[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 1 (Wednesday, January 3, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H64]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     CONGRESS CAN DO BETTER IN 1996

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina [Mrs. Clayton] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, this is a new year and a new year of the 
104th session, a brand-new opportunity for those of us in the House to 
begin to look backward and reflect and look forward hopefully to do a 
better job.
  One has been told that the month of January is represented by the 
mystical god that has two heads; one that looks backwards and one that 
looks forward. You and I know if we look backward too long we live in 
the past and no progress is made.
  If we look back at 1995, we see Democrats and Republicans yelling at 
each other. We see people who are willing to take their views to the 
extreme at the expense of America, yet they say they do it in the name 
of saving America. If we look back, we see people saying we made 
commitments to the American people that we would do these things.
  Hopefully, Mr. Speaker, we do not look back too long. If we look back 
long enough, we know that what we did in 1995 was not always honorable; 
was not always those actions that are worthy of those who represent the 
people and who say that we represent ``We the people.''
  Hopefully, we look back just long enough to say we will try to do 
better and try to be more responsible. And I ask, Mr. Speaker, is it 
responsible as we look at 1996, and this is the third day, is it 
responsible to families and communities to know what we are doing in 
this shutdown? Is it responsible for those who would have home loans to 
find that they are unable to execute those loans because they cannot 
get anyone to provide the insurance? Is that responsible?
  Is it responsible, Mr. Speaker, to deny the students and their 
parents the opportunity for student loans when they did not cause this 
impasse? So why are we making them hostage to this?
  Is it fair to the taxpayers to deny them their services, which they 
no longer have that opportunity, not only to consider, Mr. Speaker, the 
more than 280,000 workers who are now being shut out of the opportunity 
of providing services that we say we are going to pay them later. Is 
that fiscally responsible? It certainly is not civilly responsible and 
it is not humanly responsible. We are not being responsible as human 
beings, much less as leaders of this great body of this great Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, in 1996 we can do better than that. We certainly can 
honor our veterans, Mr. Speaker, our veterans who have served this 
country well. I am told as we call our veterans hospitals, particularly 
ones in Salisbury, that people are threatened to lose their jobs. 
Nurses are not being paid fully for the work that they are doing. Some 
of the people are not able to work at all and those who are working are 
not being paid fully. And so what? Veterans are being denied even the 
health care that they should have.
  This is unfair, Mr. Speaker. Further, when we call our regional 
office in Winston-Salem that provides the claims, there is no one to 
answer the telephone. Only a skeletal crew. So if a veteran wants to 
process a new application, wants to find out what the status of his 
claim, there is no one, not even to answer the telephone. Is that being 
responsible?
  Yes, Mr. Speaker, we have an opportunity in 1996 to go forward with 
honor. And we also have an opportunity in 1996 to look at reflectively 
our action, our activities, our commitment and our involvement in 
serving the people in this body and to act if we have been responsible. 
I submit, Mr. Speaker, we have not.
  Finally, I called my State EPA or environmental secretary just to 
find out what are the implications for health and water and safety and 
what would be North Carolina's vulnerability as the shutdown proceeds. 
I was told there are 287 Federal workers who receive some Federal funds 
who are providing water and air protection. In fact, 135 of them are 
paid in part or fully by EPA.
  Through the execution of a letter, they were able to forestall the 
sending home of 135 employees who had responsibilities for inspection 
of the air, the water in our rivers; 135 people could have possibly 
been sent home today if they could not have gotten that extension, and 
they do not know how long that will last. They are sorry they were not 
able to get 125 of the coastal management because they are part of the 
Commerce budget.
  Then there are eight persons in marine fisheries and, in talking 
about the safety of marine fisheries, those persons will be denied an 
opportunity to provide that the waters are safe for the fish that 
people have to eat.
  Mr. Speaker, finally, I think that 1996 is an opportunity where we 
can make a lot of resolutions, but we ought to resolve ourselves that 
we will be both fiscally responsible, humanly responsible, but we also 
will be legally responsible in providing for the welfare of this 
government, for the people deserve no less.

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