[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 47 (Tuesday, March 14, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H3118-H3119]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


REQUEST FOR PERMISSION FOR SUNDRY COMMITTEES AND THEIR SUBCOMMITTEES TO 
                 SIT TOMORROW DURING THE 5-MINUTE RULE

  Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the following 
committees and their subcommittees be permitted to sit tomorrow while 
the House is meeting in the Committee of the Whole House under the 5-
minute rule: Committee on Banking and Financial Services; Committee on 
Commerce; Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities; 
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight; Committee on House 
Oversight; Committee on International Relations; Committee on the 
Judiciary; Committee on National Security, and Committee on Resources.
  Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding that the minority has been 
consulted, and that there is no objection to these requests.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Shays). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  Mr. WATT of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, Reserving the right to 
object, I am advised by the leadership that they have approved these 
committees meeting during legislative business, and so I withdraw my 
reservation of the right to object.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, it is my 
understanding that this includes the Government Reform Committee?
  Mr. GOODLING. If the gentleman will yield, it is the Committee on 
Government Reform and Oversight.
  Mr. HOYER. Reserving the right to object, Mr. Speaker, let me make a 
comment.
  I understand what the leadership has done. But I want to say that 
there is no doubt in my mind that were the roles reversed there would 
be an objection.
  What the Government Reform Committee, and my good friend, the 
gentleman from Florida [Mr. Mica], and the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
[Mr. Clinger] intend to do is, having had a hearing last Monday, 8 days 
ago, they intend to propose effectively increasing the taxes on 30,000 
to 40,000 Federal employees by 12 percent by taking 2\1/2\ points off 
the pretax income of Federal employees as an additional contribution on 
their pension system. Now, that is with 8 days' notice and hearing.
  Now, I hope the committee tomorrow does not take that action. I hope 
they give both Federal employees and the public an opportunity to look 
at that.
  But the reason I reserve my right to object is I
   worked very hard with the Bush administration and OMB under 
President Bush for the purposes of trying to come up with an equitable 
system. The Hudson Institute, a conservative think-tank out of the 
Midwest, in 1987 gave to the Bush administration and to this Congress a 
recommendation that we not touch the pension plan, not touch the 
pension plan until such time as we had fully effected a locality-pay 
adjustment. The Bush administration signed legislation in 1990 to 
effect that over a 9-year period.
  We have done 1 year of that. Notwithstanding that, we are asked for a 
unanimous-consent request so the committee tomorrow, after having a 
hearing last Monday on this issue, move ahead to make a drastic change 
in Federal employee's pensions.
  Now, very frankly, they are going to include congressional pensions. 
If we cannot protect ourselves, that is tough, in my opinion. I do not 
care about that, I tell you, Mr. Speaker. The fact is we ought not be 
doing this with this short notice to Federal employees and, in effect, 
giving them a 12-percent, 10-percent to 12-percent, tax increase.
  [[Page H3119]] I reserve my right to object to make that point. Now, 
apparently the leadership on this side has agreed not to object, and, 
therefore, Mr. Speaker, I am not going to object, but I vigorously 
object to the actions that are being proposed to be taken tomorrow, and 
I will oppose those tomorrow. I will oppose them on the floor, and I 
will oppose them anywhere I can confront them. I hope to be joined by 
some of my friends on that side of the aisle.
  Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. HOYER. Further reserving the right to object, I yield to the 
gentleman from Virginia.
  Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Maryland. I know that 
he recalls that when action of this magnitude was taken in 1986, it was 
the result of 2 years of bipartisan effort to study the Federal 
retirement system, and they came up with a plan that fixed the Federal 
retirement system and, in fact, we are now taking in $62.2 billion a 
year and paying out $36 billion.
  What is being attempted tomorrow is not an attempt to fix the 
retirement system. It is an attempt to accumulate $12 billion in cuts 
in order to finance a tax cut for other Members on the backs of Federal 
employees who, in effect, would have to pay an increase, 12-percent 
increase, in their tax.
  Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my request.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. 
Goodling] withdraws his request.

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