September 26, 1996 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD— E1697 …€¦ · You?’’ is another example....

EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS

∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor.

Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor.

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1697September 26, 1996

‘‘JUNK JOURNALISM 101’’

HON. MICHAEL G. OXLEYOF OHIO

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, September 25, 1996

Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I would like tobring a recent column by Robert J. Samuelsonto the attention of my colleagues. The subjectis media coverage of the economy.

I am dismayed by the inferior quality of re-porting on economic issues presented by thenational news media. Whether the topic is theminimum wage, foreign investment, tax policy,or international trade, the American public isfed a steady diet of conjecture and cliche inthe guise of hard economic reporting.

What we have is journalism based on emo-tion and ideology rather than fact or economicprinciple. We have business page editorsmore interested in financial scandal than finan-cial growth, and features editors obsessedwith fiscal misfortune. Negativism, sensational-ism, and economic illiteracy rule the airwavesand the news page.

The complexities of the domestic and globaleconomies are frequently ignored in favor ofmelodramatic stories and conclusions unsup-ported by common experience or economicfact. Tax and trade issues are taken out ofcontext or selectively reported in a mannerpromoting protectionist demagoguery and eco-nomic resentments.

Ultimately, culpability for this state of affairsrests with senior editors seemingly unfamiliarwith accepted economic theory. Frozen in aKeynesian, New Deal mentality, they seemwedded to redistributionist, big-government so-lutions to every economic trepidation, real orimagined.

The result of decades of decision-making byliberal-leaning editors is an institutional biasagainst conservative economic theory and abrand of reporting infused with prejudiceagainst conservative policies. Republican ini-tiatives are panned or ignored, while the stud-ies of every left-wing think tank in Washington,DC are dutifully reported without dissent orcriticism.

Again Mr. Speaker, I commend the followingcolumn by Robert Samuelson to the attentionof all interested parties.

[From the Washington Post, Sept. 18, 1996]JUNK JOURNALISM 101

(By Robert J. Samuelson)

The Philadelphia Inquirer began a 10-partseries last week titled ‘‘America: Who Stolethe Dream?’’ that will attract attention. Thethesis is simple: Big Government and BigBusinesses are relentlessly reducing livingstandards and job security for most Ameri-cans. The series, by Donald Barlett andJames Steele, portrays living in America asa constant hell for all but the super-wealthy.This seems overdrawn, because it is. It’sjunk journalism, and the intriguing questionis why a reputable newspaper publishes it.

I call it ‘‘junk,’’ because it fails the basictest of journalistic integrity and com-petence: It does not strive for truthfulness,

however impossible that ideal is to attain. Itdoes not seek a balanced picture of the econ-omy—strengths as well as shortcomings—oran accurate profile of living standards. In-stead it offers endless stories of people whohave suffered setbacks. Their troubles aresupposed to speak for (and to) everyone.

They don’t. Statistics implying lower liv-ing standards are contradicted by what peo-ple buy or own. Home ownership (65 percentof households) is near a record. In 1980, 11percent of households owned a microwaveoven, 37 percent a dishwasher and 56 percenta dryer; by 1993, those figures were 78 per-cent, 50 percent and 68 percent. People buymore because their incomes are higher. (Sta-tistics understate incomes by overstating in-flation’s effect on ‘‘real’’ wages and salaries.)As for anxiety, it exists—and always will.But America is not clinically depressed. TheGallup poll reports that 66 percent of Ameri-cans expect their financial situation to im-prove in the next year.

The Inquirer’s twisted portrait of the econ-omy is not, unfortunately, unique. Earlierthis year, the New York Times ran a dis-torted series (which I criticized) on corporate‘‘downsizing.’’ A recent ‘‘CBS Reports’’called ‘‘Who’s Getting Rich? and Why Aren’tYou?’’ is another example. Explanations forthis sort of shoddy journalism fall into threeclasses: (1) sensationalism—it sells; (2) ideol-ogy—journalists detest the profit motive;and (3) ignorance—they don’t know better.Sensationalism and anti-business bias areold hat, but the larger problem, I think, isignorance or something akin to it.

Journalism copes awkwardly with the am-biguities of many economic stories. We’remost comfortable with scandals, trials, poli-tics, sports and wars. The conflicts are obvi-ous, moral judgments often can be made, andstories have clean endings. The economy de-fies such simple theater. The process bywhich wealth is created is unending andcomplex. Costs and benefits are comingled.What’s bad today may be good tomorrow.What hurts some may help many others.Low inflation is good, but ending high infla-tion may require something bad: a harsh re-cession.

The capacity of journalist to recognizesuch distinctions has grown since 1969, whenI first began reporting on the economy.Daily economic stories have improved inquality. But there’s one glaring exception tothe progress: the nation’s top editors. Out-side the business press (for example, the WallStreet Journal), the people who run news-papers, magazines and TV news divisionsdon’t know much about the economy—andseem unbothered by their ignorance.

The assumption is that most economic sto-ries are done by specialized reports andaimed at specialized audiences. While thisassumption holds, editorial ignorancedoesn’t matter much. Little damage occursif know-nothing editors don’t do much. Buton big projects—newspaper series, magazinecover stories, TV documentaries—the as-sumption collapses. Editorial control shiftsupward, and there’s a scramble for familiarnews formulas. Editors want villains and he-roes, victims and predators. Reporters whopromise simple morality tales can sell theirstories. The frequent result is journalistictrash.

The Inquirer series blames the ‘‘globaleconomy’’ and ‘‘free trade’’ policies for low-

ering wages and destroying jobs. What itdoesn’t say is that the trade balance and em-ployment are hardly connected. Barlett andSteele deplore the fact that the last U.S.trade surplus was in 1975, but they don’t tellreaders that the unemployment rate in 1975was 8.5 percent. They note that other coun-tries run trade surpluses. Between 1980 and1995, Germany had 16, the Netherlands 14 andSweden 13. But they don’t say that the un-employment rates for their countries are 9percent for Germany, 6 percent of the Neth-erlands and 9 percent for Sweden. By con-trast, the U.S. rate is 5.1 percent.

Trade doesn’t determine unemployment,because trade mainly affects a small part ofthe job base: manufacturing. In 1995, itsshare of all U.S. jobs was 16 percent. Tradecreates some jobs and destroys others, buttotal employment depends mainly on theeconomy’s overall vitality. The UnitedStates runs regular trade deficits in part be-cause the rest of the world wants dollars tofinance global commerce or substitute forweak local currencies. As a result, we don’thave to sell as much abroad as we buy; thedifference is made up by the dollars othercountries keep. All those extra importsraise—not lower—U.S. living standards.

If Barlett and Steele wanted to informreaders, they’d explain all this. But they’remainly interested in condemning. Every-thing they discuss (trade policies, growingincome inequality, executive compensation)is the legitimate stuff of journalism. What’sillegitimate is to report matters so selec-tively—with so little attention to conflictingevidence or any larger context—that ordi-nary readers are misled. The press can dobetter. The Los Angeles Times recently rana good series on the gains that economicchange creates as well as trauma it inflicts.

The real fault here lies with the top editors(at the Inquirer, the Times and other mediagiants) who commission or approve these dis-tortions. There’s no excuse for their inept-ness. The ‘‘economic story’’ is no longer new.It is central to the American condition and,therefore, a permanent concern of journal-ism. If editors don’t understand the econ-omy, they can’t exercise good judgment. Thepresent sanctioned stupidity leads to junkjournalism.

f

BIRTH OF ALEXANDRA KATHRYNRANDALL

HON. ROBERT W. NEYOF OHIO



Mr. NEY. Mr. Speaker, I commend the fol-lowing to my colleagues:

Whereas Alexandra Kathryn Randall wasborn on the twelfth day of August, 1996;

Whereas Alexandra’s parents, David andCortney Randall, are proud to welcome theirfirst child into their home; and,

Whereas I am sure that Alexandra Kathrynwill bring her parents and family love andjoy; Therefore, be it

Resolved, That the parents of AlexandraKathryn, with a real sense of pleasure andpride, join me in celebrating her birth andthe happiness she brings to their family.

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of RemarksE1698 September 26, 1996REFORM OF MEDICARE

INTRADIALYTIC PARENTERALNUTRITION [IDPN] BENEFIT

HON. FORTNEY PETE STARKOF CALIFORNIA



Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, when a grouppays too much for a product and thereby pro-vides windfall profits for the provider of thatproduct, there is an overwhelming temptationby that provider to oversell and overuse theproduct.

That’s what has happened in Medicare,where we pay grossly too much for a productcalled intradialytic parenteral nutrition [IDPN].As a result, kidney dialysis providers are sore-ly tempted to overprescribe and overuse thisproduct. To stop the questionable use of thisproduct, I am today introducing legislation toreform how Medicare pays for this nutritionaltreatment needed by a very small number ofend stage renal disease patients.

The current Medicare coverage ofintradialytic parenteral nutrition [IDPN] hasraised concerns involving the efficacy of thisprocedure as well as the possibility of grossoverutilization. IDPN is the provision of paren-teral nutrition that is administered during dialy-sis for end stage renal disease [ESRD] pa-tients. IDPN is used to deliver nutrition, includ-ing amino acids, carbohydrates, and at timesvitamins, trace elements, and lipids during di-alysis. Although IDPN is provided in conjunc-tion with dialysis, the coverage and reimburse-ment for IDPN are separate from the ESRDbenefit. Specifically, coverage of IDPN is in-cluded under the prosthetic device benefit andreimbursed under the durable medical equip-ment benefit.

Parenteral nutrition is covered for those pa-tients who have a functional impairment of thegastrointestinal tract, which prevents sufficientabsorption of nutrients to maintain an appro-priate level of strength and weight. Enteralfeeding, additional nutrition administered orallyor through a tube and absorbed through afunctioning gastrointestinal tract, must first beproven ineffective before parenteral nutritionwill be reimbursed. Parenteral nutrition is pro-hibited when it merely serves to supplementregular feeding.

There is concern within the medical fieldthat IDPN is being unnecessarily utilized. Ad-mittedly, there exist patients for whom IDPN isappropriate. According to a May 1993 Healthand Human Service Office of Inspector Gen-eral [OIG] report, an average of 2.4 percent ofpatients in dialysis facilities receive IDPN, inall cases only three times a week through theirdialysis shunt. For-profit dialysis facilities had2.9 percent of their ESRD patients using IDPNwhereas only 1.5 percent of not-for-profitESRD patients were on IDPN. This discrep-ancy between for- and not-for-profit hospitalsshould alert us to the possibility of abuse onthe part of for-profit dialysis centers.

Current billing practices for IDPN have re-sulted in enormous overcharging for IDPNsupplies. Some claim that Medicare is payingnearly 800 to 1,000 percent more than theprovider’s acquisition cost for IDPN supplies.Medicare allows $250 for one combination oftotal parenteral nutrition solution, but the ac-tual price of these supplies is no more than acouple of dollars. With such inflated prices, it

is no surprise that this specific Medicare partB benefit has been overutilized.

According to the U.S. Renal Data System’s1996 report, Medicare outlays for IDPN userose from $51.6 million in 1991, $68.7 millionin 1992, and to $78.1 million in 1993, butdropped off to $46.4 million in 1994. Thistreatment is considered by many in the medi-cal field to be only appropriate for a very lim-ited, constant number of end stage renal dis-ease patients. It is no coincidence that theDMERC’s new guidelines requiring more strin-gent documentation of the need for IDPN oc-curred just before this most recent decline inMedicare IDPN expenditures.

Since ESRD patients are on a dialysis ma-chine three times each week for a limited time,the total amount of intradialytic nutrition deliv-ered is rather limited. It is estimated that only10 to 20 percent of the recommended weeklycalories for an ESRD patient are suppliedusing the IDPN delivery method. However, onaverage it cost $60,000 per year to administerthese few calories. Only 70 percent of theamino acids administered through IDPN areretained within the body. This method ofamino acid supplementation provides roughly108 to 114 grams of protein per week. Forcomparison, an oral supplement given threetimes per day would provide 189 grams ofprotein per week. The cost of such enteralamino acid feeding is roughly $6.30 a week atthe Portland VA Medical Center. With thesekinds of gross windfall profits, there will beconstant pressure to overutilize and abuseIDPN. It is up to us to legislate reimbursementreform.

If the utilization rate and Medicare outlay in-creases were for a procedure that enjoyed de-finitive support from the medical community, Iwould not only justify but encourage wide-spread use of such treatment for our seniorsand disabled. However, in the opinion of theHHS’s own Office of Inspector General, ‘‘thebenefits of parenteral nutrition for ESRD pa-tients are unproven, its use is associated witha high rate of complication, and the cost ofcare is disproportionate to the resources ex-pended.’’

Clinicians disagree as to the efficacy of thistreatment method. Some cite increasing nutri-tional parameters as evidence that IDPN is in-deed nourishing the patient, while others feelthat the relatively few studies showing a posi-tive correlation between IDPN use and in-creasing nutritional parameters contains short-comings in the design of the study leading tounreliable conclusions. Still others claim thatthese studies simply fail to demonstrate a linkbetween decreasing morbidity and increasingnutritional parameters.

We must address the IDPN pricing issue im-mediately to prevent the incentives for over-utilization and the further plundering of our al-ready endangered Medicare. I propose thatwe begin by first changing the reimbursementof IDPN from a rate within the durable medicalequipment benefit to an incremental add-onpayment within the ESRD benefit that wouldreflect the marginal costs of providing the indi-vidual components of an IDPN solution. Thisnew ESRD benefit would cover only the armslength acquisition costs of the IDPN suppliesplus an appropriate administrative service fee.The Secretary must conduct a survey of theIDPN market to determine the estimated trueacquisition cost. To eliminate the benefit alto-gether would deny those few patients the right

to a treatment that is indeed warranted. How-ever, by altering the reimbursement of thistreatment we will reduce the financial incentivefor overutilization. In addition, specific HCPCScodes for IDPN will be created so as to beable to accurately identify the content of thesolutions that are being administered.

IDPN coverage has created a complex, con-fusing system with tremendous opportunity forabuse. I urge my colleagues to support thismeasure designed to create a simpler, morecost-effective means of covering intradialyticparenteral nutrition in end stage renal diseasepatients.f

TRIBUTE TO MRS. PATRICIADAVIS OF NASHVILLE, TN

HON. BOB CLEMENTOF TENNESSEE



Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today tooffer my enthusiastic congratulations to Mrs.Patricia E. Davis for her years of service tothe Nashville community. As director of Citi-zens for Affordable Housing, an agency de-signed to fulfill the necessary fundamentals ofhousing and location needs for all families ofthe Metropolitan Nashville area, she works toenable residents of low-rent housing to be-come both physically and mentally self-sus-taining. In addition to providing refinancing as-sistance, she also hosts workshops regardingcredit, housing, and mortgage issues. Thisagency serves all perspective homeownerswith a financial system which shows these in-dividuals how to live by a budget as well asmaking them aware of their new responsibil-ities.

Mr. Speaker, I believe we could all do wellto follow Patricia Davis’ example, to pay atten-tion to our communities, and give ourselves tothem.f

TRIBUTE TO DOMINICK RIVETTI

HON. HOWARD L. BERMANOF CALIFORNIA



Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am honored topay tribute to my good friend Dominick Rivetti,who has been police chief of the city of SanFernando since May 1986. This year ChiefRivetti is celebrating 25 years as a member ofthe San Fernando Police Department. I amproud to be among those congratulating himon achieving this milestone.

Before becoming chief, he moved up theranks, from patrol officer to senior training offi-cer to watch commander to division com-mander. Chief Rivetti is passionately dedi-cated to law enforcement and San Fernando:He and I have had many conversations aboutfinding funds to expand the size of the SanFernando Police Department. Indeed, the chiefis constantly on the look out for governmentprograms designed to help law enforcement.

The chief is currently vice president of theLos Angeles Police Chiefs’ Association, and isaffiliated with the International Association ofPolice Chiefs, the California Police Chiefs As-sociation, the San Fernando Police Advisory

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1699September 26, 1996Council, and the California Peace Officers As-sociation. In addition, he teaches at the LosAngeles Sheriff’s Department North Academyat College of the Canyons.

But Chief Rivetti’s involvement with SanFernando does not end with the workday. Heis also a member of the San FernandoKiwanis Club, the San Fernando Rotary Club,and the Northeast Valley Jeopardy Board ofDirectors. He is clearly someone who caresdeeply for his community.

I ask my colleagues to join me today in sa-luting San Fernando Police Chief DominickRivetti, a compassionate man who is devotedto his family and his work. His selflessnessand dedication are an inspiration to us all.f

AND A ONE, AND A TWO

HON. JAMES A. BARCIAOF MICHIGAN



Mr. BARCIA. Mr. Speaker, one of the great-est gifts that has been given to us is music.Music makes us laugh and brings us joy. Thatis why today I rise to pay tribute to a man whohas brought much joy and laughter to all whoknow him, Mr. Jim Lepeak. On Sunday, Octo-ber 6, Jim Lepeak will be inducted into theMichigan Polka Music Hall of Fame. A ban-quet and presentation will be held at the West-ern Fraternal Life Association Hall in Owosso,MI.

Born in 1929, music was in Jim’s blood. Hisfirst instrument was a cigarbox with rubber-bands stretched across it. At 7, he purchaseda mail-order guitar that was too big for his fin-gers. When his father gave him a small accor-dion out of sympathy for his guitar plight, Jimtook to it like a duck to water. He gave his firstpublic performance after only three short les-sons and quickly graduated to the 120 bassaccordion which, to this day, is his treasuredkeepsake.

In the early 1940’s, Jim joined the FloydTalaga Polka Band and the Musician’s Union.From that moment on, Jim knew that playingpolka music was the path for him. Throughouthis long career, Jim has been a member ofmany bands including Floyd Grocholski’s Mu-sical All Stars and Gary Taylor and the HappyKnights. During his many public appearances,Jim has played up and down the great Stateof Michigan entertaining people from CoboHall in Detroit to Sault Ste. Marie in the UpperPeninsula. The number of bands Jim hasplayed in is exceeded only by the number ofmusical instruments he has mastered. Jim ex-cels at playing not only the accordion but thebass guitar, mandola, Mandolin, piano, organ,drums, and violin. He has used his musicalproficiency to record several CD’s featuringpolka music.

His career has had several interesting high-lights, especially during his trips behind theIron Curtain. In the course of one of his tours,his playing led to a snake dance through theKasprawy Hotel in Zakopane, Poland, thatlasted until 4 a.m. He has also entertained onthe front deck of a boat on the Danube Riverin Budapest, Hungary, while the Captaindanced the polka in the wheelhouse.

These days Jim calls himself semiretiredwhile playing in a one-man band. He now de-votes most of his weekdays playing at hos-

pitals, nursing homes, and senior sites. Jimalso spends time with his charming wife,Illamae, and his four children, John, Joseph,Cynthia, and Gregory.

Mr. Speaker, Jim Lepeak has dedicated hislife to bringing music and laughter to ours. Heis a talented musician and a selfless volun-teer. I want you and our colleagues to roll outa barrel of thunderous applause for JimLepeak and his induction into the MichiganPolka Music Hall of Fame.f

A TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLEBOB WALKER FOR DISTIN-GUISHED SERVICE TO THE CITI-ZENS OF THE UNITED STATES

HON. F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR.OF WISCONSIN



Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I risetoday to honor the distinguished chairmanfrom Pennsylvania, the Honorable BOB WALK-ER. For the past 20 years, BOB has been anoutstanding representative for the people ofPennsylvania’s 16th District.

Since 1978, I’ve had the pleasure and fun ofserving and dealing with BOB. Let me say ithere first, there has never been nor will thereever again be a Member quite like BOB.

I’ve gotten to know BOB pretty well from ourwork on the Science Committee. BOB hasbeen and continues to be a devoted supporterand ally of science. He has done a marvelousjob as chairman of the Science Committee, fo-cusing the limited budget resources on soundscience and basic research. I sincerely hopemy friend will continue to provide his enthu-siasm and counsel in helping develop sciencepolicy for many years to come.

BOB’S impact has not been limited toscience policy. He successfully got his drug-free workplace provision passed in the 100thCongress. In addition, he has had legislativesuccess reforming product liability, antitrust,and intellectual property laws.

BOB has been a master of parliamentaryprocedure since he entered the House. Hismastery forced the Democratic leadership formany years to plug parliamentary loopholes asquickly as BOB could use them. Many battlesand victories were won because of BOB’S par-liamentary skills.

On behalf of the citizens of Wisconsin’sNinth District, I thank the Honorable BOBWALKER for his outstanding service to theHouse of Representatives and the UnitedStates.f

HONORING THE DEER PARKTERRORS SOFTBALL CHAMPS

HON. KEN BENTSENOF TEXAS



Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to con-gratulate the Deer Park Terrors, a team ofvery talented young softball players in my dis-trict who are the 1996 National Champions ofPony Softball, Pinto Division.

The Terrors finished with an amazing sea-son record of 42 wins and only 4 losses, be-

coming not only the national champs butTexas ASA Pixie State Champions as well.Their division included players aged 7 and 8during the season in which they played.

I want to congratulate all the team membersfor the hard work, dedication, and talent thatresulted in their success. Team members are:Ashley Bryant, Jessica Barrera, Caitlin Sand-ers, Brittainy Richardson, Melissa Williams,Heather Barker, Jennifer Turner, BrookeBoudreaux, Shara Hoffman, Madelyne McCol-lum, Lauren Flynn, and Stephanie Bradley.

I also want to congratulate their manager,David Hoffman; their coaches, Mike Williams,Mark Barker, Orlando Turner, and Scott Brad-ley; and their team mom, Colleen Sanders.They provided training, encouragement, andsupport that were essential to the team’s suc-cess.

To become national champions, the DeerPark Terrors had to win seven consecutivetournaments: Missouri City Shootout, DeerPark, Pasadena Pixie Turn-Up Classic, TexasASA Pixie State Tournament, La Porte‘‘Storm’’ Classic, Pony Regionals, and PonyNational Pinto Division Championship.

This string of success wouldn’t be possiblewithout both tremendous individual talent andan incredible team effort. Congratulations tothe Deer Park Terrors and best wishes for thecontinued success that I have no doubt the fu-ture will bring.f

DISTINGUISHED CAREER AWARDTO KATHERINE C. ILL, M.D.

HON. NANCY L. JOHNSONOF CONNECTICUT



Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speak-er, I rise to call attention to the distinguishedcareer of Dr. Katherine C. Ill, president of TheHospital for Special Care, a rehabilitation andlong-term care facility in my hometown of NewBritain, CT. Doctor Ill’s career has truly beena personification of public service. For over 30years, she has served The Hospital for Spe-cial Care and its community as a strong advo-cate at both the national and local levels, andhas developed programs and policies thatbenefit persons with physical disabilities. It isbecause of her tireless dedication and unwav-ering support for improving the quality of lifefor these special populations that Doctor Ill isto receive the American Rehabilitation Asso-ciation’s prestigious Milton Cohen Distin-guished Career Award this year.

Doctor Ill has been a visionary leader of TheHospital for Special Care since joining thestaff in 1964. Her leadership qualities, continu-ous pursuit of excellence, and unshakable in-tegrity were evident from the start, and shewas named medical director of the hospital in1966, and president and chief executive officerin 1986. She has been the architect forchange throughout her career with the hospitaland has led its transformation from a long-term chronic disease facility to an innovative,state-of-the-art center for rehabilitation, res-piratory, and medically complex pediatric care.

Doctor Ill is well respected by her peers andis deeply appreciated by the men and womenwho are cared for at The Hospital for SpecialCare. She is also involved in various commu-nity and medical associations, with the same

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of RemarksE1700 September 26, 1996commitment and dedication to service. In1990, the Hartford County Medical Associationnot only celebrated its 200th anniversary, itelected its first female president, Katherine Ill.She was elected president because she em-bodies the mission of the association: ‘‘to pro-mote and represent high quality of care; to en-dorse and support the highest standards ofprofessional integrity; to work with the commu-nity and its representatives for the improve-ment of health for all people.’’ These are thesame qualities for which she has been se-lected to receive the Milton Cohen Distin-guished Service Award, and why I ask my col-leagues to recognize this remarkable woman,whom I am proud to call a friend.f

SAFE DRINKING WATER

HON. PAT WILLIAMSOF MONTANA



Mr. WILLIAMS. Mr. Speaker, today I am in-troducing a bill to ensure a safe and reliablewater supply system for the residents of theFort Peck Reservation in Montana.

This legislation would authorize a reserva-tion-wide municipal, rural, and industrial watersystem for the Fort Peck people living on thatReservation. This bill also provides final quan-tification of the water rights of the Assiniboineand Sioux Tribes in northeastern Montana. Italso protects the rights of non-Indian waterusers existing since 1985, establishes a jointtribal State board to resolve disputes and al-lows for water marketing outside of the res-ervation to Montana communities.

The future needs of the reservation are ex-panding. The solution to this is a reservation-wide pipeline that will deliver a safe and reli-able water supply system to the residents. Asimilar system for water distribution is cur-rently in use on a reservation in South Dakota.

Mr. Speaker this legislation is an importantstep in the tribes’ effort to secure and build awater system and realize the benefit of thecompact the tribe negotiated in good faith withthe State of Montana and the United States.f

TRIBUTE TO LUCILLE MATYAS ONHER RETIREMENT

HON. WILLIAM O. LIPINSKIOF ILLINOIS



Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today topay tribute to a longtime staff member in mydistrict office, Lucille Matyas. Lucille has beenan exceptional staff member in my office. Sherecently retired after 11 years of exceptionalservice to the residents of the Third District ofIllinois.

Family has always been of the utmost im-portance to Lucille. Lucille is the wife of thelate Richard A. Matyas, Sr. Lucille and herhusband had three children, George A.Matyas, Richard A. Matyas, and Victoria A.Smith. She has two grandchildren, Richardand Reanna Matyas. While raising her threechildren, Lucille was involved in local activitiesand charities. In the past she has devoted hertime to such groups as Clear Ridge Baseball,

St. Rene Mother’s Club, Girl Scouts, De LaSalle High School Parent’s Club, and theMaria High School Mother’s Club. Lucille’sdedication to these and other groups led toher involvement with politics on a local level.Lucille was a member of the 23d Ward Demo-cratic Women’s Organization as well as theChicago Democratic Women’s Organization.The VFW Women’s Auxiliary and St. Rene’sAlter and Rosary Society have also receivedthe benefit of support and volunteer time fromLucille.

Like a true Chicagoan, Lucille enjoys watch-ing all Chicago sports teams and counts her-self as one of the biggest Bulls fans in Chi-cago. Lucille enjoy’s spending time with herfamily and friends. In her spare time Lucilleplays bingo, is an avid reader of books, col-lects dolls with her daughter, and devotesquality time with her two grandchildren. Clear-ly, Lucille lives a life rich in experience andgoodwill.

Lucille has a great many plans for after herretirement, these include enjoying life, spend-ing time with her grandchildren and visitingwith friends and family. Additionally, Lucilleplans on traveling and sightseeing around theUnited States. Finally Lucille will volunteer herspare time at local charities.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Lucille Matyas for hermany years of dedicated service to the citi-zens of the Third District and to her family.With the combination of dedication to her com-munity and family, Lucille is an inspiration andexample to all. I will surely miss seeing her inmy district office in Illinois. Lucille has trulybeen a joy to work with and her hard work andpositive attitude have served my district well.I wish Lucille good luck in all of life’s adven-tures.

f

INTERNATIONAL WELSHERS

HON. CHRISTOPHER SHAYSOF CONNECTICUT



Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today tosubmit to you an editorial from the New Ca-naan Advertiser regarding the United States’debt to the United Nations and one Connecti-cut community’s attempt to repay it.

INTERNATIONAL WELSHERS

Detractors of the United Nations probablyapplaud the failure of the United States toget current on its dues for membership inthat global association.

But if isolationism and a disdain for for-eign influences on our sovereignty are to beperceived as some sort of super-patriotism,then it would seem incumbent on Americanflag-wavers also to rid us of our unenviablereputation as international welshers.

Like it or not, it is true the United Stateshad agreed to a treaty that stipulated thelevel of dues we’d have to pay as a memberof this ‘‘family of nations.’’ Alas, we aremore than a billion dollars in arrears andCongress seems loathe to make up the short-fall.

Of course, it is inherently true that despitethe delinquency, the United States contrib-utes more to support the UN than any othercountry in the world. That does not, how-ever, alter the fact that we also owe more inunpaid dues than any other country. Ameri-cans, even those who don’t subscribe to par-ticipation in the UN, ought to be embar-

rassed by the ‘‘deadbeat’’ status of theircountry.

Unlikely as it may seem for a small Con-necticut community to assume a role in aninternational drama, a group in New Canaanhas undertaken a unique attempt to easethat national embarrassment. Taking its cuefrom John Whitehead, a former member ofthe Reagan cabinet, the citizen initiativehere is expressing indignation over the factthat this nation is shirking an obligationthat it knowingly incurred by treaty. That,not necessarily the worthiness of the UnitedNations, is the heart and soul of the sym-bolic protest here.

Mr. Whitehead had calculated that if eachAmerican sent in a check for $4.40, the Unit-ed States’ debt to the UN would be paid off.So more than 220 people in New Canaan havedone that and are urging others to join them.

Of course, it won’t really happen. Even inNew Canaan, where the issue is viewed sopassionately by so many, less than $1000 hasbeen sent in. That’s a far cry from a billiondollars, even if the effort is copied in othercommunities across the nation, but the mes-sage it sends is far more powerful than thecash value.

It says pointedly that we are ashamed thatour country has failed to meet responsibil-ities it agreed to assume. It emphasizes thatwe want to project a more positive inter-national image and that our status aswelshers impairs our standing among na-tions. It tells Congress that we ought to paywhat we owe and then, if it’s really all thatpainful and we don’t want to get caught inthat kind of bind again, maybe we ought tosee about renegotiating that treaty.

Citizens joining the symbolic protest hereare sending their ‘‘dues money’’ to Pay OurUN Debt, P.O. Box 1002, New Canaan 86840.Each $4.40 check turns up the volume on thatmessage. Maybe Congress will finally hear it.

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COMMUNITY ON-LINE ACT

HON. JOHN JOSEPH MOAKLEYOF MASSACHUSETTS


Wednesday, September 25, 1996Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I am introduc-

ing the Community On-Line Act, legislationwhich would provide schools, libraries, andcommunity centers across the country with thecapability to use new technology to its fullestpotential.

Today, we have the amazing ability to ac-cess vital information and important news sto-ries from the computer. Teachers can showtheir students maps and information about for-eign countries, encyclopedias, biographical in-formation about famous people, and thou-sands and thousands of other important re-sources. The opportunities for learning areendless.

However, many schools throughout thecountry cannot access the Internet, have ob-solete computers, lack the necessary fundingto install new computers, or don’t have the re-sources to train teachers. This is unacceptablein this day and age. We can build bombs thatdo back-flips but we can’t provide access tothe latest technology for most Americans.

It is vital that the Federal Government getinvolved. Failure to upgrade technology andtrain educators in our Nation’s schools will re-sult in a poorly educated work force becausestudents will not have the skills to becomecomputer literate. A skilled work force is abso-lutely essential to maintain our country’s com-petitiveness.

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1701September 26, 1996A recent Fortune 500 company report found

that companies spend half of their technologybudget on education and training, while schoolsystems only spend 10 to 15 percent. Clearly,it is important for businesses and local schooldistricts to work together to get our schools, li-braries, and community centers on-line.

Today, I am introducing legislation to pro-vide grants to local schools, libraries, andcommunity centers to purchase, install and op-erate the most up-to-date computer systems,access, the Internet, and train educators touse technology to its fullest potential. The billrequires the eligible entities to form a partner-ship with local businesses, or State or localgovernments. The purpose of the bill is to getthe community involved and maximize its re-sources.

Access to the latest technology and appro-priate training is essential to enhance the skillsof many Americans. We need parents, busi-ness leaders, community leaders, and teach-ers to ban together to give the community ac-cess to the latest technology and the capabil-ity of using it to its fullest potential.f

TRIBUTE TO DR. RICHARDJANEWAY

HON. W.G. (BILL) HEFNEROF NORTH CAROLINA


Wednesday, September 25, 1996Mr. HEFNER. Mr. Speaker, it is my distinct

honor to recognize Dr. Richard Janeway andhis work in medical education. As of July1997, Dr. Janeway will relinquish his seat asexecutive dean of health affairs for Wake For-est’s Bowman Gray School of Medicine. Asthe school merges with its affiliate hospital,North Carolina Baptist Hospital, Dr. Janewaywill serve on the steering committee to insurea smooth transition. In addition, he will bringhis considerable expertise to the newly en-dowed position of distinguished professor ofhealth care management at Wake Forest Uni-versity.

Looking back on Dr. Janeway’s career islike looking through a kaleidoscope of aca-demic and civic contributions. Examples of hiscivic activities include chairman of the GreaterWinston-Salem Chamber of Commerce, vice-chairman of the Forsyth County DevelopmentCouncil and member of the board of NorthCarolina Citizens for Business and Industry.Also, Dr. Janeway was integral in the creationof a planned downtown research park, whichnow houses Bowman Gray’s Department ofPhysiology and Pharmacology as well as fa-cilities for Winston-Salem State University andthe Piedmont Triad Engineering ResearchCenter.

An important part of Dr. Janeway’s work atBowman Gray has been to focus research onhow nutrition can prevent or manage chronicdisease. The mission of the Center for Re-search on Human Nutrition and Chronic Dis-ease Prevention has been to educate patientsabout the importance of nutrition and diet andto promote preventive health care. It is in thiscapacity that I have gotten to know Dr.Janeway and it has been my privilege to workwith him and his colleagues in the develop-ment of this important nutrition research facil-ity.

Dr. Janeway is credited with ensuring thatBowman Gray keeps pace with the rapid ad-

vances in technology. The recently announcedWake Forest/Bowman Gray nutrition web siteis an incredible tool for sharing the informationgathered by the center with the public. Usersmay design and track a personalized guide togood nutrition and exercise.

On behalf of many of my colleagues in theHouse, I would like to thank Dr. RichardJaneway for his unending quest for excellencein the field of medical education. Wake ForestUniversity’s Bowman Gray School of Medicinehas benefited enormously from his foresightand dedication to improving our Nation’s medi-cal education, and consequently, our Nation’shealth. He is a great personal friend and Iwant to wish him well in his latest pursuits onbehalf of Bowman Gray School of Medicine.f

PETE GAGLIARDI—WORKING FORA SAFER AMERICA

HON. JIM LIGHTFOOTOF IOWA



Mr. LIGHTFOOT. Mr. Speaker, I want totake this opportunity to recognize a true publicservant, Special Agent Pete Gagliardi of theBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms[ATF]. For the past 2 years Pete has servedin the position of ATF’s Director of LegislativeAffairs.

Given the laws the ATF is called upon toenforce, the legislative affairs position can bea difficult one in which to serve. It requires aperson who can balance the diverse views ofCongress with the needs of the Bureau andthe Department of the Treasury. Special AgentGagliardi, an agent of 19 years of service atthe Bureau, has met and exceeded the expec-tations of this difficult position. He has workedtirelessly for the past 2 years providingprompt, straightforward and responsive serviceto Members of Congress and their staffs. Onnumerous occasions over the past 2 years,Pete has been able to achieve consensus be-tween the administration and Congress on dif-ficult law enforcement issues.

Because of his outstanding performance,Special Agent Gagliardi will be leaving the Of-fice of Legislative Affairs for a well-deservedpromotion to ATF Deputy Associate Directorfor Law Enforcement Programs. Pete’s shoeswill be tough to fill at Legislative Affairs but weall wish him the best in his new position.f

TRIBUTE TO THE MIDLANDJAYCEES’ 15TH ANNIVERSARY

HON. DAVE CAMPOF MICHIGAN



Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, it is with greatpleasure that I rise today to congratulate theMidland Jaycees on the 15th anniversary oftheir founding.

The Midland Jaycees were chartered in1946 with 81 members, including my father,Robert Camp. Through the years, leaders ofmany organizations and official boards havesaid ‘‘thank you’’ to the Jaycees. They havemore than fulfilled their stated purpose of‘‘civic service through organized efforts * * *

promoting the welfare of the community andits citizens through active, constructiveprojects.’’

The Midland Jaycees have been a strong,positive force in their community. By teachingyoung people leadership skills, they have in-stilled a sense of community spirit that has ledto their involvement in projects like JuniorAchievement, the Cancer Service Founda-tions, The Heart Foundation, Shelter House,and the Salvation Army.

More recently, the Jaycees have been in-volved in donating playground equipment tothe city of Midland, building homes for thehomeless with Habitat for Humanity, and gath-ering volunteers to work at the Voluntary Ac-tion Center. One of their main projects, how-ever, is helping disadvantaged children duringthe holidays. In cooperation with the MichiganFamily Independence Agency, the Jayceespurchase presents for the children and takethem shopping for gifts to give their families.

It is this spirit of selfless giving and commu-nity service that makes the Midland Jaycees asterling example of dedication, friendship, andcommunity service. Mr. Speaker, I know youwill join me in congratulating the Midland Jay-cees on their 15th anniversary. May their ex-ample of service to their community continuefor years to come.

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TRIBUTE TO JOHN PALLADINO

HON. WILLIAM H. ZELIFF, JR.OF NEW HAMPSHIRE



Mr. ZELIFF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to paytribute to a personal friend of mine, JohnPalladino. John is not only a friend of mine, hehas been a real friend of all small businessmen and women across New Hampshire forthe past 30-plus years. He is a small businessowner himself. A restaurant owner for morethan 30 years, John has experienced thehardships and the dedication it takes to besuccessful, and he knows what it means tosign the front of a paycheck.

John knows, as all of us who own smallbusinesses know, that signing the front of apaycheck means much more than just a sal-ary. John understands that in New Hampshire,as in most of the country, it is small businessthat drives the local economies, creates jobsfor their citizens, and promotes an atmosphereof community spirit and cooperation. For allhis life, John has embodied those ideals.

He is a past president of the HamptonChamber of Commerce, he was program di-rector of the local DARE chapter, and he wasa trustee of the ‘‘My Greatest Dream’’ pro-gram, which takes donations for children withterminal illnesses to live out their greatestdream. These are honorable causes that showhis dedication to his trade and to his commu-nity.

I wanted to take a moment out of theHouse’s busy schedule to salute JohnPalladino on behalf of this Congress, and todo so in the hope that he serves as a modelAmerican for his generation and for futuregenerations.

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of RemarksE1702 September 26, 1996TRIBUTE TO JUDGE EDMUND A.

SARGUS, JR.





Whereas Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. willbe invested as a United States District Judgein the Southern District of Ohio; and

Whereas the Honorable Edmund Sargus hasshown exemplary dedication to justice andthe practice of law; and

Whereas Judge Sargus has honorablyserved the City of Bellaire and the State ofOhio as a Law Director, United States Attor-ney and Special Counsel to the Ohio Attor-ney General: Therefore, be it

Resolved, That the residents of BelmontCounty, with a real sense of pleasure andpride, join me in commending The HonorableEdmund A. Sargus, Jr. for his hard work andcommitment to justice and to the law.

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MEDICARE AND VANCOMYCIN:LEGISLATION TO PRESERVE ABENEFIT AND PROTECT THEPUBLIC HEALTH




Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, current Medicarepharmaceutical payment policy is creating dis-tortions in the types of drugs prescribed in oursociety and contributing to a potential publichealth problem. This problem is the threat ofincreased drug resistance among bacteria thatcause infections in thousands of people. Thepolicy contributing to this public health threatis the unevenness of Medicare coverage foroutpatient medications, and specifically, Medi-care’s coverage of a single antibacterial drugcalled vancomycin out of a multitude of pos-sible antibacterials. This coverage provides anunintended incentive for physicians to pref-erentially choose vancomycin over other anti-biotics. Inappropriate use of vancomycin willlikely accelerate the emergence and spread ofbacteria resistant to this drug, causing a majorpublic health problem resulting in numerousdeaths and increased morbidity. The bill I amintroducing today counteracts the misdirectedincentive for inappropriate use of vancomycinby insisting on certain criteria for the use ofthe drug in order for it to be reimbursed.

Under current law, Medicare reimburses foroutpatient medications in limited cir-cumstances. Highly specific, unrelated cat-egories of drugs are reimbursed. These in-clude drugs administered in a physician’s of-fice or hospital, oral anticancer drugs,immunosuppressant drugs for organ transplantpatients, a drug to treat anemia in end stagerenal disease patients, drugs to treatosteoporosis in certain patients, and drugsthat require durable medical equipment [DME]for their administration. Approximately 20drugs are covered under the DME benefit, ofwhich vancomycin is one. Vancomycin is cov-ered because it is administered intravenouslythrough an apparatus called an infusion pump.Medicare reimburses for the infusion pump

and for the drug for which it is used. Thus, al-though more than 50 drugs are available totreat bacterial infections, Medicare singles outone drug for reimbursement simply becausean infusion pump is used for administration.The DME benefit also includes four drugsused to treat infections caused by viruses orfungi, again because an infusion pump is usedfor administration, but vancomycin is the onlydrug used to treat infections caused by bac-teria.

Intravenous vancomycin is typically used inhome therapy for infections requiring pro-longed courses of antibiotics, such as endo-carditis, an infection of the heart valves, or os-teomyelitis, an infection of bones. Generallypatients are hospitalized for an initial period,and once stable, can continue treatment athome. Only a subset of patients are medicallyappropriate candidates to receive home intra-venous therapy. Home therapy is generallycost effective because the alternative is for pa-tients to remain in the hospital or other inpa-tient facility to receive the therapy.

Medicare’s reimbursement system is caus-ing overuse of vancomycin. The Health CareFinancing Administration [HCFA] found a 64-percent increase in the home use ofvancomycin, as measured by claims submittedfor infusion pumps for vancomycin, from thefourth quarter of 1994 through the third quarterof 1995. Anecdotes from some hospitals andhome care agencies indicate that vancomycinis preferentially used whenever the bacteriacausing the infection are susceptible to it. Thisinformation suggests that the current Medicarepolicy is having the unintended effect ofchanging physicians prescribing practices.

Overuse of antibiotics is a principal risk fac-tor for the development of drug resistant bac-teria. Antibiotics kill or inhibit bacteria that aresusceptible to them, but the resistant bacteriasurvive. The Centers for Disease Control andPrevention [CDC] has documented a major in-crease in infections among hospitalized pa-tients due to vancomycin resistant bacteriacalled vancomycin-resistant-enterococci [VRE],from 0.3 percent in 1989 to 7.9 percent in1993. In addition to this increase, a major con-cern is the possibility that these bacteria willtransfer their vancomycin resistance to otherfamilies of bacteria. This transfer has occurredin a laboratory setting but has not yet beendocumented in humans; when it does occur, amajor public health problem will arise sincesome of the bacteria to which vancomycin re-sistance may be transferred, such as Staphy-lococcus aureus, are common causes of infec-tion and may already be resistant to manyother drugs. In a 1995 report about the im-pacts of antibiotic resistant bacteria, the Officeof Technology Assessment concluded thatsteps should be taken to preserve the effec-tiveness of currently available antibiotics. Itnoted that Medicare’s vancomycin policy runscounter to recommendations published by theCDC for judicious use of this drug. It also ad-vised that a change in the Medicare policymay secondarily create positive influences onother insurers to consider whether their poli-cies might also be creating unanticipated ef-fects on antibiotic prescription patterns.

Clearly, some patients need to be treatedwith vancomycin; it can be a lifesaving treat-ment in patients with serious infections causedby bacteria resistant to other drugs, or in pa-tients who are allergic to certain other drugs.Unfortunately, HCFA’s response to the prob-

lem of vancomycin overuse is to curtail cov-erage for vancomycin altogether. HCFA hasannounced that it is planning to curtail cov-erage of vancomycin under the DME benefitstarting September 1, 1996. It has determinedthat vancomycin does not require an infusionpump for administration and thus will not bereimbursed. Surely, there must be a betterway to address this problem than penalizingpatients who truly need vancomycin.

Instead of curtailing coverage, my bill ad-dresses the public health threat by insistingthat vancomycin use complies with certain cri-teria. The CDC’s published recommendationsfor preventing the spread of vancomycin re-sistance include guidelines for prudentvancomycin use. The bill incorporates the twoCDC recommendations that seem most appli-cable in the outpatient setting. Implementationwould involve having physicians indicate onthe request for vancomycin and DME reim-bursement that the treatment meets at leastone of the criteria delineated in the bill.

Vancomycin is used to treat bacteria whichare characterized as gram-positive; this prop-erty means that when the bacteria are appliedto a microscope slide and subjected to a tech-nique called the Gram stain, the bacteria pickup the color of the stain, which is a positiveresult. The ability of these bacteria to pick upthe stain is related to their outer structure; theability of certain antibiotics to harm these bac-teria is related to the antibiotic’s ability to pen-etrate or disrupt this structure.

Another large family of antibiotics effectiveagainst gram-positive organisms is termed thebeta-lactam antibiotics because they have incommon a chemical structure called the beta-lactam ring. The prototype and most well-known of the beta-lactam antibiotics is penicil-lin. Penicillin is the first choice treatment forcertain infections. However, penicillin hasbeen widely used since the 1940’s and manybacteria currently are resistant to penicillin; inthis case, certain other beta-lactam drugs areusually effective. Since the 1980’s, however,an increase in infections due to Staphylococ-cus aureus strains which are resistant to thewhole family of beta-lactam drugs has beendocumented in hospitals; in these infections,vancomycin is often effective. Vancomycin isgenerally the last drug available to effectivelytreat these infections. Thus, today’s bill re-serves vancomycin use for when the bacteriaare resistant to beta-lactam antibiotics. Al-though vancomycin could also be usedagainst bacteria that are not resistant to theother drugs, it is more prudent to use theother drugs whenever possible and to savevancomycin as the last resort. Current lawdoes not prevent physicians from prescribingvancomycin for infections that could be effec-tively treated with a beta-lactam antibiotic. Incontrast, my bill provides for reimbursement ofvancomycin and the equipment used for itsadministration if the physician indicates thattreatment is for a serious infection caused bybeta-lactam-resistant bacteria.

Vancomycin is also used for patients whohave serious allergies to penicillin and otherbeta-lactam antibiotics. Thus, the bill also pro-vides for reimbursement of vancomycin andthe equipment used for its administration if thepatient has a serious allergy to beta-lactamantibiotics.

The bill I am introducing is one attempt toaddress the public health threat of drug resist-ant bacteria while protecting the needs of

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1703September 26, 1996beneficiaries. However, it may not be the onlyway to address the problem. The policy caus-ing this problem is rooted in the haphazardway in which Medicare reimburses for out-patient pharmaceuticals. Perhaps a moresweeping change is needed rather than justan adjustment of the reimbursement for onedrug. The Medicare outpatient drug benefithas been adjusted drug by drug over theyears. However, this policy is causing distor-tions in the types of drugs prescribed, as evi-denced by the vancomycin problem. I solicitideas and suggestions from the medical andpharmaceutical community and others to helpresolve this public health problem and to makeMedicare drug payment policies more rational,cost effective, and less likely to lead to similarproblems in the future.f

IN HONOR OF RONALD A. DALL ONTHE OCCASION OF HIS RETIRE-MENT




Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today topay tribute to a fine American, Ronald A. Dall.Mr. Dall has recently retired from his positionas Assistant to the Director of the WashingtonRegional Complaint Center of the InternalRevenue Service, ending 34 years of FederalGovernment service. Upon his retirement, Ronwas awarded the Certificate of Merit from theDirector of the Treasury Department’s Officeof Equal Opportunity Program; a Certificate ofAppreciation from the Director of the SecretService; the Albert Gallatin Award from theSecretary of the Treasury, and a congratula-tory letter from the President of the UnitedStates.

From 1967 to 1970, Ron worked at theEqual Employment Opportunity Commissionas an equal employment officer, where he re-ceived a letter of commendation. He thenbegan his employment at the Treasury Depart-ment, and from 1972 to 1975 he was Assist-ant Director for Equal Employment. For hisoutstanding work in this position, Ron waspresented with the Meritorious Service Award.During Ron’s tenure, 1975–78, as Director ofthe Discrimination Complaints Division for theNational Aeronautics and Space Administra-tion, he was selected to receive the Excep-tional Performance Award, the highest honorgiven to career civil servants.

Ron received his bachelor of arts fromBowling Green State University; his law de-gree from Oklahoma City University and hismasters’ degree from Antioch University. Ronand his wife, Barbara, have two daughters,Maureen and Meghan. For several years myfamily has had the pleasure of living in thesame neighborhood as the Dalls.

In my opinion, being someone’s neighborgives you an extremely accurate picture ofthat person’s character. When you live closeby a person, you see them interacting withtheir children, washing their car, mowing theirlawn and helping others. It has been mypleasure to know Ron Dall and his family, andit is my honor to join in congratulating himupon his retirement. I wish he and Barbaramany happy and healthy years together, andon behalf of the American people, I thank him

for his 34 years of exemplary service to ourGovernment.f

TRIBUTE TO DONNA BOJARSKY




Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am honored topay tribute to Donna Bojarsky, a dear friendwho is intimately involved in Democratic Partypolitics and pro-Israel causes. I place greatvalue in her opinion. Through the years, Ihave come to appreciate more and more herwise counsel and friendship. This year, she isthe deserving recipient of the 1996 Richard S.Volpert Award from the Jewish CommunityRelations Committee.

Donna’s first foray into politics occurred atage of 8, when she distributed Bobby Ken-nedy buttons in front of a Beverly Hills deli-catessen. After graduating from Brandeis Uni-versity with a degree in political science,Donna began a string of campaign and staffjobs. She worked for Assemblyman RichardKatz and Mayor Tom Bradley, and on thePresidential campaign teams of Gary Hart(1984) and Michael Dukakis (1988). In 1992–93, she was the national entertainment coordi-nator for the Clinton campaign in Little Rock,AR.

Head of her own firm, DB & Associates,Donna has provided fundraising assistanceand political consulting to a range of clients,including Senator DANIEL P. MOYNIHAN and theCharles R. Bronfman Foundation. She alsoadvises the actor Richard Dreyfuss on his po-litical and charitable activities.

Donna has always been a person of bound-less energy. In addition to her political activi-ties and professional duties, she is founderand cochair of LA Works, a nonprofit, publicaction and volunteer center in Los Angelesand serves on the national board of CityCares of America. Donna is also a founderand cochair of the New Leaders Project, aunique civic training program for young Jewishleader, and is a member of the executive com-mittee of the National Jewish DemocraticCouncil.

I ask my colleagues to join me today in sa-luting Donna Bojarsky, whose dedication tothe causes in which she deeply believes is aninspiration to us all. My wife, Janis, and I areproud to call her our friend.f

DUTY SUSPENSION FOR TWOCHEMICALS

HON. JOHN M. SPRATT, JR.OF SOUTH CAROLINA



Mr. SPRATT. Mr. Speaker, since my arrivalin Congress, I have filed duty suspensions fora number of companies in my district and I ampleased to file one today at the request ofEMS-American Grilon of Sumter, SC. This billwould grant a 2-year duty suspension for twochemicals, caprolactam blocked methylene,also known as Grilbond IL–6, and betahydroxyalkylamide, also known as Primid XL–552. Grilbond IL–6 is used in aqueous adhe-

sive systems for pretreatment of reinforcingpolyester yarns or fabrics. Primid XL–552 isutilized to cure carboxyl functional polyesterand acrylic resins. It has been employed in thearchitectural, general metal-industrial andautomotive market sectors.

EMS-American Grilon imports Grilbond IL–6and Primid XL–552 from Switzerland and pas-sage of the bill will save the company approxi-mately $100,000 in annual duties. EMS em-ploys almost 100 workers in my district andpassage of this bill will protect those jobs bysaving the company a significant cost andthereby ensuring the company’s continuedsuccess.

EMS-American Grilon believes that neitherGrilbond IL–6 nor Primid XL–552 are pro-duced in the United States which means thatsuspending the duties will not jeopardize anyU.S. jobs. The company also believes that thecost of the duty suspensions will be small.While it is too late for Congress to pass thebill this year, I am filing the measure now toinitiate a public notice and comment period.Federal agencies and the public will have anopportunity to examine the duty suspensionsand submit comments. In addition, the Con-gressional Budget Office will complete a costestimate of the legislation. By the time Con-gress reconvenes next year, we will know thecost and we will know whether there is anyAmerican company which could be injured bythe bill’s enactment. That information will helpus decide whether to move forward with thebill. I am pleased to help an important em-ployer in my district and I look forward to thereview this bill will initiate.f

PERSONAL EXPLANATION

HON. MICHAEL G. OXLEYOF OHIO



Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday Sep-tember 24, 1996, I was unavoidably absentfrom the House Chamber during rollcall voteNos. 425 to 429. Had I been present, I wouldhave voted ‘‘yea’’ in all cases.f

CONGRATULATING THE REPUBLICOF CHINA ON THE OCCASION OFTHEIR 85TH NATIONAL DAY

HON. GARY L. ACKERMANOF NEW YORK



Mr. ACKERMAN. Mr. Speaker, October 10marks the 85th anniversary of the birth of theRepublic of China [ROC]. As this historic oc-casion approaches, I want to take this oppor-tunity to send my personal greetings and con-gratulations to the people of Taiwan and espe-cially to President Lee Teng Hui.

Mr. Speaker, I have been fortunate enoughto visit with President Lee on several occa-sions in Taiwan, and more recently during hisvisit to the United States and his alma mater,Cornell University. On every occasion our dis-cussions have been warm and enlightening.The Republic of China has long been a bea-con of democracy and economic freedom inthis important region of the world. During the

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of RemarksE1704 September 26, 1996past decades Taiwan has been transformedfrom an underdeveloped island to an eco-nomic powerhouse. The ROC is our sixth larg-est trading partner and trade between our twocountries its growing.

Taiwan has exhibited its leadership andcommitment to these principles earlier thisyear when President Lee became the firstpopularly elected political leader in Chinesehistory. This was an important milestone forthe people of Taiwan. The ROC achieved thissuccess despite the attempts of its neighbor,the People’s Republic of China, to intimidateTaiwan’s electorate by conducting war gamesin the Taiwan Strait shortly before the election.

While the past year has been one of greatchange in Taiwan, there have also beenchanges here in Washington. In July, Dr.Jason Hu, formerly head of the GovernmentInformation Office, assumed the position ofRepresentative at the Taipei Cultural and Eco-nomic Office, the ROC’s unofficial embassy inWashington. I look forward to working closelywith Ambassador Hu to further strengthen tiesbetween our two countries. At the same timeDr. Fred Chien has left his post as ForeignMinister and has been elected Speaker of theNational Assembly. This is a well deservedhonor for Dr. Chien, who has worked tirelesslyhere in Washington and in Taipei to makeUnited States-Republic of China relations thesuccess they are today. John Chang, who hadbeen the Vice Foreign Minister, has becomethe new Foreign Minister. I am certain he willbuild on Dr. Chien’s achievements at the Min-istry of Foreign Affairs.

Finally, I want to note that two very able offi-cials in the Taipei Representative office will bereturning to Taiwan at the end of the month.Dr. Lyushen Shen and his associate JamesHuang, have served their country well duringtheir tenure here in Washington.

Mr. Speaker, there are many issues con-cerning Taiwan and the United States which Ihope Congress will address in the next ses-sion of Congress. Chief among those aremembership in the WTO for Taiwan, and mak-ing certain that Taiwan’s security needs aremet. As important as these issues will be inthe future, I hope my colleagues will take amoment to pause and join me now in con-gratulating the ROC for 85 years of progressand success.f

DUE PROCESS IN INDIAN TRIBALCOURTS

HON. HENRY J. HYDEOF ILLINOIS



Mr. HYDE. Mr. Speaker, recently, I have re-ceived complaints from parties who have beeninvolved in proceedings in Indian tribal courts.These complaints suggest that non-Indian civillitigants in these courts may face unfair treat-ment, but, yet, are unable to seek protectionfrom violations of their Federal rights in anyother judicial forum.

For example, earlier this year, a Crow Na-tion tribal court entered a judgment for $250million in compensatory damages against theBurlington Northern Railroad. This case dealswith a railroad grade-crossing accident whichoccurred on the Crow Reservation in Montanain 1993. The accident involved the death of

three members of the Crow Tribe. However,the crossing was well-marked, and no acci-dent had ever occurred there in the entire 50-year history of the crossing. A blood alcoholtest revealed that the driver and one of thepassengers were intoxicated at the time of theaccident.

Burlington Northern alleges that various vio-lations of basic due process occurred duringthe trial, including, the use of jurors whoshould have been struck for cause, improperprejudicial comments to the jury venire by amember of the appellate court, use of evi-denced that was barred by Federal law, andthe barring of evidence relating to the properamount of compensatory questions.

I have not had the opportunity to review thecomplete record of this case, and I do notknow all of the details. Further, I do not seekto affect the outcome of this particular caseand I believe it should continue in due courseunder existing law. However, these allegationsdo raise serious questions about the overallfairness of the Indian tribal court system,which calls for further review by the Congress.

I understand that there are now more than200 of these types of courts across the Nationand that they process thousands of cases peryear. Many of these cases involve personswho have no particular connection to the tribeother than that they have traveled across In-dian country on an interstate highway or rail-road. Although the Indian Civil Rights Act, 25U.S.C. § 1302, requires these courts to pro-vide basic constitutional rights, it does not pro-vide any means by which litigants may seek tovindicate these rights in a Federal court. Infact, litigants have no way to vindicate theserights except through the tribal court system.

This situation sharply contrasts with the situ-ation in State courts. State court decisions re-garding the protection of Federal rights maybe reviewed on appeal to the U.S. SupremeCourt and by actions under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.Current law provides that Federal courts mayreview the decisions of tribal courts only to de-termine whether the case was within the juris-diction of the court, and they may only con-duct that review after all avenues of reliefhave been exhausted in the tribal court sys-tem.

I do want to stress that I believe in the In-dian tribal court system. It is only right that In-dians should be able to have their own courtsto judge their own affairs. By the same token,I want to say emphatically that it is only rightthat those courts should provide all of the con-stitutional protections required by law, includ-ing basic due process. The consistent enforce-ment of constitutional norms is particularly im-portant if the tribal courts are to have jurisdic-tion over nonmembers who have only tangen-tial relationships with the tribes.

This is a subject that both the JudiciaryCommittee and the Resources Committeeshould review in the next Congress.f

VALLEJO, CA, ANTIDRUGPROGRAM A SUCCESS

HON. GEORGE MILLEROF CALIFORNIA



Mr. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, withall the attention recently about increased drug

abuse, particularly among young people, I amhappy to take this opportunity to report on asuccessful effort being undertaken by theFighting Back Partnership in Vallejo, CA,which is in my congressional district.

The Fighting Back Partnership grew fromthe disgust of Vallejo community leaders aboutthe effects of drug and alcohol abuse on theircity. Representatives of the police, neighbor-hood groups, city hall, the school district, andthe Greater Vallejo Recreational District joinedforces in a multicultural coalition to fight backin a comprehensive communitywide substanceabuse reduction strategy. This strategy in-volves a comprehensive program through pub-lic education, prevention, intervention, treat-ment, and aftercare.

The following article describes the tremen-dous difference the Fighting Back Partnershiphas made after 5 years. This community hasvery much to be proud of, and its effortsshould provide a model for other cities hurt bythe tragedy of substance abuse.

[From the Vallejo Times Herald, Sept. 15,1996]

MAKING A DIFFERENCE—STATISTICS INDICATEFIGHTING BACK IS WINNING THE WAR ONDRUGS IN VALLEJO

(By David Jackson)Fighting Back Partnership has produced a

report that appears to offer some hard evi-dence that its five-year, multi-million dollarexperiment aimed at reducing substanceabuse in Vallejo is working.

Citing student surveys on substance abuse,crime statistics and other data, the reportsuggests that Vallejo is making modestgains in combating the use of illegal drugs,alcohol and tobacco.

Among the more encouraging findings is asurvey suggesting that teen-age marijuanause may not be growing in Vallejo at therapid pace seen elsewhere.

Between 1991 and 1994, the percentage ofVallejo juniors who said they had used mari-juana within the last 12 months rose from 35to 36. In Solano County as a whole, the per-centage rose from 31 to 50.

The same survey also suggests that fewerVallejo students are using tobacco and alco-hol, despite steady or increased usage by stu-dents throughout Solano County.

‘‘There appears to be something going onin Vallejo that is not reflected in the trendsof the rest of the county,’’ said Jane Cal-lahan, project manager for Fighting Back.‘‘Our kids are reporting less drug, alcoholand tobacco use than their peers in the restof the county.’’

The survey information was taken fromThe American Drug and Alcohol Survey,which is not affiliated with Fighting Back.

Among the survey’s other findings:The percentage of Vallejo seventh-graders

who reported smoking cigarettes droppedfrom 48 percent in 1991 to 28 percent in 1994.Throughout the county, however, the per-centage rose from 39 to 41.

During the same period, smoking rose 1percent among Vallejo ninth-graders anddropped 14 percent among Vallejo 11th-grad-ers.

The percentage of Vallejo students who re-ported using alcohol within the last 30 daysdropped 11 percent among seventh-graders,rose 6 percent among ninth-graders anddropped 5 percent among 11th-graders be-tween 1991 and 1994.

For the county as a whole, the percentagesrose for each grade level.

the percentage of 11th-grade students whoreported using marijuana in the last 30 daysdropped 3 percent in Vallejo between 1991 and1994, but rose 12 percent across the county.

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1705September 26, 1996Essie Henderson, substance abuse adminis-

trator for Solano County, agreed with Cal-lahan’s assessment that the Fighting Backprogram is working.

‘‘Early prevention has been the key,’’ Hen-derson said.

The Fighting Back program includes sev-eral programs designed to keep studentsfrom trying alcohol, tobacco or illegal drugsor to help them stop.

The report also includes crime statisticsfrom the Vallejo Police Department whichindicate that Fighting Back’s training pro-gram for liquor store owners, managers andemployees has worked as intended.

Among stores that participated in thetraining program, incidents reported to thepolice dropped 6.5 percent between fiscalyear 1993–94 and fiscal year 1995–96. Amongstores that didn’t receive training, the num-ber of incidents rose 27 percent.

The difference in the number of hours po-lice spent responding to problems at the twogroups of liquor stores was even more pro-found; down 20 percent for stores that hadthe training and up 26 percent for those thatdidn’t.

More than half of the liquor store person-nel in the city have participated in FightingBack’s program.

Since the late 1980s, when planning effortsfor the Fighting Back program began, it hasreceived wide community support. However,the majority of the funding has come fromthe Robert Woods Johnson Foundation inthe form of a five-year, $3 million grant.

Cash and in-kind contributions from a va-riety of other sources, including free officespace from the city of Vallejo, have bumpedFighting Back’s annual budget up to about$1 million per year.

The foundation, which is sponsoring 14Fighting Back programs across the nation,has hired an independent research organiza-tion to conduct detailed studies to determinehow effective the programs were.

The results of that study won’t be fullyavailable until 1999.

Unfortuately, Vallejo’s Fighting Back pro-gram can’t wait that long. Its Robert WoodsJohnson grant will expire March 1.

If the organization hopes to continue toexist, it must find some new revenue sources.

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TRIBUTE TO ZION-GRACE UNITEDCHURCH OF CHRIST

HON. DAVID E. BONIOROF MICHIGAN



Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, this coming Sun-day, September 29, 1996, the Zion-GraceUnited Church of Christ, in my home State ofMichigan, is celebrating its 100th anniversary.

The present congregation is the product ofa 1972 merger of two churches, Zion Churchof Fraser and Grace Church of Detroit. Coinci-dentally, both of the churches trace theirfoundings to the same year—1896. Zion Evan-gelical Congregation in Fraser was organizedin February 1896, while Grace Church was or-ganized in September 1896 in Hamtramck.From its original location in Hamtramck, GraceChurch moved to Detroit in 1918. It remainedat that location until the 1970’s when decliningmembership forced it to seek a home else-where. A special celebration consecrated theunion in 1972 as they became one churchfamily, the Zion-Grace United Church ofChrist.

The founders of this united church werecommitted to seeing the emotional, edu-

cational, and spiritual needs of their commu-nity fulfilled. Continuing in that tradition, theReverend Joseph A. Lachcik, pastor of Zion-Grace UCC and the dedicated members of thecongregation reach out to serve in manyways. The Women’s Fellowship group,through the Samaritan Workshop is very ac-tive in service projects, mission involvement,and hospital donations. Through their ministryto others they have provided a home for theHomestead Adult Day Care, Boy Scouts, andAlcoholics Anonymous as well as participatingactively in the support of area health and wel-fare programs.

The centennial celebration of the church isa proud milestone. As the community preparesto commemorate this event, I applaud thechurch for its contributions to the rich tapestrythat makes up American life in Michigan. Iurge my colleagues to join with me in wishingcongratulations to all the members of the Zion-Grace United Church of Christ. May the next100 years be a continued fruitful ministry.

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INTRODUCTION OF THE FORESTFOUNDATION CONSERVATION ACT

HON. RICHARD H. BAKEROF LOUISIANA



Mr. BAKER of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker,today, I have introduced the Forest Founda-tion Conservation Act.

The Forest Foundation Conservation Act willamend the National Forest Foundation Act toextend and increase the matching funds au-thorized for the National Forest Foundationand to permit the National Forest Foundationto license the use of trademarks, tradenames,and other such devices to identify that a per-son is an official sponsor or supporter of theU.S. Forest Service or the National ForestSystem.

Our Nation has been blessed with a nationaltreasure—America’s national forest lands. Agrowing population, increasing demands onforests and related resources, and more com-petition for uses and benefits are placing greatstress on our forest lands and the U.S. ForestService.

Now more than ever, America’s forest landsand the individuals who work so diligently tomanage these forest lands need support frompeople who care. The National Forest Founda-tion, a citizen-directed, non-profit organization,was created to coordinate the needed support.The National Forest Foundation AmendmentAct of 1996 will allow the National ForestFoundation to develop innovative public/pri-vate partnerships so that America’s pristineforest land and its resources will be conservedfor future generations.

I believe that it is the responsibility of eachcitizen to help conserve our Nation’s re-sources and provide organizations like the Na-tional Forest Foundation with the resources itneeds to help maintain America’s forest landsfor generations to come. I hope that my col-leagues will join me in supporting this legisla-tion which will help us improve the quality andinfrastructure of our national forests.

CONGRATULATING AMERICANCREDIT UNIONS FOR SERVINGTHE UNDERSERVED

HON. JESSE L. JACKSON, JR.OF ILLINOIS



Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I risetoday to congratulate the National CreditUnion Administration, the Credit Union Na-tional Association, the CUNA Mutual Group,the National Association of Federal CreditUnions, and the National Federation of Com-munity Development Credit Unions for holdingtheir very successful Serving the Underservedconference in Chicago from August 9 through11, 1996.

Credit unions have throughout their historymade great strides in providing financial serv-ices to those previously locked-out—to mem-bers of low-income communities and commu-nities of color, a reality highlighted by con-ference speakers including our former col-league and conference keynote speaker, theesteemed NAACP president Kweisi Mfume.

It is with great appreciation for America’scredit unions that today I introduce for theRECORD President Bill Clinton’s statement ofgreetings and commendation to the creditunion community for their evidenced commit-ment to serving distressed communities.

THE WHITE HOUSE,Washington, August 6, 1996.

Warm greetings to everyone gathered inChicago for the ‘‘Serving the Underserved’’credit union conference.

The continued prosperity of our nation de-pends on our ability to foster economic op-portunity for all of our people. Credit unionshave continually distinguished themselvesby working tirelessly to provide fair loans,sound fiscal advice, and high-qualityconsumer service to hardworking individualsand families. Your dedication has helped tomake the American Dream more accessibleto our people, strengthening the potentialfor innovation, growth, and prosperity forour entire nation.

I commend you for your ongoing efforts toreach out to traditionally disadvantagedgroups in our society. As you gather to ex-plore ways to fill the unmet financial needsof isolated rural and distressed inner-cityareas, I am confident that your continuedcommitment to high-quality service willhelp to create a brighter future for us all.

Best wishes for a productive and enjoyableconference.

BILL CLINTON.

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DRUGS AND THE CIA: WE MUSTINVESTIGATE

HON. SAM FARROF CALIFORNIA



Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Speaker, I urgean immediate and comprehensive congres-sional investigation of recent allegations of aconnection between the Central IntelligenceAgency and the introduction of crack cocainein the United States.

The San Jose Mercury News has publisheda series of articles providing considerable evi-dence that crack cocaine was introduced inthe United States in order to fund the oper-ations of the Nicaraguan Contras. Because

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of RemarksE1706 September 26, 1996the Contras were in turn established and sup-ported by the Central Intelligence Agency,there is considerable question as to whetherthe CIA knew about this trafficking operations,or even supported it.

This is a very troubling allegation. The pos-sibility that our own Government supported,implicitly or explicitly, the sale of crack cocainein the United States is deeply, deeply disturb-ing.

I have written to CIA Director John Deutchurging a full investigation of this matter. ButCongress, which is responsible for the over-sight of our Government, must also investigatethis matter independently.

I thank the members of the Select Intel-ligence Committee, including Chairman LARRYCOMBEST and Congressman NORM DICKS, fortheir attention to this matter and the pursuit ofan investigation in a full and expeditious man-ner.

As long as the questions raised by the Mer-cury News story remain, we must examine therole of the CIA in drug trafficking in the UnitedStates. We cannot rest until this manner isfully and fairly investigated.f

NATIONAL DYSTONIA AWARENESSWEEK SEPTEMBER 28 TO OCTO-BER 5

HON. RON LEWISOF KENTUCKY



Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I riseto inform my colleagues about NationalDystonia Awareness Week, September 28 toOctober 5, 1996.

I was privileged, Mr. Speaker, to attend achili supper in June given by a group of resi-dents of the Second District who deal withdystonia everyday. These residents regularlymeet and discuss the challenges they meeteveryday.

Dystonia is a relatively rare neurological dis-order characterized by severe muscle contrac-tions and sustained postures that afflicts anestimated 300,000 people in North America.Dystonia is a complex disorder that consist ofthree types and is often times misunderstoodand misdiagnosed.

The three types of dystonia are primary,focal dystonias, and secondary dystonia.

Primary dystonia or idiopathic torsiondystonia [ITD], causes spasms that affectmany different parts of the body and oftenstarts in childhood.

Focal dystonias affects one specific part ofthe body and is distinguished for five varieties.Blespharasposm causes eyelids to clse tightlyfor seconds to hours. Cervical dystonia is thecontraction on neck muscles turning the headto one side or pulling it forward or backward.Oromandibular dystonia—Meige’s Syndrome—is a combination of blepharospasm andoromandibular dystonia in which the musclesof the lower face pull or contract irregularly tocause facial distortions. Spasmodic dysphoniaaffects the speech muscles of the throat,causing strained, forced, or breathy speech.Writer’s cramp is characterized by muscles inthe hand and forearm contracting.

The last type of dystonia, secondarydystonia, is caused by an injury or other brainillness.

Unfortunately, there is no known cause orcure for dystonia.

Researchers, however, have made promis-ing advancements in understanding this dis-order. In 1989, Drs. Xandra Breakefield andJames Gusella made the discovery of a ge-netic marker that will significantly advance fu-ture research. In addition, hundreds ofdystonia patients and their families have madethe commitment to donate their brains to fur-ther dystonia research.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank you for al-lowing me this opportunity to familiarize mycolleagues with dystonia and encourage eachof my colleagues to learn more about this neu-rological disorder.

More information about dystonia can befound on the world wide web. The DystoniaMedical Research Foundation’s home pagenot only offers information about dystonia, butalso details meeting places and dates forthose who are or have a family member af-fected by dystonia and can be reached athhtp://www.iii.net/biz/dystonia/. You can alsolearn more by visiting an internet newsgroupdedicated to dystonia at ‘‘alt.support.dystonia.’’f

HONORING THE COMMUNITY OFHIGHLANDS, TX

HON. KEN BENTSENOF TEXAS



Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to con-gratulate the community of Highlands, TX, inmy district, which on October 4–5 will cele-brate the 40th annual Highlands Jamboree.

The Highlands Jamboree began in 1956 tocelebrate the grand opening of HighlandsState Bank. Because of the success of the ini-tial celebration, the citizens of Highlands de-cided to have an annual jamboree to displaythe community’s strong unity. As they have inthe past, many of Highlands’ citizens will par-ticipate in this year’s event.

The festivities will begin on Friday night withthe first ever cookoff. Residents will judge thebest tasting fajitas and margaritas. On Satur-day, I will have the honor of serving as thegrand marshal of the parade. Many of High-lands’ citizens, young and old, will march inthis parade, which will be followed by an artsand crafts show and a motorcycle and carshow.

Mr. Speaker, I applaud the efforts of thepeople of Highlands for their constant dedica-tion to improving their community and con-gratulate them for the effort they have putforth to continue the Highlands Jamboree.This celebration represents the unity of thepeople of Highlands and their loyalty to andlove for their hometown and country.f

A TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLEBILL CLINGER FOR DISTIN-GUISHED SERVICE TO THE CITI-ZENS OF THE UNITED STATES

HON. F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JROF WISCONSIN



Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I risetoday to honor a distinguished Member of this

body for the past 18 years, the Honorable BILLCLINGER who has represented the people ofPennsylvania’s Fifth District with class anddignity.

It has been my honor to serve with BILLsince we entered Congress together in 1978.He is a man of integrity and principle.

His legislative accomplishments over his ca-reer are impressive, but his accomplishmentsjust in the past 2 years are nothing short of re-markable. As chairman of the House Commit-tee on Government Reform and Oversight,BILL’S leadership and determination pushedthrough bills ending Federal unfunded man-dates and enacting the line-item veto. BILL’Saccomplishments did not stop with thesepieces of legislation though. He also success-fully passed bills involving paperwork reformand regulatory reform, among others.

For his work, the Almanac of American Poli-tics said, ‘‘his legislative production in just hisfirst few months as chairman was as impres-sive as that of many members over a wholecareer.’’

Mr. Speaker, the House is losing a tremen-dous legislative leader, gentleman, and patriot.

On behalf of the citizens of Wisconsin’sNinth District, I thank the Honorable BILLCLINGER for his outstanding service to theHouse of Representatives and the UnitedStates.f

THE AMERICA-ISRAEL FRIENDSHIPLEAGUE, INC.

HON. JIM KOLBEOF ARIZONA



Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Speaker, I recently at-tended the annual Partners for DemocracyDinner in my hometown of Tucson, AZ. Thedinner was hosted by the Tucson chapter ofthe America-Israel Friendship League in honorof David L. McPherson.

The America-Israel Friendship League, Inc.[AIFL] is a nonsectarian, nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization committed to maintainingand strengthening the mutually supportive re-lationship between the people of the UnitedStates and Israel. It was founded in 1971 bya group of distinguished Americans with a vi-sion-to preserve America’s best interests inthe Middle East. They saw the need to instillin Americans an appreciation for the fact thatIsrael is the only democratic nation in the Mid-dle East and America’s most reliable ally inthat area of the world. They knew that thefriendship between these two countries couldbe deepened through the understanding gen-erated by people-to-people educational andcultural programming.

The AIFL serves as the catalyst to bringpeople together from diverse backgrounds.The AIFL’s activities reach out to Americans ofall faiths, ethnic backgrounds, age groups, andpolitical persuasions. Through missions, semi-nars, lectures, exchanges, and much more,AIFL helps participants explore and discussthe issues and concerns surrounding the rela-tionship between the United States and Israel.Program participants become involved longafter their individual program has ended. Inessence, they become ambassadors whocarry the message of friendship and goodwillfrom one generation to the next. From their

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1707September 26, 1996experiences emerge a belief in the very realpossibility of future peace.

While at the dinner, I had the pleasure oflistening to a speech by an extremely insight-ful, young woman, Saleela Salahuddin, on theways of the Israeli people. Saleela Salahuddinwas the 1995 Youth Ambassador to Israel. Iwas very moved by this speech, and I amhonored to share it with you:

Tonight, I bring you greetings from Maya,who was my host sister in Netanya, Israel,and Roy, who was my host brother in Arad,Israel. As Sabras, proud natives of Israel,they are two bright youths of the admirablecommunity of democracy which defines thenation. Thanks to AIFL, I was enriched bytheir modernism, patriotic idealism, and theoptimism for the future.

‘‘Everyone in Israel goes there,’’ saidMaya. ‘‘It’s a life-changing experience.’’ Shewas talking about the Wailing Wall. Lessthan two hours later, I was standing in frontof it, remembering her words and realizinghow true they were.

There was a combined quality of awe andappreciation when visiting the holy site onthe holy day of Shabbat. I approached thewall slowly, briefly pausing by a small wick-er basket that held many brightly coloredscarves. I took one out and covered my hair,following the example of a few women whohad gone ahead of me.

When I laid my hand on the Wailing Wall,I felt it’s coolness as well as its strength.The large stones sit atop one another withthe assurity that defines millennia of herit-age. I was experiencing one of the mosttransforming moments of my life. I realizethat as an American Muslim, I was undoubt-edly the first person in my family of manygenerations to be at this very sacred place.The universality of it all struck me. To myright, a young woman wearing blue jeansprayed; to my left, an old woman in a longblack dress devotedly swayed in rhythm withher reading from the Torah. And there I was,standing in the middle, praying with themand understanding the ‘‘change’’ that Mayahad spoken of. The diversity and unity of thesituation, young and old, Jewish and Mus-lim, left a very strong impact on me. I addeda prayer that I had written on a tiny piece ofpaper to the many that were inserted intocracks in the ancient wall. In it, I had writ-ten a message hoping for peace and democ-racy to prosper in our world.

This moment shall always be with me, andmy message shall forever remain in theWailing Wall.

On behalf of myself, Maya, and Roy, I bidyou Shalom.

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AN ACT TO SAVE AMERICA’SFORESTS

HON. JOHN BRYANTOF TEXAS


Wednesday, September 25, 1996Mr. BRYANT of Texas. Mr. Speaker, for

years I have sought to protect native biodiver-sity in our forests by ending clearcutting andother forms of even-age logging, and allowingonly selection management of Federal forestlands where logging is permitted. Since the101st Congress, I have sponsored forest bio-diversity legislation, and over the years, sup-port for my legislation has grown steadily. Inthe 103d Congress, 107 Representatives co-sponsored my bill, and 142 voted for a versionof it as a floor amendment.

Scientists, however, tell us that banningclearcutting alone is not enough to guarantee

the protection of forest biodiversity on our pub-lic lands. It is clear that core areas of pristineforests must be left unlogged altogether, andthat these wellsprings of nature should be sur-rounded by areas where only the most envi-ronmentally responsible logging is permitted.In order to direct our forest managementagencies to follow these scientific rec-ommendations to protect core areas of bio-diversity, I am adding a new title to my billwhich will prohibit logging in three categoriesof Federal forest lands: Northwest ancient for-ests, roadless areas, and designated specialareas.

By adding these new provisions, I believethat my legislation now represents the mostcomplete solution to the deforestation crisisfacing our public lands. With this in mind, Ihave retitled this measure the act to saveAmerica’s forests.

The Forest Service and other Federal agen-cies are primarily using the logging techniquesof clearcutting and other forms of even-ageforestry, despite overwhelming evidence thatselection management—cutting individualtrees, leaving the canopy and undergrowth rel-atively undisturbed—is more cost-efficient andis more ecologically sound.

Selection logging is more labor intensive,and therefore creates more jobs for timberworkers. It also avoids the high up-front costsof site preparation and replanting required byeven-age timber management.

The result of selection logging is a perma-nent, sustainable supply of high quality timber,and the protection of native biodiversity in theforests. This contrasts with clearcutting’s indis-criminate destruction of huge stands of trees,leaving only shrubs and bare ground, leadingto erosion, the demineralization of the soil,and allowing the creation of artificial tree farmsand extinction of the original native forest in itswake. Wherever we allow logging to occur onour Federal forests, only the selection loggingtechnique should be permitted.

if current plans are followed, the remainingnative biodiversity in the approximately 60 mil-lion acres available for commercial logging onFederal land will be eliminated and each ofthose acres transformed into monoculture tim-ber plantations within the next 15 to 20 years.

The legacy of the Forest Service and otherFederal agencies’ unrestrained use of com-mercial logging based on even-age loggingtechniques has left our Federal forests dev-astated, and has brought countless plant andanimal species to the brink of extinction.

The new logging prohibitions contained inmy bill are a necessary response to the ex-traordinarily destructive antienvironmental lawspassed by this 104th Congress, especially thetimber salvage rider to the fiscal year 1995 re-scissions legislation. Under this salvage rider,environmental protection has been suspended.Many northwest ancient forests with trees upto 1,000 years old are being logged, and pris-tine, roadless, and perfectly healthy forestsare now fraudulently being logged as salvage.The salvage rider targeted for clearcutting thevery forests that scientists tell us are most ur-gently in need of protection.

As long as northwest ancient forests androadless areas remain in the timber base ofthe Forest Service, and other Federal agen-cies, these irreplaceable areas are perpetuallyat risk of being logged and destroyed. It istime to make these magnificent remnants ofAmerica’s original untouched forests perma-

nently off-limits to logging, protecting them for-ever from the devastation of any future timbersalvage rider, or similarly destructive legisla-tion. My new bill would achieve this.

In the development of a plan for the north-west ancient forests, Forest Service expertsand other Federal scientists mapped the an-cient forests of the region. These scientistsdetermined no logging should be allowed inmany of these ancient forest areas in order togive the ancient forests and their dependentspecies the highest possibility of survival andrecovery. My bill prohibits commercial loggingin these northwest ancient forests.

The bill also prohibits commercial logging inroadless areas. Federal roadless areas con-tain many of the largest unfragmented forestsin America and are important reservoirs of ourNation’s remaining native biodiversity. I haveused the Forest Service’s definition ofroadless areas in my revised legislation.

My bill also identifies certain Federal forests,call special areas, which may not be roadlessareas or northwest ancient forests, but are de-serving of protection from commercial loggingbecause of important ecological reasons.Many of these areas also have important cul-tural, scenic, or recreational qualities, whichdeserve as much protection as trees and wild-life.

Passage of this legislation will usher in anew era of forest management on our Federallands, with long-term ecological integrity asthe guiding principle.

The public supports environmental protec-tion as never before, and opinion polls ex-press the public’s demand that Congress pre-vent the permanent loss of our Nation’s nativeforests.

I invite every Member to join me in seekingthis badly needed forest reform.f


HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGSOF FLORIDA



Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I re-gret that I was absent from the U.S. Congresson Wednesday, September 18, but I was at-tending a funeral in my home State of Florida.f

THE 3.8 MILLION AMERICAN CITI-ZENS OF PUERTO RICO DESERVETHE OPPORTUNITY TO BECOMEECONOMICALLY SOLVENT ANDSELF-SUFFICIENT

HON. JOSE E. SERRANOOF NEW YORK



Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today tovoice my concern for our fellow citizens inPuerto Rico, who have been greatly affectedby our recent action to eliminate economic de-velopment incentives under section 936 of theInternal Revenue Code without providing themwith an alternative program. In dealing withimportant national issues such as the increaseon minimum wage we must not ignore theneeds of the people of Puerto Rico, my home-land. The 3.8 million American citizens of

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of RemarksE1708 September 26, 1996Puerto Rico deserve the opportunity to be-come economically solvent and self-sufficient.We must work hand in hand with the island todevelop a sound economic development pro-gram that helps achieve those goals. I believewe must consider improvements and expan-sion of a wage credit for Puerto Rico underexisting legislation. I urge my colleagues togive prompt attention to this issue early nextyear.f

IN HONOR OF THE 50THANNIVERSARY OF WICH RADIO

HON. SAM GEJDENSONOF CONNECTICUT



Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise todayto recognize the 50th anniversary of WICHRadio 1310 in Norwich, CT. Known as WNOCat its inception, WICH operates out of 91 MainStreet, and transmits from its facilities off ofLucas Park Road in the Second Congres-sional District. Today, WICH is the hub of afour-station radio system.

While, as we might expect, personalitiesand formats have changes over the years,WICH has throughout its tenure on our air-waves maintained its commitment to commu-nity service. The radio station’s history is re-plete with example of having contributed to thepublic good of eastern Connecticut.

During times of emergencies natural disas-ters, and the like, WICH has provided specialand exemplary service to its listeners and hasmost appropriately received several awards forits work.

Since its beginning under the guidance ofthe late Ross Perkins of Essex, CT, throughthe extraordinary contributions of Dick Reed,WICH has made extraordinary contributions tothe radio industry.

Congratulations to WICH of Norwich on its50 year anniversary and best wishes for an-other 50 years of future service and great pro-gramming.f

WORKING TOGETHER FOR BAYCITY: CITIZENS, LABOR, ANDUNITED WAY




Mr. BARCIA. Mr. Speaker, in addition tokeeping full-time jobs, volunteers spend longtireless hours helping others while in returnthey are not paid and receive no financialgain. Volunteers selflessly sacrifice their freetime. Organizations would not be nearly as ef-fective without volunteers who are essential tothe success of achieving their goals.

Today I would like to congratulate and rec-ognize some dedicated volunteers from myhometown of Bay City, MI, whose effortsearned them the Model City in CommunityService Award. One of five model cities na-tionwide, the citizens of Bay City, the UnitedWay, and the Central Labor Council should beproud of their accomplishments. By workingtogether they improved their community andserve as a model for other communities to fol-low.

Under the capable leadership of SteveRajewski, labor liaison for the United Way ofBay County and coordinator for communityservice programs through the United Way ofBay County, the volunteers have providedmany valuable services to the community in-cluding: union counseling, blood drives, serv-ice for retirees, food drives and many othervaluable programs aimed to improve the qual-ity of life for citizens of Bay City.

Established in 1991, the AFL–CIO ModelCity in Community Service Award recognizesoutstanding community service activities andprograms provided by the AFL–CIO and de-veloped in cooperation with the United Way.The programs are designed to give unionmembers the opportunity to serve, support,and improve human services in their commu-nities.

The selection is based on a detailed surveyand application process that focuses on healthand human service programs that work in thelocal communities. Volunteer activities on theboards and committees of the United Way andits member agencies are an important criterionfor model city consideration.

The United Way, the Central labor Council,and citizens of Bay City deserve recognitionfor their cooperation which resulted in theirbeing honored with this prestigious award. Theloyal volunteers represent the spirit of vol-unteerism and community service whichmakes our county one of the greatest nationalin the world. I am proud to be a son and prod-uct of the great city and I ask my colleges tojoin me in wishing the citizens of Bay City ahearty congratulations for a job well done.f

STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OFH.R. 2092

HON. MATTHEW G. MARTINEZOF CALIFORNIA



Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. Speaker, I am delightedto join the gentleman from Georgia in supportof the Private Security Officer Quality Assur-ance Act, a bill which we jointly introduced lastyear. Mr. BARR deserves enormous credit forhis diligence, skill, and hard work in bringingthis important measure to the floor.

The public deserves the assurance that thesecurity guard they meet in the mall, the bank,or at school is not a felon or a person whohas a history of violent behavior. Recently,USA Today printed a story about the tragedieswhich can occur when inadequate backgroundchecks are made—tragedies that involved se-curity guards who committed murder, rape,and theft.

Mr. Speaker, there are now thousands ofsecurity companies employing close to 1.8 mil-lion guards. The vast majority of these securityguards are professionals, many acting hero-ically in performing their duties. However, rightnow, we cannot be sure that the security offi-cers that we meet in virtually every facet ofour lives are not armed and dangerous.

H.R. 2092 will provide an expedited proce-dure for State officials to check the back-grounds of applicants for guard licenses. Asimilar procedure is in place for the bankingand parimutuel industries. Currently, it takesup to 18 months to complete backgroundchecks in some States. This bill can reduce

that time to the approximately 3 weeks it takesfor banks to get results under their expeditedprocess.

H.R. 2092 contains no mandates of anykind. No State or individual is compelled touse it. Fees will be paid by the applicants ortheir employers. There is no cost to the FBI.

H.R. 2092 has broad support. Most notably,the National Association of Security and Inves-tigative Regulators has endorsed the bill aswell as representatives of the guard, alarm,and armored car industries.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation is a bipartisaneffort which has the support of Members onboth sides of the aisle. Security should not bea partisan issue. By establishing an expeditedprocedure for State regulators of securityguards to receive FBI background checks in atimely manner, H.R. 2092 will greatly improvethe safety of the public.

I strongly urge my colleagues to support thisstraightforward, modest, and reasonable billthat will improve public safety where ever se-curity guards are present.f

HEALING VICTIMS OF TORTURE

HON. JOHN EDWARD PORTEROF ILLINOIS


Wednesday, September 25, 1996Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, the brutal and

violent practice of torture is a critical issue;yet, there is little information on the subjectand even less action in the fight against it. Forsome governments, torture is used as a mat-ter of policy where low-level functionariescarry out high-level orders of state violence.During the mid-1970’s, core-Communist coun-tries such as China, Cuba, the Soviet Unionand Vietnam relied on torture as a most effec-tive tool against democracy. As recently as1995, there were 72 governments who sys-tematically implemented the practice of torture.

For victims of torture, however, there ishope. Dr. Inge Genefke is a Danish doctorwho has devoted her career to the treatmentand rehabilitation of victims of torture. Shebegan her career in this field in 1973 afterAmnesty International issued a plea to physi-cians throughout the world to assist those whohad been tortured. As director of both the Re-habilitation and Research Center for TortureVictims and the International RehabilitationCouncil for Torture Victims in Copenhagen,Dr. Genefke keeps an impressive schedulespeaking in countries where victims of tortureare receiving medical attention.

Earlier this year, Dr. Genefke testified be-fore the House International Relations sub-committee on international operations andhuman rights. Her testimony included basic in-formation on the issue and stressed the needfor increased American awareness of torturevictims and their struggles. Dr. Genefke be-lieves that through greater understanding andawareness, we can make gains in the fightagainst torture.

I commend to Member’s attention the follow-ing column on this remarkable woman by therespected Colman McCarthy which appearedin the Washington Post on September 3,1996.

[From the Washington Post, Sept. 3, 1996]FIGHTING TORTURE WITH MEDICINE

(By Colman McCarthy)As a young physician earning her medical

degree from the University of Copenhagen in

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1709September 26, 19961965, Inge Genefke looked ahead to a conven-tional practice in her home country, Den-mark. She settled on neurology as her spe-cialty at the University Hospital in Copenha-gen. Her career path appeared to be set.

In 1973 it veered sharply, in a directionthat took Genefke into what was then, andlargely remains, one of the least knownbranches of medicine: the examination andtreatment of torture victims.

Earlier this year, Genefke, who is the med-ical director of both the Rehabilitation andResearch Center for Torture Victims and theInternational Rehabilitation Council forTorture Victims in Copenhagen, testifiedhere before the House International Rela-tions subcommittee on international oper-ations and human rights. It was one of manystops this past year, an itinerary that hastaken this physician of uncommon con-science to South Africa, Romania, Nepal,Palestine, Sri Lanka, Croatia and otherareas of the world where survivors of tortureare receiving medical care.

Genefke’s work began in 1973 when Am-nesty International issued a plea to theworld’s physicians for help in treating peoplewho were tortured. The first response, andone that has proven to be deep and lasting,came from a group of Danish doctors. Theyfaced an epidemic. Governments—and notonly dictatorships—were using torture as amatter of policy. Police forces, armies anddeath squads were the low-level func-tionaries of dungeon brutality carrying outhigh-level orders of state violence.

The mid-1970s were years when China,Cuba, the Soviet Union and Vietnam werethe core communist nations relying on tor-ture. These were also years when such U.S.-backed military juntas as Greece, Chile andArgentina were at work.

Among the imprisoned was Maria Piniou-Kalli, a Greek physician who joinedGenefke’s mission in 1989 by forming theMedical Rehabilitation Center for TortureVictims in Athens. She wrote recently of theyears following the military coup in 1967:‘‘Though this might appear far in the distantpast, I dare say that the aftermaths of sucha violent abolition of democracy are stillpainfully felt even today. Twenty-two meth-ods of torture were employed as a means torepress every opposition. Among them wererape, electric shocks, psychological abuseand phalanga (beating soles of the feet),which can be describe as our national way oftorture.’’

Greeks, along with Chileans, were amongthe first victims coming to Copenhagen forhelp. Other nationalities followed, andinpouring so large that Genefke began trav-eling the world to rally other doctors. Shebecame known as the ‘‘Florence Nightin-gale’’ of torture treatment. Today her owncenters, which have grown to a staff of 80,are linked with 60 similar operations in 45countries, including one in Minneapolis thathas treated more than 800 people since 1988.

When I visited the Minneapolis center fouryears ago, several staff members repeatedlymentioned Genefke and her singular work. Itwas not a large leap to place the Danish doc-tor in the company of other 20th centurywomen—Jane Addams, Maria Montessori, El-eanor Roosevelt, Mother Teresa—who notonly had a vision but also the drive to orga-nize it into reality.

At the House hearings, Genefke suppliedthe basic information about her work in Co-penhagen and the affiliated centers aroundthe world. Services range from psychologicalsupportive therapy to medical help to re-store injured muscles and limbs.

Of the 72 governments that systematicallyused torture in 1995, Genefke told Congress:‘‘One of the most horrible things when youhear about torture is . . . to realize that so

many governments use it with the purpose ofstaying in power. Torture victims alwaystell us that we, who have not been tortured,can never understand what happened tothem. . . . I do not think we should try tounderstand what happens—but we shouldknow why it happens, the motive behind tor-ture, and then fight against it with all ourstrength.’’

Some of that strength is money. Here, too,Denmark leads the way. Its government pro-vides more than $5 million a year to the Co-penhagen centers, about $1 per Dane. TheUnited States contribution to the U.N. Vol-untary Fund for Victims of Torture is $1.5million, about a half-cent per person a year.

Genefke believes that few Americans areaware of that paltriness, or who is being tor-tured or where. She plans to return to tell usagain. Information is the medicine for indif-ference.

f

PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION BANACT OF 1995—VETO MESSAGEFROM THE PRESIDENT OF THEUNITED STATES (H. DOC. NO. 104–198)

SPEECH OF

HON. PHILIP M. CRANEOF ILLINOIS


Thursday, September 19, 1996Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, opponents of

H.R. 1833, the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act,justified their support of this form of infanticideby stating that the procedure was medicallynecessary in some cases. In fact, PresidentClinton, as he vetoed the bill, ensured that hisphoto-ops included women who had survivedthis gruesome procedure.

As my distinguished colleague HENRY HYDEmentioned in his closing remarks of the vetooverride debate, proabortion forces are dis-turbed by our attempt to outlaw these acts be-cause the legislation shifts the focus from thewoman’s choice to the brutal and fatal act ofthe abortion procedure. In their attempt to jus-tify all abortions, abortion advocates have fullyexposed their agenda by lobbying to protectthis form of baby murder. Apparently, they areignoring the health risks to women who havebeen or could be subjected to the medicallynecessary procedure we seek to outlaw.

In fact, supporters of H.R. 1833 includedmany trained in the medical profession. Ourcolleague, Dr. TOM COBURN, a practicing ob-stetrician, assisted in writing the bill. Otherwell-trained physicians, true to their Hippo-cratic oath, lent their support to outlaw partial-birth abortions and exposed the serious healthdangers inherent in such a brutal procedure.

Four physicians, all of whom are experts inobstetrics or fetal health, explained their sup-port for H.R. 1833 in the September 19, 1996Wall Street Journal article entitled, ‘‘Partial-Birth Abortion Is Bad Medicine’’. As our col-leagues in the other body this week attempt tooverride the veto of this most humane legisla-tion, I commend the article to their attentionand urge them to follow the lead of the House,override the President’s veto and make H.R.1833 law.

[From the Wall Street Journal, Sept. 19,1996]

PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION IS BAD MEDICINE

(By Nancy Romer, Pamela Smith, Curtis R.Cook, and Joseph L. DeCook)

The House of Representatives will vote inthe next few days on whether to override

President Clinton’s veto of the Partial BirthAbortion Ban Act. The debate on the subjecthas been noisy and rancorous. You’ve heardfrom the activists. You’ve heard from thepoliticians. Now may we speak?

We are the physicians who, on a dailybasis, treat pregnant women and their ba-bies. And we can no longer remain silentwhile abortion activists, the media and eventhe president of the United States continueto repeat false medical claims about partial-birth abortion. The appalling lack of medicalcredibility on the side of those defending thisprocedure has forced us—for the first time inour professional careers—to leave the side-lines in order to provide some sorely neededfacts in a debate that has been dominated byanecdote, emotion and media stunts.

Since the debate on this issue began, thosewhose real agenda is to keep all types ofabortion legal—at any stage of pregnancy,for any reason—have waged what can only becalled an orchestrated misinformation cam-paign.

First the National Abortion Federationand other pro-abortion groups claimed theprocedure didn’t exist. When a paper writtenby the doctor who invented the procedurewas produced, abortion proponents changedtheir story, claiming the procedure was onlydone when a woman’s life was in danger.Then the same doctor, the nation’s mainpractitioner of the technique, was caught—on tape—admitting that 80% of his partial-birth abortions were ‘‘purely elective.’’

Then there was the anesthesia myth. TheAmerican public was told that it wasn’t theabortion that killed the baby, but the anes-thesia administered to the mother before theprocedure. This claim was immediately andthoroughly denounced by the American Soci-ety of Anesthesiologists, which called theclaim ‘‘entirely inaccurate.’’ Yet PlannedParenthood and its allies continued tospread the myth, causing needless concernamong our pregnant patients who heard theclaims and were terrified that epidurals dur-ing labor, or anesthesia during needed sur-geries, would kill their babies.

The latest baseless statement was made byPresident Clinton himself when he said thatif the mothers who opted for partial-birthabortions had delivered their children natu-rally, the women’s bodies would have been‘‘eviscerated’’ or ‘‘ripped to shreds’’ and they‘‘could never have another baby.’’

That claim is totally and completely false.Contrary to what abortion activists wouldhave us believe, partial-birth abortion isnever medically indicated to protect a wom-an’s health or her fertility. In fact, the oppo-site is true: The procedure can pose a signifi-cant and immediate threat to both the preg-nant woman’s health and her fertility. Itseems to have escaped anyone’s attentionthat one of the five women who appeared atMr. Clinton’s veto ceremony had five mis-carriages after her partial-birth abortion.

Consider the dangers inherent in partial-birth abortion, which usually occurs afterthe fifth month of pregnancy. A woman’scervix is forcibly dilated over several days,which risks creating an ‘‘incompetent cer-vix,’’ the leading cause of premature deliv-eries. It is also an invitation to infection, amajor cause of infertility. The abortionistthen reaches into the womb to pull a childfeet first out of the mother (internal podalicversion), but leaves the head inside. Undernormal circumstances, physicians avoidbreech births whenever possible; in this case,the doctor intentionally causes one—andrisks tearing the uterus in the process. Hethen forces scissors through the base of thebaby’s skull—which remains lodged justwithin the birth canal. This is a partially‘‘blind’’ procedure, done by feel, risking di-rect scissor injury to the uterus and lacera-tion of the cervix or lower uterine segment,

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of RemarksE1710 September 26, 1996resulting in immediate and massive bleedingand the threat of shock or even death to themother.

None of this risk is ever necessary for anyreason. We and many other doctors acrossthe U.S. regularly treat women whose un-born children suffer the same conditions asthose cited by the women who appeared atMr. Clinton’s veto ceremony. Never is thepartial-birth procedure necessary. Not forhydrocephaly (excessive cerebrospinal fluidin the head), not for polyhydramnios (an ex-cess of amniotic fluid collecting in thewomen) and not for trisomy (genetic abnor-malities characterized by an extra chro-mosome). Sometimes, as in the case ofhydrocephaly, it is first necessary to drainsome of the fluid from the baby’s head. Andin some cases, when vaginal delivery is notpossible, a doctor performs a Caesarean sec-tion. But in no case is it necessary to par-tially deliver an infant through the vaginaand then kill the infant.

How telling it is that although Mr. Clintonmet with women who claimed to have neededpartial-birth abortions on account of theseconditions, he has flat-out refused to meetwith women who delivered babies with thesesame conditions, with no damage whatsoeverto their health or future fertility.

Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koopwas recently asked whether he’d ever oper-ated on children who had any of the disabil-ities described in this debate. Indeed he had.In fact, one of his patients—‘‘with a hugeomphalocele [a sac containing the baby’s or-gans] much bigger than her head’’—went onto become the head nurse in his intensivecare unit many years later.

Mr. Koop’s reaction to the president’sveto? ‘‘I believe that Mr. Clinton was misledby his medical advisers on what is fact andwhat is fiction’’ on the matter, he said. Sucha procedure, he added, cannot truthfully becalled medically necessary for either themother or—he scarcely need point out—forthe baby.

Considering these medical realities, onecan only conclude that the women whothought they underwent partial-birth-abor-tions for ‘‘medical’’ reasons were tragicallymisled. And those who purport to speak forwomen don’t seem to care.

So whom are you going to believe? The ac-tivist-extremists who refuse to allow a littletruth to get in the way of their agenda? Thepoliticians who benefit from the activists’political action committees? Or doctors whohave the facts?

f

THE COMPUTER SOFTWAREDEPRECIATION CORRECTION

HON. BILL BAKEROF CALIFORNIA



Mr. BAKER of California. Mr. Speaker,today I am introducing a bill to change currenttax law to allow computer software acquired inthe purchase of a business to be subject tothe same tax depreciation rules as most othercomputer software available to the generalpublic. My bill also shortens the depreciablelife of computer software to 2 years, to betterreflect its true value to a small business or acorporation.

Current law considers software acquired inthe purchase of a business to be an ‘‘intangi-ble asset,’’ under Internal Revenue Code sec-tion 197. As such, it is subject to a punitive15-year depreciation rule. My bill first placesall computer software, regardless of its origin,

composition, or means of acquisition, on equalfooting with typical off-the-shelf software tech-nology currently available to most consumers.

My bill then lowers the current 36-month‘‘useful life’’ standard for computer softwarededuction down to 2 years. This shorter periodis a much more fair concept of ‘‘useful life.’’The 2-year deduction is weighted in the firstyear to allow a 70-percent deduction, followedby a second-year 30-percent deduction. Thisalso reflects the value of the software to abusiness in a much more fair way.

Shortening the depreciable life of computersoftware—and especially subjecting the mosttechnical and sophisticated programs to thesame treatment as commercially availablesoftware—will have substantial economic im-pact. It will lower the cost of operation forthousands of small businesses which may cur-rently purchase hundreds of programs a year.It will also restore a measure of equity forsmall businesses vis-a-vis larger corporationswhich can afford to write their own softwareand expense the costs that year as a researchand development expenditure.

While on the vanguard of our technologysector, computer software has an increasinglyshort product life cycle, often about 1 to 2years, depreciating much more rapidly thanmost products. My bill will help spur further in-novation in this growing sector of our econ-omy. And as many new companies involved inemerging technology markets must acquirenew technologies in order to grow, my bill willenhance the competitiveness of U.S. firmswith foreign firms that may enjoy much morefavorable tax treatment of acquired assets likesoftware.

An indepth economic analysis will have tobe made on my bill’s impact, a preliminary ex-amination of the legislation indicates its costwill be minimal, compared to its benefit to thetechnology sector. I encourage my colleaguesto join me in this effort by cosponsoring thisimportant bill.f

TRIBUTE TO LOUIS TRAVISAMVETS POST 14 50TH ANNIVER-SARY CELEBRATION

HON. GERALD D. KLECZKAOF WISCONSIN



Mr. KLECZKA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today topay tribute to the Louis Travis Amvets Post 14as they celebrate the 50th anniversary of theirpost charter on Saturday, October 26, 1996.

After the end of World War II, thousands ofveterans throughout our country had the needfor an organization which would bring them to-gether under a common bond. In Bay View, aWorld War II veteran by the name of EdwardCialdini understood this need and sought tofind such an organization. Ed came into con-tact with an organizer for the American Veter-ans of World War II, also known as AMVETS,and on March 27, 1946 they met with 14 otherBay View veterans to create an AMVET post.

Once the new post was created, the found-ers decided it should be named in the memoryof a local veteran, Louis Travis of Bay View.He was the sixth child of Mr. and Mrs. PaulTravis, born in January 20, 1925. In 1943Louis joined the Navy and participated inmany Pacific campaigns aboard the U.S.S.

Minneapolis and U.S.S. Pensacola where hesaw combat in the Iwo Jima operation. Duringthis bombardment, his ship was struck byenemy shells and he was killed on February17, 1945. He was posthumously awarded thePurple Heart, American Campaign Medal, Asi-atic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one silverand three bronze stars, and the World War IIVictory Medal. The organizers were proud toname their new post after this true Americanhero.

For several years, the Travis Post held itsmeetings at the local club where it wasformed. However, as the organization grew, sodid the need for their own clubhouse. After thewar ended, the Travis Post purchased amesshall from the German prisoner-of-warstockade built at Mitchell Field. After manyyears of hard labor by its members and sev-eral local community volunteers, and financialtroubles, the post was finally completed andoperational by 1952. That building served BayView area veterans for 43 years. In 1995, thebuilding was sold, and Travis Post meetingsare now being held at the same club where itwas formed.

Over the past 50 years, the Travis Post hasmet the needs of all Bay View veterans. TheLouis Travis AMVET Post has a history filledwith sacrifice, hard labor, and ultimately suc-cess. I applaud all of the veterans who helpedto organize, build, and sustain the Travis Postover these past 50 years.f

ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOP-MENT APPROPRIATIONS ACTFOR FISCAL YEAR 1997

HON. CALVIN M. DOOLEYOF CALIFORNIA


Wednesday, September 25, 1996Mr. DOOLEY of California. Mr. Speaker, re-

cently the House passed the conference re-port to accompany H.R. 3816, the Energy andWater Development Appropriations Act for Fis-cal Year 1997. This legislation includes a long-sought solution to resolve the issues concern-ing costs of the Kesterson Reservoir CleanupProgram. This language directs the Secretaryof Interior to collect repayment of the cost ofthe Kesterson drain as described in the reportentitled ‘‘Repayment Report, Kesterson Res-ervoir Cleanup Program and San Joaquin Val-ley Drainage Program, February 1995’’.

While all parties involved in the Kestersoncleanup issue are pleased with the solution ofthe repayment situation, there are severallandowners who are involved in a lawsuit—Sumner Peck Ranch—that stems from theclosing of the drain. The closing of the drainhas led to the degradation of land in the area.In some cases this land has become incapa-ble of being farmed. The basis of the lawsuitis that the landowners believe that the FederalGovernment should provide them with mone-tary compensation for the loss of the produc-tive use of their land because the FederalGovernment is not operating a drain as prom-ised in past contracts with the Bureau of Rec-lamation.

The case has not been resolved, and man-datory settlement discussions before the NinthCircuit’s chief mediator are ongoing. I want tomake clear that the language contained in thefiscal year 1997 energy and water develop-ment appropriations bill in no way was in-tended to affect the outcome of the Sumner

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1711September 26, 1996Peck Ranch litigation. The only purpose of thelanguage was to resolve the long-standing dis-pute regarding the allocation of the repaymentresponsibilities.

f

OPPOSITION TO THE FISCAL YEAR1997 VA/HUD CONFERENCE REPORT

HON. SPENCER BACHUSOF ALABAMA



Mr. BACHUS. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, Ijoined 24 of my colleagues in opposing the fis-cal year 1997 VA/HUD conference report. Iwant to be very clear that I strongly supportour veterans. I voted for this legislation whenthe House passed its version earlier this year.But I could not, in good conscience vote forthe conference report.

I voted against this bill for one reason andone reason only—this bill hurt some of the ac-counts most critical to our Nation’s veterans.The House Veterans’ Affairs Committeeworked long and hard to produce a budgetthat maintained or increased almost everymajor VA account. Unfortunately, the final con-ference product cuts the House request of twoof the most critical veterans programs while in-creasing funds for nonveterans programs.

The VA medical care account was cut by$55 million over the House-passed version. Asthe VA struggles to offer consistent qualitymedical care to veterans, I am angry thatthese dollars are being spent by Americorps—a paid volunteer program which received $400million more than the House originally in-tended. Our veterans heeded the call of ourcountry and risked their lives and their healthin true service to the United States. Theyshould not be asked to take a back seat to aprogram that has been criticized for mis-management and waste.

The VA medical research account was cut$15 million from the House passed legislation.Mr. Speaker, in addition VA’s premier re-search efforts in areas such as spinal cord in-jury and blind rehabilitation, this cut hurtssome of our newest and sickest veterans—those who have returned from OperationDesert Storm with bizarre service-connectedillnesses ranging from chronic fatigue syn-drome to cancer. On the heels of a long-over-due Pentagon admission that some of ourtroops were exposed to chemical weapons,we are trimming the very dollars that mayhave been used to improve treatment methodsor quality of life for these soldiers.

I am an original cosponsor of a bill intro-duced by my colleague, the Honorable GLENBROWDER creating an independent commis-sion to study the use of chemical weapons inthe gulf war. We must take the lessons of oursick veterans to ensure that future generationsof soldiers are given the best opportunity toperform in an age of chemical warfare and stillcome home with their health.

The priorities of this conference report areskewed. While I understand that overall VAfunding is increased over fiscal year 1996 dol-lars, I am disappointed that VA’s medical mis-sion has been slighted in the process. Thewishes of the House Veterans’ Affairs Commit-tee should have been given more, not less,consideration.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THESCHOOL OF NURSING, UNIVER-SITY OF MARYLAND AT BALTI-MORE, AND DR. BARBARA R.HELLER

HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDINOF MARYLAND



Mr. CARDIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today tocongratulate the School of Nursing, Universityof Maryland at Baltimore and Dr. Barbara R.Heller, Dean of the School, as it breaksground on a new building and marks an im-portant milestone in the history of the institu-tion, nursing education and the nursing profes-sion.

The School of Nursing, ranked in the top 10nationally and one of the largest institutions ofnursing education in the country, is in the fore-front of nursing education, research and clini-cal service. Students are provided with theknowledge and skills they need to practice ina dynamically changing, global health caremarketplace.

The school targets critical local, State andnational problems through research in suchareas as the health of mothers and infants,drug abuse, oncology, geriatrics, school/childhealth, trauma/critical care, community healthand AIDS prevention.

Through growing clinical practice initiatives,the school offers vital primary and preventiveservices throughout Maryland. While enrichingthe academic experience for many students,these affordable, accessible nurse-managed,community-based health centers served asmodels of health care delivery to underservedand uninsured populations.

I urge my colleagues to join me in salutingthe efforts of the School of Nursing to refocus,redefine and reengineer nursing education. Ialso congratulate the faculty, students andstaff as they break ground on a new facility,building the future of our Nation’s health caredelivery system through education.f

LEGISLATION TO EXPAND CONDI-TIONS FOR VETERANS PRE-SUMED TO BE SERVICE CON-NECTED DUE TO EXPOSURE TOIONIZING RADIATION

HON. LANE EVANSOF ILLINOIS



Mr. EVANS. Mr. Speaker, today I am intro-ducing legislation to address an injustice thatshould be corrected at our earliest possibleopportunity—the poor treatment of our Na-tion’s atomic veterans.

There can be no question that atomic veter-ans were not adequately informed of the dan-gers of ionizing radiation and were injured asa result. Many of these men and women havepaid for their dedication and bravery with theirhealth and some with their lives. We owe it tothem to see that they are not forgotten andthat they receive the compensation for all ofthe illnesses that were incurred because oftheir service to our Nation. My legislation isbut another step in ensuring that we fulfill ourduty to them.

Recent developments have made a clearcase for providing relief to these vets. Thefinal report of the President’s Advisory Com-mittee on Human Radiation Experimentationmore or less concluded that our Governmenthas failed these brave men and women. Therecommendations of the committee mirroredmany of the concerns that the atomic veteransgroups have had for years: that the list of pre-sumptive diseases contained in law is inad-equate, that the standard of proof to meet ad-ministrative claims is often impossible to meet,and that these statutes are limited and inequi-table in their coverage.

I believe that Congress must provide thenecessary leadership to ensure that these vet-erans’ needs are met. My legislation is basedon the precedent set by the Marshall IslandsNuclear Claims Tribunal Act, which providesrelief for a number of presumptive diseases.Currently, Marshall Islanders receive com-pensation if they exhibit one or more of the 27illnesses presumed radiogenic in nature. Mylegislation would ensure that all of theradiogenic illnesses that Marshall Islandersare compensated for are also on the presump-tive list for our Nation’s vets. Specifically, itwould add bone cancer, cancer of the colon,nonmalignant thyroid nodular disease, para-thyroid cancer, ovarian cancer, brain andcentral nervous system tumors, unexplainedbone marrow failure and meningioma to thepresumptive list.

This legislation will ensure that atomic veter-ans are treated properly, not as second-classcitizens. It will also ensure that our Nation’spolicy on addressing the damage done by ourNation’s nuclear weapons program is consist-ent. The least we can do is to make sure thatveterans receive compensation for illnessesalready determined by our Government to belinked to exposure to ionizing radiation. I urgemy colleagues to sponsor this long-overduelegislation.f

CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 3666,DEPARTMENTS OF VETERANSAFFAIRS AND HOUSING ANDURBAN DEVELOPMENT, ANDINDEPENDENT AGENCIES APPRO-PRIATIONS ACT, 1997

SPEECH OF

HON. ROBERT A. BORSKIOF PENNSYLVANIA


Tuesday, September 24, 1996

Mr. BORSKI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today instrong support of H.R. 3666, the conferencereport on VA-HUD-Independent Agencies Ap-propriations for fiscal year 1997. I support thisbill for many reasons but especially because itincludes a provision that requires health insur-ance companies to cover 48 hours of hospitalcare for a woman after she gives birth.

Mr. Speaker, my constituent, Mrs. MaureenDrumm is a perfect example of why this prac-tice of drive-through deliveries must bestopped.

On August 31, 1992, Maureen gave birth toher first daughter, Bridget Theresa. Bridget’sfirst twenty-four hours of life were that of anormal, beautiful, healthy baby. However, ap-proximately twenty-hours after Bridget wasborn, Maureen began to experience severephysical distress. Maureen had developed a

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of RemarksE1712 September 26, 1996uterine infection, her temperature rose quicklyto one hundred and four degrees, and shewas in danger of lapsing into shock.

Mrs. Drumm’s doctors immediately placedher on heavy doses of antibiotics and other in-travenously administered medications. But, de-spite her doctor’s best efforts, her fever per-sisted for 5 days at rates over one hundreddegrees.

Although Maureen was quite ill, her greatestpain was not physical. Maureen was sufferingmentally for her newborn daughter, Bridget.Approximately 48 hours after Bridget wasborn, she was moved to the intensive careunit. In a matter of hours, Bridget’s bilirubinlevel—the yellow-brown bile pigment in theblood—had jumped from a normal level of 11to a dangerous level of 19. Bilirubin levels inthe twenties can cause bilirubinencephalopathy—a condition which causespermanent brain and nervous system damage.Bilirubin levels of over twenty-two requiretransfusions which replace all of the blood inthe baby’s body. Bridget Theresa was in greatdanger.

In time, Maureen’s fever and Bridget’s jaun-dice subsided because they were given highquality medical treatment and an adequatelength of stay in the hospital. However, if theyhad been forced to leave twenty-four hoursafter Maureen gave birth—they would nothave been so lucky. Mr. Speaker, forcingwomen and their newborn babies out of thehospital after 24 hours is cruel, barbaric, andextremely dangerous. If this policy of mandat-ing ‘‘drive-through deliveries’’ was in effect in1992, Bridget Theresa could be mentally re-tarded and Maureen could have died.

As you can imagine, Mr. Speaker, whenMaureen became pregnant with her secondchild, she was quite nervous. Mrs. Drumm hadlearned that since her first delivery, her insur-ance company adopted a policy which re-quired mothers and newborns be dischargedfrom the hospital 24 hours after a ‘‘normal de-livery.’’ Well, Maureen did have a ‘‘normal de-livery’’ with her first daughter Bridget Theresa.It was only after the first 24 hours that theirconditions became obvious.

On July 26, 1995, Mrs. Drumm testified infront of the Pennsylvania House of Represent-atives Democratic Policy Committee. The nextday Maureen received a phone call from BlueCross/Blue Shield and was informed that be-cause of her testimony, she would be pre-ap-proved for a 48-hour stay in the hospital aftergiving birth. On August 3, 1995, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Philadelphia changed their pol-icy to ‘‘Mother’s Option’’—which is 24 hours inthe hospital and two home health care visits or48 hours in the hospital.

On August 6, 1995, Maureen gave birth toher second child—a beautiful, healthy babygirl—Maura Elizabeth. Maura also had an ele-vated bilirubin level on her second day of lifeand was given immediate treatment. SinceMaureen and Maura were able to stay a sec-ond day in the hospital, Maureen was wellrested and able to care for Maura’s jaundiceat home over the course of the next few days.Today, both of Maureen’s daughters are grow-ing beautifully.

Mr. Speaker, since Maura’s birth, Penn-sylvania has joined a number of other Statesin making the option of a 48-hour hospital staylaw. Now, we need to make it a Federal law.

Mr. Speaker, Maureen Drumm’s efforts ineducating us all in this dangerous ‘‘drive-

through delivery’’ practice should be com-mended. Maureen Drumm not only won a bat-tle for herself, but for millions of womenacross this country. Although, many peoplewould have been satisfied with being grantedan extra day in the hospital for themselves,Maureen didn’t stop there. Through many tripsto Washington and many meetings with bothRepresentatives and Senators, she has fo-cused national attention on this issue, and hasbeen a true leader in this fight for the rights ofnewborns and their mothers. Maureen Drummhas proven that one person really can make adifference. I congratulate Maureen Drumm andurge you to do the same by passing this im-portant and vital legislation.f

HONORING STEPHEN JEROME

HON. NITA M. LOWEYOF NEW YORK



Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I wish to honorStephen Jerome for his 30 years of ongoingcommitment and service to the students andresidents of the 18th Congressional District ofNew York, which I am proud to represent.

The name Stephen Jerome is synonymouswith both educational leadership and dedica-tion to community. As president of MonroeCollege, with campuses in both the Bronx andNew Rochelle, Stephen Jerome has carried onhis family’s commitment to educating theyoung men and women of New York City andWestchester. His aunt, Mildred King, foundedthe school in 1933, and his father joined her3 years later. Stephen came aboard as an in-structor in 1966, and held various positionsover the next 12 years before beginning histenure as president in 1978.

It is fitting that as we honor Stephen Jeromeon his 30th anniversary, Monroe College willhonor his aunt by dedicating the recently ac-quired King Hall, which now houses the officeof student services, as well as the learningcenter, gymnasium, and cafeteria.

Mr. Speaker, Stephen Jerome is not contentto help only those students who pass throughhis institution’s doors. He is a former memberof the college presidents’ council for the Gov-ernor’s Office on New York State FinancialAid, former president of the Association ofProprietary Colleges in New York State, and aformer commissioner of the Accrediting Com-mission of the Association of Independent Col-leges and Schools.

Stephen Jerome’s endeavors also extendbeyond the educational sphere. He hasworked to improve the ties between businessand the community by serving as director ofthe Bronx Chamber of Commerce and then aspresident of the Fordham Road Area Develop-ment Corp. In addition, he routinely organizesneighborhood cleanup and improvementprojects, and arranges an annual Christmasparty for the children of his students.

Aside from his commitment to Monroe Col-lege and to his community, Steven is a dedi-cated husband and father. His wife, Leslie, isthe director of career services at Monroe’sNew Rochelle campus. One son, Marc, is thedirector of the New Rochelle branch campus,and his other son, Evan, heads a televisionproduction company. Stephen’s daughter,Lauren, works in public relations.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the friends, col-leagues, and family of Stephen Jerome, Ihereby express my heartfelt appreciation forhis 30 years of service to Monroe College andthe Bronx, and hope that he will continue toserve the institution and his community formany years to come.

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A TRIBUTE TO PRISCILLA ‘‘PRILL’’KUHN

HON. ED PASTOROF ARIZONA



Mr. PASTOR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today topay tribute to a woman whose sense of com-passion, community dedication, and entre-preneurial skill makes her one of Arizona’smost well-respected citizens, Ms. Priscilla‘‘Prill’’ Kuhn. Ms. Kuhn has dedicated her lifeto improving the lives of the underprivilegedand disadvantaged, and thousands of Arizo-nans are living happier, healthier lives be-cause of her hard work. Her altruism, quietbrilliance, dauntless energy and many friendshave enabled her to fulfill her unique vision ofbuilding responsive communities for the mem-bers of our society most in need of advocatesand protectors: our children, our elderly, andour disabled.

Throughout her career, Prill has continuedto develop her communication skills, her un-derstanding of resource development, and hernetwork of friends. Subsequently in 1985, shewas able to pursue her dream of establishingher own business, Netwest DevelopmentCorp., in Tucson, AZ. As president and chiefexecutive officer of Netwest, Prill incorporatedher belief in positive community activism intoevery aspect of the business.

Although Netwest has become a multi-mil-lion dollar organization with 230 employeesand provides over 1,000 multifamily, retire-ment and assisted-living units, Prill’s vision ofa caring, responsive community pervades.

Prill provides an immeasurable resource tothe many boards and committees on whichshe sits. Her fundraising abilities are legend-ary. For her work, she has received manyawards and recognitions including the North-wood University Distinguished Women’sAward, Roots and Wings Human BettermentAward, Amity Foundation President’s Award,International Who’s Who of Professional &Business Women. The list goes on.

In addition to her career and public serviceaccomplishments, Prill’s dedication to her fam-ily is also commendable. With her loving hus-band, Dr. Martin C. Kuhn, Prill raised threewonderful children: Katherine Edith Ruth KuhnFletcher Truman Kuhn, and Clifford SeymourKuhn. She is also the guardian of her twoyoung nieces, Patience Gabrielle Purdy andJosephine Elizabeth Seymour Lane, and sheis grandmother to Jamal Truman Salah andAnna Priscilla Salah.

I close this tribute to Priscilla ‘‘Prill’’ Kuhn bythanking her for the difference she has madein the lives of many Arizonans. Prill’s entre-preneurial spirit, sense of community respon-sibility, and love of family make her an out-standing citizen of this country.

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1713September 26, 1996ECONOMIC STABILITY FOR

PUERTO RICO

HON. PATRICK J. KENNEDYOF RHODE ISLAND



Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Speak-er, as a member of the House ResourcesCommittee I would like to take this opportunityto voice my support for the continued eco-nomic progress of Puerto Rico. While I believethat it was necessary to do away with wastefulcorporate welfare programs like section 936, itis crucial that we continue the progress towardeconomic stability on the island. With almost 4million American citizens living in Puerto Rico,Congress must remain committed to helpingPuerto Rico create a sound economic climatein which all citizens can prosper. It is impor-tant to remember that unemployment andother economic factors in Puerto Rico still re-main far below the national average.

I believe we began building the foundationof an economic incentives program for the is-land in the new section 30A, which provides atargeted wage credit to companies currentlydoing business in Puerto Rico. Section 30A iscertainly a move in the right direction but thereis still a great deal of work that needs to bedone in order to ensure the economic sol-vency of the island in the next century.

In the next Congress I am looking forwardto working with Puerto Rican Governor PedroRossello, and my colleagues in the House toexpand section 30A into a dynamic and effec-tive job creation incentive that promotes newhigh paying jobs to Puerto Rico.f

SMALL BUSINESS REGULATORYRELIEF ACT OF 1996

SPEECH OF

HON. THOMAS W. EWINGOF ILLINOIS



Mr. EWING. Madam Speaker, today theU.S. House of Representatives acted to pro-tect farmers, farm retailers, many small busi-nesses, and State’s rights from potentially on-erous regulations currently being proposed bythe U.S. Department of Transportation. It isunfortunate that some proponents of ‘‘big gov-ernment’’ and Washington, DC bureaucraciesfeel the need to preempt State laws and im-pose one-size-fits-all regulations on busi-nesses and activities that have operated safe-ly and efficiently for years without Federal reg-ulation. Passage of H.R. 3153 was a victoryfor the ‘‘common sense’’ 104th Congress.

In its present form, the U.S. Department ofTransportation, Research and Special Pro-grams Administration’s HM–200 rule-makingwould supersede every State exception grant-ed to the agriculture industry for transfer of ag-ricultural production materials, such as pes-ticides, fertilizers, and fuel from retail-to-farmand from farm-to-farm. In fact, this issue is soimportant to agriculture that 49 Members ofCongress and 44 farm and agribusiness orga-nizations endorsed corrective legislation that Iintroduced along with Representatives Buyer,Poshard, and Barcia, H.R. 4102, the FarmTransportation Regulatory Relief Act.

Although the agricultural production mate-rials provisions contained in Section 4 of H.R.3153 are not as comprehensive as the rec-ommendations contained in H.R. 4102, the bi-partisan agreement contained in H.R. 3153would provide relief for farmers and retailers,and allow States to continue to do exactlywhat they are doing now, until after Congresshas a chance to review DOT’s final rule. Thissection would exempt agricultural productionmaterials from DOT’s final intrastate regula-tions until after Congress passes a reauthor-ization of the Hazardous Materials Transpor-tation Safety Act, or through the 1998 plantingseason.

State governments realize that agriculturehas unique needs and operates under criticalseasonal time pressures. There is no need toimpose uniform hazardous materials transpor-tation standards on not-for-hire intrastatetransportation of agricultural chemicals andmaterials. Burdening farmers with costly andunnecessary bureaucratic requirements likehaving to placard their trucks, carry shippingdocuments, and provide a 24-hour emergencyresponse phone number will only impedefarmers’ ability to efficiently plant and care fortheir crops. It will not improve safety on ruralroads!

I would particularly like to thank Mr. BUYER,Mr. POSHARD, Mr. BARCIA, and Majority WhipDELAY for their support and hard work to en-sure farmers and retailers are protected fromDOT’s unnecessary and burdensome regula-tions. Farmers are primarily small businesspeople, who work extremely hard to makeends meet. They care about their safety, thesafety of others, and the environment. I hopeDOT will reevaluate its opinion of agriculture,and its unique transportation needs; however,if they do not, I am prepared to continue towork with my colleagues to ensure Congresstakes the necessary action to permanentlyprotect production agriculture from these un-necessary and bureaucratic regulations.f

TRIBUTE TO WALT MOSHER



Wednesday, September 25, 1996Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to

pay tribute to my dear friend Walt Mosher, therecipient of the 1996 Nelle Reagan Award forDistinguished Community Service by theOlive-View UCLA Medical Foundation. Know-ing Walt as I do, I cannot think of a morequalified candidate to receive an award predi-cated on philanthropy and volunteerism. De-spite a hectic schedule, Walt always seems tohave time for important causes.

The numbers are truly staggering: Walt hasdonated more than 25,000 hours of personalservice and hundreds of thousands of dollarsto scores of charities, civic organizations, com-mittees, and task forces in the San FernandoValley and elsewhere. Those he has helped inone way or another include the San FernandoYMCA Child Care Program, the AmericanHeart Association, the San Fernando PoliceAdvisory Council, the American Cancer Soci-ety, and the American Heart Association. Walthas also assumed a leadership role with theValley Industry and Commerce Association, akey business advocacy organization in theSan Fernando Valley.

Somehow Walt manages to stay intimatelyinvolved with his community while running a$28 million a year business that employs sev-eral hundred people. In 1956 he cofoundedPrecision Dynamics Corp., which was estab-lished to manufacture and distribute productsin the health care field. One year later, he be-came president, a position he has held eversince.

Walt is also an educated man; he has aPh.D., in engineering from UCLA. I have en-joyed many stimulating conversations with himover the years about business and politicalmatters.

I ask my colleagues to join me today in sa-luting Walt Mosher, whose selflessness anddedication is a shining example to us all. I amproud to be close friends with him and hiswife, Beckaa.

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JACK HOAR: AN AMERICAN TEACH-ER IN BOSNIA ANDHERZEGOVINA HELPS REBUILDCIVIL SOCIETY

HON. STEPHEN HORNOF CALIFORNIA



Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rec-ognize Mr. Jack Hoar, who participated inCIVITAS@Bosnia-Herzegovina, an intensiveprogram from July 17–27, 1996, to train localteachers in education for democracy. JackHoar was part of a team of 18 American edu-cators and 15 teachers from the Council ofEurope who were assigned to key citiesthroughout the Federation of Bosnia andHerzegovina. For 34 years, Jack was a valuedteacher and administrator in the Long BeachUnified School District. He was the history, so-cial science consultant for most of his tenure.

The summer training program was devel-oped by the Center for Civic Education as partof a major civic education initiative in Bosniaand Herzegovina supported by the UnitedStates Information Agency and the UnitedStates Department of Education. The U.S. In-formation Service in Sarajevo provided valu-able assistance to the program. The goals ofthe program are to help prepare students andtheir communities for competent and respon-sible participation in elections and other oppor-tunities to take part in the political life of theircommunities. Achieving this goal will contrib-ute to the reconstitution of a sense of commu-nity, cooperation, tolerance and support fordemocracy and human rights in this war tornarea.

I am also pleased to announce that the cur-ricular materials being used for the program inBosnia and Herzegovina have been adaptedfrom the We the People . . . the Citizen andthe Constitution, and the Project Citizen pro-grams, and other programs supported by Con-gress which are used in schools throughoutthe United States. Initial reports evaluating thesummer program indicate the materials andteaching methods were enthusiastically re-ceived and can be adapted for use in class-rooms throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Jack Hoar resides in Long Beach, CA, andcurrently serves as the director of internationalprograms for the Center for Civic Education. In

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of RemarksE1714 September 26, 1996the past year, Mr. Hoar has traveled on 4 dif-ferent occasions to Bosnia and Herzegovina topromote education for democracy instructionin the schools.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to comment Jack Hoarfor his dedication and commitment during theCIVITAS@Bosnia-Herzegovina summer train-ing program. His work is helping to achievethe overall objective of building support for de-mocracy in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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PEOPLE ARE NOT FOR HITTING

HON. ANDREW JACOBS, JR.OF INDIANA



Mr. JACOBS. Mr. Speaker, the MenningerClinic published a book awhile back entitled‘‘People are Not for Hitting’’.

I have rarely seen a little boy hit anotherchild without mumbling, you are a bad boy. Aspeople grow older, they become more subtleabout explaining their violence. But as the par-ent’s creed says, ‘‘The child who lives with vi-olence, learns to do violence.’’

The old saying is, spare the rod, spoil thechild. Since there are innumerable ways todiscipline and even punish children, the sayingshould be, spare the discipline, spoil the child.In fact, spoiling is one of the worst things youcan do to a child. I call it the gentle brutality.

Here is what George Bernard Shaw said: ‘‘Ifyou strike a child, take care that you do so inanger. * * * A blow struck in cold blood nei-ther can nor ever should be forgiven.’’

The following statement by Meadow D’Arcywas published in Parade on September 15,1996. It is excellent.

I feel that hitting children is a disgrace—something we will hang our heads in shameabout in the future, as we do now with rac-ism and sexism. We will be forced to tell ourchildren how we were ignorant and simplydid not know any better.

I know some one who hits her kids, andyou can see the hurt and anger in their faces.Their mother believes that her older boy is ajust plain bad kid and that hitting him is theonly way to get him to stop doing things. Hedoes do bad things. You can tell him some-thing 20 times and he still won’t listen. ButI believe she created him. I believe that thebadness is a result of the whippings, not theother way around.

We tell our children not to hit—by hittingthem. But when we strike a child, we createa child full of fear, hatred and anger. Everytime a child is hit, she gets a lesson in howto deal with her emotions. When faced withfrustrations, she will hit too.

Image if you broke something at work andyour boss slapped you. How would you feel?Humiliated, of course. We see our spankingsas different. Why? We all agree that it iswrong for a man to hit a woman. But whenit comes to children, we just shrug and saythat it is part of growing up.

Children are becoming more and more vio-lent with each other and with you and me.We blame this on so many sources but refuseto face the facts.

TRIBUTE TO LACASA

HON. PETER J. VISCLOSKYOF INDIANA



Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, I would liketo commend the Latin American CommunityAlliance for Support and Assistance of North-west Indiana, Inc. [LACASA], its board of di-rectors, and its administrator, Ms. June Long,on LACASA’s first annual fundraiser dinner.LACASA, whose office is located in Gary, IN,will hold this monumental event on Saturday,September 28, 1996, at the Patio Restaurantin Merrillville, IN.

The LACASA Board of Directors Officers in-clude: Mrs. Aida Padilla, president and directorof the Senior Companion Program; Mrs. JulieTanis, vice president and public school teach-er; Mr. Joaquin Rodriguez, secretary and com-munity advocate; and Mr. Ray Acevedo, treas-urer and photographer. Members of the boardof directors include: Mrs. Bertha Cardenas,Mrs. Hortencia Hernandez, Mrs. MariaMagana, Mrs. Socorro Roman, Mr. RoemanWhitesell, Ms. Jeannette Hinton Padgett, Ms.Maria Vasquez, Mr. Martin Valtierra, Mr. BenLuna, Mrs. Maria Lopez, Mrs. Mary JeanMaloney, and Ms. Finis Springer.

LACASA, which was organized in 1994, isdedicated to serving the Hispanic residents ofnorthwest Indiana who experience difficulty inobtaining needed social and educational serv-ices. It serves northwest Indiana’s Hispanicresidents, who comprise 52 percent of thetotal population in this area, with quality serv-ices to meet their special needs.

Special programs that LACASA offers are:adult education, offered at various levels frombasic adult education to preparation for thehigh school equivalency test; Head Start,which provides parenting skills training and anopportunity for parents to become empoweredin the education of their children; and AccessAssistance, which includes a food pantry,learning job search skills, and youth personalleadership and high school preparation in-struction.

While LACASA already provides severalbeneficial services, it has plans to continue toimprove the quality of life for northwest Indi-ana’s Hispanic population. For those in need,LACASA hopes to provide transportation serv-ices to its programs, as well as agencieswhere its clients are referred. It would also liketo offer tutoring services for Hispanic youthand establish health stations in an effort to as-sist Hispanic families in understanding theirbasic health needs and inform them abouthow to access the existing health care system.Finally, LACASA hopes to expand its servicesto the elderly, by familiarizing them with in-home care options to prevent unnecessary in-stitutionalization.

LACASA is funded and receives supportfrom the city of Gary-Community DevelopmentBlock Grant, Lake Area United Way, Healthand Human Services-ACYF, Gary CommunitySchool Corp., National Hispanic Institute, U.S.Hispanic Leadership Institute, Indiana LiteracyFoundation, and Kankakee Workforce Devel-opment Services.

Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my other distin-guished colleagues to join me in commendingLACASA. This fine organization should becongratulated on its continuing efforts to pre-

serve the Hispanic culture, while at the sametime improving the quality of life for the His-panic residents of Indiana’s First Congres-sional District. May their first annual fundraiserbe a successful and joyous event.f

MEDICARE AND OUTPATIENTPHARMACEUTICAL BENEFITS:PROVIDING INCENTIVES FORCOST–EFFECTIVE MEDICALLYAPPROPRIATE CARE




Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, Medicare’s limitedoutpatient pharmaceutical coverage is inhibit-ing the implementation of cost-effective out-patient treatments that could benefit patients.Over the past decades, a shift of healthcarefrom the inpatient to the outpatient setting hasoccurred. The implementation of Medicare’sProspective Payment System in 1983 provideda strong incentive for hospitals to decreasepatients’ lengths of stay. Outpatient treatment,when appropriate, is generally much morecost effective than inpatient treatment. Al-though further shifts in inpatient to outpatienttreatment for some conditions may be medi-cally appropriate, the lack of Medicare cov-erage for the necessary outpatient treatmentseems to be inhibitory. Medicare policy needsto facilitate medically appropriate, cost-effec-tive treatments in order to keep pace with the1990’s and set the course for the next century.For this reason, I am introducing a bill whichdirects a review of Medicare payments inorder to identify conditions for which provisionof an outpatient pharmaceutical benefit wouldfacilitate outpatient rather than inpatient treat-ment and be cost effective.

An example of Medicare’s limited pharma-ceutical coverage having an inhibitory effecton cost-effective care is the lack of generalcoverage for home intravenous antibiotic ther-apy. Numerous studies have shown that pa-tients with certain diseases requiring pro-longed antibiotic therapy can start their treat-ment in the hospital and then safely and effec-tively continue it at home. A hospital in Dan-bury, CT, recently published a cost-benefitanalysis of a home intravenous antibiotic ther-apy program established for Medicare patientsbut paid for by the hospital itself; the savingsto the hospital was found to be $6,111 per pa-tient on average. If the hospital had not takenthe initiative to start the home therapy pro-gram, these patients would have had to re-main in the hospital, resulting in substantiallyincreased costs.

Although Medicare generally reimburseshospitals on the basis of fixed diagnosis-relat-ed group [DRG] payments, it also reimbursesan extra amount for patients who stay in thehospital much longer than average and qualifyas outliers. Thus for certain patients, somecosts due to prolonged hospitalization areshifted to Medicare. Alternatively, the hospitalcould cut its costs by transferring the patientto another inpatient facility such as a skillednursing facility to finish treatment. In this case,Medicare still pays extra because it reim-burses both the hospitals’s DRG payment andthe receiving facility’s expenses for the pa-tient’s post-hospitalization extended care.

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1715September 26, 1996Many hospitals need an incentive to take

the kind of initiative shown by the DanburyHospital. The effort and startup costs involvedin organizing certain outpatient programs mayprovide a disincentive. Also, the transfer of pa-tients to extended care facilities may alreadyprovide a cost-saving option for the hospital,leaving Medicare to bear the loss. Althoughnot all patients with a particular condition aremedically appropriate candidates for outpatienttherapy in place of continued inpatient ther-apy, many patients are probably lingering ininpatient facilities who could more cost-effec-tively be treated as outpatients. Medicare pol-icy needs to be modified to address this prob-lem by providing incentives for inpatient facili-ties to initiate cost-effective alternatives.

One such incentive is the coverage of phar-maceuticals that facilitate the treatment of pa-tients in the outpatient rather than inpatientsetting. Currently for most home intravenousantibiotic therapy the hospital or beneficiarymust shoulder the cost. This policy contains abuilt-in disincentive because the beneficiarymay not have the means to pay for it, and thehospital may find it more cost-saving to useone of the strategies I outlined earlier resultingin a significant loss to Medicare. Adding apharmaceutical benefit with appropriate pay-ment safeguards could facilitate outpatienttreatment and result in a gain to Medicare, thehospital, and the patient.

Are there other diseases besides infectionsfor which an outpatient pharmaceutical benefitwould provide an incentive for cost-effectiveoutpatient therapy? I suspect there are. Somestrategies may be implementable now; in addi-tion, as new drugs and technologies are de-veloped, more outpatient therapies might bepossible in the future. I welcome a thoughtfulevaluation of this issue by health experts. Weneed to develop a policy that is flexibleenough to accommodate future cost-savingstrategies as they are developed.

The bill I am introducing today provides thegroundwork for determining how Medicare pol-icy may be modified to facilitate shifts in healthcare from the inpatient to the outpatient set-ting, when medically appropriate. Inherent inthe bill is a strategy to ensure that Medicare,not just the hospital, captures the savings. Thebill directs the Secretary of Health and HumanServices to review and report to Congresswithin 6 months, all disease categories forwhich inpatient payments might be able to bereduced if an outpatient pharmaceutical bene-fit is provided. Coverage for pharmaceuticalswill include appropriate payment safeguards.The bill acknowledges that reimbursement notonly for the drug, but also for supplies, appli-ances, equipment, laboratory tests, and pro-fessional services needed for appropriate out-patient treatment will need to be factored intothe cost-effectiveness analysis.

Specifically, the bill directs the Secretary toreport which DRG payments can be reducedby refining the DRG or adjusting the DRGweighting factor, if an outpatient pharma-ceutical benefit is provided. Implementation ofthis strategy could take a variety of forms. Forexample, reductions in DRG payments couldbe accomplished by using a formula to dis-count the payment for an individual patient,and providing only the individual patient withthe outpatient benefit. In this strategy, the hos-pital could request a discounted DRG paymentfor a particular patient via a billing code. Po-tentially, the hospital could also specify the

number of days of outpatient treatment it wish-es to substitute for inpatient treatment. Thissubstitution would ensure that Medicare’scosts in providing the outpatient benefit do notexceed its savings in reducing the DRG pay-ment. A financial incentive for the hospital canbe built into the formula used for discountingthe DRG payment.

Another strategy is to split certain DRG cat-egories into one payment for patients whocontinue treatment in the hospital and a re-duced payment for patients who continuetreatment as an outpatient.

Alternatively, the DRG payments for all pa-tients in a specific disease category could bereduced, even though some patients will re-main hospitalized throughout their treatmentwhile others will have a shortened hospitalstay and continue treatment as outpatients.

Post-hospitalization outpatient therapies andhome services are sometimes provided by thehospitals themselves, but may also be pro-vided by independent agencies. When the in-patient and outpatient providers are the same,it will be easy to ensure that Medicare pay-ments are contained. Outpatient reimburse-ment could be conditional on inpatient pay-ment reductions, and a financial incentive forhospitals to chose the more cost-effectivetreatment could be built into the reimburse-ment. However, when the inpatient and out-patient providers are unrelated, it will be moredifficult to ensure that Medicare payments willbe less than they would have been if the pa-tient had remained in the hospital. This is not,however, an insurmountable problem. Onepossible strategy that has been suggested isthe use of lump sum payments per patient forthe outpatient treatment of certain conditions.Certain DRG payments could be split into aninpatient component and a lump sum out-patient component; as long as the sum is lessthan the original inpatient payments, Medicaresaves money. Medicare’s inpatient paymentsfor a disease category include the DRG pay-ment, and any applicable outlier or extendedcare facility payments. Decisions about thepercentage that should go to each provider,and incentives that lead to cost-effective careare difficult but potentially resolvable.

The bill also directs the Secretary to deter-mine which outlier payments can be reducedin number, and the disease categories forwhich these outlier payments are made, if anoutpatient pharmaceutical benefit is provided.Similarly, the Secretary is directed to deter-mine whether patient transfers to post-hos-pitalization extended care facilities can beavoided, thereby reducing payments, if an out-patient pharmaceutical benefit is provided.Strategies similar to the ones I described forreducing DRG payments could potentially beapplied to these payment areas.

By reviewing these types of payments, dis-ease categories which have potential for Medi-care cost-savings will be identified. As I de-scribed previously when I introduced a bill ad-dressing outpatient parenteral antimicrobialtherapy, certain infections are likely can-didates. However, there may be a number ofother areas of medicine, where cost-savingoutpatient treatment could appropriately besubstituted for inpatient treatment, now or inthe future.

The bill directs the Secretary to determinethe savings that can be obtained by reducinginpatient payments while providing coveragefor beneficiaries’ outpatient drugs and serv-

ices. In addition to potential savings from re-duced DRG, outlier, or extended care pay-ments, savings may accrue from the de-creased risk of hospital-acquired infections.This is because the longer patients remain inan inpatient setting, the more at risk they arefor a nosocomial infection which generallylengthen hospital stay, increase costs, and re-sult in increased morbidity and mortality. Mod-ernizing Medicare to provide incentives forcost-effective medically appropriate care holdspromise for benefiting patients, providers, andMedicare.f

TAIWAN’S 85TH NATIONAL DAY

HON. ROBERT A. UNDERWOODOF GUAM



Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, this com-ing October 10, Taiwan, the Republic ofChina, will commemorate its 85th NationalDay.

Eighty-five years ago, the Chinese peopleunder the leadership of Dr. Sun Yat-sen suc-cessfully expelled centuries-old tyrannical rule.Dr. Sun’s adoption of a political system dedi-cated to the ideals of democracy and basedon the consent of the governed was a greatvictory for democracy in the continent of Asiawhich, until then, was widely known for tyr-anny and despotism. The Chinese people’s ef-forts, under Dr. Sun’s leadership has come tosymbolize a people’s aspiration, desire andcapacity to stand their ground, take control,and choose their own destiny. This nation’s re-jection of tyranny and oppression announcedto the rest of the world that the desire for free-dom is not a concept unique to Western peo-ples. The people of Asia, as elsewhere, desireand deserve dignity and freedom.

Although Dr. Sun did not live to see the fullfruition of his labors, capable leaders like Gen-eralissimo Chang Kai-shek built upon his leg-acy and provided the essential leadership andguidance which enabled the newly created de-mocracy to survive it’s toughest tests.

Taiwan has since become one of thewealthiest nations in the world. The last fewyears has seen the republic’s economy growat a spectacular rate. In addition to being oneof our closest associates in Asia, Taiwan hassteadily matured as an economic stronghold.Taiwan is currently the sixth largest tradingpartner to the United States.

As the delegate from Guam, I recognize thefact that the island and people that I representshare deep cultural and historical ties with Tai-wan. As a matter of fact, my constituency in-cludes Taiwanese immigrants. As in numerousother locales, these immigrants have inte-grated themselves with our island communityover the years and have emerged as a vitalforce in the development and growth of Guam.In addition, Taiwanese tourists contribute tothe island’s economy. Made possible by thevisa-waiver program recently implemented forTaiwanese citizens Guam has greatly bene-fited from the business these people bring.

On behalf of the people of Guam I wouldlike to congratulate President Lee Teng-hui,Foreign Minister John H. Chang, Representa-tive Jason Hu, Director-General Clark Chenand the Taiwanese all over the world in thecommemoration of Taiwan’s 85th National

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of RemarksE1716 September 26, 1996Day. I join them in their celebrations and wishthem continued prosperity.f

TRIBUTE TO GREG RICE





Whereas Greg Rice has won the Inter-national Auctioneers Championship;

Whereas Greg Rice has brought the inter-national title to Ohio for the first time inhistory;

Whereas Greg Rice has demonstrated asteadfast commitment to auctioneering; and

Whereas Greg Rice should be recognized forhis outstanding victory and persistence;Therefore, be it

Resolved, That the residents of Coshocton,with a real sense of pleasure and pride, joinme in commending Greg Rice for his hardwork and dedication to his occupation.

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IN HONOR OF MEDIGUARD PRO-GRAM TENNESSEANS FOR TEN-NESSEE




Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today topay tribute to the fine men and women whoparticipate in Mediguard/Guardcare, a uniquehealth care delivery program provided by theTennessee National Guard to provide criticallyneeded health care to underserved popu-lations in 39 counties across the State of Ten-nessee.

The idea for Tennessee’s Mediguard Pro-gram began when former Tennessee Gov-ernor Ned McWherter saw the efficient systemfor health care delivery administered by Na-tional Guard troops in South America. Alongwith Representative JOHN TANNER, formerRepresentative and now-Governor Don Sund-quist and many State legislators and othermembers of the Tennessee National Guard, Iwas pleased to help develop the frameworkfor a program called Mediguard, later namedGuardcare. Approximately 3 years ago, a pilotprogram was established under the auspicesof the NGB in 10 States with the objectives ofrelieving overburdened State public health fa-cilities and boosting low physician-to-patientrations in 39 Tennessee counties seriously de-ficient in receiving basic health care services.Many factors were used to identify the targetcounties, and the study was recently repeatedto assure that current needs are still being ap-propriately addressed.

Supplies for Guardcare exercises are allo-cated from Guard pilot funds and equipmentneeds have been met through loans fromGuard units and leasing. As of last year, theprogram operates on Federal funding—so wetell our communities they can see their taxdollars at work right at home. The best part ofthe program, in my opinion, is that we are ableto provide these much-needed health careservices to people who are desperately inneed of them at absolutely no cost to the par-

ticipating individual. The TN Guardcare Pro-gram is administered as a component of aspecial projects unit aligned under the StateAdjutant General Command. The functionsand purposes of Guardcare in Tennessee arecarried out through two teams: the Guardcareadministrative team and a mobile health team.The mobile health teams used in Guardcareexercises changes from exercise to exercise.These teams are comprised of Army-Air physi-cians, nurse practitioners, physician assist-ants, nurses, dentists, lab specialists, andmedical support personnel on split drill fromtheir base units. Mobile health teams havebeen augmented by a wealth of local commu-nity health care personnel and other commu-nity volunteers. Without these volunteers fromthe host communities. Guardcare’s successwould have been seriously jeopardized.

Prior to the start of each program year, atraining calendar is planned which focuses on7 to 8 target communities from the 39 medi-cally underserved communities. Counties mustrequest Guardcare, and there is currently a 2-year waiting list.

It is my pleasure to salute the TennesseeGuardcare Program and the men and womenwho have made it an outstanding successover the past 3 years. Through their efforts,and through the support of many communitiesacross the State, Guardcare has been able todemonstrate volunteerism at its finest; truly,Tennesseans for Tennessee.f

PROSTATE CANCER AWARENESSMONTH

HON. RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSENOF NEW JERSEY



Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, in rec-ognition of Prostate Cancer Awareness Month,I commend to your attention a patient edu-cation conference that was held earlier thisyear in the 11th Congressional District—Pros-tate Cancer: Today and Tomorrow. Cohostedby the American Foundation for Urologic Dis-ease, Morristown Memorial Hospital and theProstate Cancer Support Group of MorristownMemorial Hospital, it was an effective grass-roots effort to warn and educate local resi-dents on the importance of early detection ofand continued research into prostate cancer.

According the American Cancer Society,prostate cancer is the greatest cancer risk forAmerican men, and over 317,000 males willbe diagnosed with this type of cancer in 1996.It is vital that prostate cancer be recognizedas a serious threat to American men and theirfamilies.

Increaed awareness of health issues, im-proved detection and testing techniques, andnational awareness programs for this diseasehave all played significant roles in increasingpublic knowledge of prostate cancer.

There are a number of individuals and orga-nizations I want to recognize for holding suchan impotant conference:

First, Honorable Dean A. Gallo, the formerCongressman of New Jersey’s 11th Congres-sional District, died of prostate cancer on No-vember 6, 1994. His widow, Mrs. Betty Gallo,is now a trustee of the Dean Gallo Foundationand she instituted the Dean Gallo ProstateCancer Research Scholarship Fund. This

scholarship fund will help fund career inves-tigators who are committed to prostate cancerresearch in the State of New Jersey.

Second, I commend the American Founda-tion for Urologic Disease, a charitable organi-zation, whose mission is to prevent and find acure for urologic diseases through the expan-sion of research, education and public aware-ness. For over 20 years, the Research Schol-ar Program of the AFUD has funded over 300urologic researchers as they established theirscientific careers. Over 98% of the investiga-tors have continued in these career paths.

Third, Morristown Memorial Hospital, a not-for-profit hospital serving northern New Jersey,for its leadership in the field. Founded in 1892,it has expanded in size and services to be-come a 599-bed medical center and the thirdlargest in the state. It is a major teaching hos-pital, affiliated with Columbia University’s Col-lege of Physicians and Surgeons. Its regionalCancer Center is affiliated with the Cancer In-stitute of New Jersey in New Brunswick andoffers expertise in surgical, urologic, medical,radiation and gynecologic oncology special-ties. Center highlights include clinical trials, cy-togenetics and patient support programs.

Fourth, the Morristown Memorial ProstateCancer Support Group which is chaired by Mr.Peter Doherty, a prostate cancer survivor.Over seventy-five persons, including physi-cians and medical professionals, prostate can-cer survivors, their partners and families andfriends gather to exchange information andprovide support, encouragement and hope.

Finally, I would also like to commend theparticipants of Prostate Cancer: Today andTomorrow, outstanding physicians and an or-ganization whose research is making signifi-cant inroads in the field of prostate cancer.They include:

E. David Crawford, M.D., Professor andChairman, Division of Urology of ColoradoHealth Sciences Center, Denver, CO. He isalso chairman of the Prostate Cancer Edu-cation Council [PCEC], national sponsor ofProstate Cancer Awareness Week.

Charles Myers, M.D., was chief of the Clini-cal Pharmacology Branch of the National Can-cer Institute, where he directed clinical trials ofdrugs used in the treatment of advanced pros-tate cancer.

William H. Hait, M.D., Ph.D., Director of theCancer Institute of New Jersey.

Arthur Israel, M.D., is Chief Section of Urol-ogy, Morristown Memorial Hospital. Dr. Israelis a member of the American Foundation forUrologic Disease and the American UrologicalAssociation. He is currently president of theNew Jersey Urological Society.

Schering Oncology Biotech, a corporationheadquartered in Kenilworth, New Jersey andTAP Pharmaceutical, Inc. of Deerfield, Illinoisfor providing educational grants for prostatecancer research.

All those who participated in Prostate Can-cer: Today and Tomorrow made a powerfulimpact on patients, physicians, medical institu-tions, research and educational foundations,and industry to collaborate and provide accu-rate medical information to prostate cancervictims, survivors and their families, I salutetheir work.

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1717September 26, 1996MICHIGAN STUDENT’S PLEDGE OF

ALLEGIANCE

HON. DICK CHRYSLEROF MICHIGAN



Mr. CHRYSLER. Mr. Speaker, Anya Bonineis a young woman from Dexter, MI. The fol-lowing statement was printed in the Ann ArborNews on April 4, 1995. The values and Amer-ican beliefs described in the article shouldstand as a lesson for us all. The American flagand the Pledge of Allegiance should be at theheart of our patriotism, loyalty, and pride.

[From the Ann Arbor News, Apr. 4, 1995]SAYING PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE IS AN

IMPORTANT SIGN OF RESPECT

(By Anya Bonine)‘‘Good morning students,’’ a teacher smiles

and says. As they take attendance and handin book order money, everything seems nor-mal. Right? Wrong. They are missing onesmall, yet big thing. The Pledge of Alle-giance. What has become of it? Yes, ofcourse, there is a flag in most rooms, butwhere does the pledge come in?

‘‘I pledge allegiance, to the flag, of theUnited States of America, and to the repub-lic, for which it stands, one nation underGod, indivisible, with liberty and justice forall.’’

These words seem familiar enough to us,but to our children to come, the words willprobably seem foreign.

Have you ever thought about what thepledge really means? Sure, the flag is merelya piece of material, but the true importanceof the flag lies in its symbolism, not the de-sign. Our flag expresses protection, victory,challenge, submission, pride, honor, threat,loyalty and, most of all, hope. It was adoptedon June 14, 1777. By saying it, you are ex-pressing your oath to our country. It showsloyalty to the United States and is muchlike a promise.

In an easier-to-understand version itmeans: ‘‘I pledge my loyalty to the UnitedStates of America, because it is one bondednation, under God’s law, with freedom andrights for all mankind.’’

We should be proud to live in a free coun-try where you are not watched day and nightand where you can have your own religion. Acountry where something like this could bewritten.

After you let this sink in for a minute, yousuddenly ask yourself, ‘‘Why don’t we saythe pledge anymore?’’

Well, after observing, I’ve come to a con-clusion. Nobody cares. The students don’t.The teachers don’t. The school boards don’t.If the pledge is not said, no one cares. I havebeen in school for about three quarters of theyear now, and the pledge has not been saidonce. Has it been forgotten? And aren’tschools supposed to teach values? The pledgeteaches values. Are teachers afraid of teach-ing values? It also talks about God. There isnothing wrong with God, so what is all theopposition about?

In our society, a lot of things have beentaken for granted. We need to take thepledge off that list. What about all the menand women who have given their lives forour country, in wars through the years? Themen and women who gave their lives for usto become a free country. By not saying thepledge, they have all been forgotten.

Please, if this essay hasn’t made a dent inyour life, throw it away. If it has touchedyou at all, give a little respect by saying thepledge. Give respect to your country, its an-cestors, God, and yourself.

TRIBUTE TO THE NEIGHBORHOODYOUTH ASSOCIATION

HON. JULIAN C. DIXONOF CALIFORNIA


Wednesday, September 25, 1996Mr. DIXON. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to

rise today to recognize the NeighborhoodYouth Association [NYA] on the occasion ofthe organization’s 90 years of service to theLos Angeles community. On Friday, October25, 1996, NYA will celebrate its 90th anniver-sary at a gala dinner at the Skirball CulturalCenter. I am therefore pleased to have thisopportunity to salute NYA this afternoon.

Founded in 1906 by the Episcopal Dioceseof Los Angeles, NYA has established a richlegacy of providing essential services to un-derprivileged youth and their families. Includedamong the many services offered are individ-ual and group counseling, crisis intervention,educational and employment services, childand family therapy, and after-school care forover 3,000 high-risk youth and families. Theassociation has sponsored many award win-ning projects, including a mural paintingproject designated Barrios Unidos, which cul-minated in an award from the National Endow-ment for the Arts.

Other awards received by the NeighborhoodYouth Association include the Agency of theYear Award, presented by the CaliforniaChapter of the National Association of SocialWorkers; a $1,000 grant bestowed by the Cali-fornia Banker’s Association; and a commenda-tion from United Way, which cited the groupfor its creativity in reaching out to ‘‘. . . meetthe needs of minority youth in low incomefamilies living in barrios and ghettos. . .’’

NYA’s current project, Personal Best, allowsassociation members and volunteers to workwith each participating child from early child-hood through high school. Components of thePersonal Best program include counseling andtutorial services. The purpose is to help par-ticipating children identify and establish thegoals and motivation necessary to help themachieve and succeed, both academically andsocially.

Mr. Speaker, at a time when society mustdo more to help the less fortunate members ofour society, organizations such as NYA standas a shining example of what the secular andreligious community can accomplish whenthey join forces to help humankind. For 90years, NYA has been providing exemplaryservice to the Los Angeles community. I askthat you join me in congratulating NYA on itsanniversary celebration, and in extending tothem our best wishes for many more years ofservice to the community.f

PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTION BANACT OF 1995—VETO MESSAGEFROM THE PRESIDENT OF THEUNITED STATES (H. DOC. NO. 104–198)

SPEECH OF

HON. SUE W. KELLYOF NEW YORK


Thursday, September 19, 1996

Mrs. KELLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in reluctantopposition to the veto override of H.R. 1833.

I am opposed to late-term abortions exceptin instances where they are necessary to savethe life of the mother or for serious, very lim-ited health reasons. Unfortunately, this well-in-tentioned legislation fails to make these ex-ceptions. Tragedies involving severely de-formed or dying fetuses sometimes occur inthe late stages of pregnancy. In these crisissituations, women should have access to thesafest medical procedure available, and insome occasions the safest such procedure isthe intact dilation and evacuation procedure.

If we ban this procedure, Mr. Speaker, asthis legislation seeks to do, doctors will resortto other procedures, such as a caesarean sec-tion or a dismemberment dilation and evacu-ation, which can and often do pose greaterhealth risks to women, such as severe hemor-rhaging, lacerations of the uterus, or othercomplications that can threaten a woman’s lifeor her ability to have children again in the fu-ture.

Mr. Speaker, passage of H.R. 1833 will notend late-term abortions; the bill only bans onesuch procedure that, in the judgment of thedoctor, might offer the surest way of protectingthe mother. The New York chapter of theAmerican College of Obstreticians and Gyne-cologists opposes H.R. 1833, expressing con-cern that ‘‘* * * Congress would take any ac-tion that would supersede the medical judg-ment of trained physicians and wouldcriminalize medical procedures that may benecessary to save the life of a woman * * *’’.

If H.R. 1833 were amended to include ex-ceptions for situations where a woman’s life orhealth is threatened, ensuring that decisionsregarding the well-being of the mother aremade by doctors, not politicians, I would gladlysupport the bill. Without this protection, how-ever, I cannot in good conscience support thislegislation today.

Good people will always disagree over theabortion issue, and I respect the passion anddepth of feeling that so many of my constitu-ents on both sides of this issue have ex-pressed to me. Maintaining policies which pro-mote healthy mothers and healthy babiesshould remain above the political fray, and itis for this reason that I oppose the veto over-ride today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.f

SMALL BUSINESS REGULATORYRELIEF ACT OF 1996




Mr. BARCIA. Madam Speaker, last week,Congressmen EWING, BUYER, POSHARD, and Iintroduced H.R. 4102, the Farm TransportationRegulatory Relief Act. That bill would allowStates to provide protection for farmers andfarm-related service industries from a poten-tially expensive and unnecessary regulationthat would bring them under the same regula-tion as the hazardous materials transportationindustry. To do this, would be a mistake.

Today, we extend our warmest thanks toCongressman JIM OBERSTAR, ranking demo-cratic member of the Committee on Transpor-tation and Infrastructure and Committee Chair-man BUD SHUSTER for recognizing this effortand accepting our amendment to H.R. 3153.This change in the Small Business Regulatory

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of RemarksE1718 September 26, 1996Relief Act will extend States’ authority to con-tinue such exceptions until Congress can actto responsibly address this issue.

Madam Speaker, the purpose of the Depart-ment of Transportation rulemaking is to protectthe public from harmful materials on our Na-tion’s highways. Farmers, who are merelytransporting substances from their supplier tothe farm are not the ones who are involved inthe type of accidents which have led the De-partment of Transportation to act. Agriculturaltransportation of chemical fertilizers, fuels andpesticides occurs during specific times of theyear, on a much smaller basis, on rural road-ways and in carriers which are easily identifi-able to emergency response personnel. Weneed not complicate the lives of our familyfarmer by linking them with high-volume trans-porters of industrial chemicals.

This compromise, Madam Speaker, is re-sponsible government in action. The amend-ment which we have accepted today allowsCongress a period encompassing two plantingseasons to carefully weigh the potential dan-ger to the public against the burden to ourfarmers which could result from too broad arulemaking. In order to force the most timelyaction on this matter, my colleagues and I willreintroduce H.R. 4102 on the first day of thenext session. We will work with other mem-bers, the farm industry, public safety officialsand the Department of Transportation to as-sure that the most necessary requirements forpublic safety will be implemented. We owe thisto our citizens who rely upon us to protectthem and to protect their livelihood.f

THE DEPOSITORY INSTITUTIONSAND THRIFT CHARTER CONVER-SION ACT

HON. MARGE ROUKEMAOF NEW JERSEY



Mrs. ROUKEMA, Mr. Speaker, today, I amintroducing the Depository Institution Affiliationand Thrift Charter Conversion Act, legislationthat represents the first step toward craftingmeaningful financial reform legislation that willtake us into the 21st century and put us onsound footing to compete in the global marketplace.

The issues surrounding financial moderniza-tion have been long standing issues that theBanking Committee has been grappling withover time. As chairwoman of the Financial In-stitutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee,I have been more than a little bit preoccupiedwith this subject during the 104th Congress.Unfortunately, efforts to pass meaningful re-form this Congress have been unsuccessful.With the introduction of this legislation today,I believe we are laying the groundwork tobegin discussions before the start of the 105thCongress. This legislation is a comprehensiveapproach that addresses affiliation issues,Glass-Steagall reform, functional regulation,insurance issues and thrift charter conversionby melding together key elements of the majorreform bills introduced previously in Congress.

As many of you are aware, I have been astrong supporter of resolving the BIF/SAIFissue including addressing the larger questionof charter merger. That is why my Subcommit-tee on Financial Institutions in 1995 dealt with

not only SAIF/BIF funding, but with restructur-ing issues as well. My subcommittee consid-ered and reported out H.R. 2363, the ThriftCharter Conversion Act, and it was subse-quently included in the House-passed rec-onciliation bill. Even though I strongly sup-ported a more comprehensive approach to re-solving the BIF/SAIF problem, time constraintsand political realities made passage of a com-prehensive charter merger bill impossible thisyear. The legislation that we are introducinghere today deals with many of the same is-sues addressed in my legislation, H.R. 2363—like eliminating the thrift charter. Thrifts wouldbe required to convert to banks by January 1,1998, with a 3-year transition provision toallow institutions adequate time to comply withexisting national bank laws. Unitary thrift hold-ing companies would be required to convert toeither a bank holding company or a financialservices company. The other charter conver-sion provisions included in this bill are thesame as those included in my thrift charterconversion bill (H.R. 2363) which was subse-quently included as part of the House-passedbudget reconciliation bill.

In addition to the thrift charter provisions,the other key elements of the bill include:

Creation of a new, optional structure allow-ing financial companies to affiliate with bankssimilar to the D’Amato-Baker approach butmodified to restrict ownership of insured banksby commercial firms. This particular provisionof the bill is one that is open to further analy-sis. Consequently, it is one area that I will payparticular attention to with the express pur-pose of making sure that the safety andsoundness of our financial institutions are ade-quately preserved, and that regulatory author-ity is adequate.

The regulation and oversight of holdingcompanies would be based on current require-ments similar to the structure currently appliedto unitary thrift holding companies. As we con-sider provisions that address the regulation ofvarious institutions, I will be taking specialcare to assure that all institutions are regu-lated in such a way as to preserve the safetyand soundness and the integrity of the insur-ance funds.

SECTION-BY-SECTION

The Draft Bill is an effort to break the cur-rent logjam that is blocking financial serv-ices reform legislation. It is a comprehensiveapproach that addresses affiliation issues,Glass-Steagal reform, functional regulation,insurance issues, and thrift charter conver-sion. It does this by melding together keyelements of the major reform bills that arecurrently pending in Congress. The purposesof this approach are to (1) build on the con-structive efforts of Chairmen D’Amato andLeach and Representatives McCollum,Baker, and Roukema, among others, duringthe past two years; (2) provide a comprehen-sive framework for addressing the major con-cerns of the broadest possible range of indus-try participants; and (3) address legitimateconcerns of the regulators that were re-flected in both legislative and regulatoryproposals that emerged during the last sev-eral years.

1. FINANCIAL SERVICES HOLDING COMPANIES

Using modified language from theD’Amato-Baker bills, the draft bill creates anew and entirely optional structure for fi-nancial companies to affiliate with banks. Acompany would choose to own a bankthrough a new ‘‘financial services holdingcompany’’ that would not be subject to the

Bank Holding Company Act. Instead, the fi-nancial services holding company would besubject to a new regulatory structure estab-lished by a newly-created section of financialservices law called the ‘‘Financial ServicesCompany Act.’’ Any company that owns abank but chooses not to form a financialservices holding company would remain sub-ject to the Bank Holding Company Act tothe same extent and in the same manner asit is under existing law. However, an affiliateof a bank that is not part of a financial serv-ices holding company generally could not en-gage in securities activities to a greater ex-tent than has been permitted under existinglaw.

Permissible Affiliations. A financial serv-ices holding company could own or affiliatewith companies engaged in a much broaderrange of activities than is permitted forbank holding companies under current law(with contrary state law preempted). The billwould not, however, eliminate all current re-strictions on affiliations between banks andcommercial firms. A financial services hold-ing company would have to maintain at least75 percent of its business in financial activi-ties or financial services institutions, whichwould include such institutions as banks, in-surance companies, securities broker deal-ers, and wholesale financial institutions. Inaddition, a bank holding company that be-came a financial services holding companycould not enter the insurance agency busi-ness through a new affiliate unless it boughtan insurance agency that had been in busi-ness for at least two years. Finally, foreignbanks could also choose to become financialservices holding companies.

The bill includes lists of activities that aredeemed to be ‘‘financial’’ and entities thatare deemed to be ‘‘financial services institu-tions.’’ A new National Financial ServicesCommittee, which would be chaired by theTreasury Department and include the bankregulators and the SEC, would (1) determinewhether additional activities should bedeemed to be ‘‘financial’’ or additional typesof companies should be deemed to be ‘‘finan-cial services institutions’’; and (2) issue regu-lations describing the methods for calculat-ing compliance with the 75 percent test.Other than these limited circumstances, a fi-nancial services holding company would notbe subject to the cumbersome applicationand prior approval process that currently ap-plies to bank holding companies.

Holding Company Oversight. Because itwould own a bank, a financial services hold-ing company would be subject to examina-tion and reporting requirements, but only tothe extent necessary to protect the safetyand soundness of the bank. These examina-tion and reporting requirements are modeledon those currently in place for unitary thriftholding companies. To the extent that cer-tain elements of the so-called ‘‘Fed Lite’’provisions of H.R. 2520, the most recently in-troduced version of the Leach bill, are con-sistent with the unitary thrift holding com-pany model, they, too, have been included.While the National Financial Services Com-mittee would establish uniform standards forthese requirements, the appropriate Federalbanking agency that regulates the lead de-pository institution of the financial servicesholding company would implement and en-force them.

Apart from these general requirements, fi-nancial services holding companies wouldnot be subject to the bank-like regulationthat currently applies to the capital and ac-tivities of bank holding companies. However,as in the D’Amato-Baker bills, financialservices holding companies would be subjectto the following additional safety and sound-ness requirements:

Affiliate transaction restrictions, includ-ing but not limited to the requirements of

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1719September 26, 1996Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal ReserveAct.

Prohibition on credit extensions to non-financial affiliates.

Change in Control Act restrictions.Insider lending restrictions.A ‘‘well-capitalized’’ requirement for sub-

sidiary banks.Civil money penalties, cease-and-desist au-

thority, and similar banking law enforce-ment provisions applicable to violations ofthe new statute.

New criminal law penalty provisions forknowing violations of the new statute.

Divestiture requirement applicable tobanks within any financial services holdingcompany that fails to satisfy certain safetyand soundness standards.

Anti-Tying and Cross-Marketing Provi-sions. As with the D’Amato-Baker bills, (1)anti-tying restrictions would apply to a fi-nancial services holding company as if itwere a bank holding company, but (2) the billwould preempt cross-marketing restrictionsimposed on financial services holding compa-nies by state law or any other federal law.

Securities Activities. The draft bill in-cludes principal elements of the most re-cently introduced version of the Leach bill,H.R. 2520, as it relates to Glass-Steagall is-sues. These include statutory firewall,‘‘push-out,’’ and ‘‘functional regulation’’ pro-visions, with some modifications. These newrestrictions would apply only to financialservices holding companies; they would notapply to the securities or investment com-pany activities of banks that remained partof bank holding companies.

Wholesale Financial Institutions. Finan-cial services holding companies (but notbank holding companies) could also form un-insured bank subsidiaries called wholesale fi-nancial institutions or ‘‘WFIs.’’ Unlike theLeach bill, such WFIs could be either stateor nationally chartered, and there would beno restrictions on the ability of a WFI to af-filiate with an insured bank. A WFI wouldnot be subject to the statutory securitiesfirewalls applicable to insured banks andtheir securities affiliates, but the WFI couldnot be used to evade such statutory fire-walls.

2. ELIMINATION OF THRIFT CHARTER

With the new financial services holdingcompany structure in place, the thrift char-ter would be eliminated; thrifts would gen-erally be required to convert to banks, withgrandfathering/transition provisions; andunitary thrift holding companies would berequired to convert to either bank holdingcompanies or financial services holding com-panies, also with grandfathering/transitionprovisions. The statutory language for thecharter conversion is the same as the lan-guage included in the last version of theRoukema bill, which is the one that was usedin the House’s offer in the Budget Reconcili-ation conference in late 1995.

3. NATIONAL MARKET FUNDED LENDINGINSTITUTIONS

Unlike the D’Amato-Baker bills, the draftbill generally precludes a commercial firmfrom owning an insured depository institu-tion. However, the bill recognizes the impor-tant role that nonfinancial companies playin other aspects of the financial services in-dustry by allowing such companies to own‘‘national market funded lending institu-tions.’’ This new kind of OCC-regulated insti-tution would have national bank lendingpowers, but would have no access to the fed-eral safety net: it could not take deposits orreceive federal deposit insurance, and itwould have no bank-like access to the pay-ments system or the Federal Reserve’s dis-count window. In addition, the institutioncould not use the term ‘‘bank’’ in its name.

By owning a national market funded lendinginstitution, a nonfinancial company couldprovide all types of credit throughout thecountry using uniform lending rates andterms.

4. EFFECTIVE DATE

The bill’s provisions would generally be-come effective on January 1, 1997.

STRUCTURE OF DRAFT BILL

Title I. This title creates a new freestand-ing banking law called the ‘‘Financial Serv-ices Holding Company Act.’’

Subtitle A is the modified D’Amato/Bakerbill (H.R. 814), which provides companies theoption of becoming ‘‘financial services hold-ing companies.’’ Only ‘‘predominantly finan-cial companies’’ may be financial servicesholding companies. The holding companyoversight provisions reflect the unitarythrift holding company model and consistentaspects of ‘‘Fed lite’’ from H.R. 2520, themost recent Glass Steagall bill introducedby Chairman Leach. Companies that choosenot to become financial services holdingcompanies remain subject to existing law,subject to Title II’s limits on affiliations be-tween banks and securities companies.

Subtitle B includes H.R. 2520’s statutoryfirewall and baking law ‘‘push-out’’ provi-sions, with some modifications. These applyto companies that choose to become finan-cial services holding companies.

Subtitle C includes H.R. 814’s requirementthat any company that enters the insuranceagency business must do so by acquiring anexisting insurance agency that has been inbusiness for at least two years.

Title II. This title includes conformingamendments to other laws for financial serv-ices holding companies (taken from H.R. 814and H.R. 2520). It also includes a modifiedversion of H.R. 2520’s FDI Act provision lim-iting affiliations between banks and securi-ties companies.

Title III. This title includes H.R. 2520’s‘‘functional regulation/push-out’’ amend-ments to the securities laws, with somemodifications. It applies only to financialservices holding companies.

Title IV. This title includes H.R. 2520’s‘‘wholesale financial institution’’ provisionsfor state member banks. It adds a parallelprovision for national banks. Only financialservices holding companies may own WFIs.Unlike H.R. 2520, WFIs may affiliate with in-sured banks. The principal benefit of theWFI is that it is not subject to statutory se-curities firewalls.

Title V. This title is the most recent ver-sion of Rep. Roukema’s Thrift Charter Con-version Act (taken from the House offer inthe 1995 reconciliation conference).

Title VI. This title authorizes formation of‘‘national market funded lending institu-tions.’’ These OCC-regulated institutionsmay not call themselves ‘‘banks.’’ take de-posits, or receive federal deposit insurance.They also may not have access to the dis-count window or the payments system. Theydo have national bank lending powers, whichallows them to lend at uniform ratesthroughout the country. Because they haveno access to the federal safety net, any com-mercial firm may own a national marketfunded lending institution without beingtreated as a bank holding company or thenew financial services holding company.

Title VII. The bill’s general effective dateis January 1, 1997.

MEDICARE AND OUTPATIENT IN-FECTIOUS DISEASES THERAPY:LEGISLATION TO PROVIDE ACOST-SAVING BENEFIT




Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, Medicare couldsave money and benefit patients by facilitatingcertain cost-effective outpatient treatments inplace of inpatient treatment. As the body ofmedical knowledge grows about what dis-eases can be safely and effectively treated athome, Medicare’s policies need to be updatedto capture the cost savings. A crucial areawhere Medicare policy lags relates to infec-tions and treatment. After years of study byhealth experts, it is well-established that out-patient intravenous antibiotic therapy for cer-tain infectious can be a cost-effective alter-native to prolonged hospitalization. Althoughonly a subset of patients are medically appro-priate candidates for outpatient therapy, sig-nificant cost savings may accrue. The bill I amintroducing today provides a benefit for out-patient parenteral antimicrobial therapy whileensuring that Medicare capture the savingsfrom use of this outpatient rather than inpa-tient rather than inpatient treatment.

Certain infections require prolongedantimicrobial therapy. These include endo-carditis, an infection of the heart valves, osteo-myelitis, an infection of bones, infections in-volving certain prosthetic devices such asprosthetic joints, and certain abscesses suchas those of liver, lung, or brain. Patients withthese diseases often require intravenous anti-biotic therapy for 4 to 6 weeks and sometimeslonger. Intravenous therapy can produce muchhigher and more constant blood levels of anantibiotic than oral therapy and is used for se-rious infections. Certain viral and fungal infec-tions also require prolonged antimicrobial ther-apy.

After initial hospitalization and stabilizationof their condition, many patients would be wellenough to be discharged from the hospital ex-cept for the need for continued intravenoustherapy. For these patients, outpatient anti-biotic therapy would be beneficial and cost-ef-fective. Unfortunately, many patients must cur-rently remain in the hospital because Medicaredoes not cover the outpatient treatment. Medi-care loses because it may have to pay thehospital an outlier payment in addition to theusual diagnosis-related group [DRG] payment;the outlier payment is an extra amount to helpcover the patient’s longer than average stay.Alternatively, the hospital may try to savecosts by transferring the patient to an ex-tended care facility to complete treatment.Again Medicare loses, because it pays for thetreatment at the receiving facility in addition tothe DRG payment it makes to the hospital. IfMedicare covered the outpatient treatment, itcould avoid these extra inpatient payments. Inaddition, Medicare’s DRG payments for thesediseases could potentially be reduced as theaverage inpatient cost for the conditions de-creases.

Not all patients are medically appropriatecandidates for outpatient antimicrobial therapy.However, for those that are, outpatient therapyavoids the restrictive environment of a hospitaland decreases the patient’s risk for hospital-

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of RemarksE1720 September 26, 1996acquired infections. Studies have documentedthat the longer a patient remains in the hos-pital the greater the chance of developing anew infection due to an organism acquired inthe hospital; this results in increased morbidityand mortality, longer hospital stays, and addi-tional costs. Another benefit of outpatient ther-apy is that patients who are ambulatory andactive can often resume work or other regularactivities during the period of their treatment.

Several models are used for the administra-tion of outpatient parenteral antimicrobial ther-apy. These include, first, the therapy can beadministered in a physician’s office or hospitaltreatment room to a patient who commutes tothe site daily. This type of outpatient treatmentis already covered by Medicare because thedrugs are administered incident to a physi-cian’s services. Second, the therapy can beadministered in a patient’s home by a healthprofessional who visits daily. Third, the ther-apy can be self-administered by the patientafter appropriate training and with appropriatebackup and support services. Fourth, the ther-apy can be administered via a programmableinfusion pump in a patient’s home or other lo-cation since some pumps are small and port-able. Pumps can be set up to run for a fewdays by a health professional and require littlemanipulation by patients. They can be usedwith a variety of antimicrobials, including oneswith frequent dosing schedules which other-wise could not be feasibly administered in theoutpatient setting.

Some infectious disease specialists treat avariety of infections with outpatient intravenousantimicrobial therapy in addition to the ones Imentioned earlier. These include certain skinand soft tissue infections, kidney infections,and pneumonia. I invite medical experts tohelp us define the optimal list of diseases forwhich outpatient parenteral therapy is a safe,effective, and cost-effective alternative to inpa-tient treatment. Because Medicare savingsmay be more readily identified with some dis-ease categories than others, I encourage de-velopment of a list for which the savings areclear.

The bill I am introducing today establishes abenefit for outpatient parenteral antimicrobialdrugs, when the outpatient treatment is usedin place of continued inpatient treatment. Re-imbursement for drugs will be on the basis ofactual costs plus an appropriate administrationfee. The bill recognizes that certain supplies,equipment, and professional services are anecessary part of appropriate outpatient treat-ment. It directs the Secretary of Health andHuman Services to determine the savings thatcan be obtained by providing this outpatientbenefit which facilitates reduced inpatient pay-ments. The diseases for which inpatient pay-ments can be reduced if outpatient benefitsare provided will be determined by reviewingall infectious disease DRG’s.

The bill also calls for repeal of coverage forantimicrobial drugs under the durable medicalequipment [DME] clause, and provision of thecoverage under the new outpatient parenteraltherapy benefit. The DME benefit currentlycovers three antiviral drugs, one antifungaldrug, and one anti-bacterial drug calledvancomycin. As I have described previously inintroducing another bill addressing vancomycinpolicy, Medicare’s coverage of this single anti-bacterial drug among more than 50 availableantibacterials is causing inappropriate overuseof this drug. This is contributing to a public

health problem of vancomycin resistant bac-teria. Incorporating these five antimicrobialsinto the new outpatient parenteral therapybenefit will provide a more rational policy thatcan avoid the pitfalls of the current system.Coverage for infusion pumps used to admin-ister these and other antimicrobials covered bythe outpatient parenteral therapy benefit willbe provided under the DME benefit.

This bill focuses on disease categories rath-er than specific antimicrobials. As evident fromthe vancomycin issue, the naming of specificantimicrobials can cause changes in physi-cians’ prescribing practices resulting in over-use of the named drugs. The naming ofantimicrobials poses a different risk than forother classes of drugs and should be avoided;if we guess wrong about which antimicrobialsshould be named in a law, the result is notmerely lack of coverage for the unnameddrugs, but also a potential public health prob-lem of increased drug resistance. The legisla-tive process cannot respond fast enough tochange the list of drugs each time a problemoccurs. Focusing on disease categories, ratherthan naming specific drugs, avoids this specialrisk. Also, this strategy helps to ensure Medi-care savings by clearly identifying the DRG’s,outliers, and extended care categories forwhich reduced inpatient payments may be fea-sible. This bill provides the mechanism to up-date Medicare’s policies and capture cost-sav-ings as healthcare shifts from the inpatient tothe outpatient arena.f


SPEECH OF

HON. BILL ORTONOF UTAH



Mr. ORTON. Mr. Speaker, with the passageof the VA/HUD appropriations bill in the Houseand Senate and expected approval by thePresident, I am very pleased to note the en-actment into law of important FHA reforms,which will improve and enhance the program.

The first reform is the elimination of the cur-rent prohibition against parental loans in con-junction with FHA mortgages. In spite of thefact that parental financial assistance plays animportant role in meeting down payment re-quirements and promoting homeownership,current FHA rules do not permit parents tolend money to their children for this purpose.This prohibition is antihomeownership andantifamily. I am pleased to see Congressadopt my proposal and allow parental loans,on either a secured or unsecured basis, forthis purpose.

The second reform would allow direct en-dorsement lenders to issue their own mort-gage certificates. This will lower costs for lend-ers and for FHA which can be passed alongto borrowers in the form of lower premiumsand lower loan costs. Since direct endorse-ment lenders are already given underwritingauthority, this change will not negatively affectthe quality of loans approved. This proposalwas adopted 2 years ago in the House, and

was included in my FHA reform bill introducedat the beginning of this Congress.

The third reform is the establishment of anFHA down payment simplification proposal ona demonstration basis in Alaska and Hawaii.This proposal is based on my down paymentproposal which was adopted in the BankingCommittee in 1994. Virtually everyone whouses FHA acknowledges that the current downpayment calculation is unnessarily complex.This proposal would greatly simplify the proc-ess for borrowers, lenders, and realtors.

I am disappointed that the Senate prevailedover the House on this issue, scaling back na-tionwide application to a demonstrationproject. However, I am pleased that Congresshas finally acknowledged that we ought totake action on this issue. My hope is that nextyear, we can expand this demonstration statusto the entire Nation and make it permanent.

And, I would like to acknowledge the effortsand leadership of Representative WELLER’samendment to codify the lowering of the FHApremium from 2.25 percent to 2 percent forfirst-time home buyers who receive home-ownership counseling. This continues a trendover the last 4 years of lowering FHA pre-miums, as a result of lowered FHA loss ratesand reductions in administrative costs.

These legislative changes represent a greatachievement, in light of the fact that it now ap-pears that no comprehensive housing legisla-tion will be enacted this Congress.

The passage of these provisions is espe-cially noteworthy, in light of the great numberof House Members who are opposed to FHA.Early last year, legislation was introducedwhich would have effectively eliminated FHA.This legislation was supported by 60 HouseMembers including many in leadership posi-tions, such as Majority Leader DICK ARMEYand Majority Whip TOM DELAY. A companionbill was introduced in the Senate.

Not only were FHA proponents able to repelthis effort to destroy FHA, but we were able toimprove the program through much-neededreforms. These reforms are critically importantin my home State of Utah and throughout thecountry. A recent Fannie Mae study cited therequired downpayment as the No. 1 impedi-ment to home ownership in this country. FHA,with its low downpayment provisions, is themost effective and widely available mortgagetool used to help young families and individ-uals overcome that downpayment hurdle. And,it does so at no cost to the taxpayer.

In fact, a recent GAO study showed that 77percent of first-time home buyers who usedFHA loans in 1995 would not have qualifiedfor a loan without FHA. In my home State ofUtah, 68 percent of first-time home buyers useFHA. Thus, in Utah, over half of first-timehome buyers would not be able to enter thehousing market without FHA.

These statistics clearly show the folly of pro-posals to end or privatize FHA. They alsoshow how critical it is to continue to improveand modernize the program.

Therefore, it is my hope that next year, wecan finish the job we started back in the 103dCongress. Specifically, we should extend thedemonstration downpayment simplificationproposal to nationwide status, raise the na-tional FHA loan floor to 50 percent of theFannie Mae/Freddie Mac limit, allow the useof two-step mortgages, and eliminate the out-dated 90 percent loan-to-value limitation onnew construction.

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1721September 26, 1996In closing, I would like to thank House and

Senate conferees for preserving these impor-tant FHA reforms in the final conference re-port, and look forward to their implementation.f

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE U.S.COAST GUARD ON THE SUCCESS-FUL CROSS-DECKING OF THECUTTER ‘‘DECISIVE’’ AND THECUTTER ‘‘RESOLUTE’’

HON. DAN BURTONOF INDIANA


Wednesday, September 25, 1996Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, my

good friend Maj. F. Andy Messing of the Na-tional Defense Council Foundation has askedme to submit these speeches for the RECORD.

Congressman DAN BURTON congratulatesthe U.S. Coast Guard on the successful cross-decking of the cutter Decisive and the cutterResolute. The two speeches herein show thededicated service to our country. Particularly,they illustrate the antidrug missions, the life-saving actions and environmental deeds donefor America.SPEECH OF CDR. AL J. BERNARD—COMMANDING

OFFICER OF THE USCGC ‘‘RESOLUTE’’Admiral Barrett, Captain Hested, Capt

Hail, Chaplain Michener, other distinguishedguests, former Decisive Co’s and sailors,Team Coast Guard, friends and family of theCoast Guard, Good Morning:

Thank you all for coming today to share inthis very special ceremony. For many of us,work is a routine of shuffling paper, longhours in front of a computer screen or toil-ing through highway congested traffic fromhome to work and back. It’s a far cry fromthe dreams we had as kids. We day dreamedof being astronauts, explorers, major leaguebaseball players, or even running off to sea.For the men and women you see before youthe childhood notion of going to sea is a real-ty and remains intact. They sail the brinyfor love of country and for the ideals it rep-resents.

Therefore, a ship carries a very specialmeaning to a sailor. The ships you see be-hind me represent work, home, school, fam-ily, and church for this crew. It is life per-sonified on a floating hull of steel. It takeson the character of its crew and becomes asacred and noble entity because these shipsare their blood, sweat and tears—the very at-tributes which bring a ship to life. Today,you have witnessed a transfusion of life fromDecisive to Resolute. Decisive will always be apart of us. But now we are resolute; and whata desirable trait of human character to be—one especially suited for this crew and hermission. Implied by the word ‘‘resolute’’ aresteadfastness, courage, and tenacity of pur-pose. To be resolute is to continue one’s taskin the face of great obstacles. It is one of thefoundations of character. Without this qual-ity, neither man nor nation can survive.

But that’s only half of the story. Theseships of steel and their crews must endurethe hardship and punishment that the sea of-fers without regard. Since the beginning oftime, sailors have relied on the sailmaker,carpenter, ship fitter, and dock yard; thesecraftsmen ensured that the vessels they builtor repaired were reliable and intact. Thedock yards kept the mighty triremes, gal-leons, barks and cutters fit for service sothat the crews could serve. They providedthe sailor with piece of mind when he set forsea.

Today, you see yet another example ofthat relationship between sailor and ship

yard. The Coast Guard Yard has deliveredanother ship of the line in tip top conditionfrom stem to stern, top to bottom, and readyfor action. Captain Hested, please accept mysincere thanks from the crew of Decisive, andnow Resolute, for a job well done. Your teamhas done it again.

Thirty years ago, Resolute was launchedfrom this very yard contributing to theCoast Guard’s unbroken line of developmentextending over two centuries. As you look atResolute down the pier, you’ll see her clean,sweeping lines, a new look if you will, and ametaphor for the renewed vitality which issurging in our service. This ‘‘new cutter’’ in-corporates all the latest advances in navalengineering and demonstrates our commit-ment to the growing needs of our times. Forwhile I stand here and talk of time honoredtradition and service, the Coast Guard recog-nizes that change is inevitable, if we are tokeep up with the demands of progress.

Let me end here by telling you that thecrew is ready to begin a new chapter in therich history of cutter Resolute. The Americannovelist, Arthur Somers Roche, captures thevery essence of why these men and women dowhat they do, and do it so well:

But the men who sail the oceanIn wormy, rotten craft,With a hell-blown gale baft;When the mainmast cracks and topples,And she’s lurching in the trough,Them’s the guys that greets the cutterWith smiles that won’t come off.

Thank you so much for coming.SPEECH OF REAR ADM. ED BARNETT, U.S.

COAST GUARD

Captain Hested, Captain Hail, CommanderBernard, men and women of Decisive, menand women of the yard, family and friends. Aspecial welcome to two former Decisive CO’s,Capt. Mark Fisher and Capt. Rich Hartman—good morning. It is a pleasure to be heretoday representing the Commandant as wemark a key transition point for the cuttersDecisive and Resolute and for the one crewwhich soon will have sailed both of these ves-sels.

Appropriately, this ceremony is held inCurtis Bay, a city rich in maritime history,and specifically at the Coast Guard yard, afacility which has contributed much to thebirth and lifeline of so many Coast Guardvessels.

As you know, there are many significantevents in the life of a cutter . . . christening,commissioning, changes of command and fi-nally decommissioning. The Coast Guardcutter Decisive was christened here at theCG yard in January 1968, and later commis-sioned in August 1968 in her first homeport,New Castle, New Hampshire.

Since that time, during the past 28 years,Decisive has carved a proud niche in CoastGuard history.

Her missions have been wide ranging. Inthe forefront are search and rescue and lawenforcement operations in the Gulf of Mex-ico and the Caribbean Sea. In carrying outthese missions, as well as her other duties,Decisive has excelled.

I would like to recap a few of these mis-sions which occurred over the past couple ofyears.

1. Aug 94 First CTU 44.7.9 for the FloridaStraits Cuban Sealift; rescued approximately500 Cubans from unseaworthy craft; overallin 1994 Decisive rescued 1,400 Cuban and Hai-tian migrants.

2. Nov 95 Sank M/V Juneau Express duringt/s Gordon near Florida Keys live coral reef.Fired approx 600 rounds heit 25mm betweenmidnight and 0300 to sink abandoned 200′freighter in high winds/seas and preventdamage to a fragile eco system.

3. Mar-May 95 Coordinated Maritime ele-ment for exercise tradewinds 95, a USACOM

sponsored annual nation building effort.Trained police and Coast Guard forces from13 Caribbean Nations.

4. Nov 95 Interdiced 75′ Haitian coastalfreighter with 516 Haitian migrants in wind-ward pass. Assisted CGC northland w/safeoffload in the vicinity of Cay Sal Bank, w/oinjury or loss of life.

Decisive’s effort in law enforcement arematched by few Coast Guard cutters . . . shehas logged thousands of helicopter landings,seized dozens of vessels, and as evident bythe marijuana symbols on the stack. She hasseized over 500,000 lbs of marijuana.

To the crew of Decisive . . . I’m sure youare or will be experiencing a wide range offeelings as you depart Decisive which hasbeen your home, and from which you per-formed your duties with the highest degreeof professionalism.

For CDR Benard, it may occur as you orderthe OOD to haul down the commissioningpennant.

For the engineers, it may have occurred asyou secured the main diesels.

For others, it may be as you finishemptying your lockers and cross the browfor this final mooring.

A lot of memories will surface . . . goodtimes in Caribbean liberty ports, search andrescue cases in rough seas, climbing over thegunwales during fisheries boardings, thethrill of a drug seizure, the watches you’vestood . . . and always, the memories of sail-ors with which you’ve served.

Don’t be surprised if you also have a feel-ing of emptiness . . . because a part of eachof you will remain with Decisive. It has beenyour knowledge, dedication, hard work, andperseverance that have allowed Decisive tocontinue to operate effectively . . . longafter she should have entered a major main-tenance availability. As a team, you havegiven Decisive your best, and in return shehas served you and the Coast Guard well.

Now, on the other hand, you will be sur-prised at how quickly you will build a simi-lar bond with your new ship . . . Resolute.The craftsmen of the Coast Guard yard haveonce again done a masterful job . . . the 210′MMA program has turned out to be a realsuccess story for the CG . . . with the em-ployees of the yard providing quality prod-ucts, ahead of schedule and >$50M undercost. An excellent example of ‘‘better Gov-ernment at less cost.’’ You will acquire fromthe yard much more than a refurbished ship. . . you will have a new Coast Guard cutterwith many modifications designed to bothimprove operational capability and decreaseM/H required for maintenance. The deck de-partment will undoubtedly miss the pleasur-able chore of scrubbing Decisive’s stern. . . .

The caretaking of Resolute’s heritage willsoon be passed to you . . . her new crew. Youare inheriting a ship that has an equally richhistory. As with Decisive, Resolute was builtby the Coast Guard yard. Resolute’s historybegan in 1966 in San Francisco, CA, under thecommand of a young commander named PaulA. Yost, whom would later become our com-mandant.

Resolute’s law enforcement accomplish-ments are also impressive. She too has seizeddozens of ships—but on the ‘‘other’’ coast.And, while not as glamorous as drug sei-zures, she has admirably performed thou-sands of fisheries boardings, which have pro-tected our ocean’s dwindling fish stocks fromexploitation and has provided fishermen withthe latest information on F/V safety require-ments.

She has served our country with distinc-tion.

And so, through you, Resolute’s history be-gins again. In June, you successfully com-pleted her builder’s trials. The stage is set.Resolute will require your skill and hard

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of RemarksE1722 September 26, 1996work to complete the on-load and ready forsea processes. Learn your new ship well . . .trace every piping run, exercise every newpiece of equipment, note every detail of eachnew space. Soon you will again feel the saltspray, the excitement of the hunt, and thethrill of the rescue. That close bond betweenship and sailor will serve you well as CGCResolute assumes her position in the fore-front of Coast Guard operations.

Capt. Hested, on behalf of the Com-mandant, I accept Resolute back into thefleet. At the same time I present Decisive—‘‘the queen of the fleet’’ for her major main-tenance availability.

I pass operational control of Resolute toCommander Atlantic Area and administra-tive control to Commander Maintenance andLogistics Command, Atlantic.

CDR Bernard, I charge you and your crewto be ‘‘Semper Paratus’’ in carrying out yourmissions. Do this in the same manner inwhich you, your crew, and Decisive’s crewshave done in the past. In closing, to the De-cisive I say ‘‘good job, we’ll see you soon ply-ing the Atlantic waters.’’ To the Resolute,welcome back, welcome to the LANT area.

And we wish you the very best in your en-deavors.

CDR Bernard, execute your orders.

f

ENGLISH AS THE OFFICIALLANGUAGE

HON. THOMAS M. BARRETTOF WISCONSIN



Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker,today I would like to bring to the attention ofmy colleagues an article by John Gurda, anexcellent author and historian in Milwaukee.The article appeared in the Milwaukee JournalSentinel earlier this year. This article takes anintriguing look at the issue of English as theofficial language of the United States. It re-minds us that most of us have ancestry whichstems from outside the United States. It is withthis in mind that I provide the following article.[From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Apr.

1, 1996]HOW SOON THE ‘‘ENGLISH FIRST’’ CROWD

FORGETS

(By John Gurda)Their names are Seratti, Skindrud,

Zukowski, Ziegelbauer, Gunderson, Goetsch,Buettner, Huebsch and Drzewiecki. They rep-resent some of Wisconsin’s leading ethnicgroups—German, Norwegian, Polish and Ital-ian—and it is a safe bet that none of theirancestors spoke a word of English when theyarrived.

The irony is that the names belong to statelegislators who are sponsoring the ‘‘EnglishFirst’’ bill. Their measure would establishEnglish as the ‘‘official language of Wiscon-sin’’ and would, with a few carefully wordedexceptions, prohibit the use of other lan-guages in ‘‘all written expression’’ by anyunit of state or local government.

It seems puzzling, at first, that the billwould get a serious hearing in a state as eth-nic as Wisconsin. It seems even stranger thatelected officials would deny some currentresidents a privilege that their own ances-tors enjoyed: the right to be addressed intheir native tongues.

Linguistic diversity, officially endorsed, isolder than the state. When Solomon Juneaubecame Milwaukee’s first mayor in 1846, 1,000copies of his inaugural address were print-ed—500 in English and 500 in German. The

same policy was observed when Wisconsinadopted a constitution two years later. Inthe 1850s and ’60s, the state published guide-books in German, Norwegian, French, Dutchand Swedish, as well as in English, hoping toattract newcomers from Europe.

Immigrants responded by the thousands,making Wisconsin one of the most ‘‘foreign’’states in the union and dotting the country-side with such settlements as New Glarus,New Holstein, Denmark, Belgium, Polandand Scandinavia. Ethnicity is still one of ourhallmarks—a focus of festivals, an anchor ofidentity and, not least of all, a draw for tour-ists.

But diversity has always had a dark side aswell. Wisconsin has suffered periodic out-breaks of nativism throughout its history;like some modern suburbanites, establishedresidents of every period have tried to pullup the gangplank as soon as they were safelyon the boat.

In the 1840s, for instance, when Irish andGerman immigrants demanded an equalvoice in deliberations over statehood, theMilwaukee Sentinel was horrified: ‘‘This isgoing too far. . . . One half of our popu-lation consists of foreigners and if this con-tinues they will gain the upper hand and de-stroy our freedom. This thing is going toofar.’’

Wisconsin’s immigrants returned the firewhen their rights were threatened. In 1890, aRepublican Legislature passed the BennettLaw, making instruction in English compul-sory. Supporters of parochial schools wereincensed. German, Scandinavian, Irish andPolish voters joined forces at the polls, mak-ing George Peck governor; he was the onlyDemocrat to hold the pot between 1876 and1932.

Intolerance reached a peak of sorts duringand just after World War I. Germans were, toput it bluntly, persecuted. Bach, Brahms,and Beethoven were banned from the concertstage. Sauerkraut was rechristened ‘‘libertycabbage.’’ In 1919, the Milwaukee Journalwon a Pulitzer Prize for its efforts to rootout local Germans who sided with KaiserWilhelm.

Soon after the war, nativists broadenedtheir fire to include Poles, Italians, Greeks,Serbs and other ‘‘new’’ immigrants, a groupthat one bigot dismissed as ‘‘historicallydowntrodden, atavistic and stagnant.’’ Mostpoliticians agreed. In the 1920s, Congress vir-tually halted the flow of immigration fromsouthern and eastern Europe. The ‘‘goldendoor’’ lighted by the Statue of Liberty wasslammed shut.

Seventy years later, immigrants are onceagain suspect. The English First campaign of1996 is only the latest in a long series of at-tempts to legislate conformity, attempts tolegislate conformity, attempts that seem tocrest during times of uncertainty. Patriotsof every generation have tried, in historianGerd Korman’s choice phrase, ‘‘to replacethe melting pot with a pressure cooker.’’

The campaign has been blasted as small-minded, shortsighted and racist by His-panics, Asians and other language minori-ties. The English First movement may be allof those things, but it is most of all unneces-sary. Anyone who has spent time in thenewer ethnic communities will tell you thatthe pressures to conform are enormous.Through the media, through the schools,through their own children, immigrant fami-lies soon learn what America expects ofthem. If they want a place at the table, ifthey want even a taste of the Americandream, English is mandatory.

Why, then, the current outbreak of nativ-ism? When you cut through all the rhetoricabout ‘‘uniting’’ our society, what you senseis fear—fear that America is coming apart atthe seams. The country seems to be filling in

with strangers who show no eagerness to jointhe mainstream. That perception gives riseto a great unspoken question: Why can’tthey be like us?

It is one of the oldest questions in Amer-ica. Yankees asked it of the Germans and theIrish, the Germans and Irish asked it of thePoles and Italians, and everyone asks it ofHispanics and Asians. The fact that so manygroups once considered ‘‘they’’ have joinedthe ranks of ‘‘us’’ is, I would suggest, an ob-vious sign of America’s power to absorb dif-ferences. But there are always newcomers toquestion.

And what should they answer? Theyshould, in my opinion, respond that they arechallenging the rest of us to live up to anideal as old as the Republic: a belief that themany can become one without rejectingtheir ancestors, that unity and diversity cancoexist in a creative and energizing tension.

There is only one noun in this country, andthat is American. But there are dozens of ad-jectives: African, Belgian, Croatian, Danish,English, Filipino, German and on down thealphabet. It is our differences, mediated byour essential unity, that give this countryits human appeal and its human power.

Those who would stifle diversity are deny-ing themselves an important gift. Those whowould insist on ‘‘English First’’ are betray-ing their own ignorance and their own petti-ness, but they display something even moredisturbing: a lack of faith in America.

f

RECOGNIZING THE WORK OF OURNATION’S ANIMAL SHELTERS

HON. DOUG BEREUTEROF NEBRASKA



Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, our Nation’sanimal shelters and the tens of thousands ofdedicated individuals who are employed by orvolunteer in these facilities certainly deserverecognition for the work they have done in as-sisting animals. This Member is pleased thatthe Humane Society of the United States(HSUS), which has provided training and sup-port to local animal shelters and humane orga-nizations for over 40 years, has declared No-vember 3–9, 1996, as National Animal ShelterAppreciation Week.

The idea for a national day of recognitionand appreciation for animal shelters actuallystarted with a humane society in this Mem-ber’s district, the Capital Humane Society inLincoln, NE. Bob Downey, the executive direc-tor of the Capital Humane Society, contactedthe HSUS and suggested that they work to-gether to establish a week intended to recog-nize the positive roles that animal sheltersplay in their communities; to recognize thestaff and volunteers of shelters; and to edu-cate the general public about animal sheltersand the work they do.

The services offered by animal shelters areas varied as the communities they serve.Some handle animal control issues, such ascontrolling dogs running at large or shelteringunwanted or abandoned animals. Some con-duct rescue operations by responding to callsregarding injured animals or animals that havefallen through the ice of a frozen lake or pond.Still others assist families who are consideringadding a new four-legged member to the fam-ily by providing adoption services.

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1723September 26, 1996There are many ways that individuals can

help our local animal shelters and humane so-cieties. Many shelters, just like the Capital Hu-mane Society, both need and welcome volun-teers who perform a variety of tasks such aswalking dogs, grooming animals, cleaningcages or assisting with adoptions. Shelterscan also use donations of supplies such asblankets and towels to provide bedding, foodor cages, or just cash donations to help payfor the costs of daily operations. National Ani-mal Shelter Appreciation Week is an appro-priate time for people to visit shelters, thankthe people who work there, and volunteer theirtime.f

CONGRATULATIONS TO MARVINBROWN OF SAVANNAH, GA ONRECEIVING THE GRAND DECORA-TION OF HONOUR OF THE STATEOF SALZBURG, AUSTRIA

HON. JACK KINGSTONOF GEORGIA



Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, Mr. MarvinBrown, a resident of Savannah, GA and theFirst Congressional District of Georgia, joinedthe ranks of Dwight D. Eisenhower and Win-ston Churchill when he was recently awardedone of Austria’s highest commendations. Mr.Brown’s achievements were highlighted in theAugust 23, 1996 edition of the Georgia Guard-ian:

Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

[From the Georgia Guardian, August 23–29,1996]

MARVIN BROWN AWARDED AUSTRIANCOMMENDATION

(By Thom Nezbeda)To read of Marvin Brown’s accomplish-

ments with the Georgia Salzburger Societyis to be impressed. He may have joined theorganization ‘‘late in life,’’ as he put it, butwhat he’s lost in time has certainly beenmore than made up for in performance.

He first joined the Georgia Salzburger So-ciety, the national organization devoted topreserving Salzburger history and heritage,in 1979. ‘‘I had been hearing that I was aSalzburger,’’ Brown said. ‘‘Jackie [his wife]and I went to a meeting out of curiosity, andthat got us involved.’’ He held the position ofpresident for the society from 1990 to 1992.His first trip to ‘‘the Old Country’’ came in1981, and he’s led several tours of the state ofSalzburg and other areas of Austria for fel-low society members since then.

‘‘We got started [traveling to Austria]back in 1981,’’ said Brown, ‘‘just ‘babes in thewoods’. We were just tourists then.’’

Subsequent trips as tour guides and oppor-tunities to meet Austrian officials visitingthe United States for society activities haveraised them above tourist status. ‘‘It all fellin place,’’ Brown said in a tone that seems tosuggest he and his wife are taking it all instride. ‘‘This is how we became guests of theAustrian government on one occasion; guestsof the Roman Catholic archbishop on an-other occasion. We’ve really had some won-derful things happen.’’

Brown’s accomplishments don’t stop there.Besides being a guest on Austrian televisiontalk shows, and presenting keys to the Cityof Savannah to two Salzburg governors,Brown and his wife were appointed area coor-dinators for the Austrian Olympic SailingTeam. As such, they helped coordinate a

wreath-laying ceremony at the SalzburgerMonument on Bay Street. Members of theGeorgia Salzburger Society, Mayor FloydAdams Jr., and a delegation of Austrian gov-ernment and industry leaders took part inthe ceremony. After the ceremony, the groupretired to a downtown restaurant for a latelunch.

That’s when Brown, to his total surprise,received what is probably the largest featherin his cap to date: he was awarded the GrandDecoration of Honour of the State of Salz-burg, in appreciation of his efforts to pro-mote good will between Salzburger descend-ants and the country from which they came.

The honor, one of Austria’s highest com-mendations, was given by EngelbertWenckheim, the vice president of the Aus-trian Federal Economic Chamber.

‘‘I really was definitely shocked; there’s noother word for it,’’ Brown said.

According to Ulf Pacher of the AustrianEmbassy in Washington, D.C., the com-mendation is the highest decoration awardedby the province of Salzburg. ‘‘The medal ispretty exclusive,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s not givenout that often—it’s rarely awarded.’’

By receiving the award, Brown becomespart of an exclusive group of individuals in-cluding Winston Churchill and Dwight D. Ei-senhower, among others.

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IN ORDER TO SAVE THE COUNTRY-SIDE, WE MUST STRENGTHENOUR CITIES

HON. NANCY L. JOHNSONOF CONNECTICUT



Mrs. JOHNSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speak-er, as recently as the 1960’s, Charles Adamswrote in ‘‘The City is the Frontier’’: ‘‘In our ownera, the world’s cities are witnessing theirgreatest surge in man’s history * * * From1800 to 1950, the proportion of people livingin cities with more than 20,000 people leapedfrom 2.4 to 21 percent. Our civilization is be-coming urban, and the advance into the citiesis one of the most spectacular social phenom-ena of our time. The city has become the fron-tier.’’

Today, the promise of the urban frontierseems to be little more than reminder of op-portunity lost. In the latter half of this century,the Nation’s landscape has been transformedby sprawling development and urban decay.The movement of families and businessesfrom our Nation’s cities has reshaped thecities themselves, the suburbs, and the coun-tryside. Much of this change has been posi-tive, as families have built homes and commu-nities, fulfilling the American dream; but agreat deal has been lost as well.

It is tragic that so many cities are dying ata time when the countryside is disappearing.The American Farmland Trust estimates thatthe United States converts to other uses 2 mil-lion acres of farmland annually, much of it onthe edge of urban America. The USDA naturalresources inventory found that developed landincreased by 14 million acres between 1982and 1992.

As the cities are losing their manufacturingindustries, 95 percent of the growth in officejobs occurs in low density suburbs. These of-fice jobs accounted for 15 million of the 18million new jobs in the 1980’s.

There are many factors that have contrib-uted to the mass migration away from the

cities: a desire for greater personal safety, bet-ter schools, less congestion, and a way of life.The development of the Interstate HighwaySystem, relatively inexpensive community ex-penses, and tax incentives for homeownershiphave made it easier for many people to moveto the suburbs.

Offsetting some of the costs associated withthis trend—urban decay and the loss of openspace—will require both private sector andpublic sector initiative. No single public policyproposal will address all of the problems.Today, I am introducing two bills addressingtwo of the many factors that contribute tosprawling development.

The first is related to the costs of cleaningup contaminated land and buildings in urbanareas so that they can be put to productiveuse. The rules surrounding the tax treatmentof environmental remediation expenses are soconvoluted and confusing it is no wonder thata number of businesses decide to sidestepthem altogether and invest in previously unde-veloped land and newer buildings outside ofenvironmentally distressed urban areas.

Repairs to business property can be de-ducted currently as a business expense, butcapital expenditures that add to the value ofproperty have to be capitalized. This meansthat some environmental remediation costsare treated as a business expense, but othersare treated as capital expenditures, dependingon the facts and circumstances of each case.

The administration in its brownfields initia-tive has proposed to allow an immediate de-duction for cleaning up certain hazardous sub-stances in high-poverty areas, existing EPAbrownfields pilot areas, and Federalempowerment zones and enterprise commu-nities. This is commendable, as far as it goes,but there is a disturbing trend in urban policyto pick and choose among cities. If expensingenvironmental remediation costs is good taxpolicy and good urban policy, and I believethat it is, then it should apply in all commu-nities. The bill I am introducing today wouldapply this policy to all property wherever lo-cated, and would expand the list of hazardoussubstances to include potentially hazardousmaterials such as asbestos, lead paint, petro-leum products, and radon. This bill would re-move the disincentive in current law to rein-vestment in our cities and buildings.

My second bill addresses a provision in cur-rent tax law that limits the deduction for a giftof appreciated property to 30 percent of ad-justed gross income. Under current law, thelimit for gifts of cash is 50 percent of adjustedgross income. My bill would raise the cap forqualified gifts of conservation land and ease-ments from 30 percent to 50 percent. Underthe bill, any amount that cannot be deductedin the year in which the gift is made can becarried over to subsequent tax years until thededuction has been exhausted. Current lawgives the donor 5 years in which to use up thededuction.

Conservation easements are a partial inter-est in property transferred to an appropriatenonprofit or governmental entity. These ease-ments restrict the development, management,or use of the land in order to keep the land ina natural state or to protect historic or scenicvalues. Easements are widely used by landtrusts, conservation groups, and developers toprotect valuable land.

The 30-percent limit in current law actuallyworks to the disadvantage of taxpayers whomay be land rich but cash poor.

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of RemarksE1724 September 26, 1996Several of my colleagues have introduced

important bills to encourage greater use ofconservation easements. My bill addressesthe disadvantage the 30-percent limit imposeson lower income taxpayers.

Mr. Speaker, Gifford Pinchot, the founder ofthe U.S. Forest Service, once wrote that a na-tion ‘‘deprived of its liberty may win it, a nationdivided may unite, but a nation whose naturalresources are destroyed must inevitably paythe penalty of poverty, degradation anddecay.’’

In order to save the countryside, we muststrengthen our cities. Thanks to the leadershipof Chairman BILL ARCHER, fundamental tax re-form will be near the top of the agenda of thenext Congress. We need to take a look at theimpact of tax policy on land use decisions inthis country. The bills I am introducing todaywould go a long way toward correcting two se-rious problems in existing law.f

IN HONOR OF LILLIAN CARINE: ANOUTSTANDING COMMUNITY AC-TIVIST MAKING A DIFFERENCEFOR THE RESIDENTS OF BA-YONNE

HON. ROBERT MENENDEZOF NEW JERSEY



Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise todayto pay tribute to Lillian Carine, a dedicatedcommunity activist who has made a significantdifference in the lives of my constituents inBayonne. Mrs. Carine will be honored at theseventh annual Italian American HeritageAward dinner dance on September 28, 1996,at the F.A. Mackenzie Post in Bayonne.

Family has played a major role in our es-teemed honoree’s life. Mrs. Carine was bornto Sicilian immigrants, Josephine and NicolaAlessi, on July 21, 1911, in Bayonne whereshe still lives. Alessi married Nicholas Carineon April 11, 1932. Their joyful union, whichlasted 57 years until Nicholas’ passing in1989, produced two children, Frank and Rosa-lie, seven grandchildren and five great-grand-children.

Competence and compassion are invaluablewords to one who seeks to describe Mrs.Carine. This selfless individual’s tradition ofcommunity involvement began under the influ-ence of her mother who put her on a ‘‘trolleytrack’’ of service to others from which Mrs.Carine has yet to disembark. Along the way,there have been a number of stations whichMrs. Carine’s trolley has passed through, in-cluding the Bayonne Board of Education towhich she was elected twice, the HudsonCounty Juvenile Conference Committee andthe Bayonne Child Abuse Prevention Council.

Additionally, Mrs. Carine is a founding mem-ber of the Sons of Italy, Father Del MonteLodge 2560, a member of the selection panelof the Holocaust Memorial Committee of Ba-yonne, and a member of the Bayonne VisitingNurse Association board of directors.

Senior citizens and their concerns have in-terested Mrs. Carine for a long time. She isthe producer and host of a local cable tele-vision show called ‘‘Sixty Plus’’ geared towardsenior citizens, relating information useful toseniors in their everyday lives. The Vial of Lifeprogram was an especially gratifying milestone

in Mrs. Carine’s chosen vocation. It providesseniors with information important to meettheir health care needs.

It is an honor to have such an empatheticindividual residing in my district. Mrs. Carine’sperformance of her civic duties is an examplefor everyone to emulate. I am certain that mycolleagues will rise with me to honor this ex-ceptional woman.f

TRIBUTE TO THE 90TH ANNIVER-SARY CELEBRATION OF NATIV-ITY OF THE BVM

HON. CHARLES E. SCHUMEROF NEW YORK



Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. Speaker, I am proud tojoin all my friends and colleagues in celebrat-ing the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s90th anniversary. This wonderful church hasbeen serving Ozone Park, Queens faithfullyfor the past 90 years, and is well-deserving ofrecognition and praise.

I am pleased to congratulate the membersof the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary formaking this area a source of community pride.As a result of the tireless work and vigilantdedication of the church, Ozone Park hasmaintained its reputation as a safe and quietcommunity distinct from the city’s frenetic at-mosphere.

I am certain that the strength of this commu-nity would not be what it is today without thecommitment of its church. Such countless con-tributions have ensured the neighborhood’scontinued growth and stability which are fullyappreciated by all.

For years, families have known Ozone Parkas a solid community, making it a good placeto live. I am honored to celebrate 90 years ofcivic leadership in Ozone Park—the Nativity ofthe Blessed Virgin Mary’s members have donemuch to improve the quality of life for all arearesidents.f

CONGRATULATIONS TO POSTALWORKER WHO SAVED CHOKING 4YEAR OLD

HON. FRANK MASCARAOF PENNSYLVANIA



Mr. MASCARA. Mr. Speaker, I would take amoment today to publicly thank Joanne John-son, a postal worker from my district, who re-cently saved the life of a 4-year-old boy whohad swallowed a quarter and was choking.

On a recent dreary Monday morning, Jo-anne was delivering mail on a rural route inher hometown of Hopwood, PA, when sheheard the screams of Rosemary Bradshawwho was standing on her front porch.

Not really knowing what was wrong, Joannejumped out of her mail truck and ran to thewoman’s aid. Mrs. Bradshaw’s son, John Ken-neth Thorpe, Jr. stood nearby in obvious dis-tress, unable to breathe. Luckily, Joanne hadbuilt up a relationship with John since shebegan delivering the route in early spring.Daily the boy would raise the flag on his mail-box, even if there was nothing to pick up, just

so he could chat and laugh with her. While Jo-anne had no formal training in CPR or theHeimlich maneuver, she coaxed him to cometo her. She quickly flipped him around andsqueezed him tightly. Fortunately the quarterpopped out and John began to breathe again.

Local postal officials intend to recognize Jo-anne for her heroism. As they correctly state,daily Postal Service workers across the coun-try, like Joanne, help citizens in distress, butrarely are these events ever reported on theevening news.

Joanne, naturally, does not see herself as ahero. She says she was just a the right placeat the right time and would not hesitate to helpagain, if she could.

But I know that is not the case. Joanne isa very special person and her family andneighbors and coworkers should be veryproud of her. More importantly, each and ev-eryone of us should try and emulate her ef-forts to reach out to others in need.

Not surprisingly, little John knows a friendwhen he sees one. Lately, he has been leav-ing cards and presents for Joanne in the mail-box. She has been leaving him candy.f


SPEECH OF

HON. BOB STUMPOF ARIZONA



Mr. STUMP. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposi-tion to the conference report on H.R. 3666,the VA, HUD and independent agencies ap-propriations bill for fiscal year 1997.

As chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Com-mittee, I am deeply dissatisfied with the waythe conference report treats the veterans’ por-tion of the bill.

The conference report switches priorities ap-proved by the House.

The result, veterans lose out to nonveteranprograms.

I strongly object to the conference reportboosting programs for EPA, NASA, andAmericorps at the expense of veterans.

The conference report drops VA medicalcare $55 million below the House, inad-equately funds VA medical research $15 mil-lion below the House, and skims $13 millionoff the House on resources necessary fortimely processing of veterans service con-nected benefit claims.

The conference report bumps up EPA by$140 million above the House, NASA $100million above the House, FEMA $197 millionabove the House, and gives $400 million to‘‘paid volunteers’’ and bureaucrats atAmericorps, which the House had zero fund-ed.

Mr. Chairman, the overall story is unfortu-nately a weakening of the House-passed prior-ities for veterans’ programs.

Additionally, it is inappropriate for legislativeamendments to find their way into appropria-tions measures.

While I would not necessarily disagree withall the attached legislative amendments had

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E1725September 26, 1996they been properly before the Veterans’ AffairsCommittee, I strongly object to their presencein the appropriations bill conference report.

The conference report creates an unprece-dented benefits entitlement for children withspina bifida, on the basis of what can at bestonly be called questionable scientific founda-tion.

Worse than that is the way it has been paidfor.

The appropriations bill reverses the Su-preme Court’s Gardner decision.

This is not simply an offset.It is legislative savings that should be con-

trolled by the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, andit is more than what is needed to pay for thenew entitlement.

Thus the VA Committee loses control over$500 million.

That’s the difference between the costs ofthis brand-new entitlement and savings fromrepeal of Gardner.

It’s the price for rushing these provisionsthrough the appropriations process instead ofthe committee of jurisdiction.

The appropriations bill strips the House Vet-erans’ Affairs Committee of our plan toachieve significant savings without hurtinghigher priority veterans’ programs, and deniesveterans the potential of using that $500 mil-lion for other benefits improvements for serv-ice-connected veterans.

Frankly, we should be able to do better forthese men and women who served us in uni-form.f


HON. DAVID FUNDERBURKOF NORTH CAROLINA



Mr. FUNDERBURK. Mr. Speaker, on Tues-day, September 24, 1996 I was unavoidablydetained and missed several votes. Had Ibeen present, I would have recorded my voteas follows:

Rollcall vote number 426 on agreeing to theVA/HUD conference report—I would havevoted ‘‘aye.’’

Rollcall vote number 427 on agreeing toH.R. 3452, the Presidential and Executive Of-fice Accountability Act—I would have voted‘‘aye.’’

Rollcall vote number 425 on agreeing toHouse Resolution 525 providing expeditedprocedures for the remainder of the secondsession of the 104th Congress—I would havevoted ‘‘aye.’’f

AFRICAN GROWTH AND OPPOR-TUNITY: THE END OF DEPEND-ENCY ACT

HON. PHILIP M. CRANEOF ILLINOIS



Mr. CRANE. Mr. Speaker, today I join mycolleagues Congressman JIM MCDERMOTT andCongressman CHARLIE RANGEL in introducinglegislation that will fundamentally shift how theUnited States approaches our relations withthe 48 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. For

many years, the United States has supporteda variety of foreign assistance programs thathave sought to aid the countries of sub-Saha-ran Africa. Unfortunately, traditional foreign aidhas not led to the level of economic develop-ment that we would all like to see on the Afri-can continent. In the long run, private sectorinvestment and development must serve asthe catalyst for the countries of sub-SaharanAfrica to compete in the global marketplaceand to improve the standard of living for theirpeople. Unfortunately, the region’s immediatepotential does not seem to be reflected eitherin the investment decisions of individual busi-nesses or in the U.S. Government’s export de-velopment priorities, including high-profiletrade missions.

In this context, I believe that it is time for usto reexamine the nature of our relationshipwith sub-Saharan Africa and to focus our at-tention on ways to facilitate private sectortrade and investment in the region. In 1994,Congress took an initial step in this directionby asking the President to develop ‘‘a com-prehensive trade and development policy forthe countries of sub-Saharan Africa’’ as part ofthe Uruguay Round Agreements Act. The firstof the five annual reports required under thisprovision was submitted by President Clintonearlier this year. The President’s report, inturn, has generated a broader discussionamong many of my colleagues, the businesscommunity, and the public on the future direc-tion of U.S. economic relations with sub-Saha-ran Africa.

Throughout this year, I have been pleasedto work with Congressman JIM MCDERMOTTand Congressman CHARLIE RANGEL towarddeveloping a bipartisan proposal to facilitatethe economic development of sub-Saharan Af-rica by expanding our trade relations with theregion. On August 1, 1996, the Subcommitteeon Trade of the Ways and Means Committeeheld a hearing on this issue to look moreclosely at how we might elevate the prioritiesof business and government toward sub-Saha-ran Africa and pursue mutually beneficial tradeexpansion efforts. The legislation that we areintroducing today is the culmination of ourwork on this issue in the 104th Congress andwill serve as the basis for further action on thisissue by the Ways and Means Committee nextyear.

Among other things, the ‘‘African Growthand Opportunity: The End of Dependency Act’’calls for the negotiation of a free-trade agree-ment with the countries of sub-Saharan Africathat take appropriate steps to reform theireconomies. Moreover, to put momentum be-hind these negotiations and to focus greaterattention on the region in the private sector,the bill calls for the creation of a UnitedStates-sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Eco-nomic Cooperation Forum. This forum will pro-vide regular opportunities for policy leader andheads of state to meet to discuss issues ofmutual interest and to keep the trade negotia-tions on track. Finally, our proposal will createprivately managed equity and infrastructurefunds to encourage private institutional inves-tors in developed countries to pool their re-sources to make investments in establishedbusinesses and infrastructure projects in sub-Saharan Africa.

With a combined population of nearly 600million people, sub-Saharan Africa can andshould become a major export market for Unit-ed States goods and services. In my view, the

active participation of the global marketplaceis essential to creating the economic and in-vestment opportunities that will stimulate theconditions for developing countries to emergeas business partners, rather than aid recipi-ents. By giving sub-Saharan African countriesa trade and investment alternative to foreignaid, this important legislation will encouragethe type of economic and political reforms inthe region that will ultimately make traditionalassistance unnecessary.f

THE NEED FOR CONSUMER GRIEV-ANCE RIGHTS IN MANAGEDCARE



Thursday, September 26, 1996Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, today I introduced

a comprehensive bill to improve consumer andprovider rights in managed care plans. I intro-duced the bill late in this Congress so that ev-eryone has the opportunity to review the billover the autumn and suggest changes and im-provements, prior to its reintroduction in the105th.

One major section of the bill requires thetimely consideration by managed care plans ofpatient appeals. The Medicare agency is veryconcerned about this area of consumer rightsand is proposing a rule to better protect pa-tients. Depending on the strength of the HCFArule, the need for the appeals and grievancesection of my legislation may be fully or par-tially addressed.

The following news articles from the Bureauof National Affairs of September 18 and 19describe why this is such an important issue.As Bruce Fried, head of the Office of Man-aged Care states so well: The appeal andgrievance process is ‘‘fundamentally the mostimportant protection our beneficiaries have.’’VLADECK URGES MANAGED CARE GROUPS TO

IMPROVE APPEALS PROCESS

Increasing numbers of health care consum-ers are feeling powerless in the face of deci-sions made by their managed care organiza-tions, Health Care Financing AdministrationAdministrator Bruce C. Vladeck said Sept. 17in urging such groups to improve their bene-ficiary grievance and appeals process.

Speaking at the annual meeting of theAmerican Association of Health Plans, thenation’s largest managed care group,Vladeck said Medicare managed care organi-zations should ensure Medicare enrollees areaware of their health care coverage appealsrights; should establish systems that do notdeter, and even solicit coverage questions;and should employ staff that are well-versedin Medicare regulations.

As managed care has grown, ‘‘there is anincreasing perception among consumers thatthey are voiceless and powerless in the sys-tem,’’ even though they had little or no ap-peal rights in the fee-for-service system,Vladeck hold conference attendees.

He urged AAHP members to voluntarilyupgrade their appeals and grievance processto parallel HCFA’s on-going review of whatis requires managed care groups to provideenrollees in this area.

‘‘If it doesn’t happen spontaneously, wewill make it happen.’’ he warned.

HCFA OFFICIALS WARN HMOS TO PROVIDEGOOD GRIEVANCE PLANS; RULE IN DEVELOP-MENT

Health maintenance organizations that donot provide adequate grievance and appeals

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of RemarksE1726 September 26, 1996procedures to Medicare beneficiaries are vio-lating beneficiaries’ constitutional rightsand will be closely scrutinized by the pro-gram, a Health Care Financing Administra-tion official said Sept. 18.

HCFA Office of Managed Care DirectorBruce M. Fried told managed care represent-atives that failure to provide an adequategrievance and appeals process to Medicarebeneficiaries vilates their 14th Amendmentrights to due process and equal protectionunder the law. It also violates Medicare stat-utes, Fried said.

HCFA has made this issue one of its toppriorities and the appeals processes in placeat HMOs will come under ‘‘enormous scru-tiny’’ in the coming months, Fried said at aconference on managed care sponsored byHCFA, in conjunction with meetings on Med-icare and Medicaid being held this week bythe American Association of Health Plans.

Some HMOs are failing to improve theirgrievance and appeals process—in whichbeneficiaries can contest a decision by anHMO to deny or alter health care coverage—to remain competitive in a rapidly growingindustry, Fried said.

‘‘Human nature being what it is, this sim-ply leads some folks to cut corners,’’ Friedsaid. ‘‘We will be very attentive to that.’’

As of July 1, HCFA had Medicare contractswith 313 HMOs enrolling nearly 4.4 millionbeneficiaries, according to documents pro-vided by HCFA at the meeting. HMOs arenow required to have appeals and grievanceprocesses for Medicare patients, but thequality is mixed and appeals are slow.

In a speech to the AAHP conference Sept.16, HCFA Administrator Bruce C. Vladeckalso warned HMOs to improve their griev-ance and appeals process, saying the agencywould force them to do so if they do not vol-untarily comply.

Fried called the appeals and grievanceprocess ‘‘fundamentally the most importantprotection our beneficiaries have,’’ addingthat it was ‘‘critical’’ that HMOs take stepsto improve the process.

‘‘I don’t want to threaten the industrywith steps that I am willing to take’’ ifHMOs do not act, Fried warned.

HCFA RULE EXPECTED BY END OF YEAR

HCFA is ‘‘very far down the road’’ in devel-oping a proposed rule that for the first timespecifically will define the grievance and ap-peal process requirements for HMOs, Friedsaid. Among other items, it will include a re-quirement that grievances be acted upon ‘‘ina matter of days,’’ rather than the maximum60 days required under current law, he added.

The current grievance and appeals processgives plans 60 days to act on a beneficiaryappeal and another 60 days for HCFA’s con-tractor to review appeal denials.

The proposed rule, part of HCFA’s Medi-care Appeals and Grievance Initiative, is ex-pected to be issued by the end of the year,Maureen Miller, senior policy analyst withthe Office of Managed Care’s program policyand improvement team, told conference par-ticipants.

HCFA in the rule also will clarify whatservices beneficiaries are able to appeal, Mil-ler said. The rule will state that in additionto pre-service denials, reduction in care deci-sions and service terminations also can beappealed, as well as services provided underoptional supplemental coverage, she added.

The rule also will establish new reportingrequirements for plans for grievance and ap-

peals procedures and improve the way plansreport such information to HCFA, Millersaid.

Miller told plans, however, not to ‘‘sit andwait’’ until the rule is published to improvetheir grievance and appeals process. Plans ontheir own can shorten the time needed to de-cide an appeal, which already has been doneby many commercial plans, Miller told thoseattending the conference.

Plans also can improve their internal in-formation systems so they have more knowl-edge of who is filing grievances and why andlaunch an education effort to ensure bene-ficiaries in skilled nursing facilities andhome health care know their appeal rights,Miller said.

They also can review their marketing ma-terials to ensure they present information onappeals in a clear, understandable way, sheadded.

Plans also can better train their staffcharged with handling grievances, Millersaid. HCFA has learned of staff at someHMOs in these departments who are givingout incorrect information because they areworking without relevant HCFA regulationsat their disposal, she added.

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A TRIBUTE TO HONOR THEPATCHOGUE, NY, SOCIAL SECU-RITY OFFICE IN RECOGNITIONOF 50 YEARS OF SERVICE TOTHE LONG ISLAND COMMUNITY

HON. MICHAEL P. FORBESOF NEW YORK



Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today tohonor and pay tribute to the Social SecurityOffice in Patchogue, NY, for 50 years of dedi-cated service to the Long Island community. Itis with great sincerity that I ask my colleaguesin the House of Representatives to join me incongratulating the Patchogue Social SecurityOffice on this historical occasion.

In 1946, the Social Security Administration[SSA] opened its first Long Island office at 75Oak Street, Patchogue, Long Island, NY. Priorto this, Suffolk County residents had to visitthe Queens, NY, office, located in Jamaica, toreceive Social Security services. During thelast 50 years, the Patchogue office has servedhundreds of thousands of Social Securitybeneficiaries.

Originally, Social Security was formulated asan entitlement program for retired workers andtheir surviving dependents. In the 1950’s, thedisability provisions were implemented. The1960’s saw the beginning of Medicare healthinsurance for the elderly, and in the 1970’s,Medicare coverage was extended to the dis-abled. These changes also included imple-mentation of the Supplemental Security In-come [SSI] Program in 1974. This programwas established by Congress to federalize as-sistance to financially needy, elderly, blind,and disabled individuals and children.

The Patchogue Social Security office hasperformed an exceptional duty in administeringits programs to Suffolk County residents.Today, the office administers Social Security

payments to 113,894 Suffolk residents eachmonth for a total of $79,381,000. SSI pay-ments are paid to 12,817 individuals eachmonth for a total of $4,739,000.

Stuart Blau, the District Manager, hasserved the people in his Patchogue District for20 years, the last 10 as Manager. His 35years with the Social Security Administrationhave encompassed the introduction of disabil-ity benefits, Medicare, and the SupplementalSecurity Income Program.

He heads one of the largest field offices inthe New York region and the Nation, servicingalmost 1 million residents of Suffolk County.Along with a dedicated staff of Federal em-ployees, he continues the tradition and dedica-tion to public service begun in July 1946 whenPatchogue was added to the growing roster ofSocial Security field offices across the country.

The staff in the Patchogue office looks for-ward to continuing their tradition of dedicationand service to Suffolk County residents formany years to come. I wish them all the bestfor another 50 years in service to the Long Is-land community.

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TRIBUTE TO MAJ. RICHARD M.‘‘SLUG’’ MCGIVERN

HON. ROBERT K. DORNANOF CALIFORNIA



Mr. DORNAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today torecognize Maj. Richard M. ‘‘Slug’’ McGivernfor his distinguished and exemplary service tothe U.S. Air Force and the 104th Congressthrough his work in the Air Force House Liai-son Office from May 2, 1995, to October 14,1996. In this capacity, Rick has excelled inproviding the House of Representatives withoutstanding service and unselfish commitmentabove and beyond the call of duty. During hisshort stay in this office,, he quickly establisheda solid reputation with both Members andstaff, displaying his extensive knowledge of AirForce programs and issues, as well as na-tional defense strategy. His strong operationalfighter background gave him the credibility toprovide guidance and advice on a wide arrayof aerospace and other national security is-sues. Slug’s sound judgment and keen senseof priority are trusted attributes that havegreatly benefited Congress and the U.S. AirForce. In the challenging arena of internationaltravel, he was brilliant in planning, organizing,and executing congressional delegation tripsto locations all over the world. It has been myextreme pleasure to have worked and traveledwith Rick McGivern. He has served with greatdistinction and has earned our respect andgratitude for his many contributions to our Na-tion’s defense. As he moves to the Pentagonto work on the Quadrennial Defense ReviewBoard, we will continue to see Slug on the Hill.On behalf of my colleagues, I would like to bidMaj. Rick ‘‘Slug’’ McGivern and his wife Susancontinued success in their new assignment.

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