 7,500. In response to this great demand, the amazing Forstmann/Walton team has pledged $100 million of their own money and plan to raise an additional $100 million to provide around 35,000 scholarships to help poor children attend schools of their choice all across this country. Mr. Forstmann and Mr. Walton are creating the future of American education. When at last our public schools have to compete for students, they will be remembered as two of our greatest, and most generous, education reformers.

Mr. SHAW

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I simply was talking about the question of lying to the American people is very much on the minds of the American people.

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me time. Mr. Speaker, sitting here listening to some of the rhetoric coming from the other side, accusing the Republicans for raiding--raiding--the Social Security trust fund, reminds me of a lot of the rhetoric that is going on in Washington today when we talk about whether the President lied to the American people. I would ask anybody that is watching this debate today to take with a grain of salt and be very cautious about any Member who gets up and says that any other Member on either side of the aisle is guilty of raiding the Social Security trust fund. It just simply is not true. It is a bald-face lie. The question is coming down as to whether or not the Social Security trust fund should be legislatively adjusted before the American people are given any tax relief whatsoever. That is the debate, and that is where there is an honest difference of opinion. The President, when he stood right before us in this very hall and said ``We are going to save Social Security, save Social Security first,'' and then went on with all his big plans for spending the surplus, he got a standing ovation from both sides of the aisle. We are still waiting for his plan to save Social Security. We are going to have to bite the bullet and make some tough political decisions on both sides of the aisle in order to accomplish what all of us want, and that is to leave Social Security in a solvent position for 75 years and even beyond that. And that is important, and that is a responsibility of this body and something we should work on together. But let us not start out by lying to the American people. It just simply is not true. We are trying to make some adjustments and put some fairness in the tax law itself. The same Republicans that reformed welfare, that reformed the Internal Revenue Service, are going to lead the way in reforming Social Security. It is going to be tough, and we invite the Democrats to join us in this effort.

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I do not want anybody in this body to misunderstand me. I am not making any accusation as to whether the President lied or not. I am simply saying that the American people are demanding truth from their politicians, so let us get some truth in this debate.

Mr. SHAW

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding me the time to speak on this most important piece of legislation. So much has been said on both sides, by Members on both sides of this issue and on both sides of the aisle, about what is happening in the world economy today. And some of those things, when you really zero in on them, are rather frightening. All this legislation does is to give the President the authority to go to the bargaining table to work out some type of a trade agreement, free trade agreement. And then, with the expectation and the knowledge and the fact that that particular treaty has to come back to this body and to the Senate for ratification. We in no way empower the President to do anything. We simply give him the guarantee of an up-or-down vote on whatever he might negotiate. Now, for most of the Members that would seem so logical, but politics has gotten into this thing in an incredible way and an incredibly bad way. The unions are out there negotiating or trying to lean on their Members to vote against the fast track authority, when the fact is and the bottom line is that the higher-level jobs stay here in the United States, and those are the type of jobs that these unions want to attract to the United States. I never could understand that exact reasoning. I think most important, even if you are not a free trader, the rest of the world is becoming a free trader. We are not there. The rest of the world is moving ahead. We are standing still in a protectionist situation. This is what this is all about. If we were able to pass fast track within the next hour, hour and a half, that would probably be one of the most important votes that we could take in this session of the Congress that show that we are moving ahead. How can the strongest, largest economy that has ever been on the face of this earth be afraid of free trade? We are the world's greatest exporter, the largest exporter in the world. Our jobs depend upon it. With all of the problems that are going on in the other economies, let us pull together and pass fast track today. Let us give the President the authority that he needs to move us ahead in the world economy.

Mr. SHAW

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Speaker, I would like to call attention to some of the unsung heroes in the child support enforcement process. The welfare reform bill we passed just 2 years ago took strong steps to ensure that all single parents receive child support payments. Providing child support officials with the tools they need to locate parents who owe child support was key to this effort. The most important tool was information employers were required to report on every person they hire. These new hire reports are used to locate parents anywhere in this country and then to establish an order or enforce an existing order. With new hire reporting, State child support enforcement agencies have the ability to issue income withholding orders much more quickly. None of this would be possible without the cooperation of employers, and specifically the payroll professionals who bear the major responsibility for this new hire reporting. Payroll professionals are also responsible for withholding wages from paychecks and sending the money to custodial parents and children. The funds they withhold from workers amounts to more than half of the $13 billion in child support payments made nationally each year. Few public policies are more important than child support, and no group is more important in this issue than employers in general and payroll professionals in particular. I wholeheartedly commend them.

Mr. SHAW

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Chairman, today I rise to offer an amendment to H.R. 4300. This amendment would allow local and State governments the ability to access Department of Justice information for the purpose of doing criminal background checks on port employees or applicants to become port employees. I had previously introduced this amendment as a bill entitled the ``Drug-Free Ports Act,'' H.R. 3975. Mr. Chairman, I am offering this amendment because of the increasingly high incidence of collusion between drug traffickers and port employees. These ``internal conspiracies'' at ports are becoming a major avenue for bringing illegal drugs into the United States. To lessen the chance of future internal conspiracies, my amendment would simply allow the local governing body to conduct Federal criminal background checks at their discretion on port employees and applicants to become port employees. The subject of this amendment was discussed at length at a hearing of the House Subcommittee on National Security, International Affairs and Criminal Justice last year which I attended on an ex-officio basis. Internal conspiracies are clever in the way they help smugglers. They have been known to ``innocently'' swing a container in front of a surveillance camera in order to allow another container filled with drugs to pass through undetected. They also have been known to tip off smugglers regarding the routines of Customs officials to maximize the chance of success in bringing in the illegal contraband. According to James Milford, a former head of the DEA in Miami, Florida, ``Longshoremen are a source of frustration for us, particularly in South Florida. One of the things that concerns us is the ability of longshoremen to be utilized successfully in pulling cocaine shipments out of cargo and moving it out of the port with impunity.'' In response to the reports about internal conspiracies at Florida's ports in the press, I requested that the Customs Service do a random sample of arrest records of longshoremen at the Port of Miami and the Port Everglades in the Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood area. The results are quite disturbing. Of a random sample of 50 Port of Miami longshoremen, 36 had arrest records. Of these 36 arrest records, they had a total of 213 arrests, including 68 on drug charges. In a random sample of 38 Port Everglades longshoremen, 19 had arrest records. Of these 19, they had a total of 73 arrests, including 14 drug arrests. Mr. Chairman, consider the arrest records from the following two subjects: Subject 1, from the Port of Miami: Arrested for robbery, assault and battery, carrying a concealed firearm, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, aggravated assault, possession of heroin with intent to distribute, possession of cocaine with intent to sell, possession of heroin with intent to sell, grand theft, petty theft, uttering a forged instrument, forgery of a U.S. Treasury check, possession of cocaine, simple battery, aggravated battery, and petty theft. This is one person. Subject 2, from Port Everglades: Arrested for robbery, assault with intent to commit murder, breaking and entering, disorderly conduct, shoplifting, burglary, dealing in stolen property, possession of cocaine, sale of cocaine, and domestic violence. Mr. Chairman, since 1993, the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor had been conducting criminal background checks on certain employees and their system has worked well. I believe that that particular port is in the jurisdiction, or in the district of the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez). This is a federally chartered port and these ports have access to Federal records. Considering the torrent of drugs and other contraband that moves in and out of our ports, I do not consider it unreasonable for the local government, or a port authority, to require clean records for the people who work on the docks, the people who are actually on the front lines, the people that are handling the cargo. For that reason, I would urge support of this amendment. Quite frankly, all we are asking is to have the same privilege, that the ports in the district of the gentleman from New Jersey already have, in the Port of Miami, Port Everglades, the Port of Boston, Norfolk, New Orleans, Charleston, all over this country. It has worked in New York and New Jersey and it will work elsewhere. The incidence of drugs coming into this country through ports is increasing tremendously. We need to cut this off and it is only common sense that we do not have criminals or do not have the foxes guarding the hen house.

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Chairman, in the minute that is left I would like to say that I think that I would say to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) that I do believe without question that the language is sufficiently tight. What we are talking about, people who are either working in ports or apply for positions in ports, are going to get their background checked. I think the language is very clear that only the jurisdiction controlling the port can pull up this information and pull it up on these particular people. Right now, they can pull up the State records as in Broward County, they passed a county ordinance that required this. In Dade County, they have done the same. But now they can only get to the State records. We should have the same privilege that the Port of New York has and the Port of New Jersey, and that is to be able to tap into the Federal records. That is all this does. It certainly makes sense to have the honest people be the ones that are handling the cargo. They have the greatest opportunity to assist the drug smugglers and assist the drugs smuggled into this country, and we know that drugs are a huge problem. Mr. Chairman, I ask the approval of the amendment.

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

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

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Chairman, in the time that I have remaining, I would like to underscore what the gentleman from Illinois said in opposition to the amendment to the Traficant amendment. We have technical equipment out there, sophisticated defense-oriented equipment out there, that really needs the people in the Defense Department, our troops, to be able to monitor them and to operate and to be able to work in concert with law enforcement officials. And there is nothing that says that we cannot train some of our military personnel in law enforcement. We do it all the time with our military police. There is no reason we cannot cross-train these people. The Traficant amendment does not mandate troops to the border; let us get this out of the way. But if my colleagues want to mandate that we can not in any way use our troops along the border, then support the amendment to the Traficant amendment which, as the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Traficant) says, is a killer amendment. It is a poison pill to the Traficant amendment, and I think it would certainly kill this amendment which is well thought out, when it is put in place. It does not mandate the placement of troops, and I would hope that we would defeat the amendment to the Traficant amendment and then support the Traficant amendment.

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hastert).

Mr. SHAW. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. Mr. Chairman, back when I was a freshman in this institution, we passed on the floor an amendment that I put forth, and that was to strike the provisions which prevented the military from getting involved in law enforcement, with a specific reference and specific thought towards what they have since contributed since we have modified the posse comitatus laws of this country. That is a giant step forward. Before we passed that particular amendment in this Congress, and the final passage was in the next Congress because we could not talk the Senate into such a radical position, can my colleagues imagine where we would be now without even the surveillance activity of the Armed Forces with the sophistication that the bad guys are using to bring drugs into this country? There is no question in my mind that any country in this world that protects or refuses to cooperate in harboring the drug dealers and the drug industry, whether they be growers or processors, they are terrorist nations by allowing these things to continue within their own borders. Actually, I would like to see at a future date, and I believe we will see at a future date, going further than what the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Traficant) wants to do in this particular amendment, Mr. Chairman, when we can go in and take out laboratories that are producing weapons of mass destruction, germ warfare, chemical warfare, all of these things, where we are going in and stopping the spread of it in Iraq or Libya, wherever we see it on the face of this globe. What is more terrifying to the future of this country or more destructive to our youth than the processing of drugs and then turning a blind eye as they come into our shores? I think it is a good amendment. Anything we can do to further the role of the military in this regard is to the advantage of our country and I would urge the acceptance of the amendment.

Mr. SHAW

Mr. SHAW. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4342, the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 1998. This bill has many provisions within it which will help small companies throughout the United States. In particular, one provision within this bill will directly help many of my constituents. The provision which I am speaking about this afternoon will allow duty deferral of large yachts imported for sale at U.S. boat shows. The change will put the onus of paying the duty on the end purchaser of the boat and not the importer. Current law requires importers of used boats intended for resale to pay the duty in advance--this acts as a significant barrier to imports. In my district of West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, this provision will help spur the economy by allowing more and bigger yachts into the shows without having to pay the duty up front. This will lead to, increased sales of such large boats, which can pump tens of thousands of dollars into local economies because of related expenditures such as the cost of a supporting crew, docking fees, boat repairs, and supplies. The changing of this requirement will also allow importers to reduce the cost of starting new shows and enable small companies to participate in the current shows. In addition to the duty free entry of large yachts, this bill also contains provisions which will allow duty free entry of certain chemicals that are integral to fighting cancer and AIDS. For these reasons I urge a yes vote on H.R. 4342.

Mr. SHAW

Mr. SHAW. Reclaiming my time, Mr. Chairman. That cannot possibly be on the merits. If Members are from Kansas City, then they have got to decide which side of the border they are from, and then they should decide where they are running from, where their support should come from, who the people are that they are representing and bring this back closer to the people. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SHAW. I yield to the gentleman from California.