[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 205 (Wednesday, December 20, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H15286-H15295]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 134, FURTHER 
    CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS TO ENSURE PAYMENT OF VETERANS BENEFITS

  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I 
call up House Resolution 317 and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 317

       Resolved, That upon the adoption of this resolution it 
     shall be in order to consider in the House the joint 
     resolution (H.J. Res. 134) making further continuing 
     appropriations for the fiscal year 1996, and for other 
     purposes. The joint resolution shall be debatable for one 
     hour equally divided and controlled by the chairman and 
     ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations. 
     The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the 
     joint resolution to final passage without intervening motion 
     except one motion to recommit. The motion to recommit may 
     include instructions only if offered by the Minority Leader 
     or his designee.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Georgia [Mr. Linder] is 
recognized for 1 hour.
  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield the 
customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Frost], pending 
which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration 
of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.
  Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 317 allows for consideration of House 
Joint Resolution 134, which will make further continuing appropriation 
to ensure that our veterans continue to receive the payment of their 
benefits during the budget negotiations and the current partial 
Government shutdown. The rule provides for 1 hour of general debate 
equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority 
member of the Committee on Appropriations.
  The rule also provides for one motion to recommit which may include 
instructions if offered by the minority leader or his designee.
  Earlier this week, the President vetoed the conference report for the 
VA-HUD appropriations for fiscal year 1996, and as a result, put the 
Government in the position of reneging on its promise to pay veterans 
benefits checks. We cannot allow our veterans to lose these benefits, 
and this Congress will take any action to protect our service men and 
women and their families.
  This is a simple resolution which deals with one specific issue in 
our Federal budget that we in Congress believe is important enough to 
merit this action. This resolution provides a temporary solution by 
ensuring the payment of veterans benefits in the event of a lack of 
appropriations through fiscal year 1996.
  Mr. Speaker, the 3.3 million veterans in the United States and their 
dependents not only look forward to and need these benefits--they 
deserve these benefits. If we do not act on this temporary funding 
measure tonight, our veterans and their dependents who are expecting 
benefit checks will see a delay in the receipt of these critical funds.
  I have co-sponsored this resolution and I strongly support this 
action to provide our veterans with the benefits that they have earned 
and rightly deserve. Despite the importance of the budget negotiations 
to the future of our Nation, there is no arguing that the men and women 
who have served this Nation do not deserve the financial uncertainty 
that may occur. Both parties are responsible for putting this Nation 
into the fiscal mess that we now face, but this resolution shows that 
we will not punish those who have put their lives on the line to 
protect the freedoms that we enjoy today.
  This resolution was unanimously approved by the Rules Committee and 
it is a fair resolution that will assure that our veterans receive the 
benefits they deserve.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I 
thank my colleague from Georgia for yielding me the customary 30 
minutes.
  Mr. Speaker this continuing resolution is a very small step in the 
right direction.
  This resolution says to American veterans that they should not have 
to pay the price for this ridiculous game of political brinkmanship my 
Republican colleagues are playing. What I do not understand Mr. 
Speaker, is why my republican colleagues believe the entire country 
should pay this price.
  Why don't my republican colleagues tell the 383,000 people who are 
shut out of National Park Service facilities every day that Congress 
cares about them too?
  Why don't my republican colleagues tell the 80,000 people who are 
shut out of the Smithsonian and the National Zoo every day that 
Congress cares about them too?
  Why don't my republican colleagues tell the 2,500 people whose FHA 
home purchase loans aren't being processed that we care about them too?

[[Page H15287]]

  As the gentleman from Massachusetts noted up in the Rules Committee 
earlier this evening, although the Speaker and the Majority Leader 
supposedly had a very productive discussion with the President, a funny 
thing happened to the Speaker at the Republican conference, he found 
out his radical colleagues would rather cut Medicare and Medicaid than 
keep the Government running. He found out that Members of the 
Republican Party won't let a continuing resolution come to the floor at 
all.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I'm sure the country will support my attempt to 
defeat the previous question in order to expand this continuing 
resolution to the entire Government, not just the veterans.
  I'm sure the country wants Congressional Republicans to stop these 
games, leave Medicare alone, and fund the entire Federal Government 
through January 26.
  I urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question.

                              {time}  1900

  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, it is worth pointing out that the State of Arizona has 
kept the Grand Canyon open by working out an intergovernmental 
agreement.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
[Mr. Fox.].
  Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I, too, rise to support House 
Joint Res. 134. This is a bipartisan effort under the leadership of the 
gentleman from Arkansas [Mr. Hutchinson], the chairman of the Committee 
on Veterans' Affairs' Subcommittee on Hospitals and Health Care, and 
our chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, the gentleman from 
Louisiana [Mr. Livingston]. This legislation would ensure, Mr. Speaker, 
the payments to more than 3.3. million veterans and their dependents 
will continue to be made on schedule during the current partial 
Government shutdown. The bill also ensures vendor payments to 
contractors who supply the Veterans Administration with products and 
services vital to the health and the safety of our VA patients.
  The Hutchinson-Livingston bill currently has the support of nearly 30 
Members of both parties and obviously, by the number of speakers here 
this evening, many more Members of the House are in support of this 
important legislation.
  The President's veto of the VA-HUD appropriation bill means the 
veterans' benefit checks will not be paid on time next month, and 
veterans may be denied needed medical supplies if the partial shutdown 
continues. The President could have easily signed the bill and avoided 
putting veterans' benefits at risk and in jeopardy. However, this 
legislation would solve that problem, and I believe that the 
Hutchinson-Livingston bill will assure that GI bill benefits, 
compensation, and pension payments for veterans will continue, as well 
as dependency payments and indemnity compensation for survivors of 
veterans are made on schedule.
  So, I support this legislation, and, Mr. Speaker, I urge my 
colleagues to unanimously vote for its adoption.
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
Wisconsin [Mr. Obey], the ranking Democratic Member on the Committee on 
Appropriations.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, there is not a day that goes by that when I 
pass the Capitol and take a look at the dome that I am not immensely 
proud of the privilege that I have of representing the people of my 
district in this Congress of the United States, in this great Capitol 
Building. I have profound respect and love for this institution and 
respect for every Member in it because of what they represent and who 
they represent. But I have to say there are some times when I get very 
disappointed about the conduct of this institution and people in this 
institution, and tonight is one such occasion.
  Anybody who knows me knows that I have strong partisan views and I am 
not afraid to express them. But I think anybody who has worked with me 
through the years also knows that when it comes to my legislative 
responsibilities, in dealing with my committee work, that I have always 
tried to approach that work in a bipartisan way, and I think the record 
speaks for itself. We produced 9 appropriations subcommittee bills 
under my chairmanship, all of which were bipartisan, and when I chaired 
the Committee on Appropriations last year, we produced an allocation of 
budget resources to all 13 subcommittees, which was a bipartisan 
allocation.
  I think we need that same approach tonight.
  Last night the networks told the country that the President, and the 
Speaker, and Senator Dole had begun talking again about the budget, 
and, as the networks showed tonight, Mr. Panetta came down here today 
expecting to try to negotiate on that and on the question of reopening 
the Federal Government. We are then told on the nightly news that the 
Republican caucus, led by the freshmen, decided to reject any effort 
whatsoever to reopen the Government until a total deal is consummated 
between the White House and the leadership of the Congress.
  As anyone who understands anything about government knows, even if 
agreement on policy were reached tonight, it would take a good period 
of time to draft the legislation necessary to reflect that policy.
  If we are truly interested in meeting our bipartisan 
responsibilities, what we would do is pass this motion before us 
tonight to allow veterans to be paid their benefits, but we would 
expand it so that all of Government, which is closed down, is opened. 
The taxpayers deserve to get the services they are paying for from all 
the workers in the Federal Government, not just those in the Veterans 
Department.
  Mr. Speaker, that is why I will be asking at the appropriate time 
that we defeat the previous question on this rule tonight so that we 
can offer a resolution which would allow all of the Government to 
reopen.
  I think it is just fine that this proposal would allow us to pay 
veterans' benefits, disability, pension, education benefits, but it 
will not allow us to process new claims for veterans' benefits, it will 
not allow us to deal with the same 2,000 claims a day that come for 
those benefits it will not allow us to tell our troops who are on the 
way to Bosnia that they will be guaranteed their military pay raise 
this year, their COLA, because we are not opening all of the Government 
under this resolution.
  I have talked to many of you on the majority side of the aisle, and I 
know you as human beings, and I know that there are a good many of you 
who do not agree with the idea of keeping Government closed down. I 
understand the peer pressure that is being put upon you. But I ask you 
to rise above that tonight and do what is necessary to restore some 
semblance of respect in the country for our processes in this 
institution by reopening all of Government and dealing with our 
divisions on long-term budget policy in a restrained, disciplined, and 
adult manner. That is the only way in my view that we can earn our pay 
the way the public expects us to earn our pay.
  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Glens Falls, NY [Mr. Solomon], the chairman of the 
Committee on Rules.
  Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia [Mr. 
Linder] for yielding this time to me, and I would just say to my very 
good friend, the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Obey], who I have a 
great deal of respect for, he has been here longer than I have; I have 
been here for close to 18 years now, I guess; but I just want the 
gentleman to know, yes, the freshman feel very strongly that we are 
going to stay here, and we are going to get this job done, we are going 
to balance this budget. But, as my colleagues know, there are others, 
too. I feel like an 18-year veteran freshman because I feel the same 
way.
  Mr. Speaker, I have been here during times when Ronald Reagan, when 
that great President, tried to bring about this revolution. He could 
not do it because he did not have the control of both Houses. And then 
I recall a time later on in 1985 when this body had the courage to pass 
something called Gramm-Rudman. As my colleagues know, that was a 
balanced budget. That was an attempt to do what we are doing now, to 
balance the budget over a 5-year period, and even though we did not 
have the right figures to work with, we were making those cuts.

[[Page H15288]]

  As my colleagues know, I have a button in my pocket here that says, 
``It is the spending, stupid,'' and that is the problem out here.
  But my colleagues know we conscientiously, with good Democrats 
supporting us, passed Gramm-Rudman, and the only problem with it is 
that in bringing that to a balanced budget over 5 years, we did not 
make any cuts in years 1, 2, and 3. We only did it in years 4 and 5.
  So what happened? The Congress sent out all their press releases, we 
are going to balance the budget. But then what happened in year 1? We 
did not have to make the hard cuts, so we got through that, we got 
through year 2, we got through year 3, and all of a sudden it became 
too difficult, and we abandoned that attempt to balance the budget.
  I am going to say to my friends on the other side of the aisle that 
is not going to happen this time. No matter what, we are going to 
balance that budget, and that means staying on the glidepath, staying 
on that glidepath in the very first year.
  Now having said that, that is what I guess I get so upset about, and 
I am going to be calm here tonight, but when the President then vetoes 
this bill which has all these benefits in it, it just irritates me 
because we have to say on that glidepath.
  We had a part of the pie which was allocated for the Department of 
Veterans Affairs, Department of Housing, the Environmental Protection 
Agency, and all of these other sundry departments, bureaus, and 
agencies, and we were willing to say to the President, ``Please, you 
tell us how you would like to divide up that part of the pie,'' and he 
would not do it. He would not tell us. So we sent him our way that we 
would divide it up, and do my colleagues know what we did because there 
is not enough money there for all of these programs? We first 
determined that the medical care delivery system function of the VA 
Department of Veterans Affairs had to have about a $550 million 
increase in order to maintain the veterans hospitals outpatient 
clinics, et cetera, and in order to get that, then we had to cut and 
reduce the growth of the other programs like NASA, like EPA, like 
Department of Housing, and that was our way of staying on this 
glidepath.
  Now the President has vetoed that bill, and that is why we are here 
today. In doing so we have not reached a conclusion, and the veterans' 
checks for medical compensation will not be going out unless we pass 
this piece of legislation.
  That is why today, after hearing all this rhetoric out here, I 
believe everybody is going to come over here, and they are going to 
vote for this very important bill. We need to do it. We need to do it 
for these people that have sacrificed their lives for their country, 
that have come home wounded and disabled, and that is where most of 
this money will go. This continuing resolution would allow them to get 
their checks on time.
  So let us put aside the rhetoric, let us go ahead and pass this bill 
and make sure that those checks go out on the lst of January.
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Massachusetts [Mr. Moakley].
  Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, the rule we are considering today is a very 
good rule. American veterans should not have to pay the price for the 
Republican inability to pass appropriations bills, nor do I think the 
American people should be used as pawns in a political game.
  That's why I will be supporting the effort to defeat the previous 
question so that we can expand this continuing resolution to the entire 
Government not just the veterans. And everyone in this Chamber will 
have a chance to vote for that amendment to stop these games and fund 
the entire Federal Government through January 26.
  I look forward to seeing all of my colleagues put politics aside and 
vote against the previous question so we can offer an amendment to fund 
the entire Government.
  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, for purposes of debate only, I yield 3 
minutes to the gentleman from Florida [Mr. Scarborough].
  Mr. SCARBOROUGH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia [Mr. 
Linder] for yielding this time to me, and I think it is important that 
we clarify a few things.
  First of all, we are not here tonight because of Congress' inability 
to pass an appropriation bill regarding veterans. We have done that. It 
is the President who vetoed it for his own political purposes, and that 
is why the Republican Congress has had to come forward with help, with 
bipartisan help, on the Committee on Rules to pass this important rule.
  The national parks. I heard somebody complain about the national 
parks being closed. We did our job, we passed the bill; the President 
vetoed it.
  The employees of Commerce, State, and Justice did not work today, not 
because we did not do our job. We passed the bill; the President vetoed 
it.
  VA-HUD, EPA, Independent Agencies; all of these agencies would be 
open today but for the fact that the President of the United States did 
not sign into law the appropriation bills that we passed.
  We did our job, and now if I can address comments from the gentleman 
from Wisconsin who stated, and I quote, that he is disappointed in the 
conduct of Congress tonight.

                              {time}  1915

  I respectfully would state to the gentleman that Americans who 
elected me and Americans who swept the Republicans into Congress for 
the first time in 40 years have been disappointed in the conduct of 
this institution over the past 40 years, not just tonight, but over the 
past 40 years, when we only managed to balance the budget one time in 
40 years.
  As far as respecting, and I am quoting again, ``Respecting the 
process in Congress and moving forward in a restrained, disciplined 
manner,'' let me ask what is so restrained and disciplined about 
passing deficit bills for 40 years; of running up a $4.9 trillion debt? 
If that is discipline, if that is restraint, then count me out. There 
is nothing restrained or disciplined about that.
  We are here tonight as part of a bigger showdown. The one thing that 
I hope all of us in this Chamber can agree on, and I see the gentleman 
from Mississippi, Sonny Montgomery, a champion of veterans for years, a 
Democrat, who has been out front on it, what I hope we can all do 
tonight is unite together and make sure those veterans that sacrificed 
for this country to protect and defend the Constitution, hope that they 
will not be left out in the lurch tonight.
  I hope we can join together, pass this important rule, and pass this 
bill. The veterans should not be part of this political battle simply 
because the President of the United states did not like environmental 
policies of the Republican party. We need to separate them. Veterans' 
benefits should not be held hostage. The veterans earned it, they 
sacrificed, they stayed away from their families.
  I hear a lot of Members whining about not being with their families 
this year. Think about the future veterans who are in Bosnia tonight. 
That is the sacrifice veterans have been doing. We need to protect 
veteran's rights.
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
Michigan [Mr. Bonior].
  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, we had an agreement.
  Last night, the President agreed to sit down and talk. The Senate 
majority leader agreed to sit down and talk. Even the Speaker of the 
House agreed to sit down and talk.
  They had a deal.
  They had a commitment to go forward.
  But the Speaker is not willing or able to keep that commitment today. 
Why?
  Because a small minority in this House, who don't represent the views 
of the people, who don't represent the views of this House, who don't 
represent the mainstream of America, who want to shut down this 
Government, and force their priorities on the American people.
  The only reason the Government is shut down tonight is because 73 
militant freshman Republicans can't get their way.
  And once again, national parks are closed.
  Benefit checks for 3.3 million veterans are threatened; 60,000 
students and parents applying for Pell Grants and student loans are 
being denied.
  Small businesses have not received the loans they need.
  
[[Page H15289]]

  And hundreds of calls to the EPA's hotline for drinking water 
contamination have gone unanswered.
  All because a small group of extreme Republicans are holding America 
hostage.
  And what are they holding out for?
  Tax breaks for the wealthiest people and the wealthiest corporations 
in America, paid for by extreme cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, education, 
and the environment.
  In other words, they are holding out for the biggest transfer in 
income--from the middle class to the wealthy--in the history of 
America.
  The Speaker gave his word last night--that the talks would start--
that we would move forward, but today, he can't or won't deliver.
  Who is in control here?
  Who speaks for the Republican Party?
  Does the Speaker expect us to believe that he can't persuade his own 
membership to stand behind his word?
  This is a sad and irresponsible act by a party who claims to be 
leading a second American revolution.
  Mr. Speaker we are 5 days away from Christmas.
  For many of us, this holiday is about more than just gifts and 
reindeer.
  It's one of the most sacred and joyous religious holidays of the 
year.
  It's a time to celebrate our faith and a time to hold close to our 
families.
  It is a disgrace to watch this spectacle of partisan gamesmanship 
overshadow one of the most holy days of the year.
  For over 200,000 families who have been shut out of work today, they 
are facing the Christmas season without another paycheck.
  It is wrong to hold these people hostage.
  It is wrong to hold our Government hostage.
  It is wrong to hold this Nation hostage to the views of an extreme 
minority who are trying to force their way.
  The American people deserve better.
  Defeat the previous question and get America back to work.
  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Arizona [Mr. Hayworth].
  Mr. HAYWORTH. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to 
me.
  Mr. Speaker, I listened with great interest to our friend, the 
minority whip, who used the phrase ``partisan gamesmanship.'' I think 
that accurately describes the diatribe which he launched here from this 
well just a few moments ago; this mindless mantra, always dealing with 
fiction rather than fact, and now separating out the newest Members of 
the House, those who made a new majority and who, Mr. Speaker, if we 
are extreme, are only extreme in terms of making extremely good sense.
  The gentleman noted the spiritual significance of the days coming 
now. At the risk of being politically incorrect, I would offer this 
scriptural admonition, for He whose birth we will celebrate in a few 
days said, ``It is more blessed to give than to receive.'' So let us 
give our children the chance for a meaningful future. Let us give this 
entire Nation a chance to survive and prosper into the next century and 
beyond. Let us also give our veterans, those who have served with 
distinction, the benefits they deserve.
  No, the gamesmanship and the interesting interpretations of what 
transpires in this body are best left to the fiction writers. The 
American people will understand the fiction inherent in the comments of 
the gentleman from Michigan. Members of Congress will recognize their 
responsibility to pass this rule, and to pass this legislation, and to 
ensure that our veterans are provided for, and indeed, this entire 
Nation is provided for.
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Massachusetts [Mr. Frank].
  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, the Republicans' problem is 
with the Constitution. They want to make very drastic, extreme changes 
in programs like Medicaid and environmental protection, and they do not 
have the votes, so they have decided to take the Government hostage. 
But they are getting a little heat. They did not have a game plan.
  So what do they do? They come up now and say, ``We will let the 
veterans' checks get paid, but we will not let the EPA function, we 
will not let housing authorities function so veterans who live in 
housing will be hurt, but we will let the VA function.'' So now I 
understand their game plan. It is literally a game plan. This one is 
``Red Rover, Red Rover, let the Veterans' Department come over,'' and 
then we will do that. Tomorrow, we will hear from another group that is 
complaining, and it will be time to ``Let the housing department come 
over.''
  I do not know what has come over them, but it certainly is not 
rational government.
  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Arkansas [Mr. Hutchinson].
  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time 
to me.
  Mr. Speaker, I would say to the previous speaker that it is not a 
game at all. The reason we are in the situation that we are in right 
now is because President Clinton determined that he would veto a very 
good and very fair veterans' appropriation bill. We did our job. We are 
faced with the dilemma we are tonight faced with because he chose to 
veto that bill.
  A previous speaker referred to this as a game of brinksmanship. It is 
not a game of brinksmanship. It is not a game of dare. It is not a game 
at all. There are very high stakes about what this is all concerned 
with. That is the future of this Nation, the future of our children, 
the future of our grandchildren, what kind of hope we are going to give 
them, what kind of life and what kind of standard of living our 
veterans are going to have.
  It has saddened me deeply that the President, who hails from my 
State, has chosen, has gone to the lengths of using every vulnerable 
part of our society as pawns in this budget debate: little children and 
their school lunches; students and their loans; the disabled, as if 
they are going to be thrown in the streets; senior citizens, as if they 
are going to lose their Medicare; and now, the veterans of this Nation, 
used as pawns.
  Tragically enough, the usual bipartisan support that has existed for 
veterans of this country has begun to unravel as the VA has become more 
and more politicized, attacking those in good faith who want to tend 
and care for our veterans, a concerned campaign to scare the most 
vulnerable.
  There was a veto. Had it not been for that veto, we would not face 
this situation that we face right now. We would have the veterans cared 
for. What was vetoed was this: An appropriation bill that in 1996 would 
have provided $399 million more for medical care than the 1995 level, a 
total of $16.5 billion; medical research would increase $5 million, to 
$257 million.
  During the next 7 years, more than $275 billion will be spent on 
veterans' programs under our appropriation bill. That is $40 billion 
more than was spent during the last 7 years. We increase veterans' 
programs by $40 billion at a time that the VA population, the veteran 
population, will be decreasing. That reflects a deep commitment for the 
welfare of our veterans.
  In spite of that appropriation bill being vetoed, tonight we will do 
the responsible thing and we will pass this CR to ensure that not one 
veteran's benefit check is delayed even 1 day, in spite of the 
President's veto. I urge support.
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Colorado [Mrs. Schroeder].
  Mrs. SCHROEDER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for 
yielding time to me.
  Mr. Speaker, I come to this floor to plead with people to please, 
please, let us have a Christmas truce. Yes, I am very pleased Members 
are going to open the gates finally for veterans, and not hold them 
hostage in this incredible war on the budget. But what are you going to 
say to small business men who cannot get their loans and need to be 
moving forward? What are you going to say to students who need to be 
making their plans for going on to school, over 60,000 of them? What 
about the Federal workers whose lives have been put into a total 
tailspin, not knowing what is going on. What about the parks? Why are 
these people guilty? Why are they the hostages of this budget war? Why 
should they be the hostages?
  Mr. Speaker, I am from Northern Ireland. That is where my relatives 
come 

[[Page H15290]]
from. They used to even be able to have peace during the Christmas 
period, and they have been fighting forever. We now see in Bosnia all 
sorts of groups met in Dayton, OH, and they were able to come up with 
some kind of a peace. These folks should not be held hostage while 
these negotiations go on and while people argue about how big is the 
table, how many people get to sit there, what kind of food, where are 
we going to have the meeting. What is going on? Petty, petty, petty 
stuff. We cannot even get the thing launched and going.
  To say to Americans who all work for this same flag, who all pay 
money to this flag as taxpayers, and who all think it means something, 
they have got to be really asking questions when for the second time 
this year, 3 months into the fiscal year, we are slamming the door shut 
again. I am pleased that we are opening it for veterans, but please, 
vote against the previous question so we can open the door for all, and 
in the name of the season and in the name of shedding the rhetoric, let 
us not hold hostage innocent people who do not have a dog in this 
fight.

                              {time}  1930

  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Alabama [Mr. Bachus].
  Mr. BACHUS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, many years ago there was written on a wall in Gibraltar 
these words:

     God and the soldier all men adore;
     In time of trouble and not before.
     When trouble is gone, and all wrongs are righted,
     God is forgotten, and the old soldier slighted.

  Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, today the President once again 
insulted and offended and slighted our military men and our veterans 
when he stood up and claimed that it was Republicans who were 
preventing their benefit checks from being mailed to them, their 
dependents and their widows.
  Mr. Speaker, the President has offended our veterans on many, many 
occasions, and I think our veterans have tried to overlook this in the 
past. When he told his draft board many years ago that he was too 
educated to fight, to wear the uniform, they overlooked that. We all 
said, he was young, those of us who did serve, and we overlooked that. 
We excused the fact that he went to England and he led demonstrations. 
He was young. It was his right to lead demonstrations.
  Then, when he became our President and we had doubts, then we started 
hearing that his staff and the staff of the First Lady showed open 
disdain for our military fighting men at the White House, and it again 
made us question this President and his respect for our fighting men.
  Then sadly, recently, he sent our fighting men and women into harm's 
way in Bosnia, and many of us questioned that. We questioned the fact 
that when he was at the University of Arkansas, he told Colonel Holmes, 
we should not be involved in a civil war, they are dangerous. Yet, he 
sent our fighting men and women into an ancient civil war.
  More recently, he wrote in his journal, and later affirmed that he 
still believed this, that:

       From my work, I came to believe that no government rooted 
     in democracy should have the power to make its citizens fight 
     and kill and die in a war they oppose, a war which, in any 
     case, does not involve immediately the peace and freedom of 
     the Nation.

  Does he believe now that we should not send our fighting men and 
women into a war that does not involve immediately the peace and 
freedom of the Nation? Regardless, that is what he has done.
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, the previous speaker has brought into question the 
patriotism of the President of the United States. I would like to point 
out to the people on the other side the old saying that ``People in 
glass houses should not throw stones.''
  Of the current elected Republican leadership of the House, not a 
single Member of the elected leadership of the Republican House has 
served in the military. The Speaker did not serve in the military. The 
majority leader did not serve in the military. The whip did not serve 
in the military. My counterpart, the chairman of the Republican 
Campaign Committee, did not serve in the military.
  On the Democratic side, the minority leader [Mr. Gephardt] served in 
the military. The minority whip [Mr. Bonior], served in the military. I 
served in the military.
  I resent the remarks made by the previous speaker, directed at the 
President of the United States, and I would suggest that he direct 
those remarks to the Members of his own leadership who chose not to 
serve in the military.
  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I might point out that none of those 
Republican leaders sent people into a war zone.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida [Mr. 
Goss].
  (Mr. GOSS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia [Mr. 
Linder] for yielding me this time.
  I do not claim to have been in leadership here, but I did serve in 
the Army, and I was proud to do it, and I am very concerned about the 
veterans.
  Mr. Speaker, Americans need to understand that the reason many 
Federal agencies--including the administrative services of the 
Veterans' Administration--are closed today is because our President, 
President Clinton, vetoed three major appropriations bills that were 
sent to him last week, before the shutdown began. It appears that he 
vetoed those bills to score political points. We can only assume that 
he did so in order to evade serious discussions about balancing the 
budget in 7 years. Regardless of all the propaganda coming out of the 
White House, there is no escaping the facts: If the President had done 
his job and signed those spending bills on time, we would not be facing 
yet another day of Federal shutdown of this magnitude, and our Nation's 
Veterans would not be worried about receiving their benefit checks on 
time this month. However, because our President vetoed those bills and 
because President Clinton still refuses to come to the table with a 
balanced budget proposal using real numbers and meeting the 7-year 
commitment that he agreed to, we now are taking steps to provide 
limited spending authority on behalf of our Nation's veterans. House 
Joint Resolution 134 will provide the funds necessary to keeping 
veterans' services up and running throughout this negotiations process. 
We know the shutdown has been difficult for many Americans besides 
veterans and we are willing to keep working at the discussions to bring 
this stalemate to an end. All we need is for the President to stop the 
posturing and come to the table in good faith--and remain true to his 
word.
  If the President spent more time at the negotiating conference and 
less time at the press conference, I believe we would get the job done.
  Mr. Frost. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas 
[Mr. Doggett].
  Mr. Doggett. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, I think if we needed any example of why it is we have 
the mess in Washington that we have tonight, it has been provided by 
some of the speakers among our Republican colleagues, people that come 
here wanting to even old political scores instead of trying to even up 
the budget and get the Government back to work. It is wrong.
  America wants to put an end to the politics and to have a little good 
sense and maybe even a tad of goodwill at this time of the year.
  It has been said that we would not have this problem if the President 
had not vetoed a particular piece of legislation. Thank heavens he had 
the courage to do that, because that is a piece of legislation that a 
majority of this House, including a number of Members from the 
Republican side, voted to recommit with instructions that over $200 
million added in medical benefits and health care benefits for our 
veterans.
  After a lot of arm-twisting, some of our Republican colleagues backed 
off of the bill and brought it back without those resources in it.
  This is a bill our veterans can understand that the President vetoed. 
It is a bill that provided for unilateral disarmament. It required a 
tremendous cut 

[[Page H15291]]
in the law enforcement powers to enforce our clean air and our clean 
water. Thank heavens the President had the courage to veto that bill 
and then to say, as with some of these other measures, let us keep the 
Government going. Let us protect our veterans and our clean air and our 
clean water by operating the Government instead of having a high-jack 
or a blackmail with reference to that.
  Yet, I read, as did the thousands of veterans in Austin, TX in 
today's paper, that unless this Congress acted by tomorrow, they would 
not get the benefits that they worked for and deserve.
  Mr. Speaker, they are not the only people. In Texas, because of the 
inaction of this Republican majority, Texas will not get $24 million 
for child support enforcement. I think our veterans are important, but 
I think it is important to take care of child support; an the same 
thing is true of ``workfare'' and child care as well. We need to get 
this Government going again, not just to take care of one problem, but 
take care of all of them.
  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New 
Jersey [Mr. Frelinghusen].
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me 
this time.
  I rise in strong support of both the rule and the resolution. As a 
member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on VA-HUD and Independent 
Agencies that provides funding for our veterans, I want to make it 
clear, we did our job, we passed our bill, we provided for our Nation's 
veterans. For some to suggest otherwise, I think is an outrage.
  Surely the President must have well understood when he vetoed the VA-
HUD bill on Monday that in fact he was jeopardizing health benefit 
checks for our veterans. Frankly, we would not be here today had the 
President signed the VA-HUD bill and these other appropriations bills. 
Without the support of the President, we are taking this necessary 
action to honor our financial commitment to our veterans. Our veterans 
deserve nothing less. We need to support the rule and the bill.
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
California [Mr. Miller].
  (Mr. MILLER of California asked and was given permission to revise 
and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, it has been suggested the last 
couple of days that the shutdown of the Federal Government by the 
Republicans is a matter of high principle, but apparently that is not 
so, because if you have the strength of the veterans' lobbies and you 
have the concerns of this Congress that we have for veterans, you can 
escape that. But if you are trying to refinance your home or you are 
trying to buy your first home or you are trying to provide for your 
family, you will be out of luck.
  This is not a matter of high principle; this is again another temper 
tantrum. The first temper tantrum was thrown by the Speaker; the second 
is now by the Republican caucus that insists that if they do not get 
their way at the outset of the talks, then the Government must be shut 
down.
  Mr. Speaker, we are here rewarding veterans for their service to this 
country to protect a democracy. Dictating the terms at the outset of 
negotiations is not in keeping with the democratic spirit or principles 
of this Government. So I think we ought to understand why we are here.
  The President had the courage to veto a very bad bill; the 
Republicans do not have the courage to face the consequences, and yet 
they want to dictate the terms of the shutdown of the Federal 
Government.
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Virginia [Mr. Moran].
  Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I would urge that we vote against this rule, 
because veterans, every veteran is a former public servant, every 
veteran is a citizen, every veteran is a taxpayer.
  Veterans do not just care about their own benefit checks, they care 
about the Federal workers that have been locked out of their jobs that 
cannot provide Christmas for their families this week. They care about 
the other Americans who are denied services because the Government is 
shut down, and they care about the other taxpayers, taxpayers who will 
pay out, as of today, $900 million to Federal employees to not work.
  Federal employees want to be on the job, and yet every Republican on 
the Committee on Rules voted against an amendment that I offered that 
would let Federal employees go to work and then get paid subsequently, 
and those who chose not togo to work would not get reimbursed, but at 
least we would not be paying money for people not to work. I cannot 
believe we are creating this situation where we now are going to pay 
almost $1 billion for no work performed.
  We have an opportunity tonight to rectify an unconscionable 
situation, unconscionable to Federal employees, to taxpayers, to the 
entire American public. We ought to do it, do it now, add it to this 
rule. But without it being added to the rule, we ought to vote it down.
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas 
[Mr. de la Garza].
  Mr. de la GARZA. Mr. Speaker, I am getting tired of finger-pointing, 
blaming the President and Mrs. Clinton for everything that is 
happening.
  My friends, we are here tonight on the verge of closing the 
Government because you did not pass the appropriations bills in time. 
That is the main reason. It is a legislative failure, Mr. Speaker; the 
Republicans failed.
  I have told my colleagues, and I will tell them again, my colleagues 
waited 40 years to be in power and they have messed it up the first 
year.

                              {time}  1945

  You did not pass the appropriation bills in time. You are saying the 
President vetoed them this week.
  Where were you when the fiscal year ended? You have the majority. You 
have an overwhelming majority, and the veterans and the people of this 
country should know it was a legislative failure.
  It has nothing to do with the President. He does not legislate it. 
You, my friends, messed it up. You messed it up royally. You cannot 
blame it on the President. It was pure simple legislative failure and 
you made it fail.
  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Indiana [Mr. Burton].
  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding me the time.
  Mr. Speaker, the President vetoed the bill. We did not veto the bill. 
The President vetoed the bill. I think America should know that.
  Let me just talk about something else that came to may attention 
tonight that really concerns me. I went to a conference that the 
Republicans had today and we were unanimous, like a fist of steel, we 
are unanimous, 235, that we are going to get a balanced budget in 7 
years using CBO figures. But I watched television tonight, and I saw 
Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather and their people saying that our party is 
split all to heck and that Newt Gingrich cannot lead, and it is all 
because of the freshmen that we have this problem.
  Let me tell Dan Rather and Peter Jennings and Tom Brokaw and the 
Democrats and the President, and anybody else, we are united. We want a 
balanced budget in 7 years using CBO figures and we will not be 
deterred. I do not care what you guys tell the media. The media was 
spewing out exactly what the Democrats have been telling the people 
tonight. It is wrong.
  We are united, we are not going to deviate. We are going to get a 
balanced budget in 7 years using CBO figures or else. I just want to 
tell everybody that I get a little bit concerned when I see the 
national media spewing out garbage that I know to be false. We had a 
conference today and when Newt Gingrich walked into that room, he got a 
standing ovation. Everybody applauded. And yet they keep telling us on 
television, he cannot lead our party.
  He is leading our party, he is doing a great job. We are united. So, 
Mr. President, Mr. Brokaw, Mr. Jennings, Mr. Rather, my Democrat 
colleagues, we are united, we are going to get it one way or another, 
and we are not going to pass any more CRs until we do.
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from 
Wisconsin [Mr. Obey].
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, evidently what the previous speaker is saying 
is they have not been able to fool the public, they have not been able 
to fool the President, they have not been able 

[[Page H15292]]
to fool the press, and somehow it is somebody's fault but not their 
own.
  If you want to know why your position is not selling, if you want to 
know why you are in trouble, look in the mirror. It is because of the 
way you have been acting. Do not blame somebody else for your own 
failure to meet your responsibilities. People know what you are doing. 
They have caught on. They do not like it and they want you to change 
it.
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Illinois [Mr. Durbin].
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. Speaker, this is a sad situation. I do not take any 
comfort in standing in this well realizing that a quarter of a million 
Federal employees have been sent home.
  Some people on the Republican side of the aisle believe that this is 
part of a grand political strategy. They say it is a matter of 
principle. If it is a matter of principle, you should put your own 
paychecks on the line, not the paychecks of innocent Federal employees 
who showed up for work ready to do their job, and were sent home to an 
uncertain future and for many of them an unhappy Christmas season.
  But the sad fact of the matter is, neither Speaker Newt Gingrich nor 
any of the Republican leaders has been willing to put his paycheck on 
the line and say, as a matter of principle, ``I will not get paid until 
this budget crisis is over.'' No, you will all be in line to get your 
checks but you say to a quarter of a million Federal employees, ``You 
are the ones who will have to sacrifice for principle.''
  So tonight comes this resolution because, quite frankly, we all honor 
the veterans. We want to do our best by them, and maybe inadvertently, 
but certainly you have to admit it is a fact, the veterans are 
losing out because of the Republican strategy. They may not get their 
checks in time, and the Republicans are afraid of that. They are afraid 
of facing veterans' groups, trying to explain how this crazy strategy 
of theirs did not penalize any Republican Members of Congress but may 
have penalized some veterans unwittingly.

  I will be with you on the veterans, but let me tell you, do not 
forget the other people you are hurting.
  When you suspend medical research at the National Institutes of 
Health, you are hurting every family in America. When you suspend the 
awarding of Pell grants and student loans to kids from working 
families, you are hurting every family in America. When you suspend the 
activities of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, you are 
saying to families who have been dreaming for a lifetime that they 
might own their own home, ``Wait until Newt is ready.'' That is unfair.
  If it is a matter of principle, put your own paycheck on the line. Do 
not put the paychecks of 250,000 innocent Federal employees on the 
line. Support ``no budget, no pay.'' It is the only way to end this 
crisis.
  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Florida [Mr. Stearns].
  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, what kind of message are we sending tonight to those 
currently stationed in various war zones around the world?
  We really should not be blaming each other, no matter what party we 
are from.
  All of us should urge passage of this legislation. I think it is 
clear tonight, if the President had signed the VA-HUD bill, we would 
not be in this sorry position that we are in here tonight. We would not 
have to have a continuing resolution to ensure that our veterans 
receive their rightful and hard-earned benefits.
  I could sit here tonight and blame you and you could blame us. But 
tonight we should all come together and pass this continuing 
resolution. Maybe the President had a good reason to not sign the VA-
HUD appropriations bill. Maybe he had his reasons and maybe a lot of 
your agree with him, but I have been here before when I saw you provide 
a VA-HUD bill that we did not like.
  But now the bickering is over. There is no use screaming and 
hollering. Let us think about our veterans first and let us proceed and 
pass this continuing resolution. But, frankly, I think all of us should 
realize that this problem can be solved by the President signing the 
VA-HUD appropriations bill; we would not be here tonight this close to 
Christmas discussing this if he had signed the VA-HUD appropriation 
bill.
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Connecticut [Ms. DeLauro].
  Ms. DeLauro. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of our veterans and 
against the previous question.
  I am pleased that America's veterans will not be held hostage to the 
budget impasse. What I do not understand is why Republicans are willing 
to make this concession for veterans but not for the 250,000 Federal 
employees who are out of work because of the shutdown.
  As we embark on the holiday season, I ask my Republican colleagues to 
think about those 250,000 families.
  The gentleman from Virginia [Mr. Moran] came to the floor yesterday 
and put a human face on the Government shutdown when he told a story 
about his visit to a local elementary school. He said that the teachers 
told him that the children were not enjoying the holidays as they had 
in the past.
  Why are these children not enjoying the holidays? Because many of 
their parents are Federal employees, hardworking men and women who now 
find themselves out of work at Christmastime. They want to be working.
  And the children? They hear their parents fighting, they know that 
Mom and Dad are not working. They listen to their parents explain that 
this will be a lean Christmas because they do not know when or if they 
will get their next paycheck.
  It is right that we are making certain that veterns do not suffer 
because the Republican majority failed to produce a budget. Now it is 
time to summon the same compassion for the 250,000 families who are the 
unfortunate pawns in Speaker Gingrich's game of budget blackmail.
  The Speaker would have you believe that he did not want to break his 
promise to the President to reopen the Government. He claims that the 
extremists in his party forced his hand. But we all know that this 
extreme agenda is the Speaker's agenda, to cut Medicare and Medicaid 
and education to pay for a tax break for the wealthiest Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, give Americans an early Christmas present, a budget that 
reflects their priorities and not yours.
  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Florida [Mr. Weldon].
  Mr. WELDON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the President of the 
United States had the opportunity to sign an appropriations bill that 
we presented to him which would have funded the Veterans 
Administration, as well as the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, as well as NASA.


                             point of order

  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, point of order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaHood). The Chair recognizes the 
gentleman from Texas for a point of order.
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman has removed the button from his 
lapel.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Florida may proceed.
  Mr. WELDON of Florida. I thank the Speaker.
  Again I would like to resume and just point out that the President 
had the opportunity to fund NASA. He had the opportunity to fund the 
VA. And he chose not to. He chose to veto that bill. Today we have a 
good piece of legislation before us here which will at least keep the 
veterans' checks going to our needy veterans, the veterans in District 
15 of Florida that need them.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation and I rise 
in strong support of the rule.
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Florida [Mrs. Thurman].
  Mrs. THURMAN. Mr. Speaker, it is time to stop the suffering of the 
people. But, that can be done only if we bring a clean continuing 
resolution to the House floor tonight.
  Is the other side afraid of the outcome of a vote on a straight, 
clean CR? If not, then give the House a chance. Straight. Up or down.
  A month ago, we exempted from this Republican-imposed government 
shutdown the Federal workers who help people on social security. 
Tonight, we are helping veterans.

[[Page H15293]]

  Who is next? What about the first-time home buyer whose HUD loan 
cannot be approved by the end of the month? What about the senior 
citizen who needs a simple hot meal once a day? Or the student applying 
for a college loan?
  These programs also are affected by the inaction of the other side of 
the aisle. My Democratic colleagues colleagues and I are willing to 
keep vital functions operating during budget negotiations. A shutdown 
is not necessary for negotiations. Indeed, a shutdown could have been 
avoided if, as in the 103d Congress, the majority had passed its 
appropriations bills by mid-November.
  Because I support not only veterans but also new home buyers, needy 
students, and senior citizens, I urge Members of good will toward their 
fellow Americans to pass a clean CR tonight.
  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I have one speaker left, and I reserve the 
right to close.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I would inquire the amount of time I have 
remaining.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas [Mr. Frost] has 
3\1/2\ minutes remaining.
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Connecticut [Mr. Gejdenson].
  Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Speaker, by the action of the Republicans this 
evening, we see how easy it would be to make whole all the Federal 
employees, all the people out there looking for services, while we 
continue to negotiate an agreement for 7 years. There virtually is no 
difference in spending in 1996.
  We are going to take care of veterans' benefits in this one instance. 
But if you are a veteran working for the Federal Government in one of 
the other agencies that shut down tonight, you are not getting a 
paycheck or you are in limbo at the moment. If you are a veteran trying 
to get a new student loan, you cannot get that student loan because we 
are taking care of one small group of veterans as compared to all the 
veterans out there asking Federal services.

                              {time}  2000

  If you are a veteran looking for an SBA loan to bridge some spending 
for your company or to help you reorganize so you can keep your 
business and your family together, you do not have any Government 
services today. Veterans who are waiting for the benefits of biomedical 
research are left out. We need to solve all our country's problems and 
the veterans and we could do it tonight.
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute and 30 seconds to the 
gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Hoyer].
  My. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, Americans, as I said earlier today, are 
distressed. They are angry. They do not understand why adult presumably 
responsible individuals they have sent to represent them from 435 
districts throughout America cannot honestly debate and come to resolve 
the differences between them and, indeed, to compromise.
  Our Speaker has said that he will cooperate but not compromise. There 
is not an American who lives who has been in a family who knows that 
compromise is essential if those with differences are to make progress.
  We have shut down a portion of the Government. Not only will it not 
solve the budget deficit problem, it will add to it. There is a cost to 
doing that. Those of you on your side of the aisle talk about privatize 
go and contracting out and in fact we have done that. A lot of people 
talk about Federal employees, but let me tell you, there are a lot of 
contractors out there for NASA, somebody mentioned NASA, who have been 
told, you cannot work. They and their employees are not drawing a 
salary. And notwithstanding Mr. Gingrich's letter, nobody is saying 
they are going to be reimbursed. My colleagues, America expects of us 
responsibility. America expects us to act in a fashion which will bring 
credit to our Government and to our country. I am going to vote for 
this resolution but it ought to be a resolution affect go all of the 
Government that is shut down.


                         parliamentary inquiry

  Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I have a parliamentary 
inquiry.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaHood). The gentleman will state it.
  Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I have a privileged 
resolution. When would be the proper time to bring it before this body?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair will not respond to that at this 
point without knowledge of the resolution.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Frost].
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker. I urge a note vote on the previous question. If the 
previous question is defeated, I shall offer an amendment to the rule 
which would make in order the text of House Joint Resolution 131. This 
resolution would provide for a clean continuing resolution that would 
fund the Government through January 26th and would also provide for the 
military pay raise and retiree COLA provided for in the Defense 
authorization bill that was passed by the House earlier this month. 
This amendment is in addition to the continuation of veterans' 
benefits. I include the text of the amendment at this point in the 
Record.

                             H.J. Res. 131

       Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
     United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. FURTHER CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS.

       Section 106(c) of Public Law 104-56 is amended by striking 
     ``December 15, 1995'' and inserting ``January 26, 1996''.

     SEC. 2. MILITARY PAY RAISE FOR FISCAL YEAR 1996.

       (a) Waiver of Section 1009 Adjustment.--Any adjustment 
     required by section 1009 of title 37, United States Code, in 
     elements of compensation of members of the uniformed services 
     to become effective during fiscal year 1996 shall not be 
     made.
       (b) Increase in Basic Pay and BAS.--Effective on January 1, 
     1996, the rates of basic pay and basic allowance for 
     subsistence of members of the uniformed services are 
     increased by 2.4 percent.
       (c) Increase in BAQ.--Effective on January 1, 1996, the 
     rates of basic allowance for quarters of members of the 
     uniformed services are increased by 5.2 percent.

     SEC. 3. ELIMINATION OF DISPARITY BETWEEN EFFECTIVE DATES FOR 
                   MILITARY AND CIVILIAN RETIREE COST-OF-LIVING 
                   ADJUSTMENTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 1996.

       (A) In General.--The fiscal year 1996 increase in military 
     retired pay shall (notwithstanding subparagraph (B) of 
     section 1401a(b)(2) of title 10, United States Code) first be 
     payable as part of such retired pay for the month of March 
     1996.
       (b) Definitions.--For the purposes of subsection (a):
       (1) The term ``fiscal year 1996 increase in military 
     retired pay'' means the increase in retired pay that, 
     pursuant to paragraph (1) of section 1401a(b) of title 10, 
     United States Code, becomes effective on December 1, 1995.
       (2) The term ``retired pay'' includes retainer pay.
       (c) Financing.--The Secretary of Defense shall transfer, 
     from any other funds made available to the Department of 
     Defense, such sums as may be necessary for payment to the 
     Department of Defense Military Retirement Fund solely for the 
     purpose of offsetting the estimated increase in outlays to be 
     made from such Fund in fiscal year 1996 by reason of the 
     provisions of subsection (a). Notwithstanding any other 
     provision of law, the transfer authority made available to 
     the Secretary in Public Law 104-61 or any other law shall be 
     increased by the amounts required to carry out the provisions 
     of this section.

  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Georgia, [Mr. Linder], is 
recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LINDER. Mr. Speaker, one of the first persons to speak on this 
rule noted that the networks told the country last night that we would 
be working again. A two-hour meeting in the White House with our 
leadership led us to believe that was the case.
  The morning papers all said that the President has agreed to put on 
the table his specific budget proposal using CBO numbers and shortly 
thereafter the Vice President spoke and said, no, we are not going to 
do that.
  We have not just 73 Republican freshmen but 236 members of a caucus 
that is still growing that are very, very frustrated in trying to reach 
a balanced budget in 7 years using honest numbers. We are not only 
frustrated but we are united that we will balance 

[[Page H15294]]
the budget using honest numbers in 7 years and we will do it now.
  This administration has had so many different positions on this issue 
that it is hardly worth recounting, but it reminds me, dealing with 
this administration reminds me of duck hunting. You get off in the 
wind, because every time you see a target it moves and the wind changes 
it.
  Virtually every speaker on this rule tonight voted against the 
balanced budget amendment, the coalition's balanced budget and our 
balanced budget. We are faced not with Members who want to balance the 
budget under different terms but with Members who want to spend more 
money, liberal extremists who want to spend more money. And that is 
what the whole thing is about.
  We should have gotten off the discussion of whose numbers we use and 
just say we are not going to spend more than $12 trillion. Sit down at 
the table with us, argue priorities, but we are not going to continue 
to spend money that we have not raised. That is our children and 
grandchildren's money. There is not a program in this budget that 
cannot be defended by somebody, but we should not be spending it if we 
have not raised it.
  We have for 30 years voted ourselves wishes and dreams over needs and 
passed the bill on to future generations. And this Republican majority 
said that is going to stop.
  Much has happened; much movement has occurred. We now are all 
discussing a 7-year balanced budget and by the time this weekend or 
early next week passes, we will be talking about using the same 
numbers. I think by the end of the year, we will have passed and the 
President will have signed a 7-year balanced budget with honest numbers 
and we will have done our children and grandchildren a great service. 
It is time.
  Frankly, the numbers are not that far apart. We want to increase 
spending 3 percent; the President wants to increase it 4 percent. We 
want to presume an additional 5 percent revenue; the President wants to 
presume 5.5. The numbers are not that far apart.
  We can get together if we will just sit down and honestly and 
straightforwardly look each other in the eye and say, where are your 
priorities? The President's budget is not on the table using the same 
numbers, even though he has said he would do that. So this effort 
tonight under this rule is merely to say for those veterans who have 
served their nation, who have earned their benefits, we are going to 
pass a continuing resolution to assure that you will get your checks. 
We are not inclined to pass a continuing resolution for the rest of the 
government because it will take entirely the pressure off the 
President. The last time we did that, under certain assurances, 30 days 
went by where we were hammered and demagogued with our specific 
numbers; $30 million was spent by unions trashing our specifics in our 
districts where we have marginal districts for freshmen. We are not 
going to do that again. We are going to keep the feet to the fire.
  It is unfortunate that decent, hard-working, honest Federal employees 
are caught in this pinch. But the President, seemingly to bolster the 
notion in this country that he believes something, has chosen to pitch 
a battle with the Congress of the United States. It seems to have 
helped him in the polls and he seems to think that is the thing to get 
reelected on so he will continue to veto and we will continue to have 
this problem. But I tell my colleagues, from our point of view, we are 
united. We were sent here to change the economic direction of this 
nation, to balance the budget for our children and grandchildren. We 
intend to do that.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the 
previous question on the resolution.
  The previous question was ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on ordering the previous 
question.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Evidently a quorum is not present.
  The Sergeant at Arms will notify absent Members.
  Pursuant to the provisions of clause 5 of rule XV, the Chair 
announces that he will reduce to a minimum of 5 minutes the period of 
time within which a vote by electronic device, if ordered, will be 
taken on the question of agreeing to the resolution.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 238, 
nays 172, not voting 23, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 871]

                               YEAS--238

     Allard
     Archer
     Armey
     Bachus
     Baker (CA)
     Baker (LA)
     Ballenger
     Barr
     Barrett (NE)
     Bartlett
     Barton
     Bass
     Bateman
     Bereuter
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Bliley
     Blute
     Boehlert
     Boehner
     Bonilla
     Bono
     Brewster
     Browder
     Brownback
     Bryant (TN)
     Bunn
     Bunning
     Burr
     Burton
     Buyer
     Callahan
     Calvert
     Camp
     Campbell
     Canady
     Castle
     Chabot
     Chambliss
     Chenoweth
     Christensen
     Chrysler
     Clinger
     Coble
     Coburn
     Collins (GA)
     Combest
     Cooley
     Cox
     Crane
     Crapo
     Cremeans
     Cubin
     Cunningham
     Deal
     DeLay
     Diaz-Balart
     Dickey
     Doolittle
     Dornan
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Dunn
     Ehlers
     Ehrlich
     Emerson
     English
     Ensign
     Everett
     Ewing
     Fawell
     Fields (TX)
     Flanagan
     Foley
     Forbes
     Fowler
     Fox
     Franks (CT)
     Franks (NJ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Frisa
     Funderburk
     Gallegly
     Ganske
     Gekas
     Geren
     Gillmor
     Gilman
     Goodlatte
     Goodling
     Goss
     Graham
     Greenwood
     Gunderson
     Gutknecht
     Hall (TX)
     Hancock
     Hansen
     Hastert
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayes
     Hayworth
     Hefley
     Heineman
     Herger
     Hilleary
     Hobson
     Hoekstra
     Hoke
     Horn
     Hostettler
     Houghton
     Hunter
     Hutchinson
     Hyde
     Inglis
     Johnson (CT)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones
     Kasich
     Kelly
     Kim
     King
     Kingston
     Klug
     Knollenberg
     Kolbe
     LaHood
     Largent
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Laughlin
     Lazio
     Leach
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (KY)
     Lightfoot
     Lincoln
     Linder
     Livingston
     LoBiondo
     Longley
     Lucas
     Manzullo
     Martini
     McCollum
     McCrery
     McDade
     McHugh
     McInnis
     McIntosh
     McKeon
     Metcalf
     Meyers
     Mica
     Miller (FL)
     Molinari
     Montgomery
     Moorhead
     Morella
     Myrick
     Nethercutt
     Neumann
     Ney
     Norwood
     Nussle
     Oxley
     Parker
     Paxon
     Peterson (MN)
     Petri
     Pickett
     Pombo
     Porter
     Portman
     Pryce
     Quillen
     Quinn
     Radanovich
     Ramstad
     Regula
     Riggs
     Roberts
     Rogers
     Rohrabacher
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roth
     Royce
     Salmon
     Sanford
     Saxton
     Scarborough
     Schaefer
     Schiff
     Seastrand
     Sensenbrenner
     Shadegg
     Shaw
     Shays
     Shuster
     Skeen
     Skelton
     Smith (MI)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Smith (WA)
     Solomon
     Souder
     Spence
     Stearns
     Stockman
     Stump
     Talent
     Tate
     Tauzin
     Taylor (MS)
     Taylor (NC)
     Thomas
     Thornberry
     Tiahrt
     Torkildsen
     Upton
     Vucanovich
     Waldholtz
     Walker
     Walsh
     Wamp
     Watts (OK)
     Weldon (FL)
     Weller
     White
     Whitfield
     Wicker
     Wolf
     Young (AK)
     Young (FL)
     Zeliff
     Zimmer

                               NAYS--172

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Andrews
     Baesler
     Baldacci
     Barcia
     Barrett (WI)
     Becerra
     Bentsen
     Berman
     Bevill
     Bishop
     Bonior
     Borski
     Boucher
     Brown (CA)
     Brown (FL)
     Brown (OH)
     Bryant (TX)
     Cardin
     Clay
     Clayton
     Clement
     Clyburn
     Coleman
     Collins (IL)
     Collins (MI)
     Condit
     Costello
     Coyne
     Cramer
     Danner
     Davis
     de la Garza
     DeFazio
     DeLauro
     Dellums
     Deutsch
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Dixon
     Doggett
     Dooley
     Doyle
     Durbin
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Evans
     Farr
     Fattah
     Fazio
     Fields (LA)
     Ford
     Frank (MA)
     Frost
     Furse
     Gejdenson
     Gephardt
     Gibbons
     Gonzalez
     Gordon
     Green
     Hamilton
     Harman
     Hastings (FL)
     Hefner
     Hilliard
     Hinchey
     Holden
     Hoyer
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Jacobs
     Jefferson
     Johnson (SD)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Johnston
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kennedy (MA)
     Kennedy (RI)
     Kennelly
     Kildee
     Kleczka
     Klink
     LaFalce
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lipinski
     Lofgren
     Lowey
     Luther
     Maloney
     Manton
     Markey
     Mascara
     Matsui
     McCarthy
     McDermott
     McHale
     McKinney
     McNulty
     Meehan
     Meek
     Menendez
     Mfume
     Miller (CA)
     Minge
     Mink
     Moakley
     Mollohan
     Moran
     Murtha
     Nadler
     Neal
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Orton
     Owens
     Pallone
     Pastor
     Payne (NJ)
     Pelosi
     Peterson (FL)
     Pomeroy
     Poshard
     Rahall
     Rangel
     Reed
     Richardson
     Rivers
     Roemer
     Roukema
     Roybal-Allard
     Rush
     Sabo
     Sanders
     Sawyer
     Schroeder
     Schumer
     Scott
     Serrano
     Sisisky
     Slaughter
     
[[Page H15295]]

     Spratt
     Stenholm
     Stokes
     Studds
     Stupak
     Tanner
     Tejeda
     Thompson
     Thornton
     Thurman
     Torres
     Torricelli
     Towns
     Traficant
     Velazquez
     Vento
     Visclosky
     Volkmer
     Ward
     Waters
     Watt (NC)
     Waxman
     Wise
     Woolsey
     Wyden
     Wynn

                             NOT VOTING--23

     Beilenson
     Chapman
     Conyers
     Edwards
     Filner
     Flake
     Foglietta
     Gilchrest
     Gutierrez
     Hall (OH)
     Istook
     Lantos
     Martinez
     Myers
     Packard
     Payne (VA)
     Rose
     Skaggs
     Stark
     Weldon (PA)
     Williams
     Wilson
     Yates

                          ____________________