John Tanner

Mr. TANNER

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, we do not have any particular problem with this House resolution, but it is almost surrealistic what we are seeing here. This is not even a concurrent resolution, it is a sense of the House. Now, 2 weeks ago, in the committee, I offered in statutory legislative language an amendment to the debt reduction bill that would have done just exactly what this House resolution says ought to be done, and we would have it passed in law by the House tonight for immediate relief for the providers in this country if it had not been ruled out of order by the majority. So it is hard to understand, given the fact that we have had three different times we could have actually done something in law rather than come down here with a House resolution after this procedure that we witnessed all day today. Number one, it could have been put on the debt reduction package. Number two, it could have been put in the Medicare lockbox. Number three, an hour ago, the majority voted down the motion to recommit which says exactly what this House resolution says. So when I say it is hard to understand, it is hard to understand from the standpoint of asking what can we do as Members of Congress to bring relief to these procedures. We could have already done it. We could have already had the Medicare restoration fund that captures these unanticipated savings. We could already be in the process of giving immediate relief to the country. But, no, it was our idea, so I guess that that is not the way this place runs. We come with this House resolution. Real good. It says a lot of things that everybody agrees with, but it does not do anything. I understand being ruled out of order when it is not one's idea, and I understand, I guess, a little something about politics. But when one has an amendment on a bill that, in my view, is clearly in order 2 weeks ago that would have done this in law and been passed so that we could replenish the Medicare trust fund with these captured savings that were unanticipated when the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 was passed, and then have a resolution to say we really want to do this, it is awfully hard for some of us to believe in the credibility of this one pager that says we really want to do something to help the providers in Medicare. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute to reply to my friend from California that I understand about being ruled out of order. What I am saying is an hour ago we had a motion to recommit that did this. The gentleman could have joined with us on that motion to recommit, any number of my Republican colleagues could have if they had wanted to do something now. This resolution is fine, but it ought to be a special order instead of coming into the legislative process. We have a bill, 4770, that will do this very thing. And so I understand that the gentleman is not on the committee, but what goes on from here is nothing except, well, we are going to do something later. Another promise. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott).

Mr. TANNER

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I am in favor of Medicare revision and all of the things that the previous speaker said. The problem with the Republican bill is they are trying make an insurance product out of a benefit, and one cannot do that. Insurance is a pooling of risk. When all of the claimants are beneficiaries, there is no pooling or spreading of risk. Therefore, it has to be a benefit. Put another way, if everyone's house burned down, we would not be able to purchase fire insurance in the private marketplace, simply because they would not be able to offer it. This is particularly true in the rural areas. Short of importing people into the rural areas, we do not have HMOs. We do not have satellite dishes because we think it is cool, we have satellite dishes because there is no cable TV in rural areas. There are no HMOs in the rural areas. Therefore, we have to have a defined benefit under Medicare if we truly believe in delivering a prescription drug benefit to the senior citizens, all of them, in this country.

Mr. TANNER

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I would just reiterate and endorse what my friends from Tennessee have had to say about Mr. Jimmy Quillen. I want to thank my friend, the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Jenkins), for introducing this resolution. I came to the Tennessee Assembly in 1976; and for the longest time, it seems Mr. Quillen and I were the graduates, I guess we might say, of the Tennessee General Assembly. The gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Jenkins) also served there. Mr. Quillen not only was the king of East Tennessee, as we used to call him, I live over in West Tennessee and his service to our State transcended the First Congressional District. I live in the Eighth Congressional District, and Mr. Quillen journeys over there to one of the premier political events in the springtime every year, down in Covington, Tennessee, the Oney Naifeh political dinner and his service to our State is appreciated, not only by those citizens in the first district in East Tennessee, but it was appreciated throughout, across the width and breadth of Tennessee. Many, many mutual friends from Joe Bewley, who was in the legislature and lives in Greeneville, to many others, Ralph Cole and others I have known through the years and all from up there in the first district had the same love and respect for Mr. Quillen that those of us who got to know him from other parts of the State developed. Mr. Speaker, he truly has given a very large measure of his life to the service of others, and it is with a great deal of pleasure and pride that I think that almost every Member from the Tennessee delegation, Democratic and Republican alike, has been down here this morning to say a kind word for Mr. Jimmy Quillen and I would add with great appreciation for the opportunity, my thanks and my endorsement of this process.

Mr. TANNER

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cardin) for yielding me the time and say that I rise in support of H.R. 8. The estate tax is an outmoded, inefficient, complicated subjective tax. The Tax Code needs to be rewritten. This is a good first step. This tax applies, as I am told, and I came to this from the standpoint of a small business and family farmer, over 70 percent of estate taxes that are filed on estates of $5 million or less, we are told that this costs 72 cents of every dollar collected simply to administer it, and for that reason, I support H.R. 8. I thank my colleague, the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Dunn) for her cosponsorship.

Mr. TANNER

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I think anyone listening to this debate would agree that we are all interested in changing the behavior of the Chinese Government towards its people and human rights and all the rest. We differ merely on how best to do it. I am not going to talk about trade either, much, except to say that this should not be called the China PNTR bill; it ought to be the America PNTR bill. We give up no leverage. We can change tomorrow what we have done today. There is nothing permanent around here. But let me just say why I think it is America's trade bill. The problem is we do not have any closed markets to China. They have got their stuff here. If my colleagues do not believe me, go to Wal-Mart. The problem is, we cannot get our stuff there. And that is why this is a good deal for America's workers. One cannot, by voting no, isolate China. One, by voting no, can isolate us. Do my colleagues not understand that the EU, the South Americans, Japan, and the rest of Asia are going to move into that market while we sit here and watch job loss occur in our country because we are the ones isolated? Now, let me say something about that. If one reads history, every great civilization that has fallen has in one way or another practiced some form of isolationism. They have tried to erect barriers against the outside world. China is now and has been paying a terrible price. China used to be traders years ago, centuries ago. They went into an isolation mode, and now we see the remnants of what was once a great free civilization in the throes of this communist dictatorship. This is about America in the next century. As I believe the last century was about the United States and the Soviet Union and the military powers that existed then, the Cold War, this new century is about trade and about our relationship with China, leading the world toward human rights through openness and engagement.

Mr. TANNER

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Chairman, I was over in the office listening to the debate and I know, as anyone here knows that has been listening, that the opponents of this legislation feel very strongly about it. We understand, those of us who support it, those feelings; and it is tough. Let me just say this: Number one, nothing around here is permanent. If one believes that, we can change the law tomorrow if the Chinese misbehave, as some have said. More important than that, this is not about China. I hear people talking about what is going on in China: China, China, China. This is about what is good for us. This is a trade bill for the United States, not for China. Know what is important in this bill that nobody has thought about it and talked about, and I think is very crucial? It is that as good as the tariffs coming down so our stuff can go over there and go in that is made in this country providing jobs for our citizens, but the second thing is that the Chinese, in this agreement, agree to do away with their government-owned corporations that limit the amount of exports by that mechanism to go in there. So what we can have with this agreement for us, not for China, I do not much care what happens in terms of China other than how it affects the citizens of this country, and what is good for us is we have private enterprise in this country doing business with private enterprise in China. My colleagues say they want to change the status quo in China? That is going to change the status quo in China more than any other single thing, in my judgment, we could possibly do. So I say this is a trade bill not for China but for us. It is good for the United States. It is good for our citizens. I will say one other thing. China cannot be isolated by voting no. Know who is going to be isolated if my colleagues vote no? They are going to isolate us, because the EU, the European Union, the South Americans, Japan, and the rest of Asia are going to take that market and they are going to isolate us, not them, if my colleagues vote no.

Mr. TANNER

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentleman from Mississippi for yielding me this time and I want to urge the defeat of this amendment. This is not hard. We have made promises to people who have given their productive lives to the uniformed service of this country. This is an attempt to partially fulfill that. The money we are talking about is within the caps. There is absolutely, in my mind, no good reason that we cannot at least partially fulfill what we told people that we would do as a Nation, as a grateful Nation for their service to this country. Now, you talk about the liberal left, somebody said, about limited dollars. Yes, there are limited dollars around here. But it is not too limited that we cannot vote for a $800 billion tax cut. This is about priorities. Are you for a tax cut, or are you for doing what we told veterans who gave their productive lives to this country we would do for them when they got through? It is not hard, it is not complicated; it is within the budget caps, it ought to be done, and this amendment ought to be defeated.

Mr. TANNER

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I would encourage the majority leader to bring his bill up here and let us vote on it if it is that good. The gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Portman) has worked well with us on the committee. I do not have any quarrel with the criticism of the present system. But when Mr. Churchill one time was asked how was his wife, his response was, ``Compared to what?'' We do not have the ``what'' here. If my colleagues want to seriously work on tax reform and the code, I think they will find many Members over here ready, willing and able to pitch in. But to go about this matter scrapping something is like a businessperson saying, Look, we don't like your sales or distribution system that gives your company the revenue with which you do business; we're going to scrap that on a date certain in 2 years, and we'll have the board of directors figure out what we're going to replace it with. Nobody would do that in the real world. Not one single person that I know of would say, We don't know what we're going to do. We're going to do something, hopefully. What if we cannot get a consensus on the flat tax? The gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Linder), who spoke earlier, has a bill, a sales tax. What if the Congress in that day cannot come up with a consensus? What are we going to do, have a continuing resolution on the code? That will make a lot of sense to Wall Street. I tell my colleagues as earnestly as I know how, if this bill were serious and was going to be signed, the uncertainty that it would immediately inject into Wall Street, in the markets, into all the countries around the world that rely on the bedrock of the international financial currency, the United States dollar, the consequences of this could be devastating. I do not quarrel with bashing the code. That is an easy one. I do not know anybody that thinks this is the best work product imaginable. But I do say this: the way to fix it is to come on down to the committee and let us vote on the flat tax, a sales tax or let us schedule bills for hearing, votes and reported out to the floor and then we will see if we can get a consensus. That is how we do as a steward, I think, of this Nation. That is how we do business. I know this will probably pass, but I hope we will think about what we are doing and what kind of signal we are sending. I do not think it is one that is very responsible.

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I agree with everyone who thinks that the current Tax Code is broken. I am on the committee. Let me say at the outset how hard it is to reach a consensus for any change in the Tax Code. The Republicans know they have been in charge 5\1/2\ years now, and it is just not easy when one is running a train to reach a consensus. We cannot reach a consensus on things that the American people seem to have a consensus about. The danger of this approach, in my view, is for that very reason. If we enacted a bill that did away with, pulled it out by its root, as has been said, on a day certain, and that Congress at that later date could not reach a consensus on what ought to replace it, we will throw, not only this country, but the world into a recession in the likes in which, in my judgment, have never been seen, because of one thing, the uncertainty of the American economy. As bad as this is, and we must continue every time we meet to work on making it simpler, making it fair, all the things that everybody here agrees on, as bad as that is, the uncertainty injected into the markets, the uncertainty injected into what would happen to the American dollar, the bedrock of international currency if this actually took place is, in my view, appalling. No sane, rational business person would say scrap it, but then we will just take a look and see whether what we can come up with a consensus on to replace it. That is not a thoughtful way to go about the Nation's business as stewards. I tell my colleagues, this is a nice exercise in bashing the Tax Code, and I will join in on that one every day. But this approach, when we do not know if we can reach a consensus, in my view, is not only dangerous, but it is counterproductive.

Mr. TANNER

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that my name be removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 3660. Apparently, it was inadvertently added without my knowledge or that of my office. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pease.) Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Tennessee?

Mr. TANNER

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Chairman, it has been a long day, and I think almost everything has been said, just not everyone has had a chance to say it. I think it would be wise to remind ourselves that a budget and a budget resolution is merely a forecast of future economic events with an attending set of priorities based thereon. It has been very well pointed out by the speakers before me that this country is right now laboring with a 13 percent mortgage on us. Over $300 billion a year. Now, my colleagues, no rational businessperson on earth, with a 13 percent mortgage on his business, would not make it a priority, when he came into some extra money, to reduce that staggering overhead. My colleagues say the American people are overtaxed. We agree. And the reason they are overtaxed is because they are lugging around a 13 percent mortgage on themselves and their country. Now, President Eisenhower said one time that he considered no money here in Washington a surplus as long as the Nation's children had a debt. And I know that all my colleagues have a priority of tax relief for the here and now, but the Blue Dog budget has a priority for tax relief for the then and there. It is simply wrong to leave this country to our children, our posterity, with water so dirty that fish cannot live in it, air so polluted people cannot breathe it, and a 13 percent mortgage on it that they are going to have to strain and struggle and pay for eternity. That is simply wrong. Our priority is debt reduction first, funding the programs we need to for the military; for the agriculture sector; for veterans; for education and for health care. It is a balanced budget. Tax relief for some; but more importantly, tax relief for those who follow. This country will be stronger if we adopt the Blue Dog budget.

Mr. TANNER

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Ray Champine, a longtime Postal Service Letter Carrier in Martin, TN, who, with no regard for his own safety, entered the burning home of an elderly customer in order to rescue him. While on his route, Mr. Champine was alerted by a smoke alarm and smoke emitting from the eaves of a house that there was a problem. After asking a neighbor to call the fire department, he bravely entered the house and crawled through the thick, black smoke until he found the elderly man near his bed in the back of the house. Although surrounded by the encompassing smoke and struggling to breathe, Mr. Champine dragged the man away from the fire in order to remove him to safety outside the burning home. He smashed through a window hoping it was the backdoor and local rescuers heard the breaking glass and knocked down the door closest to the broken window. Martin Fire Captain Dickie Hart and Police Captain Don Teal were able to bring both men to safety. Martin Director of Public Safety, J.D. Sanders, praised Mr. Champine and other rescuers, saying, ``If they hadn't shown up when they did, both men would probably have died at the back door. As it is, Mr. Champine without a doubt, is a hero.'' Mr. Speaker, I also include an article about this heroic deed for the Record. [Volunteer Voices, Feb. 2000] ``. . . Without a doubt a Hero''--Martin Carrier Risks Life To Save Customer Imagine standing in front of a burning building, knowing there's someone inside, and knowing that unless you do something to help, that person is probably going to die. That's the exact situation Martin, TN City Carrier Ray Champine found himself facing on December 7 of last year. But what he did would definitely fall into the category of ``above and beyond the call.'' Champine was making his normal deliveries on Oxford Street. He had just put the mail in the box when he heard a high pitched whine. ``I was almost sure it was a smoke alarm, but I couldn't tell where it was coming from,'' said Champine. ``So I went back to the previous house to see if it was coming from there.'' As Champine approached Golsby Gatewood's home, he saw a wisp of smoke coming from under the eaves of the house. ``I asked the next-door neighbors to call the fire department, but I knew Mr. Gatewood wasn't real mobile, so I decided to try to help him,'' said Champine. After repeatedly calling to Gatewood, Champine finally heard him respond. The front door was unlocked and smoke was beginning to fill the room. ``It was already pitch black inside the house, so I kept calling for Mr. Gatewood,'' said Champine. ``I finally found him near his bed in the back of the house and I tried to help him out the fastest way I could by dragging him out of the building.'' But by that time, the fire had spread through the front of the home, blocking the front door. Champine dragged Gatewood to the back of the house then tried to escape by breaking what he thought was the window of the side door. ``The smoke was so thick I didn't realize I was breaking a window that was a few feet from the door,'' Champine. ``If I had known that, I would have just reached out and opened it.'' Rescuers who had just arrived on the scene, heard the breaking glass and Martin Fire Capt. Dickie Hart and Police Capt. Don Teal knocked down the door. Martin Director of Public Safety J.D. Sanders praised Champine's heroic action. ``If Dickie and Don hadn't shown up when they did, both of the men probably would have died right there by that back door. As it is, Mr. Champine is without a doubt, a hero. Without him, there's no question that Mr. Gatewood wouldn't have made it.'' Officers on the scene reported that the smoke was so thick in the building that only Gatewood could be seen when the door was opened, even though Champine was standing next to the elderly gentleman. Champine suffered a cut on his hand from breaking the window, and sustained burns to his face, ears and eyes. He was hospitalized for several days following the incident for severe smoke inhalation. Postmaster Glenn Shegog added her voice to those who praised Champine. ``Ray is an outstanding employee and a great co-worker and we're all thankful that he's on the road to recovery,'' said Shegog. After all is said and done, Champine's only request was a simple one. ``I'd really like to find my cap,'' said Champine. ``I lost it somewhere in the house and I'd really like to have it back.''

Mr. TANNER

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to me. I want to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) for the opportunity to say a few words. Mr. Speaker, I am still, as a Blue Dog, mystified as to this procedure, this process. The majority party continues to bring bills to the floor when we do not have a budget. We owe $3.7 trillion in hard cash, and we are paying $240 billion year in interest alone. One-third of all of the individual and corporate taxes being collected on April 15 go to pay nothing but interest. Yet, we bring these tax measures to the floor. If we pass this one, this body will have passed over $300 billion worth of tax cuts with no budget, not doing anything about the debt, nothing about social security, energy, nothing about Medicare, recruitment and retention in the military, readiness of the country. We need military modernization, we need a pay raise for the troops. The veterans, it will take $3 billion to help the veterans. We do not have time for that, but we do have time for $300 billion worth of tax cuts over the next 10 years on money that is not even here. This money is projected. They have to be living in a cave not to understand that oil prices are rising, if Members do not understand that. That puts tremendous inflationary pressure on the system. This projection of a huge surplus could go away just as easily as it came about with rising oil prices, rising interest rates. That surplus that all of these tax cuts come out of may never get here. Mr. Speaker, the other part I want to talk about is the estate tax. I do not like estate taxes. I am responsible for a bill to do away with them. But politics is the art of the possible. Here it is not, in this day, in this time, possible politically to do away with the estate tax. What did the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) write? He wrote true estate tax relief for the small family farmer. Tim and Susan Lucky live in my district in Gibson County, Tennessee. They have a farm that is worth about $3 million. They do not have any money, but they have a farm worth about $3 million. Do Members know what they pay, under the bill of the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel) in estate taxes? Nothing. Do Members know what they pay under the Republican plan in estate taxes? It would be $336,000. Tell me who is interested in estate tax relief for the family farmer and the small businessman. This is a fact, under these bills that are mentioned. We did not get to offer the bill of the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel). Do Members know why? Because it will pass. So legislative malpractice in bringing tax bills to the floor without a budget is the same legislative malpractice in shutting out a bill like this.

Mr. TANNER

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time. Mr. Speaker, I just wish we were talking about the marriage tax penalty. We are talking about a budget process, and the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Minge) outlined it, as well. The backdrop of all of this business about the Tax Code is a $5.7 trillion debt. Said another way, we have spent last year and will this year over $240 billion in checks on interest. If my colleagues want to know why the American people are overtaxed, they are overtaxed because they are paying $240 billion every year in interest payments. And until we have a budget to know where these matters fit, these tax cuts that we all support, like the marriage tax penalty, no sane, rational business person in this country would go about cutting their income before they knew where they stood and what is their outgo. We say, unless they have a creditable framework where we know we are going to retire debt, where we know we are going to take care of Social Security and Medicare, where we know, is it a higher priority to cut taxes on married people like they say they have but which they do not, but like they say it is to take care of rural health care needs in this country? If my colleagues believe that, then vote for this rule.

Mr. TANNER

Mr. TANNER. I yield to the gentleman from Minnesota.

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman. Let me follow up on something that the gentleman said about the uncertainty of this budget projection, this surplus; and I want all of my colleagues to listen to this. If the CBO estimators are wrong in guessing or in predicting what the rate of growth of the economy of this country is going to be for the next 10 years by just one-tenth of 1 percent, if they say over the next 10 years, the rate of growth of the economy is going to be 2.7 percent a year, and it is 2.6, do we know how much money the surplus is reduced just on missing that 10-year guess, one-tenth of 1 percent? It is $211 billion. It is huge, because it is geometrical. I would submit to my colleagues that no human being, Alan Greenspan maybe excepted, but no human being can tell me or anybody else in this country what the rate of growth of the economy of this Nation is going to be for the next 10 years, and that is why we ought to err on the side of caution as we go forward here, rather than pretending like this is real money that is already here. It is not. I would like to take this moment to recognize a young leader in Congress who is from the great sovereign State of Louisiana (Mr. John).

Mr. TANNER. Madam Speaker, last year I said when we have projections, and I think the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Minge) is going to talk about projections in a minute, that no reasonable business person in this country that I know of would spend 80 percent of a 10-year projection on anything. That is what we were asked to do last year with that $800-some billion tax bill. We are for tax cuts, but to obligate 80 percent of a 10-year projection? I do not know what the price of cotton and soybeans is going to be next week, and these people in Washington try to talk about 10 years like it is real money. It is not even here yet. Madam Speaker, I would like to yield to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Minge) to speak on what the surplus may or may not be.

Mr. TANNER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman. I want to take this time to recognize another Texan. Being from Davy Crockett's district, I have to recognize these Texans, as you know, but one of the leaders in the House on financial matters and fiscal conservative business-like principles that we are trying to advance here, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Stenholm).

Mr. TANNER. Madam Speaker, I know all of us here join with the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier) with regard to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps) and her family. Madam Speaker, we have some Blue Dogs that are going to show up down here on the floor in a few minutes. And as many of the Members know and some here know, the Blue Dog Coalition is a group of around 30 Democrats who have concentrated for the last 3 or 4 years on budgetary and financial matters that this country faces. We are going to talk for the next few minutes about our Nation's fiscal and financial integrity and, as importantly, what it means to the young people in this Nation as we are poised today really at a crossroads. I hope that those who listen will be somewhat informed or enlightened after we are through. I am joined by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Turner) at the moment. Before I recognize the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Turner), let me take just a minute, if I may, to talk about our Nation's financial picture. Madam Speaker, most observers agree that our national debt is about $5.7 trillion. That $5.7 trillion is composed of two separate and distinct different types of debt. The $1.7 trillion is the amount of money we, the people, owe to we, the people. It is a bookkeeping entry. It is represented by assets of the Social Security trust fund, the trustees gift to the Treasury, monies that come in under the FICA tax and the Treasury gives to the Social Security trustees a non-negotiable instrument, bill, note or bond; that represents about, that and other debt, Federal Reserve holds some of it, about $1.7 trillion. We, the people, do not actually write checks for interest on that part of the debt every year. The other part of the debt we do, that $3.7 trillion or $8 trillion debt, we actually write checks every year for interest. Last year, almost $240 billion of interest paid on monies that have been consumed by people my age and older. Madam Speaker, to give you some idea of how much money that is, $240 billion a year, it is the third largest item of the Federal budget only behind Social Security checks and Nation's defense. Said another way, it represents 13\1/2\ cents of every dollar that comes to this town. Said another way, we have a 13\1/2\ percent mortgage on this country simply because we have not had the willpower to retire this debt. Instead we just roll it over and continue to pay interest on it. Put another way, and this is staggering, a third, fully one third of all the income taxes that the American people, individuals and corporate America, pay every April 15 goes to pay nothing but interest on it, the national debt, this $3.8 trillion dollars of hard debt that we owe. Madam Speaker, we are going to in this House tomorrow, I guess, start taking up individual pieces of tax measures that are all very, very popular. All in my judgment or some of them need to be done. You know what? We do not have a budget. I do not know where the marriage penalty fits in to anything. Is it more important than raising the pay of the men and women in the uniform service of this country that risk their lives? Is it more important, is it a higher priority than doing something for the veterans who we promised we would do something for years ago, if they would give us their productive lives? I do not know. We do not have a budget wherein we fit priorities. Is this a higher priority than, for example, medicine? We know that rural providers in this country are having a hard time keeping the doors open. Some of them will close if we do not do something about that. And you know what happens when some of them close? Somebody, maybe your father or my father or somebody's brother or child, is going to die because that clinic in that small town in rural America or that hospital closed and they had to drive 50 miles to get to a suitable medical facility. I do not know where it is going to be, but I see it is going to happen. I see the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Ganske) over there. He can tell you that it is going to happen. Because sometimes seconds make the difference between saving someone's life who is bleeding to death or having a heart attack or a stroke. So is the marriage penalty a higher priority than saving some child's life who has happened to cut his hand? I do not know. But I do know this, without a budget resolution where those decisions can be made, we are not, in my judgment, fulfilling our stewardship at this point in time to the American people as it relates to retiring, not just rolling over the debt, retiring the debt so that the money saved, the interest that you young people here will have to pay some day, is less. We are not, in my judgment, exercising proper businesslike stewardship of this Nation's monies if we do not have a budget that provides for debt retirement, for the past promises we made with respect to Social Security recipients, for the past promises we made to the veterans, for the past promises we made to Medicare recipients. Those things are important. Promises made and obligations kept, that is a value that we cherish in this country. Until we have a budget where we know where we are, where we know what fits in this piece and that piece, it seems to me that one could argue from a businesslike standpoint that it is not only unwise but it is irresponsible to start bringing tax bills to the floor without some way of knowing where they fit in in terms of our priorities as a people. Now, let me stop here and recognize the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Turner) who has been a leader of the Blue Dogs. As I said earlier, we are interested in the financial integrity of this country and our ability not only to meet past promises but future obligations; and he has been a leader on that.

Mr. TANNER. I thank the gentleman. Mr. Speaker, we will be back to talk about debt retirement, to talk about the priorities of this Nation, every time that we have one of these bills before we have a budget where we know where we are. I voted against the $800 billion tax cut last year. It would have been good for me. People say, well, you all are against tax cuts. It would have been good for me. I would have had a tax cut. I could have voted for it. But it would not be good for my kids and grandkids, and everybody knows that, not when we have a $5.7 trillion national debt, paying $240 billion a year in interest alone. It is a generational mugging to them, to all the young people in this country, to not pay our bills and to retire, not roll over, this national debt. I do not want to leave this Nation in my productive years here, I do not want to leave a Nation where the water is so polluted that fish cannot live in it and kids cannot swim on it. I do not think Members want that kind of country either for their children. I do not want to leave a country to our kids where they have to wear a surgical mask to ride their bicycle across town because the air is so foul and so polluted. That is not the kind of country I want to be proud of when I leave this town. I do not want to leave our kids a country with a 14 percent mortgage on it, one that is going to strap them every day of their college career and productive lives to do nothing more than pay interest. That is as paramount to me in terms of what kind of legacy we leave to our kids that come along after us than any other single thing. Clean air, clean water, and a country that is financially strong, that is what we ought to be talking about, rather than doing these things. We are going to have this tax bill up here, we do not have a budget, we do not know where it fits, but this is going to be real good for some of us politically. No sane business person in this country would go down this path. Yet, that is where we are facing. Mr. Speaker, I genuinely appreciate the opportunity that the Blue Dogs have had to discuss these matters. We feel very strongly about it. Hopefully we can engage again at a future date.

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Boyd) for his comments. I hope we will be charitable to the Gaters next fall in Knoxville when they come to see us. Mr. Speaker, I yield again to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Stenholm). He has done as much as anyone in this Congress in the last 10 or 15 years on the budget.

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to compliment the gentleman for his leadership. I will recognize another young leader here who is from the State of Florida and who has been very active with us in trying to do something with regard to a business-like approach to our Nation's financial picture, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Boyd).

Mr. TANNER

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, earlier this year, the United States and the People's Republic of China completed a new civil aviation agreement. That agreement allows for one additional air carrier from each country to serve routes between these two nations. It has recently been suggested by some that Federal Express has a ``monopoly'' in the China market and that the Department of Transportation should grant another all-cargo carrier, such as UPS, the authority to serve China as opposed to expanding passenger carrier or Federal Express' service in this market. I believe that argument is meritless. Federal Express initially applied to DOT in early 1992 for the authority it now holds. They pioneered U.S.-China express all-cargo services by acquiring an initial allocation of only 2 flights a week, under the old, more restrictive agreement. Only two other carriers, American International Airways and Evergreen International Airlines applied at that time. No other carriers even bothered to apply. The Department selected Evergreen to operate the route and gave Federal Express backup authority. In early 1995, Federal Express and Evergreen jointly applied to transfer the primary authority to Federal Express because of problems experienced by Evergreen in its efforts to develop the market. At that time, DOT did consider, in response to comments filed by DHL, another air express carrier, whether the award to Federal Express would create a monopoly for express services. DHL was the only carrier to offer comments during these 1995 proceedings. In its order approving the transfer from Evergreen to Federal Express, the Department concluded that Federal Express would not have monopoly power in the market, stating: ``Moreover, in this case, we found that there are alternative means of transportation. Not only does DHL have the opportunity to use U.S. and Chinese carriers in the market, Chinese carriers on both their combination and all-cargo services and the U.S. carriers on their combination services, but there are also third country carriers in the market available for use.'' Indeed, the market is already very competitive. Due to the historic imbalance in the number of flights DOT has allocated to passenger and air cargo services, U.S. passenger carriers, Northwest and United, can offer more freight capacity than Federal Express. Furthermore, I understand that both UPS and DHL already offer a wide range of express services through their joint ventures with SINOTRANS--the government- owned China National Foreign Trade Transportation Group Corporation. DHL has represented that it controls, with the help of its joint venture relationship with SINOTRANS, 35% of the China express market and UPS operates an extensive ground network in China. In addition, the U.S. Postal Service offers U.S-China express and parcel services. There are also two Chinese airlines, and at least 18 other foreign airlines that can offer U.S.-China cargo services, including some of the world's largest airlines like British Airways, Japan Air Lines and Lufthansa. Because of the limited number of flights that it has been allocated, Federal Express today accounts for only 11.5% of the air express volume from the U.S. to China, and 4.8% of that volume in the opposite direction. That is hardly a monopoly. Federal Express has pioneered the development of markets throughout Asia for the benefit of U.S. exporters. It was difficult in the early stages, but Federal Express made China a high priority in the development of its Asian network. Their commitment to this market has helped ensure that U.S. companies can even expand their trade and presence in China's major markets. In many of the Asian markets, such as Hong Kong, Japan, and the Philippines, other express carriers entered the market much later to compete with Federal Express. In each of these cases, Federal Express' rates were the same before as they were after the others entered the market. Federal Express can only operate 8 flights per week today, increasing to 10 on April 1, 2000. It currently is the only incumbent U.S. airline that lacks the frequencies necessary to offer even two daily flights. Due to its limited number of frequencies, Federal Express operates a complex but incomplete schedule in the major markets it services in China. For example, it can offer daily service to Beijing in one direction only--westbound from the U.S.--with only three eastbound flights from the capital. It operates only five flights a week to and from Shanghai, and it is able to offer only eastbound service from Shenzhen. Trade is the key to our competitiveness and prosperity in the global marketplace. Federal Express must be able to continue to develop this market to provide U.S. exporters the transportation services they require to be competitive. Federal Express has the presence in China to make this goal a reality in the near term. The attempt by others to justify their belated interest in this market by characterizing Federal Express as a monopoly is not supported by the facts. The U.S.-China market for air express cargo services is competitive today.

Mr. TANNER

Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise and have spread on the pages of the Congressional Record, an article on Mr. Lloyd Collier of Dyersburg, Tennessee. The article adequately describes Mr. Collier's work at the Social Security Administration, as well as his outstanding service to his community. Over the years, Mr. Collier has been of tremendous service to our office. His vast knowledge, and his willingness to share it with our staff, has been a valuable asset to the residents of the Eighth Congressional District. Just yesterday, he was instrumental in helping a constituent, who is stricken with cancer, obtain the benefits that are rightfully his. This is just one of the thousands of examples of the dedicated service he has aptly demonstrated during his 38 years of public service. So, it is with appreciation for his service that I include the text of an article published in the Dyersburg State-Gazette under the headline, ``He's making a difference.'' [From the Dyersburg State-Gazette, Oct. 17, 1999] He's Making a Difference At 60, most people are thinking about retirement and how big their Social Security checks might be. Not Lloyd Collier. He's more interested in making sure other people get all of the Social Security benefits they're entitled to receive. It's a job he's loved for more than 38 years. Working first as a claims representative and now as the Northwest Tennessee district manager with the Social Security Administration, Collier said he's had countless opportunities to help people. One of his most memorable cases happened 33 years ago while he was a field representative in Florence, Ala. ``I'll never forget taking a survivor claim from a 13-year- old widow with one child less than 1 year of age,'' he said. The girl had become pregnant when she was 11, married at 12 and a widow at 13. Her 22-year-old husband, who had no life insurance, was killed in a motorcycle wreck. ``Social Security played a big part in the financial picture of that family,'' he said ``It's something that you don't forget. It's a rare case, but things like this happen all over the nation.'' Ironically, Collier will never receive the same benefits he has helped to disburse over the years. A long-time federal employee, Collier is covered by a civil service retirement plan instead of Social Security. Still, he's earnestly trying to help in his characteristically quiet way. ``I categorize him as being a quiet, dynamic person,'' friend Wendell West said, ``He's not a flamboyant toastmaster-type person. (But) when you need a job to be done, he's going to do it efficiently and without a drum roll.'' That description applies not only to Collier's job but also to the volunteer work he does with the Boy Scouts, the Civitan Club and his church. Collier, who was hired by the Social Security Administration the day before his 22nd birthday, looks at his career as a wonderful birthday present. ``It's been a good opportunity, and I like working with people, trying to help them resolve problems,'' Collier said. ``I love my job.'' The career was happenstance. Collier--a man with a mechanical mind, a knack for math and a sharp attention to details--originally wanted to be a civil engineer. Unfortunately, he couldn't afford to go to an engineering college. Instead, he pursued a bachelor's degree at his hometown college: Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, where he majored in math and minored in physics. Although his college advisor encouraged him to get a teaching certificate, Collier wasn't too excited about being a teacher. He also opted to take the civil service exam. The Social Security Administration called him in September 1961, just a few months after he graduated. Even with the government job, Collier couldn't escape teaching. When he served as the assistant district manager in Dyersburg (a job he held from 1972-87), he was responsible for training new and promoted employees. ``He has always gotten strong, rave reviews on his ability to teach,'' said Bill McClure, deputy regional commissioner for the Social Security Administration's office in Atlanta. Collier's students reported being ``very impressed with his overall knowledge of the program and his ability to communicate and effectively transfer that knowledge.'' Collier also received high marks for his willingness to assist students on an individual basis, McClure said. Collier was asked to teach classes not only in Dyersburg but in other cities, as well. It was Collier's attention to detail that helped make him a good teacher, an alert claims representative and now an outstanding district manager. ``That's a lot of what makes him so successful, because so much of the (Social Security) law is detailed.'' McClure said. Collier's cordial, gentle manner also has contributed to his success. McClure said Collier often shares information with fellow Social Security managers in Memphis, Jackson and Nashville and he works closely with other retirement-related agencies, such as a railroad retirement system. ``He is very professional in his approach to the public and he represents us very effectively in the community,'' McClure said. Collier puts his teaching skills to work on a regular basis as a volunteer with the Boy Scouts. ``He's just as tolerant and patient of the boys as you can get.'' Troop 87 assistant scoutmaster Franklin Robertson said. ``One of the major things is at the times you prepare meals. He assists, directs and encourages the Scouts to prepare their meals. I've never seen anything but patience. ``He works with the Scouts until they develop the skills they need.'' Edgar Shults, also a leader in the local Boy Scout program agreed with Robertson. He said Collier is ``real good with the boys. If he weren't, he wouldn't be in it. He's a good, easy-going person and he enjoys working with people.'' While Collier still attends Troop 87's weekly meetings and joins them on camping trips, he also shares his knowledge with Scouts from all over West Tennessee. Collier holds knot-tying classes each year during the Cub Scout day camp at Dyersburg State Community College and started the sailing program at Camp Mack Morris, a residential Scout camp near Kentucky Lake. For one week each summer between 1989 and 1995, Collier introduced young boys to the thrills and quiet pleasures of sailing. Using his own 17-foot O'Day Sailor II, Collier taught the boys to hoist sails, to maneuver the boat and to turn the boat right-side-up if it ever turned over. The last lesson proved quite important one summer. A crosswind caught the boat's sails and tipped it over. Collier said he and the five Scouts on board knew what they needed to do. They crawled on top of the keel and pulled. Ideally, the sailors' weight would push the keel down into the water while they pulled the mast back up. They had one small problem. ``It's just that the six of us didn't weigh enough to get the job done,'' Collier said. A road crew working on the lake shore saw the struggling Scouts and called a nearby marina for help. The sailboat was towed into shallow water, where it was easier for the Scouts to right the boat. Today, Camp Mack Morris has a fleet of six sailboats. The instructors are graduates of Collier's first sailing course. Instead of attending Camp Mack Morris for the last four summers, Collier and his wife have traveled to Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico and participated in training programs for adult leaders. Collier has served as a Webelos leader, a cubmaster, an assistant scoutmaster and district commissioner in the past. This year, he's chairman of the Davy Crockett District of Boy Scouts. Collier believes the Scouting program gives boys skills that will last a lifetime. ``I think it is a very worthwhile program for boys, and it is a program we need to promote health young men become better citizens,'' he said. ``We teach a lot of first aid in Scouting, and I have seen young men and boys use the training they learned in Scouts to help someone at a later time in a medical emergency,'' he said. ``I've also seen young men become involved in civil opportunities because of what they learned about in Scouting.'' Robertson said he's seen young boys change their attitudes after becoming involved in Scouts and feeling Collier's influence and gentle guidance. ``He certainly provide a leadership role and is a model for the young boys,'' Robertson said. Collier also takes a leadership role in the Civitan Club. Active for the last 31 years, Collier has held every position from chairman of the local fruitcake fund-raiser to lieutenant governor of the Valley District, which stretches from the Mississippi River east to the Cumberland Gap. This year, he's the Area 9 director. Collier has recruited 25 new members into the club. ``That's like recruiting a club in itself,'' Wendell West said. The club focuses on helping disadvantaged adults and children, participates in the Special Olympics and provides birthday cakes each month for those at the Developmental Skills Center. Collier said he likes being involved in those projects as well as the clubs ``ideals of wanting to make this a better place to live.'' He pointed to the fact that the club helped secure the funding for a greenhouse at the Developmental Skills Center 12 years ago. The greenhouse has opened new avenues for the center's clients. ``Who knows. One of these days, one of those people may be able to manage a greenhouse of his own,'' Collier said. ``We've just got to put a spark on some tender and let it go from there.'' Collier's life is distinguished by his dedication and genuine interest in other people, long-time friend and fellow church member R.H. ``Red'' Bond said. ``I don't know anyone I respect more highly than him,'' Bond said. ``Anytime you need someone to step in and be a leader, he's more than ready. In the church, he has served on the leading committees. He's not just one who sits back. He's one who's willing to take a leading role.'' Collier has held a number of positions at First United Methodist Church in Dyersburg--Sunday school teacher, member of the church finance committee, member of the church nominations committee and member of the pastor-parish committee. Lay leadership, such as that demonstrated by Collier, is the lifeblood of the church, Bond said. ``The church couldn't exist if it didn't have lay people who were willing to supervise the activities of the church.'' Even when he's not serving in an official capacity, Collier's ready to help others. He's known for growing vegetables and sharing them with friends and acquaintances. Collier said he started gardening in 1971 because it offered a ``good release of energy'' and helped him get rid of any frustrations he might have. At the time, he lived in the Belair subdivision and gardened inside a submerged pool that had been filled with dirt. Today, Collier tends a large plot of tomatoes, lima beans, green beans, squash, okra and other vegetables on a grassy plain near the main dam at Lakewood subdivision. His garden is commonly mistaken as a community garden, and Collier said he sometimes finds people there, picking bags full of produce. (The garden just happens to be located in the same spot where Lakewood developer Jere Kirk used to plant corn for the subdivision residents.) The close proximity of water serves Collier well. He said he has watered the garden only once since the fourth of July. The plants produced plenty of vegetables this year, despite the fact that Dyer County received no significant rainfall for almost three months. Collier's continuing interest in helping his neighbors and his community is remarkable in itself. Often, people join an organization and put a lot of energy into it in the beginning. At some point, though, their enthusiasm dwindles and they stop contributing. Collier ``doesn't seem to have that attitude.'' West said. ``Service to the community is still part of his life.'' Why does Collier have such staying power? West suspects he's guided by his faith. There's an old saying that goes: ``Our life is God's gift to us and what we do with our lives is our gift to God.'' Perhaps, West said, Collier is living his life that way. ``He's making a difference by being actively involved in making it a better world,'' West said. Family background: Lloyd Hadden Collier was born Sept. 6, 1939, in Clarksville. He was the older of two sons born to Lloyd Nelson Collier, a mail carrier, and his wife, Grace Hadden Collier, a registered nurse. When it came to celebrating birthdays, early September was a big time for the Collier family. Grace Collier's birthday was on Sept. 4, and the younger son, David Collier, was born on Sept. 5, exactly 365 days after Lloyd Hadden Collier was born. If it hadn't been a leap year, the two boys would have shared birthdays on Sept. 6. Family matters: Collier met Barbara Nichols, the woman who would become his wife, while he was in college. He was president of the Methodist Student Association and she was a fellow student. Their friendship blossomed into a romance and they married two years later in August 1962. They have a daughter, three sons, a granddaughter and two grandsons. Their daughter, Heidi Collier Johnson, is an accountant with the University of Tennessee medical system in Memphis. Lloyd ``Hadden'' Collier Jr. is employed in research and development at Dyersburg Fabrics Inc. Latham Collier and Lawrence Collier are twins. Latham Collier works as a draftsman with Centex Forcum Lannom, and Lawrence Collier is a chemical engineer in the Dyersburg Fabrics dye lab. Education Collier grew up in Clarksville, where he attended Howell School and graduated in 1957 from Clarksville High School. In 1961, Collier received a bachelor's degree from Austin Peay State University in Clarksville with a major in math and a minor in physics. Collier had wanted to become a civil engineer, but tough times financially prevented him from attending an engineering school. He followed the advice of his college advisor, who encouraged him to get a temporary teaching certificate. However, he didn't really want to teach and never pursued a teaching career. Employment Collier's first post-college job was as a land surveyor. It rained so much that summer he managed to complete only five full weeks of work--a fact that convinced him he couldn't depend on surveying for a livelihood. His salvation came in September when the Social Security Administration called him about a job opening in Nashville. Collier, who had taken the civil service exam while still in college, was hired as a claims representative the day before his 22nd birthday. ``I like to think this job was a birthday present many years ago,'' he said. As soon as he finished the Social Security training class, the draft board ordered Collier to report for a physical. Only six of the 24 men who underwent physicals that day passed; Collier was one of them. Because of the potential he would be ordered to serve in the military, the Social Security Administration kept Collier in the Nashville office, where it would be easier to cover his absence. The Berlin Conflict ended before Collier was called into the military. Three years later, in 1964, Collier transferred to the Knoxville office as a claims representative. He worked there for a year before being promoted to a field representative position in Florence, Ala. He traveled four days a week into the rural areas, helping people file social security claims, participating in radio shows, giving speeches and distributing public information. He came to Dyersburg as the Social Security Administration's operations supervisor in January 1968. He was promoted to assistant manager of the Dyersburg office in October 1972 and manager in February 1987. Because the Dyersburg office is actually a district office covering 10 counties, Collier is supervisor of offices in Dyersburg, Union City and Paris. Hobbies Shortly after college, Collier bought a 12-foot Styrofoam sailboat and discovered a life-long hobby. It all started with a fascination for the physics of sailing and a desire to know how a sailboat worked. He taught himself how to sail by reading a number of books and then launching his sailboat on Old Hickory Lake near Nashville. These days, Collier sails a 17-foot fiberglass sailboat that can accommodate up to six people. Although he's been known to launch at Lakewood subdivision, Collier usually plies the waters of Kentucky Lake. ``I like the ability to get out on the water without any type of mechanical equipment,'' he said, noting he enjoys the quiet form of relaxation. It allows him to medicate. In addition to sailing, Collier said he enjoys gardening, traveling and getting involved in the community. Activities A former Boy Scout himself, Collier re-entered the world of scouting when his oldest son joined the program years ago. Collier served as his son's Webelos leader, then as cubmaster, assistant scout master and eventually as a district commissioner. Last summer, he was elected chairman of the Davy Crockett District of Boy Scouts. Collier established the sailing program at Camp Mack Morris, a Boy Scout camp near the Tennessee River in Benton County. Collier is a graduate of the Wood Badge training program for adult scout leaders and attends the adult training sessions each summer at Philmont Scout Ranch near Cimarron,