[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 2 (Thursday, January 4, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H131-H132]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1500
                           SOME OF THE FACTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaHood). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Florida [Mr. Mica] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. MICA. Mr. Speaker, I want to take some time to deal this 
afternoon with something that often is lost in this debate. That is 
some of the facts.
  Yesterday the President of the United States in a press conference 
went before the American people and made a series of statements about 
what this shutdown, and he blamed it on the Republicans, would do. I 
thought this afternoon it would be interesting to deal with some of the 
facts and our perspective and what this debate is all about. A lot of 
the debate is about spending more, as they have done in the past, and 
getting less in return.
  Let us look at what the President said. He said this week the Meals 
on Wheels Program for seniors will run out of money. I talked to my 
seniors in my district. Some of the senior citizens are in the Meals on 
Wheels Program. I talked to them. They said: Mr. Mica, we would be 
willing to miss a meal or meals if it meant our contribution, making 
our contribution toward balancing our Federal budget. I almost cried 
when I heard them say that.
  Then I talked to the program administrator. The program administrator 
said: Mr. Mica, we know you have to balance the budget, but let me tell 
you, when you balance that budget, include in it, as you have done, a 
proposal that would give us flexibility because we get money and we 
cannot spend money because of stupid Federal regulations. So do that.
  That is what this debate is about. We have allowed that. That is what 
this holdup is about because we know that the President will not make 
these program changes. That is one of the program changes.
  Then let us talk about Head Start. I have always been an advocate of 
Head Start. I love Head Start. Who would not want to give a deserving 
child a head start? Then I looked at the programs in my district, and I 
almost threw up. Let me tell my colleagues what we do with Head Start. 
Let me tell you, Mr. Speaker, and also my colleagues what we do with 
Head Start.
  I have 18 teachers in one program in a community Head Start; not 1 
teacher is certified, not one is certified. But we have 11 
administrative force for 450 children. This is sick. This is sick, 11 
administrators. I thought we would change this. No, you cannot change 
it because it is required by Federal law and regulations. So our 
children who need this assistance, what are they getting? They are 
getting second-class education. That is what this is about, spending 
more and getting less. I am sick of it.
  All right, let me tell you, you could send the kids in my district, 
you could send them to the best private schools, preschools we have 
got, and spend less and give the parents a $1,000 check and still come 
out better. I have not counted the money that they are spending on the 
administration for Washington and Atlanta and then you impose on our 
State and locals to administer these programs. I get upset when I hear 
this.
  Then the President has the gall to go before us and say: 
Environmental Protection Agency, shut down toxic waste. Can you think 
of a bigger toxic waste program than EPA? The whole program is EPA. I 
sat on the subcommittee that investigated EPA for 2 years; 85 percent 
of the money goes for attorney's fees and studies. Even the GAO 
produced a report, I will show it to anyone that wants to see it. It 
says toxic waste site cleanups are done on the basis of a political 
decision, not on the basis of public health and safety and concern for 
our children.
  So, then he goes on and says, lets do this, that EPA's efforts to 
prevent cryptosporidium from contaminating 

[[Page H132]]
water supplies, something that proved deadly, threatened the city of 
Milwaukee, have been badly delayed, have been badly delayed. First of 
all, let me tell you about cryptosporidium. It is caused by deer feces. 
It was caused by deer feces, as I believe.
  Let me tell my colleagues about water contamination. Under Federal 
law and Federal regulation, we looked into this. We investigated it; 54 
contaminants are required by law by statute for EPA to investigate. 
That is what they told us they were doing. They were doing the 
inflexible thing that Congress mandates that we are trying to change so 
that we could look at water contamination so that we could spend less 
and get more instead of the opposite.
  Then Medicare contractors who serve our elderly are not being paid. I 
will tell my colleagues what that debate is about. I come from Florida. 
We have a billion dollar's worth of contractor fraud in Florida in 
Medicare and a billion dollar's worth in Medicaid. That is $2 billion. 
How many elderly could we serve in this Nation if we would eliminate 
the fraud, waste, and abuse? So that is what this is about, spending 
more and getting less.

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