[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 21 (Wednesday, March 2, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 2, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
          EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT--H.R. 3759

                                 ______


                          HON. XAVIER BECERRA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 2, 1994

  Mr. BECERRA. Mr. Speaker, as a resident of Los Angeles who was 
awakened along with my wife by the jolt on January 17 with just enough 
time to run to my baby's bedside and ensure her safety, I can truly 
appreciate the personal terror and destruction wreaked by the 
Northridge earthquake.
  As a member of California's congressional delegation and former State 
assemblyman, I understand the urgent need and responsibility for the 
State and Federal Government to appropriate critical emergency 
assistance funds. It was for this reason that I worked hard with my 
colleagues from California to craft a solid and comprehensive emergency 
aid bill which could gain the support of a majority of the Members of 
this House.
  Many of us from California fought tenaciously and were pleased to win 
$7.8 billion in emergency funding for victims of the Los Angeles area 
earthquake; $685 million was also included in the emergency 
appropriations bill, designated H.R. 3759, to finish off the emergency 
aid effects necessitated by the Midwest floods of 1993 and $315 million 
was earmarked for final emergency efforts for the Loma Prieta 
earthquake of 1989 in northern California.
  Unfortunately, as this emergency appropriations bill evolved, it 
began to include much more than just emergency relief and assistance. 
How did the $8.8 billion for earthquake and flood assistance balloon to 
the $11 billion amount appropriated in the final House/Senate joint 
conference report? The $2.2 billion in additional spending that was 
attached to this conference bill is hardly pocket change.
  I cannot in good conscience vote for the conference report which 
superseded H.R. 3759. Yes, I do believe the people of Los Angeles 
deserve Federal earthquake aid; I voted for H.R. 3759 when it came 
before the full House on February 3, 1994. However, I will vote against 
the House/Senate conference report because I am opposed to the 
earthquake assistance bill being used to include additional 
expenditures and policies unrelated to genuine emergency aid.
  The integrity of the goal to provide emergency assistance was eroded 
as agencies and Members of Congress tacked on increased funding 
requests having nothing to do with emergency aid. Particularly 
disturbing for me was the unwarranted $1.2 billion--I repeat, $1 
billion, $200 million--handed over to the Department of Defense. I 
spoke out against this additional funding on the House floor when I 
supported Representative Barney Frank's unsuccessful amendment to 
delete the defense funding. It never should have been included in an 
emergency appropriations bill. This emergency assistance bill has 
nothing to do with the Defense Department.
  This is just one example of how $8.8 billion becomes $11 billion. 
When emergencies strike, Congress indeed owes affected constituencies 
quick and deliberative action. However, it should never be a time for a 
come-one-come-all money giveaway.
  Other legislative policy agendas are also being pushed forward in the 
earthquake supplemental appropriations. For example, $117.2 million 
will be make available for cooperative space ventures between the 
Republic of Russia and the United States; $10 million has been placed 
in this bill for the renovation and preservation of Penn Station in New 
York City. Additionally, more than $1 million has been set aside for 
Senate congressional operations. What do these have to do with 
emergency assistance? Nothing, which is exactly my point. They do not 
belong in this bill.
  Other Members of Congress are misusing this emergency appropriations 
bill as an opportunity to advance immigration policy. Changes were made 
in FEMA benefits for undocumented individuals affected by the 
earthquake. The final amendment adopted in the Senate, which required 
FEMA to determine the legal status of those applying for disaster 
assistance, was crafted in a matter of hours. How will individuals who 
lost everything prove they are citizens? How will those permanently 
locked out of their apartment complexes recover the necessary 
documentation in a timely manner?
  This policy is unworkable and inherently discriminatory. Furthermore, 
the amendment overburdens FEMA and the INS. FEMA's first priority ought 
to center around providing assistance to those in need, and the INS 
needs to concentrate its work along our borders to prevent illegal 
immigration in the first place. These are issues that deserve 
deliberation and investigation, not cursory political negotiations. If 
representatives believe in the necessity of limiting FEMA assistance to 
undocumented populations, such a policy should have been debated and 
scrutinized during the full legislative process.
  Everyone loses when ill-prepared and hasty deals are struck to 
placate Members with political agendas that stretch beyond emergency 
assistance. It is critical for all to realize that the emergency 
supplemental appropriations stretches beyond emergency assistance for 
distressed communities. As a Member of Congress and as a representative 
for the residents of Los Angeles, I have a fervent commitment, indeed a 
profound obligation, to fight for our earthquake victims. 
Unfortunately, in the end, the conference report legislation, with its 
tortured formulation process and inexcusable inclusion of unrelated 
expenditures and policies, has become a bill can no longer support.
  Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for this opportunity to explain my efforts 
and, lamentably, my disappointment regarding the emergency aid 
legislation directed to help the victims of the Los Angeles area 
earthquake.

                          ____________________