[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 108 (Thursday, June 29, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H6648-H6649]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                     PROGRESS OF THE 104TH CONGRESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Fox] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, tonight I believe we showed 
very clearly how we can have cooperative government moving together. 
The administration, the White House, President Clinton, working 
together with Congress, were able to have a revised rescissions bill 
which, in fact, restored funds for drug free schools in the amount of 
26 million; drug courts, 17 million; adult job training, 58 million; 
AmeriCorps, 105 million, safe drinking water programs, federal TRIO 
program and the school to work programs. But with all of those programs 
that were partially restored, which were agreed to in a bipartisan way, 
almost 270 votes here in the House, we were able to have a net savings 
in spending of 9.2 billion. This is a much-needed down payment on a 
balanced budget that we are trying to reach by the year 2002. Without 
this, the task of balancing the budget in seven years becomes much more 
difficult to achieve.
  You see, Mr. Speaker, my fellow colleagues, what we are trying to do 
is 

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keep the services that we need for people to improve the quality of 
their life and the opportunities to get a job and to raise their 
families and to have the pride of work, but we are trying to eliminate 
the bureaucracies that we have in Washington, and we are doing that 
successfully every day.
  This bill that we just passed tonight cuts a total of 16.5 billion 
from funding levels by eliminating unauthorized programs, duplicative 
programs and eliminates bureaucracies that are wasteful.
  Other reforms I think this Congress can be proud of here at the 6-
month point for the 104th Congress include legislation that calls for a 
gift ban from lobbyists, a reduction of the pensions, which has been 
adopted, for Members, a reduction by one-third of our committee staffs, 
eliminating 3 committees and 25 subcommittees, legislation calling for 
a sunset of Federal regulations and of Federal agencies that have 
become wasteful and are duplicating what has been done in the states.
  All of this has created $165 million of savings just from the House 
of Representatives alone. Overall in our government, 190 billion in 
spending reductions and 90 billion in deficit reduction.
  One more area of reform which I think is important to announce today, 
the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, of which I am a 
Member, under the leadership of the gentleman from Pennsylvania, 
Chairman Bill Clinger, and the Regulatory Subcommittee under the 
gentleman from Indiana, Chairman Dave McIntosh, we began hearings today 
in another important area of new reform; that is, to investigate the 
issue of nonprofit organizations which receive federal funds from 
taxpayers and make use of those funds to support political activity or 
to support a political point of view. People in the United States 
should not have their taxes used for that purpose. That is for private 
purposes, not for the public. President Thomas Jefferson long ago 
criticized such activities as not in keeping with the will of the 
people.
  The U.S. court cases reinforce this position. Just this week, Mr. 
Speaker, the Wall Street Journal outlined in an article that there may 
be as many as 40,000 nonprofit organizations that receive partial 
funding from the Federal Government that may be involved in activities 
which are inappropriate in the sense that they are doing political 
activity for one point of view, and this is inappropriate.
  We received excellent testimony from the United Seniors Association, 
through its spokesperson Jim Martin. He explained that not $1 of his 
organization goes to help represent seniors or the people that are 
involved with the group.
  We also received excellent testimony from Alan Simpson, the U.S. 
Senator, the gentleman from Oklahoma [Mr. Istook], and Mrs. Spare from 
the Association for Retarded Citizens in Pennsylvania.
  I am looking forward, Mr. Speaker, to continuing those hearings and 
to be able to come back to this House with meaningful legislation that 
will make sure that the people's business is being taken care of, less 
waste, more services for the people, and more for what the American 
people want and that is an accountable government.


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