Bill Thomas

Mr. THOMAS

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman from Rhode Island would like to ask me a question on his time, I would appreciate it because I have a very short time. Does the gentleman have time?

Mr. THOMAS

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, might I inquire of the time on both sides?

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney), a member of the contested election task force.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Maryland indicates he is the only speaker remaining, thus I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter).

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the resolution before us dismisses the contested election in California's 46th District. That is clearly the substance. The real story is that in the process of examining this particular contested election, it is clear that voter rolls across the country are suspect. We all know that elections are fundamental to our democracy. Free and fair elections are essential in selecting our Representatives in this Republic. The belief on the part of people who cast their ballot that their ballot may be negated by someone who should not have been able to vote in an election erodes the fundamental basis of our democracy and our Republic. There have been attempts in this process to argue that our concern about making sure that only those people who are eligible to be registered and, therefore, eligible to vote, was not the focus of our concern. Their arguments have been that, quite frankly, what we are doing is ``racist;'' that we are on a ``witch hunt.'' It is extremely difficult to understand why someone would not want to make sure that voter rolls are accurate. It is without contention, Mr. Speaker, that in those areas involving people who wish to become naturalized citizens that there are enormous problems today. We discovered just this week that the Immigration and Naturalization Service has hired one of the big five accounting firms to examine the way in which their process operates. We have been accused of racism because we thought we needed some firmer identification than is currently available from the INS. The INS now admits that they are going to look at a proposal which requires digitized photographs and fingerprints at the beginning of the process, in the middle of the process, and at the end of the process. It just seems to me that if that system is admittedly flawed, and that people have become citizens who should not have become citizens, or, even more regrettably, those private organizations who participated, ostensibly, in bringing this citizenship about, utilized the opportunity to interact with these nascent citizens in a way that put them on voter rolls illegally, has got to be investigated until it is resolved. Included in the Coopers & Lybrand report is the suggestion that these private operations should be shut down. In the particular contested election in front of us, one of those private organizations, Hermandad Nacional, had 60 percent of the people it registered flawed. That kind of a ratio either indicates sloppiness or an unwillingness to follow the rules. Which clearly indicates we should not use these private organizations. Now, whichever instance it is, it simply means voter rolls are flawed. Mr. Speaker, I yield 8 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan, (Mr. Vern Ehlers), the chairman of the task force, to give my colleagues an understanding of the details of this particular examination of an election beyond the normal examination of contested elections historically. And thank goodness we are finally looking at the problems behind the surface.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on House Oversight, I call up a privileged resolution (H. Res. 355) and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica), a member of the Committee on House Oversight.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, would you please indicate to me how much time is remaining on each side.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, could I inquire as to the time remaining?

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, included in that list, I hope, is working together to make sure that the modernizations in the INS that have been requested, including digitized photographs and fingerprints, are part of that order so that we can once and for all guarantee that the voting rolls are clean. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns). (Mr. STEARNS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. THOMAS

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, Lee G. Meyer, Deputy Director of the Phillips Laboratory, Propulsion Directorate at Edwards Air Force Base has retired. His departure means our nation will lose 30 years of exceptional experience and knowledge of rocket propulsion systems. For those unfamiliar with the Directorate, it is a little-known but vital part of Edwards Air Force Base. Over two hundred military and civilian personnel work at remote facilities to make efficient, dependable rocket propulsion technologies available to our military and space programs. In fact, it would be hard for us to image the events of the last thirty years without the technologies these people helped make available. The giant rocket motor test standards operated by the Directorate, for example, tested both the Saturn V boosters that took Americans into space and ballistic missile technologies that were so critical to this nation's security during the Cold War. Lee Meyer was essential part of these efforts. Lee's over three decades of work at the Laboratory have contributed greatly to the lab's and our nation's achievements. He started working at Edwards in 1963 as an Air Force officer and remained there for the rest of his career as a civilian Air Force employee. During that time, Lee Meyer worked on all kinds of innovative propulsion technologies and was selected to manage important projects such as the concept definition for the proposed Small ICBM as the Advanced Launch System program which will continue to explore the next generation of space launch technologies. Lee Meyer's retirement will mean the loss of years of knowledge and experience to his colleagues and to the nation. Given the service he has performed for the United States, I urge my colleagues to join me in thanking him for being an important part of our nation's defense.

Mr. THOMAS

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. The gentleman from Oregon [Mr. DeFazio] does not understand what is going on around here, notwithstanding his ability to come to the microphone and make pronouncements. We proceeded in regular order tonight. This was scheduled sometime ago by the Committee on Rules. If Members from the minority are not able to be here, I am sure there are good reasons. I said I would wait. I was instructed by the minority to go forward, so the gentleman from Oregon is simply misinformed. As a matter of fact, we tried to do this last Monday night, but in terms of their unwillingness to move needed legislation, the objections that were heard on his side of the aisle required us to wait until Wednesday to conclude this. Notwithstanding his involvement in this process and his clear statement on the record that this is not real work, or his attempts to make light of Americans wishing to assist through their ability to contribute to the Library of Congress and to the Smithsonian, this is important legislation, timely legislation, and necessary legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Bliley], in whose district this facility resides, and whose help was instrumental in acquiring this property for a very attractive price, which allows us to stretch this gift far beyond just the purchase of the property, but to add improvements to the property as well.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am sorry the gentleman from Oregon characterizes this as not the real legislation before the House. Quite frankly, it is in the best tradition. There are private individuals who are contributing more than $10 million so that all Americans can have access to historical artifacts. Frankly, the gentleman does a disservice to the House and those individuals who continue to contribute major sums so that the American people can enjoy these kinds of artifacts in a preserved fashion, not just at the time they are produced through the 20th century but for all times. If the gentleman believes this trivializes the House, then I really wish the gentleman would not claim time if he has no understanding whatsoever of the material in front of him. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Bliley].

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2979 is an attempt at the end of this Congress, in working with the Senate, and the Senate has a bill they are attempting to move on the other side which would authorize the Architect of the Capitol to acquire on behalf of the United States Government a gift of property located in Culpeper, Virginia. This property is unique in terms of the uses that the Librarian will make of it. As my colleagues may know, in the early 20th century, the then new technology captured the American experience on film and in various forms of audio retention. Unfortunately, in the late 19th and early 20th century, the technology produced a product which, over time, can become highly volatile. Many of these early film archives are currently preserved on military bases, much as you would munitions. Our goal was to seek a facility which would allow the Librarian not only to preserve these artifacts but, in the process of preserving them, make them available for those who might wish to utilize the Library's resources, as they do with books and other artifacts that the Library of Congress now holds. Since, for example, the acetate film is located on military bases, pretty obviously we cannot just use any building. We are very, very fortunate in having in Culpeper, Virginia, a facility which has been made available which, with relatively minor changes beyond the already wonderful facility that it is, will allow us to accomplish this long- desired goal of the Librarian. In addition to that, the funds for this facility are a gift. We have some benefactors who are willing to provide the funds that will not only allow us to purchase the Culpeper facility, but funds that will allow us to begin to do the kinds of things that we need to do to it to make it an even more enhanced repository. So what this bill does is allow us to acquire the property. It provides for the transfer of gifts to the Library trust fund controlled by the authorizing committees, the Committee on House Oversight and the Committee on Rules in the Senate, for appropriated funds controlled by the appropriations committees. We have incorporated in the bill an amendment that was requested on the Senate side by the minority, agreed to by the chairman of the Committee on Rules, the distinguished gentleman from Virginia, Senator Warner, and I would ask that all Members support this marvelous acquisition for the retention of these films and audio artifacts. In addition, Mr. Speaker, I will place in the Record a letter from the chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure clearly indicating that, notwithstanding the jurisdiction of that committee, and we certainly acknowledge the jurisdiction of that committee, in the interest of the time line which we need to make this decision, that the committee would not exercise its jurisdiction in this matter but certainly retains its jurisdiction over this subject matter. The letter referred to is as follows: Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Congress of the United States, House of Representatives, Washington, DC, November 12, 1997. Hon. William M. Thomas, Chairman, Committee on House Oversight, Washington, DC. Dear Bill: I am writing in reference to H.R. 2979, a bill authorizing the acquisition of certain real property for the Library of Congress, which was initially referred to the Committee on House Oversight. As you know, pursuant to clause 1(q)(11) of Rule X of the Rules of the House, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure has jurisdiction over measures relating to the construction, reconstruction, maintenance and care of the buildings and grounds of the Library Congress. H.R. 2979 would expand the Library of Congress's real property inventory, and thus expand this Committee's jurisdictional responsibilities with regard to any form of building repair or improvements. It is clear that the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure has a jurisdictional interest in H.R. 2979. However, as I do not wish to prevent or prolong consideration of the measure, I will not request a sequential referral of this bill. Nonetheless, this decision should not be deemed a waiver of this Committee's jurisdiction over the subject matter contained in the bill, jurisdictional prerogatives of similar provisions in the future, or the right to be conferees should the bill go to conference. I would appreciate your response to this letter confirming this understanding with respect to H.R. 2979, and ask that a copy of my letter on this matter be placed in the Congressional Record during consideration of the bill on the Floor. I am pleased to support the concept of the legislation, and I look forward to working with you on future matters related to the Library of Congress. With warm, personal regards, I remain Sincerely, Bud Shuster, Chairman.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I control the time.

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2979) to authorize acquisition of certain real property for the Library of Congress, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. THOMAS

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that in the engrossment of H.R. 2979 the Clerk be authorized to make technical and conforming changes.

Mr. THOMAS

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 2979, as amended.

Mr. THOMAS

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, the African-American Network of Kern County hosted its seventh annual community awards night on November 8, 1997, and selected several outstanding Kern County citizens in recognition of their lifelong efforts to improve the way of life that thousands of people, young and old, black and white enjoy. Dr. Joseph Anderson, Jr. is the recipient of the African-American Network of Kern County's Humanitarian Award for 1997. A humanitarian is an individual who through personal effort has contributed with excellence to the community as a whole and this speaks directly to the life and career of Dr. Anderson. An internal and pulmonary physician since the 1960's, Dr. Joseph Anderson has practiced medicine during 40 years of tremendous growth in technology and research in health care. He can look back knowing that the decision he made to go into medicine came at the moment in history that medicine started its most significant advances in the history of mankind. While maintaining an active practice, Dr. Anderson gave of his time to the people of Kern County through dozens of service organizations, including those promoting the appreciation of music, young people, the environment, health care, and religion. Dr. Anderson can proudly look back at his life and know he is seen as a great humanitarian because of the thousands of people who have a better physical and mental outlook on life due his efforts. Dr. Anderson is one of those Americans who is a leader at home, but often through quiet bearing, is not recognized. We salute him.

Mr. THOMAS

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, the African-American Network of Kern County hosted its seventh annual Community Awards Night on November 8, 1997 and selected several outstanding Kern County citizens in recognition of their lifelong efforts to improve the way of life that thousands of people, young and old, black and white enjoy. The recipient of this year's Frederick Douglas Leadership Award is Mrs. Josephine Triplett, a friend and associate from our days together at Bakerfield College. Josephine Triplett is the recipient of an award named after an American hero who believed in freedom for all people in America, who helped Harriet Beecher Stowe establish an industrial school for young people, who after meeting with President Lincoln during the Civil War built two regiments of black soldiers including his two sons, and who supported voting rights for women. Josephine Triplett's worthiness of the Frederick Douglass Leadership Award can be found in his writings when he said: ``The whole history of progress of human liberty shows that if there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground; want rain without thunder and lightning; want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters.'' Josephine Triplett is an agitator, a quiet one perhaps, but she manifests a clear commitment to children, to women, to those in need. As a professor of child development at Bakerfield College, she has been an advocate for infant nutrition and early childhood instruction. She works tirelessly at training college students to pursue these same goals as they go beyond the academic degree. The care and concern she has for others are obvious from the moment her warm personality and ready smile are in your presence. Josephine Triplett has a distinguished record with the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center as well as serving as the curator of the Allenworth State Historic Park. She has assisted with the Southern California Association for the Education of Young Children and has many, many more worthy organizations that she lends her time and commitment and seemingly limitless energy. Josephine Triplett is one of those Americans who is a leader at home, but often through quiet bearing, is not recognized. We salute her.

Mr. THOMAS

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, the African-American Network of Kern County hosted its seventh annual Community Awards Night on November 8, 1997, and selected several outstanding Kern County citizens in recognition of their lifelong efforts to improve the way of life that thousands of people, young and old, black and white, enjoy. Gemilia Hall Herring and Ruth Hall Wilkerson are recipients of the African-American Network of Kern County's 1997 Historical Award. This award is given in recognition of the efforts of those who preserve and promote understanding of the history of the African-American pioneers of Bakersfield. These two women, grandchildren of Mary and Willis Monroe Hall who were Kern County pioneers in 1884, have provided outstanding service to their community as founding members of the Allenworth Historical Park and Museum in Kern County. Named after Colonel Allenworth, who in the 1860's became the highest ranking black man in the U.S. Army, the park has for the past 22 years presented the historical significance of the African-Americans who came as pioneers to Kern County and those that followed in their footsteps. Over the years, Gemilia Hall Herring and Ruth Hall Wilkerson have raised and loved families, but their love and respect for their heritage has been a bonus for all of us in Kern County. We thank them for giving of their talent and time to ensure that none of us forget the legacy that came before. The women I honor here are leaders at home, but often through their quiet bearing, are not recognized. We salute them.

Mr. THOMAS

Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2513), to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to restore and modify the provision of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 relating to exempting active financing income from foreign personal holding company income and to provide for the nonrecognition of gain on the sale of stock in agricultural processors to certain farmers' cooperatives, as amended, and table the bill, H.R. 2444.