Peter Visclosky

Mr. VISCLOSKY

Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to pay tribute to an outstanding citizen of Indiana's First Congressional District, James W. Holland. On Saturday, January 16, 1999, Mr. Holland, along with his friends and family, will celebrate his retirement and honor his five decades of public service. The celebration will take place at Marquette-on-the-Lagoon in Gary, Indiana. In 1943, James Holland graduated from Rock Island High School in Illinois. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Northwestern University in 1950, he continued his education at Valparaiso University, completing a Master's degree in Liberal Studies. From 1951 through 1968, he taught twelfth grade Government and Economics in Gary. In 1968, Mr. Holland became the executive for the City of Gary Model Cities Program. Subsequently, as Principal Associate of Jacobs Company, he authored administrative manuals that became the national standard for the Model Cities Program. Mr. Holland devised and established basic Model Cities structures for 15 cities, which led to lengthy on-site consultancies in major United States cities. In 1980, he was one of twenty Fellows selected annually from hundreds of nominees to attend the Harvard University Fellow Program for Senior Executives. Additionally, he served as Deputy Mayor of the City of Gary from 1976 through 1988. As Deputy Mayor, he supervised 38 department heads and administered an over $40 million annual budget, as well as over $100 million in federal programs. Mr. Holland has dedicated a substantial portion of his life to the betterment of Northwest Indiana, especially the transportation systems of Gary, Indiana. After 10 years of dedicated service, Mr. Holland is retiring as President of Gary Intercity Lines and General Manager of the Gary Public Transportation Corporation. Under his management, Gary Public Transportation Corporation has won numerous safety awards and other awards from the Indiana Transit Association and the American Public Transportation Association. Additionally, Mr. Holland has served on numerous transportation committees. Mr. Holland was Chairman of the Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission, as well as a past member of the Executive Board of the Northwest Indiana General Assembly Study Commission on State Transportation. On this special day, I offer my heartfelt congratulations. Mr. Holland's large circle of family and friends can be proud of the contributions this prominent individual has made. His exceptional work in the transportation sector of Northwest Indiana will be greatly missed. Fortunately, the community as a whole will continue to profit from his unselfish involvement to make Northwest Indiana a better place in which to live and work. I sincerely wish him a long, happy, healthy and productive retirement.

Mr. VISCLOSKY

Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, the committee report which accompanies the Labor, HHS, Education appropriations bill, as approved by the Appropriations Committee, encourages the National Institute for Environmental Health Science (NIEHS) to cooperate with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to support provisions in the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended, relating to the registration and re-registration of public health pesticides. In 1996, FIFRA was amended by a set of reforms which were enacted in the Food Quality Protection Act (P.L. 104-170). This legislation authorized $12 million per year for the creation of a public health pesticide data collection program within the department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Many pesticides are specialized products with a low-volume sales markets. for many of these products, the cost of generating the data necessary to maintain registrations far exceeds return on sale. Consequently, many EPA registered pesticides are cancelled for economic reasons. The EPA Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary of HHS should promote research on products used in combating and eradicating urban pests, including rats, mice, cockroaches, flies mosquitos, ticks, and fleas. These pests pose a serious health risk to the general population in densely populated cities and suburbs. Vulnerable sub-populations such as children, the elderly, and individuals with compromised immune systems are particularly at risk. Pesticides registered for public health uses are utilized to prevent the spread of bacteria which are carried by pests, such as Salmonella, Legionnaire's Disease, E. Coli, Lyme Disease, Encephalitis.

Mr. VISCLOSKY

Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, we have a crisis in steel that my colleague from Ohio (Mr. Traficant) just alluded to. I want to thank the leadership of this House for promising the gentleman from Ohio that we would have a vote on his resolution today, a real steel resolution with real language, real teeth, and I ask every one of my colleagues to support this bipartisan resolution introduced by the gentleman from Ohio, House Resolution 598. It is the resolution I am personally going to support. We need this, because H. Res. 598 calls for a 10-day review period for all steel imports and a 1-year ban on steel imports from countries found to be violating our law, not 3 months of consultation. We need this, because the American Institute for International Steel has written to every one of its members and said that because of cases filed on September 30, the earliest date for withholding of liquidations would be December 9. Translation: Dump your steel before December 9 or it will be too late. Vote for Traficant.

Mr. VISCLOSKY

Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Traficant) for yielding this time to me, and I think thank you's are also in order for the leadership for finally bringing this important issue to a vote on a real steel resolution for the House of Representatives, and I do want to add my compliments as well to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula) for his leadership on this issue. The gentleman from Illinois in his remarks indicated that we might be vulnerable, if we pass this resolution today, to retaliation. I will sharply disagree. We have been attacked already. Imports are up from Japan in the first 7 months of this year 114 percent. We have been attacked by Indonesia whose exports to the United States of steel products are up over 300 percent. We have been attacked by South Korea whose steel exports to the United States are up 89 percent. Now, as I mentioned earlier on the floor today, there is a letter being circulated by the so-called American Institute for International Steel. Because the steel companies on behalf of themselves and behalf of those workers whose jobs are threatened have finally filed trade cases to protect themselves in their very existence, the International Steel Institute has sent out a letter dated September 30 saying the earliest date for the withholding of liquidations would be December 9. Under the law, any imports that arrive during this period, i.e., September 30 to December 9, cannot be touched by any dumping duty that may be found. Thank you, International Steel Institute. The translation is, dump now, dump often, dump a lot but do it by December 9. I am not worried about retaliation, Mr. Speaker. I am worried about the attack we are under. The administration has not acted and that is why we are here today in this House under the bipartisan resolution of the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Traficant) to call upon the administration to act. I would further disagree with the assertions of the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Crane). This does not demand a ban. It allows a ban, and I ask my colleagues to support the Traficant bipartisan resolution.

Mr. VISCLOSKY

Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute and 15 seconds. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula) earlier in his remarks talked about the ``Visclosky resolution.'' That was not the Visclosky resolution. That was a bipartisan resolution that the caucus agreed to. We had cosponsors of that resolution language on both sides. The gentleman from Ohio has had people losing their jobs as recently as 5 days ago: September 2, September 29, October 1, October 8.

Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Traficant), my friend and the friend of everybody in economic risk in this country. (Mr. TRAFICANT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. VISCLOSKY. Madam Speaker, I also ask unanimous consent that we extend debate on this resolution for 1 additional hour, given the important nature of the resolution before the House.

Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar).

Mr. VISCLOSKY. I yield to the gentleman from Ohio.

Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Bachus). (Mr. BACHUS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. VISCLOSKY. Madam Speaker, the gentleman from Indiana is opposed to the resolution.

Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, most of the bipartisan language. So, this was not a partisan issue. The administration has not acted and that is why we are here tonight. The Commerce Department has not initiated its own investigation. The Trade Rep's office has not initiated its own investigation. Neither has the Commerce Department or Trade Rep office called for countervailing duties. No one in the administration has pressured the European Union to discuss sharing the burden of the financial crisis in Russia or Asia. Mr. Speaker, I will close my portion of the remarks by indicating that this is not the best all of us can do collectively. The best we can do collectively is to send this back to the committee of jurisdiction and tell them to do better on Wednesday.

Mr. VISCLOSKY. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Klink).

Mr. VISCLOSKY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Archer) stated correctly that there is a significant problem with a surge in steel imports into the United States of America. In the first 6 months of this year compared to the first 6 months of last year, imports have surged from South Korea by 89 percent. Imports from Japan have surged 113 percent. Imports from Indonesia have surged over 300 percent. People have lost their jobs. They are not going to get laid off, they are not going to lose their jobs, they have lost their jobs. The gentleman from Texas was also correct, that in a bipartisan fashion a period of time ago, a significant number of Members in the House of Representatives introduced a resolution to call upon the administration, that has not acted on this matter, to take action. The administration has not acted, and people have lost their jobs because of that. That is why we are here tonight, because if the President of the United States is not going to enforce the trade statutes of the United States of America, we have a constitutional responsibility to do it in this House. I have the utmost respect for the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula), the chairman of the Congressional Steel Caucus, as well as the Vice- Chair, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murtha), and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Quinn), who chairs the executive committee. We were all on that original resolution, and we called for the enhanced enforcement of the United States trade laws with respect to the surge in steel imports. We asked that the United States government use all remedies available under those laws, including offsetting duties, I stand to be corrected if that is not the law of the land today, and the instrument of the law under the Constitution that the President can use today. We said in that resolution, that bipartisan resolution, calling upon our president, who has not acted, that he should use quantitative restraints if necessary. That is exactly what the European community has done. They have put up a wall. People are so cavalier when they come in. They say yes, the Europeans did it, but we are going to cause a crisis internationally if we simply protect ourselves from an illegal international action. If I am wrong that quantitative restraints are not allowable under the law of the land today, I stand to be corrected right now, and other authorized remedial measures as appropriate that are available to the President of the United States. The second paragraph of that resolution that was introduced in a bipartisan fashion to call upon the President, who has not acted, said that the President should pursue with all tools at his disposal a more equitable sharing of the burden of accepting imports of finished steel products from Asia and the countries within the Commonwealth. The language we have before us today says that we should consult with the officials of Japan, we should consult with the officials of Korea, we should consult with the European Union. I bet Mr. Kim at Pohang Steel is going to lay awake tonight worrying about our consultation. We are going to consult him to death between now and January 3. Mr. Yakamura of Nippon Steel in Japan, the guy is probably going to have a heart attack because we are going to consult with the Japanese. We have been consulting for 6 months, and nobody has taken any action. I bet the foreign ministers of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, I bet they are going to be apoplectic because we are going to consult with them. Do Members know what, they have a job. They have a job. But 450 white-collar workers at Inland Steel in Chicago, Indiana, they do not have a job today. They do not have a job today. On October 7, 2 days ago, or 5 days ago, I stand corrected, Timken Steel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, laid off 160 workers. They do not have a job today. That foreign minister in France got his job. Forty-seven steelworkers who were laid off at three Ohio steel- producing facilities last month, those 47 workers, I will bet most of them are married, I will bet most have kids, most have a mortgage, and they cannot wait until January 5, with Christmas and Thanksgiving, and three months of feeding their kids and sending them to school. We have 40 union workers laid off at Timken Steel in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. We had, on September 2nd, 400 people laid off at Inland Steel, in addition to the 450. Geneva Steel in Utah, an 18 percent cutback, 355 people as of September 29. As of 1\1/2\ weeks ago, those 350, they are not working, but the guy in Luxembourg, the guy in Japan, the guy in Korea, he is working. He is working. The President has done nothing. We have an obligation to do something. The third portion of our resolution, bipartisanly introduced, said that the administration ought to establish a task force within the branch with the responsibility for closely monitoring imports. No great quibble here. The resolution before us today says we will continue to closely monitor. A lot of good that has done for all of these other people that have continued to lose their jobs, the 200 people in Fairfield, Alabama, who on September 1 were laid off by U.S. Steel, the 100 people in Mon Valley, Pittsburgh, who were laid off on September 1. That monitoring so far to date, the last 6 months, has not helped the people at Slater Steel, where 51 positions were eliminated last week. Last Thursday, 51 people lost their jobs. It did not help them that we have been monitoring since last summer. The last part of our resolution said that there should be a report to us, to the Republicans, to the Democrats, a report to us by the President, who has not acted, on the comprehensive plan we want him to develop to deal with this surge. We want a plan in place. We want action taken no later than that. The resolution before us today said that the President ought to report back and say he should tell us what the impact is by January 5. I have a couple more. Acme Steel in Riverdale, Illinois. They just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. A good thing we had a bankruptcy bill on the House floor last week. We anticipated that event. We have lost jobs. We are losing jobs as the weeks go by. We are asking for the President to come back in 3 months with this resolution and say, tell us what the impact is, Mr. President. We would really like to know. Everybody in this Chamber is smart enough to know what the problem is. I respect all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, because we all want the same thing to happen. We want the President of the United States to act. We want this institution to act. But in the last day or two of this Congress, to stand before the American people with a resolution that says, report back to us on the impact, let us monitor this, let us consult people to death, is a sham, and I am not going to lie to the workers who are losing their jobs every day. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. VISCLOSKY. Madam Speaker, I wish to be recognized in opposition to the resolution.

Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich).

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

Mr. VISCLOSKY. Which I sponsored, but which contained the bipartisan language.

Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, if I could ask the Chair what the time remaining is on each side.

Mr. VISCLOSKY

Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, it is my distinct honor to commend two of Northwest Indiana's most distinguished citizens, Gary and Iris Greenbaum, of Munster, Indiana. On November 1, 1998, Gary and Iris will be honored for their exemplary and dedicated service to our community and to the State of Israel. Their praiseworthy efforts will be recognized at the Northwest Indiana-Israel Dinner of State, as they receive the 1998 Israel Builders of Freedom Award. The Freedom Builder Awards are given each year to worthy recipients who demonstrate their dedication and service to Israel, the State of Israel Bonds, the Jewish community, and our own community. The Greenbaums are most certainly worthy recipients of this year's award. True community activists, Gary and Iris give much of their time to local charities and service organizations. These community groups include the Munster Citizens Police Commission, the Northwest Indiana Jewish Welfare Federation, the Gleaner Food Depository, Temple Israel, Congregation Beth Israel, and the local Jewish Federation. Gary and Iris, longtime residents of Munster, hale from Gary and Chicago, respectively. After both graduated from Indiana University, they returned to Gary's native region, Northwest Indiana, and have made our area their permanent home. In 1971, Gary started his career as an insurance agent. After a few years gaining quality experience, in 1976 he founded the Greenbaum Insurance Agency, located in Griffith, Indiana; Iris also works for the Agency as its most important unpaid worker in her dual role as office manager and insurance agent. Gary and Iris are the parents of two sons, Jason and Evan, of whom they are immensely proud. Both Gary and Iris have their own interests outside of work and their dedicated community activities. Gary is an antique automobile buff, and Iris is a master gardener; both enjoy traveling together. They plan on continuing their charity and community work, in addition to providing affordable, local insurance services to Northwest Indiana residents. In the words of Gary himself, ``I believe every Jew has the solemn responsibility to safeguard his brothers from oppression by helping to guarantee that Israel exists as a haven where any Jew can choose his own destiny.'' As America has served as a haven of freedom and opportunity for immigrants the world over, so her citizens now reach out and ensure that the freedom-loving peoples of the world are safe and secure. To quote Thomas Paine, ``Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it.'' No one is more deserving of the opportunity and freedom guaranteed by America than Gary and Iris Greenbaum; their efforts have truly gone above and beyond the call of duty. Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues join me in congratulating Gary and Iris Greenbaum for receiving the 1998 Israel Builders of Freedom Award. Their dedicated service to both the State of Israel and our Northwest Indiana community is commendable and admirable. No government, leader, or military can safeguard the twin blessings of freedom and opportunity without the labors of dedicated, conscientious citizens. With their support, our world has become a better place, a place of freedom, democracy, and opportunity. Indiana's First Congressional District is proud to count two such dedicated, conscientious citizens, Gary and Iris Greenbaum, among her residents.

Mr. VISCLOSKY

Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise before you to congratulate one of Northwest Indiana's most noble, selfless, and dedicated individuals: Dr. Anthony S. Lenzo, of Crown Point, Indiana. On October 11, 1998, Dr. Lenzo will be honored by the Cesare Battisti Lodge #27, as this year's Member of the Year. In addition to his many years of service to the Lodge, he is being honored for his tireless efforts as a community leader. The Cesare Battisti Lodge #27 has been honoring its most dedicated members since 1966. A lifelong member of the organization, Dr. Lenzo serves as an excellent role model for both members of the Cesare Battisti Lodge, and for the people of Indiana's First Congressional District. Not only has he maintained a lifelong membership with Lodge #27, Dr. Lenzo has been a lifelong leader of the Lodge. He is currently the financial secretary and the editor of the Lodge newspaper. As Walter Lippman said, ``The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and the will to carry on.'' Dr. Lenzo's efforts in the community, in addition to his nationwide efforts for peace, have certainly inaugurated an enduring legacy. For many years, he has worked to have the United Nations designate a ``Weekend of Prayer, Meditation, and Thought on the Futility of War and the Desperate Need for Peace in the World.'' In his own words, ``It will be a thankful day when we can once again live in peace . . . peace in the world, peace within our nations, peace in our neighborhoods, peace in our streets.'' Since he began his campaign for peace, Dr. Lenzo has met with great success. He has received positive responses from former Secretary- General of the United Nations Boutros-Boutros Ghali, Pope John Paul II, and Elizabeth Taylor. Nearly all who hear Dr. Lenzo's plea for peace commend him on his campaign. I also commend Dr. Lenzo for his activism, leadership, and ardent dedication to a noble cause. This campaign is as poignant now as it was in January 1991 when I first called your attention to it. As members of NATO stand poised to initiate air strikes in Kosovo and Serbia, Dr. Lenzo's works remind us of the gravity of the actions they contemplate. As options are considered, his message to these nations is to keep the goal of peace in sight. Dr. Lenzo's suggestion that we step back and remember to whom we are accountable is as important now as it was then. Mr. Speaker, Dr. Tony Lenzo is an inspiration to us all. I ask that you and my distinguished colleagues join me in commending Dr. Lenzo for not only his award as Cesare Battisti Lodge #27's Member of the Year, but also for his extraordinary campaign for world peace. His superhuman efforts and selfless dedication are an example for every citizen of the United States to emulate. Northwest Indiana is lucky indeed to have such a resident.

Mr. VISCLOSKY

Mr. VISCLOSKY. 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. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to a question of the privileges of the House and offer a privileged resolution that I noticed pursuant to rule IX and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, I offer this question of privilege to bring attention to a catastrophic situation facing this Nation. The trade laws that the Congress has enacted over the last 60 years are designed to ensure that American workers are not hurt by unfair and illegal trade practices. Congressional intent, as represented by the Trade and Tariff Act of 1930, is being ignored at the present time. The U.S. steel industry and its workers are suffering because the Asian and Russian financial crises have led those countries to dump their steel on our market. The U.S. has been reluctant to stop this illegal practice. Steel that was formerly produced for domestic consumption in Asia is now being shipped to the United States where it is sold at prices below the cost of production. Steel prices in the United States have fallen 20 percent in the last 3 months alone. The European Union has protected itself and its steel industry against dumping by erecting temporary barriers to steel imports during the crisis. Their steel industry is weathering the storm. In America, the demand for domestic steel has decreased dramatically in mills in Alabama, West Virginia, Utah, Ohio, Iowa, Indiana, and workers have been laid off because of the decreased demand for American steel. American workers should not have to pay the price of the administration's refusal to enforce trade laws which the Congress has enacted and supports. This impinges on the integrity of this House. American steel workers, the most efficient in the world, cannot continue to be besieged by foreign steel products while waiting indefinitely for trade cases to be settled. Damage to the American steel industry is extensive, severe and rapidly growing. We need to protect our American steel workers by stemming the tide of illegally dumped steel, and the administration's failure to act again directly impinges on the integrity of this House.

Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, I appeal the ruling of the Chair.