[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 118 (Friday, August 19, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 19, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
        SUPPORT FOR KASICH-STENHOLM-PENNY AMENDMENT TO H.R. 4906

                                 ______


                          HON. JOHN R. KASICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, August 18, 1994

  Mr. KASICH. Mr. Speaker, as further evidence of strong support for 
prohibiting extraneous measures on emergency supplemental appropriation 
bills, I submit the following list of groups that have publicly 
commended the Kasich-Stenholm-Penny amendment to H.R. 4906: The 
American Business Conference; The Chamber of Commerce of the United 
States; Citizens Against Government Waste; Citizens for a Sound 
Economy; Committee for A Responsible Federal Budget; The Concord 
Coalition; The Financial Executives Institute; The National Home 
Builders Association of America; The National Taxpayers Union.
  The following are some of the letters in support of the amendment:

                                 American Business Conference,

                                  Washington, DC, August 16, 1994.
     Hon. John Kasich,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Kasich: On behalf of the members of the 
     American Business Conference (ABC) I congratulate you for 
     your leadership in attempting to curtail the ability of 
     members of Congress to insert pork barrel spending into 
     emergency supplemental appropriations.
       Your work deserves the unqualified support of all Americans 
     who seek to maintain the integrity of the discretionary 
     spending caps and the budgetary accountability of Congress.
       We at ABC will do all we can to urge Congress to pass your 
     proposal in its current form.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Barry K. Rogstad,
                                                        President.
                                  ____

                        Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
                                  Washington, DC, August 10, 1994.
     Hon. John Kasich,
     Ranking Republican, Committee on the Budget, House of 
         Representatives, Washington DC.
       Dear John: This is to express strong support for your 
     efforts to restrict the use of emergency exemptions to the 
     discretionary spending caps. Including classic pork barrel 
     spending in so-called ``emergency supplemental 
     appropriations'' makes mockery of the word ``emergency'' and 
     flaunts the limits the caps are intended to impose.
       We would have gone even further than your proposal. We 
     would prefer to see Congress budget for unanticipated 
     contingencies within the spending caps. But failing that, we 
     would hate to see your proposal weakened in any manner and we 
     encourage the House to pass your proposal.
       We understand that hard work on budget process issues often 
     goes unrewarded. We appreciate your efforts. Keep up the good 
     work.
           Best regards.
                                                  Carol Cox, Wait,
                                                        President.
                                  ____

                                           National Association of


                                                Home Builders,

                                   Washinton, DC, August 11, 1994.
     Hon. John R. Kasich,
     House of Representatives, Longworth House Office Building, 
         Washington, DC
       Dear Congressman Kasich: On behalf of the 170,000 member 
     firms of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), I 
     offer our strong support for the Kasich-Stenholm-Penny 
     Amendment to the Emergency Spending Control Act, H.R. 4906.
       As long-standing advocates of real deficit reduction and 
     meaningful budget reform. I believe that Congress provides a 
     great disservice to the American taxpayer by allowing funding 
     unrelated to the emergency situation addressed in an 
     emergency spending bill to be appended to the measure, 
     thereby avoiding the firm discretionary budget caps in the 
     Budget Act.
       Your amendment would correct this situation by requiring 
     the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to include the 
     emergency-designated funding within the budget caps if the 
     legislation contains extraneous items, and also would allow 
     Members to raise a point of order to block consideration of 
     the measure.
       NAHB congratulates you for your leadership on this issue 
     and stands ready to offer assistance.
           Sincerely,
                                               Thomas N. Thompson,
                                                        President.
                                  ____



                                 Citizens for a Sound Economy,

                                  Washington, DC, August 10, 1994.
     Hon. John R. Kasich,
     House of Representatives, Longworth House Office Building, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Kasich: On behalf of the 250,000 
     members of Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE), I applaud and 
     support your efforts to pass H.R. 4906, the Kasich-Stenholm-
     Penny amendment to the Emergency Spending Control Act. Our 
     members have worked long and hard to help reduce wasteful 
     spending on pork-barrel projects and see your proposal as 
     another means to halt extraneous spending items from being 
     attached to emergency supplemental appropriations bills.
       In fact, our CSE members were instrumental in stopping the 
     so-called ``stimulus'' spending package last year that would 
     have used the emergency spending rules to deficit spend on 
     numerous pork-barrel projects such as tree planting and bike 
     paths. Therefore, your bill, H.R. 4906 will help in our 
     efforts to stop such unnecessary deficit spending by not 
     allowing emergency legislation to contain funding for items 
     unrelated to the specific emergencies addressed.
       We believe your legislation would help keep Congress and 
     the President from simply using emergency bills to launch 
     new, non-emergency spending and pork projects that waste 
     taxpayers hard earned dollars.
       CSE supports your efforts on H.R. 4906 and is happy to work 
     with you on these budget changes to ensure that Congress does 
     not continue to spend taxpayers' money unwisely.
           Sincerely,
                                                      Paul Beckner
                                                        President.
                                  ____

                                        Chamber of Commerce of the


                                     United States of America,

                                  Washington, DC, August 10, 1994.
     Members of the House of Representatives:
       The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Federation of 215,000 
     businesses, 3,000 state and local chambers of commerce, 1,200 
     trade and professional associations, and 69 American Chambers 
     of Commerce abroad urges Congress to reform the current 
     process of appropriating ``emergency'' funds through passage 
     of the Kasich-Stenholm-Penny amendment to the Emergency 
     Spending Control Act. The Kasich-Senholm-Penny amendment will 
     be offered as an amendment in the nature of a substitute to 
     the watered-down Spratt bill, H.R. 4906, much of which simply 
     restates current law.
       The Chamber realizes that unanticipated emergencies arise 
     for which a designated appropriation may exceed the cap 
     without triggering an across-the-board cut in all 
     discretionary programs. However, such a circumstance should 
     not signal an opportunity for proponents of pork-barrel 
     projects to attach extraneous items to an emergency 
     supplemental appropriations bill. The Kasich-Stenholm-Penny 
     amendment would compel Congress and the President to keep 
     emergency spending bills free of pork and other non-emergency 
     spending, and would allow financial assistance to reach 
     disaster victims faster than when legislative conflicts arise 
     over controversial add-ons.
       The Chamber strongly supports this amendment as part of a 
     greater effort to regain control of the federal budget. Vote 
     YES for the Kasich-Stenholm-Penny substitute to the Spratt 
     floor vehicle and take a stand in support of meaningful 
     budget reform.
           Sincerely,
                                                  R. Bruce Josten.
                                  ____

                                              Council for Citizens


                                     Against Government Waste,

                                  Washington, DC, August 10, 1994.
       Dear Representative: Tomorrow, votes are expected on 
     essential reforms of the budget process and emergency 
     spending procedures, reforms which in the opinion of our more 
     than 600,000 members are needed to help correct the course of 
     fiscal practice in Congress.
       Acknowledging that no ``process'' is ever a complete 
     substitute for good decisions, the Council for Citizens 
     Against Government Waste (CCAGW) nonetheless is committed to 
     the common-sense principle that ``process'' can make it 
     easier or more difficult to reach good decisions--decisions 
     which cut wasteful spending and contain budget deficits. The 
     present practices of phony baseline budgeting and non-
     accountability of pork-barrel spending on emergency 
     supplemental bills make good decisions more difficult, and 
     it's time to change.
       It is no secret that the Spratt alternatives on baseline 
     budgeting and emergency spending legislation, as presently 
     constituted, are cosmetic only. Worse, they seek to mislead 
     taxpayers by giving the illusion of real reform where none 
     exists. The battle which is set before you has been engaged 
     by the leadership with a truly hollow army, and this phantom 
     force deserves to be defeated soundly.
       As you prepare to vote tomorrow, you can stand with the toy 
     soldier proposals of Representative Spratt, or you can join 
     with Representatives Stenholm, Penny and Kasich, who like our 
     Marines are looking for a few good men and women who can get 
     the job done.
       The Stenholm-Penny-Kasich alternatives merit your support 
     not because CCAGW intends to count them in our 1994 
     Congressional Ratings, but because they are the right choices 
     in order to move Congress toward greater spending discipline.
       One further note: The expected King-of-the-Hill strategy 
     requires us to notify you that CCAGW will pay special public 
     attention to those who try to have it both ways by first 
     supporting the ``SPK'' amendments and later undercutting them 
     by voting for Representative Spratt's proposals. Our 
     suggestion: choose a side and have the courage to stay there.
           Sincerely,
                                                   Joe Winkelmann,
     Director of Government Affairs.

                          ____________________