Fred Upton

Mr. UPTON

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

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I do not have any further speakers, so I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words. Mr. Chairman, I would like to make a couple of points. Legal Services was in need of reform, desperate reform, and I have got to tell you that in 1996 that happened. There are strong penalties for those that abuse the system. In fact, you can lose your license. You can be disbarred. In 1995, Legal Services was cut by one-third, and that cut is in essence still in place. In fact, if the Serrano amendment does pass today, there will still be a $50 million cut in 2000 versus 1999. It does not go quite far enough. Some here today have talked about some abuses. As far as I know, they are pretty old abuses. They were corrected, rightly so. The gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Gekas) who spoke a little bit before me talked about some of the abuses, and he was quite proud, rightly so, of the efforts that were made. Some here today may have heard from some of their farmers, and goodness knows I have a lot of folks in agriculture in southwest Michigan. Last year, I wrote more than 4,000 of my farmers asking them for specific cases of abuse that they could tell me about involving Legal Services. Do you know how many responses I got back? None. Not a single farmer responded back with a single case of abuse, period. Lawyers are expensive. They are costly to any family, whether you be rich or poor. Let me tell you about a couple of the cases I found out, my local Legal Services, what they have done back in Michigan this year. The Berrien County Legal Services, my home county, intervened to assist a home-bound elderly woman who was ready to sign an unfair contract for home improvement. Not only did this widow avoid, thank goodness, because of the efforts of Legal Services, but she avoided entering into that agreement, and had she done so, the contractor would have ended up owning all of the equity in her home. Wrong. She got help, and she deserved it. Another case, Legal Services helped a 76-year-old woman adopting her 8-year-old great granddaughter that she had raised from birth, even though the adoption was contested by the girl's father, her real father, who is serving time in prison and, in fact, had never seen his daughter. Legal Services succeeded in keeping this young girl in a stable home environment that she had known from birth. Those are the cases that Legal Services does every day of the week. We have heard a little bit about padding some of the cases here, and, rightly so, perhaps. It is troublesome. But I have to tell you, the funding for all of these counties comes based on the poverty level in your counties. It is not by level of cases. It is based on need. This is a program that works. If it does not work, Members of this House should go to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), the chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, who has proven his moxie, has proven he has the votes to get things done, bring those abuses to the Committee on the Judiciary, and, if they are true, he will fix them. I have confidence in the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde). There are lots of statements around here that are chiseled into buildings. ``Equal justice under law.'' Let us not ask that brick layer to take that statement off the wall and instead put in ``no justice for some.'' Without this amendment, the brick layers may as well go back to work. Let us not close the courthouse doors. Let us not take away rights that the middle class and the rich are able to be able to pay for, whether it be adoption or custody or even doing a will. That is not right. This amendment, even if it passes, still reduces Legal Services by almost 20 percent. A $50 million cut in a $300,000 program is still going to throw a lot of people out of work.

Mr. UPTON

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

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman for yielding to me, because a number of us were instrumental in helping to write this trigger. On Friday, Mr. Speaker, I was reading the Wall Street Journal and there was a story in there and in it apparently Alan Greenspan, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, was asked before the House Committee on Banking and Financial Services what he thought about this trigger and he said this: ``I think that the notion of using a potential trigger is essential,'' Greenspan said. He further went on to add that using the surplus to reduce the Federal debt is ``an extraordinarily effective force for good in this economy.'' He signed onto this. In essence, what the trigger is, it is a stoplight. If what the OMB and the CBO folks say is correct in terms of the expectations of where we are going to be with the budget surplus, things happen the way they say, and the debt, in fact, is coming down, $5.5 trillion is what it is today, the tax cut goes forward. But if, in fact, something happens, if interest rates go up, if spending goes up, and, in fact, the amount of money needed to service the Federal debt goes up rather than declines, the red light goes on. So it is a safety valve. And it also is going to serve as a break on additional spending as well. So I think that this was a very important measure that a number of us fought for. And furthermore, today I know a number of us communicated to our leadership that we are hoping that the Senate certainly adds this provision in their tax bill that they are debating this week. And if they are not able to get it included, then at least maybe in the conference, when we iron out the differences between the House and the Senate, that certainly the House would prevail on this making sure that the taxpayers are protected by making sure that this trigger device stays in effect. I applaud the leadership of my colleague on this. It was important as a number of us met with Republican leadership and others. It is a trigger with real teeth. It is going to do the right thing, and that is what we are here for.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I came here for one reason, eliminate the deficit and the decades of runaway spending, and now we have a surplus. We do not have a deficit. None of the provisions in this rule; we now trigger about half of the tax cut to make sure that the debt really does come down. Because of the years of runaway spending we have a debt, a national debt of about $5.5 trillion dollars. Yes, the deficits are gone every year, but we still have a debt, and that debt has got to go down. The triggers that are in place ensure that before we see these tax cuts come into play, we see a real reduction in the national debt. That is fair, that is reasonable, and that is where we ought to be, and we ought to be proud of this rule and proud of the tax bill we are going to take up tomorrow.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, guns do not kill people. People kill people. I agree, background checks do work. They are common sense. None of us want criminals to have guns. But I have served under Republican as well as Democratic administrations as a Member of Congress, and there is not yet an attorney general working for a Republican or a Democratic president while I have been here that has told us that they could do this in one day. They cannot do it in one day. That is why the requirement is for 3 days. Instant checks would be ideal, just like going to the clothing store to get a shirt or a tie. But we do not live in a perfect world. Sadly, we do not. Legitimate hunters and sports people and collectors have nothing to fear with the defeat of the Dingell amendment. The Second Amendment still prevails. But let us make sure that it is the legitimate hunters and sports folks of the world that can acquire and buy these firearms, not the crooks, not the criminals. We need to close the loopholes to make sure that the background checks work. When the President, whether he be Republican or Democrat, or maybe even Independent, tells us that they have the resources so that they can do it in 1 day or 1 hour or 5 minutes, we can change the law. But until then, we cannot.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I rise in very strong support for this amendment and sharing a commitment to finding a comprehensive solution to the problem. Education, parental involvement, youth activities, and accountability are just a few of the very important elements of this challenging issue. The rate of juvenile crime, particularly violent crime, is of growing concern throughout the country. This amendment, a bipartisan amendment, introduced by my colleague and friend, the gentleman from Pennsylvania, acknowledges that prevention is the key to preventing juvenile crime for most of our youth. This amendment streamlines current law. It reduces burdensome State requirements, and it provides States and local providers with greater flexibility in addressing juvenile crime. The amendment acknowledges that most successful solutions to juvenile crime are developed at the State and local level of government by those individuals who understand the very characteristics of youth in that area. I know in my district, particularly in Kalamazoo, Michigan, a coalition of local law enforcement officials are working together to beef up enforcement of the State's curfew laws, to identify peak juvenile crime hours, and fight truancy from school. By working with existing groups such as the Kalamazoo public schools, the Ys, the boys and girls clubs, these groups hope to establish meaningful programming that in fact provide constructive alternatives to street activity. I know that the YMCA Lincoln Program Center in Kalamazoo in the North Side gives hundreds of kids, and I have visited there, ranging from ages 6 to 16 a safe and positive alternative to life on the streets. More than just a drop-in center, this program instills the values of care, honesty, respect, and responsibility into virtually every single activity. The prevention components of this amendment would go a long way towards supporting similar delinquency programs and activities across the country. In closing, Mr. Chairman, in the long run, our work today will have far-reaching effects on the quality of life for our neighborhoods and their children for years to come. I am looking forward to continuing to be involved and motivated in this effort.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I would like to speak for two Members who are not here tonight at the moment who I know would like to be here, my colleague the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee), who serves on the Page Board, along with my good friend the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Kolbe). And for all Members, we are so appreciative of all the work that you did. You do see us long days, long hours, early in the morning, and certainly again late at night. I have had the opportunity to appoint a number of students, wonderful students, from my district that have served. And it is terrific to watch them work and know who the Members are and understand a little bit of the process. After they have left here, I have often seen them back at their schools back at home. And I correspond with them after they have left, even many years after they have left. And as I talk to their parents, I know that it is an opportunity that they will never ever forget. It is a great privilege for all of you to be here. It is a privilege for us to have you be here, as well. And even though some of us might look like a page from time to time, particularly if we wear a blue coat, I just wanted to say for all of us, thank you. You do a wonderful job.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this bipartisan, common sense amendment. I applaud the efforts of not only our cosponsors, but certainly the leadership shown by my good friend the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp) and the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Roemer) as well. This has been a good effort, where we have succeeded before. There are 13 different spending bills. As we ask others to tighten their belts, they first look to the Congress too. We want to lead by example. I know that there has not been a year that I have been here that I have spent all the money that has been allocated to my office. It would be a crime to know that that money was reprogrammed without my wishes or goes to some other member who might have overspent their budget. That is not right. When I do not spend money, I want it to go back to where it came from, the Treasury. I want it to benefit the taxpayers of this country, to reduce the debt. That is what this amendment does. At one point in my life I had the chance to work for the Office of Management and Budget. I tell you, when I worked there under David Stockman, my predecessor in the Congress, we were able to see the Reagan Administration push through a law here in the Congress that really looked at what the agencies did with their own budgets, because as we looked at their spending, often in September, before the end of the fiscal year, all of a sudden they would have a gigantic leap in their funds. All of a sudden they would see they were not going to spend all of their money and there were just tremendous outlays and purchases that they made to spend all their money. Guess what? We put a stop to that. We put an amendment forward that was adopted that slowed down the purchases at the end of the fiscal year so in fact if they did save money, that money was not reprogrammed, but it went to reduce at that point the debt and the deficit. That is what this amendment accomplishes. What this amendment says is that we in the Congress, all of the Members here, through our accounts are going to spend more than $413 million. The gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Roemer) was right. The average Members only spend about 90 percent of their budget. Figure out the math. That is tens of millions, tens of millions of dollars each year that we can return to the Treasury. We can not only feel good about that, but it actually does make a dent in reducing the debt. I would ask all of my colleagues to support this amendment. It makes sense to most of the Members here, certainly to the groups like the National Taxpayers Union and others. It is bipartisan. Clearly we can work together. It is a good idea.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I know the hour is getting late, and we have had a lot of votes, not only tonight, but earlier nights as well. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), my friend and colleague on the other side of the aisle in celebration of his 37th anniversary. I would like to note that we are circulating a card, and all Members can sign this to my friend, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) to congratulate him and his wife, Joan. We are glad that he is here tonight, and we hope to get him back soon.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, it is a great pleasure for me to rise today to honor the Futures Academy of the Benton Harbor Area Schools in Benton Harbor, Michigan. This organization is dedicated to providing education, guidance and new opportunities for students in my hometown. Now, more than ever, as random acts of violence in our schools terrorize our schools, we must look to our communities for creative ways to keep kids on the right path, giving them a hopeful, bright future. For two years now, this highly successful program has given students a chance to learn many of life's essential lessons that cannot always be taught in the classroom. In weekly discussions, they meet to discuss morality, values, and responsibility. They learn respect for each other, respect for the community, and respect for themselves. In short, the skills and lessons they will need for the future. If the future is in the hands of these young adults, I think we are all in good hands. They are visiting Washington, D.C. this week to learn more about their government and civic responsibility. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues here in the House to take notice of this great organization. By working together, Benton Harbor has put in place a successful program that is helping children grow from students into responsible, motivated young adults. It is formula that I would encourage my colleagues to promote in their own districts and communities. These are really terrific kids. I am so impressed to see how they have dedicated themselves and agreed to work hard toward some very very important goals. Again, Mr. Speaker, please join me in celebrating the Futures Academy of Benton Harbor.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Chairman, I would wish to engage in a colloquy with my good friend from New Mexico (Mr. Skeen). Mr. Skeen, I appreciate your willingness to discuss the Department of Agriculture Plant Protection Center located in Niles, Michigan. I know that you share my belief that this center has a very important mission, finding natural means to combat pests. The role of this facility among plant protection centers is important to American agriculture and is of enormous value to the agriculture industry throughout the Midwest. The work the employees do in Niles is particularly important in light of the probable loss of pesticides as a result of the implementation of the Food Quality Protection Act. In fact, just this past year the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Michigan State University have formed partnerships with the laboratory at Niles aimed at promoting biological control options. This is a prime example of partnering and cost-sharing between State and Federal agriculture interests using the best strengths of both partners to benefit agriculture. I am greatly troubled that within the past 2 years the budget of this facility has been cut by 26 percent, the staff reduced from 45 to 19 employees. Especially troubling is the fact that this facility receives its funding through the biocontrol line item, which tends to receive increased funding and is scheduled to get a 22 percent increase in fiscal year 2000. I firmly believe that any further reductions in the budget at this Niles facility would be a serious error and would jeopardize the strength of agriculture throughout the Midwest. Mr. Chairman, I yield to my friend the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Skeen) for a response.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I recently had the pleasure of introducing one of my constituents, Dr. Fred Mathews, at a hearing of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations. Dr. Mathews had been invited to speak on behalf of the Neurofibromatosis Foundation in support of increased funding for this often devastating disease. It is a privilege to know Dr. Mathews and count him as a friend. In addition to his 47 years of practicing optometry in Dowagiac, MI, he has devoted his talents and energy to improving the quality of life in his community and expanding education opportunities and excellence in our state. When he learned that his lovely young granddaughter, Allison, was afflicted with neruofibromatosis, he took on the most important fight of his life--the fight for a cure for this disease for Allison and for the at least 100,000 others who have this neurological disorder. His testimony before the subcommittee was eloquent, and I would like today to submit it to the Congressional Record so that others may see the urgency of the need to find a cure. Dr. Mathews' testimony follows: A Worried Grandfather Thank you Congressman Upton and thank you Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee for allowing me to testify. I am Fred Mathews, a constituent of Congressman Upton from Southwestern Michigan. I am here today because my beautiful granddaughter Allison has Neurofibromatosis, a not so rare and devastating genetic disorder. In 1994 Allison was four years old when I first asked her parents about some spots on her skin. I had assumed these were simple birthmarks. This was the first time her parents shared with me that she had Neurofibromatosis, or abbreviated called NF. Up until then we had been shielded from the terrible truth. I am an optometrist in a small town in southwest Michigan. I have practiced there for 47 years. Even though I am not a medical doctor I have better than a layman's knowledge of general medical problems. However, I had never heard of NF. Immediately I began to research NF. I called research centers. I called the National Institutes of Health. I linked up with the National Neurofibromatosis Foundation. My testimony today has the blessing of that fine organization. There is no way to describe the despair and hopelessness that families experience when faced with the fact that a child or grandchild has an incurable disease. My research left my wife and me panic-stricken. Here is a short version of what my research revealed. NF is the most common neurological disorder caused by a single gene. At least 100,000 Americans have NF. This makes NF more prevalent than Cystic Fibrosis, hereditary muscular dystrophy, Huntington's Disease and Tay Sachs combined. NF causes tumors to grow anywhere on or in the body. NF can lead to disfigurement, blindness, deafness, skeletal abnormalities, dermal, brain and spinal tumors, loss of limbs, malignancies and learning disabilities. The terrible disfigurement is why NF has erroneously been confused with the so called ``elephant man'' disease. NF affects both genders, all races and ethnic groups equally. NF research in 1994 (when I first learned of my granddaughter's problem) had begun about 9 years earlier by the National NF Foundation. The gene causing NF had just been discovered. My personal research did reveal some good news for my family and me. My granddaughter has the NF1 gene rather than the NF2 gene. With the NF2 gene the tumors and other bizarre disorders can start soon after birth. NF1 however, which my granddaughter has, sometimes does not manifest serious problems until puberty or beyond. I also learned from Peter Bellermann, President of the National NF Foundation, and the world's greatest crusader to find a cure for NF, that researchers were hopeful of finding a cure in 10-15 years. Simple mathematics told me that this might be too late for my granddaughter and thousands of kids like her who were living with this time bomb. I also learned that researchers believed that the projected time for a cure could possibly be cut in half if more research dollars were available. I am grateful that this Committee and the Congress did respond to our plea and did appropriate significant new funds for NF research. In 1995 Chairman Porter also added language to the Appropriations Bill which expressed to NIH the commitment of this Committee for accelerated NF research. Because of this Committee, the Congress, the NIH, the National NF Foundation and many dedicated researchers, our Allison who is now 9 years old, has a chance to avoid the ravages of NF. We are thankful and hopeful but still very apprehensive. The time clock is still running rapidly. Research has been extremely successful but has a long way to go to find a cure. The National NF Foundation and I urge that the language which has been in the Appropriations Bill for the past four years, expressing this Committee's commitment to NF research, be in the FY 2000 bill. I am grateful for the courtesy members of this committee and other members of congress and their staffs have shown Peter Bellermann and me these past few years. Some of you have my granddaughter's picture in your office. In my opinion, no expenditure by the Federal Government is more rewarding, more needed, and more appropriate than research for dread diseases including NF. As a grandfather of a little girl with one of these dread diseases, I feel anxiety, frustration but also hope knowing that the timetable for a cure of NF and other diseases is almost solely dependent on the willingness of the Congress to recognize medical research as its #1 priority. That is why Mr. Chairman we strongly support a significant increase in funding for the National Institutes of Health medical research. With the NIH as the quarterback, the greatest hope we have for finding a cure for NF and all other dread diseases, lies with this Committee and the NIH. Since my allotted time is up Mr. Chairman, I respectfully request permission to extend my remarks in the written testimony I will leave with the Committee. Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, on behalf of the National Neurofibromatosis Foundation, as well as the thousands of children and adults with NF, I thank you and my Allison thanks you.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, as the co-chairs of the Congressional Automobile Caucus, we rise to recognize the newly formed Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers on the occasion of the inaugural meeting of its Board of Directors. In Washington today, we hear a lot about reinvention. The Alliance is a perfect example of a major industry ``reinventing'' itself to reflect new world realities. The American auto industry has undergone a remarkable transformation in the past few years with the mergers and alliances between U.S. manufacturers and manufacturers around the globe. While its predecessor organization was composed of solely U.S. companies, the new Alliance embodies the global market place, with 10 member companies from around the globe. The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, an international coalition of car and light truck manufacturers, was formed this past January. The member companies include BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Fiat, Ford, General Motors, Mazda Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagon, and Volvo. The new trade association created by this powerful Alliance of automobile manufacturers promises to be an organization that is nimble enough to respond to rapidly changing issues that reach across the ever-shrinking global marketplace. Members of the Alliance have gone on the public record as committed to developing constructive approaches. Moreover, the Alliance pledges to work with government and other stakeholders to find sensible and effective solutions to shared concerns. We have already witnessed this constructive approach to issues. On May 1, President Clinton unveiled EPA's proposed ``Tier 2'' standards to reduce vehicle emissions and sulfur content in fuel. Prior to this announcement, the Alliance had called for reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions and sulfur-free fuel to provide cleaner cars and cleaner air. EPA's proposal and the Alliance are similar. The Alliance generally supports the clean air targets that EPA has proposed, including cars and trucks meeting the same average standards for nitrogen oxides. The Alliance companies operate 255 manufacturing facilities in 33 states. They produce more than 90% of all new vehicles sold each year in the United States. The Alliance stands ready to provide its views and comments on automotive concerns to Members of Congress as we debate issues of importance to the industry and consumers. It has a dedicated staff of professionals, led by Josephine Cooper, who have a long record of experience and knowledge of automobile issues. A key component to developing good public policy is having an open dialogue with groups impacted by our decisions. We are confident that the Alliance and its member companies will play a vital role in developing creative and constructive solutions to the issues before the Congress.

Mr. UPTON

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of the time. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to commend my friend, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutsch) and all the speakers who have spoken this afternoon on both sides of the aisle. We know what the right vote is. That is a ``yes'' vote on this resolution. We have had enough. Frankly, the appropriators I think all of us wish had depleted their work a long time ago. The emergencies are well-known. Many of these pork barrel projects should have been stripped from the very beginning. And I would hope that today's vote not only will pass but will send a very strong signal to those conferees that enough is enough, no more of this pork ought to be added to bills that really must pass. My friend, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind) talked about going to the funeral this weekend or maybe perhaps tonight or tomorrow with regard to the brave helicopter pilot who died from Wisconsin. As I think about his message, I think about my weekend this weekend when I am going to go visit some almost 200 reservists who are leaving from Kalamazoo Battle Creek and will be leaving this weekend, Air Force reservists, to go to the Balkans. And as I talk to other military folks from around the world, the Air Force colonel who just came back from a tour in Hungary 6 months, living in a tent that was so old that the fire retardant was not good anymore and they were wondering how it was going to last another winter with the heater that they might have in it. The mother that I talked to this last weekend in Michigan, whose son is a Trident submarine trainee who does not have the books or can pay literally for the uniform they need to wear. I think about the woman that I talked to from Oklahoma City the other day who, after surviving the tornado, talked to me a little bit about her experience there and how it came so close to Tinker Air Force Base. And my comment was, boy, they must have looked like Chicago O'Hare with all those planes taking off so that we did not end up with a complete disaster there. And her response was, ``No, they do not have enough crews to fly those planes out. It could have been another Pearl Harbor, even worse than the situation there.'' We need to help our troops as they prepare for whatever lies ahead of them, that their life is as good as we can make it with housing and everything else. For this bill to come back cluttered from the Senate, filled with these items, whether they be environmental or other junk, is not right. It would be a travesty for us to recede to the Senate in a number of these issues. I would hope we could pass this resolution to send it back to both chambers clean, and that the emergency measures in both bills that all of us agree to here, Republicans and Democrats, would come back unfettered, that we would be proud to vote for this thing. I think the signal that we are sending to our leadership and really to the rest of the country is if it does come back with a lot of these projects, then in fact the vote that I cast a couple of weeks ago, a ``yes'' vote for this, will in fact be reversed and I will vote ``no.'' Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to vote for this motion. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Boehlert) to engage in a colloquy.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the statement of the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer). Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Bass).

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Cunningham).

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Kelly).

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Bilbray), and I want to say that we all appreciate the statement of the gentleman from Wisconsin.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Gilchrest).

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, under section 7(c), rule XXII, I offer a motion to instruct conferees on the bill (H.R. 1141) making emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1999, and for other purposes.

Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Over the last couple of weeks this House has passed two supplemental appropriations bills. I voted for each of the two bills. I thought that they were very important and truly emergency spending resolutions that we needed to agree on and pass. Mr. Speaker, we passed both these resolutions here in the House, and clearly they were urgent, and clearly they were necessary. Many of us in the last week or two, when we supported particularly the second resolution, helping our readiness, helping our troops all over the world, decided that that was the wisest course to take. When we passed those two bills, we did not include the traditional pork barrel projects that are sometimes, more often than not, added onto these bills. But sadly, the other body took a different course. Yesterday when I introduced this resolution, we indicated that we should not exceed the scope of the bills passed in the House and Senate. This is a step in the right direction. Frankly, I would like to do a lot more. I would like to get all of the pork, all of these pork barrel projects that are not emergency, out of the bill. But lo and behold when I get home at night, as I did last night, and I turn on C-Span, it is really a big bazaar. It is Members of Congress in the House or the Senate, it does not matter which party, trading projects back and forth, back and forth. Mr. Speaker, I can remember the staffer in the Reagan administration looking at some of these appropriation conference bills. The House would pass a bill at this level, the Senate would be a little higher, and we would end up with a bill that was higher than both of them. The same thing is happening again. This has got to stop. This is taking money away from social security. This clearly has an impact on the surplus or the deficit, the long-term debt. It is wrong. This is an emergency. We need only to deal with the emergency items, whether they be the tornado, the awful tornado that struck in Oklahoma, whether they be Hurricane Mitch, whether it be our readiness. All of those things I can understand, and I think the taxpayers across the country can understand. But when they start seeing a bridge here, an armory here, some special environmental rider here or there, lots of things added to this bill, none of which were ever intended, particularly by the leaders of this House when we passed those bills, both in March and April, we have to draw the line. What this resolution does, Mr. Speaker, is say, they have got to go. This is our instructions to our conferees that have now been working for some 3 weeks, that it is time to put their feet to the fire and say no to these special interests, no to these special projects, bring a bill back for the House and Senate to agree to that does not include all of these pork barrel items. Mr. Speaker, we have a number of speakers that want to speak on this issue this afternoon, so I reserve the balance of my time.