[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 143 (Thursday, September 14, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H8942-H8943]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            MEDICARE CHANGES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from West Virginia [Mr. Wise] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. WISE. Mr. Speaker, while I am going to speak on corridor H and 
its importance to West Virginia, I just want to touch for a second on 
Medicare because today the Speaker of the House and the majority leader 
of the Senate unveiled what the Medicare plan was, and what we see is a 
stealth health bill.
  They did not give us the details. We do not know much more than what 
we have known before. We know that they want to cut $270 billion over 
the next 7 years. That has been out there for a long time. We know 
there are a variety of ways they want to do it, except they do not 
spell the details out. We do know this. While the Speaker says that it 
will cost only $7 a month more in premiums to seniors, it is actually 
going to be, according to the White House, according to other credible 
officials, $20 or $30 a month more.
  We also know this, Mr. Speaker. We know that $270 billion is 2\1/2\ 
times what it necessary by the estimate of the trustees of the Medicare 
plan to make it solvent.
  Mr. Speaker, stealth health is not a good idea, particularly when 
rewriting 30 years of Medicare in a 2-week period. Americans must 
demand to see the plan.


                               Corridor H

  Mr. Speaker, I want to turn to corridor H, because this week in our 
State there are going to be those gathering to discuss the 
environmental aspects of corridor H and, yes, to attack it. I regret 
that. Because I do not think that there has been one highway that is 
more important to West Virginia. I do not think there has been one 
highway that has been more discussed, reviewed, analyzed than corridor 
H has been.
  In a previous speech on this floor, I discussed why corridor H is a 
national highway. Let me now discuss the environmental aspects. All 
those in West Virginia, and many of those from outside West Virginia 
who have recently driven between Elkins and Buckhannon have marveled at 
that four-lane strip. They remember how long that drive was before, not 
only in time and distance but also in just being arduous. They also 
say, what an incredible piece of road.
  Mr. Speaker, that is what we are talking about
   doing now, from Elkins to the Virginia State line, if people would 
just let us, if people would get off our backs and let us move this 
road forward.

  Yes, I was involved in the Elkins to Buckhannon segment, particularly 
when it looked like environmental concerns might either delay it 
several years or possibly threaten it altogether. And working with a 
number of agencies, we were able to pull them together. We were able to 
get the wetlands question dealt with. We were able to deal with the 
acid-mine drainage. We were able to deal with stream crossings. We were 
able to safeguard habitat.
  I am happy to say that we were able to mitigate wetlands in an 
innovative way. If we can do it in that rough section of corridor H, 
surely we can do it for the rest of corridor H as well.
  I think it is important to note that the original plan for corridor H 
was to be a southern route through our State. This was back in the 
1970's. The highway department and others recognized that we could not 
do that under present-day standards. So back in the 1980's, we went 
forward to look at other options and adopted a northern route for 
corridor H. I might point out that some environmental organizers at the 
time said: If you just go the northern route, that is fine with us; we 
just think it ought not to be in the southern route. Well, they got 
their wish. Now, yet some want to contest this.

[[Page H 8943]]

  This project has been to EPA. It has been to Fish and Wildlife. I 
cannot name the alphabet soup of Federal agencies this project has been 
to. And so I would just say, the importance of corridor H, let me talk 
about stream crossings, for instance.

                              {time}  1630

  To avoid contaminating streams with piers supporting the highway, the 
State has agreed to place beams outside the streams that span the 
waterway. The State will develop an erosion-control process and methods 
to seal off acid-bearing strata. The State is going to take 
unprecedented action to purchase extra land and right-of-way to 
accommodate the environmental concerns. The State will reclaim the 
slopes with indigenous plant life, not just grass.
  The State also, in terms of excess earth-work disposal, the State is 
not going to leave this up to the contractors, but in the case of 
corridor H will decide a detailed cleanup and disposal in the contract 
for each specific site.
  There are going to be those gathering this weekend in West Virginia 
to attack corridor H again. Incidentally, I find it interesting that 
much of the attack on corridor H comes from outside of the State, not 
inside the State. I invite them to visit very many of our counties, 
where I am confident that 65 to 75 percent of our population strongly 
supports corridor H. As they gather in West Virginia, and we welcome 
them, of course, I urge them to drive the Elkins to
 Buckhannon segment to see what can be done. If they want to go 
further, they can go from Buckhannon to Weston, and understand the true 
economic significance of corridor H as well. Drive the Buckhannon to 
Elkins segment and see what has been accomplished, see what we have 
been able, working together, to achieve; experience what corridor H is 
bringing to central West Virginia. That is the environment that we all 
love. That is the environment we all want to safeguard. Corridor H can 
continue that process.

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