[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 46 (Friday, March 29, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3200-S3202]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       THE CONTINUING RESOLUTION

  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, a little more than an hour ago, the Senate 
voted for the 12th time in this 6 months of the 1996 fiscal year for a 
short-term continuing resolution for many of our most important Federal 
agencies.
  Mr. President, I voted for that continuing resolution as I have for 
its predecessors out of a sense of frustration and the absence of any 
other reasonable alternative. But, Mr. President, I am taking this 
occasion to announce that will be my last vote for such a continuing 
resolution because I believe that we are acting in a highly 
irresponsible and embarrassing--and adverse to the interests of the 
people of this Nation--manner by the way in which we are conducting the 
fiscal affairs of this great Nation.

[[Page S3201]]

  When the Congress, or any other entity responsible for spending 
funds, sets out to enact a budget, one of those important goals of such 
enactment is to chart the future. The essence of budgeting is to carry 
out a plan with certain objectives and destinations. Budgets should be 
the means by which that plan is given life.
  In a cruel irony, however, Mr. President, a perverse Washington twice 
has turned budgeting upside down. The current budget process 
frustrates--even prevents--effective planning and implementation. 
Instead of reducing uncertainty about the future, our current budget 
process--the one that we have followed for the last 6 months--enhances 
uncertainty.
  How, we would ask, did this happen? We are in the 6th month of the 
Federal fiscal year, but we have still not approved a budget for nine 
of the most important departments of the Federal Government and 
numerous other Federal agencies. Instead of approving an annual budget 
for these nine Cabinet departments and Federal agencies, Congress has 
passed now 12 separate continuing resolutions to operate parts of the 
Government at 75 percent of funding levels for brief periods of time.
  Mr. President, this is Band-Aid budgeting, and it is a Band-Aid that 
hurts. These Band-Aid budgets are hurting the very people our 
Government is trying to help. And just as important, our failure to 
pass a final--a real--budget for 1996 makes planning difficult, if not 
impossible, for those charged with carrying out the mission of 
assisting our people through or with the financial support of the 
Federal Government.
  To that lament, some might say, ``So what?'' So what if Government is 
inconvenienced by an uncertain budget process. So what if bureaucrats 
have to survive with a certain amount of anxiety, uncertainty, and 
closely bitten nails. To those who say ``So what,'' I offer the simple 
truth that the way we are doing business with these Band-Aid budgets is 
bad business.
  When managers cannot plan, when contracts cannot be honored, when 
commitments cannot be fulfilled, that, Mr. President, is bad business.
  Today I want to highlight just a few examples of the impact of our 
Band-Aid budgeting. In my State of Florida, we are on the verge of 
shutting down substance abuse programs.
  Let me repeat that. If we do not straighten out this budget mess 
within the State of Florida, there will be a termination of substance 
abuse programs.
  It is ironic that possibly in the next few weeks we may be 
considering the question of whether the United States should punish 
through decertification certain countries that we consider to be 
inadequate in their commitment to the fight against the supply of drugs 
coming into the United States. The irony is that those same countries 
look north, and they say the reason that there is this supply of drugs 
is because the United States of America is such an overwhelming and 
inordinate user of drugs; it creates such an enormous demand for these 
illegal substances. If we were to send the message to these countries 
that we are now about to cut off our programs that are intended to deal 
with the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, they might be 
inclined to say they should decertify us because we were not using our 
full efforts in order to deal with this scourge.
  What is it going to mean in Florida for 150 agencies which are 
providing substance abuse services--150 agencies and nonprofit groups 
which depend in whole or in part on Federal funds for their ability to 
provide these services?
  The range of services which will be terminated include 
detoxification, drug rehabilitation for children, adolescents, and 
adults, in-jail services, and substance abuse prevention.
  In Florida, 27,000 people a year are referred to detoxification 
centers. The typical per-day cost of these facilities is $123. If we 
shut down the detoxification centers, we would have some options--more 
expensive options. We could send these people to jail. We could send 
these people to a hospital. If we sent them to a hospital, the average 
per-day cost is $450 for detoxification services.
  One way we deal with heroin addiction in this society is methadone 
treatment. Many people on methadone are able to live a reasonably 
normal life and hold down a self-sustaining job. What happens when you 
shut down the methadone programs? People go into withdrawal. The odds 
go up that these expensive, negative results will occur. There will be 
a relapse to heroin or other drugs. There will be the use of dirty 
needles that spread HIV. Jobs will end, and crime will begin.
  Mr. President, those are some of the consequences in the area of 
substance abuse treatment, education, and prevention that is about to 
occur because of the Band-Aid budgeting in which we are engaged.

  The problem does not, however, end with substance abuse. What about 
education? In Dade County, Miami, FL, our educators are so uncertain 
about the next year's school budget that they do not know whether they 
should retain some 1,000 teachers and aides who are currently providing 
educational services.
  What is the reason for this uncertainty? The reason is that these 
teaching positions are funded by title I Federal grant dollars. These 
are funds which are used to provide educational services to the most 
at-risk and to the most at-need children.
  Dade County received approximately $59 million in title I funding 
last year. How much will Dade County schools receive next year? Mr. 
President, your guess is as good as mine because we still do not have a 
budget.
  In Fort Myers, I recently visited the Salvation Army. The Salvation 
Army in Fort Myers, as its counterparts across the country, performs a 
wide variety of valuable services. In southwest Florida, these services 
include feeding and housing the homeless, operating a minimum security 
prison, a small hospital, and offering drug and alcohol treatment 
programs.
  To provide these services, the Salvation Army in Fort Myers relies on 
the Federal Government for up to 35 percent of its budget.
  Let me give you one example of a problem Salvation Army officials are 
facing in Fort Myers, FL.
  In an ordinary year, the Salvation Army will receive emergency food 
and shelter funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in 
October. As you are aware, Mr. President, this October was no ordinary 
October. This has been no ordinary year.
  As a result of the budget impasse, the emergency funds for food and 
shelter to the Salvation Army did not arrive in Fort Myers in October. 
The funds did not arrive in November either. December came and passed; 
there were no funds--and January. It was not until February that the 
Salvation Army received the first allotment of its funds which were 
supposed to have arrived in October.
  Now the Salvation Army is waiting once again to receive the remainder 
of its funds for a fiscal year that is now halfway over. Without this 
money, the services provided by the good people at the Salvation Army 
in Fort Myers will be severely hampered and the organization may 
experience a major deficit.
  In many instances, organizations have not only had to reduce 
services, but they have had to suspend them altogether.
  Let me give you another example. This situation was experienced by 
the Florida Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. The division of 
vocational rehabilitation awards contracts to nonprofit organizations 
to provide rehabilitative services to the disabled. For many 
individuals, these services offer the only chance to become skilled, 
productive, independent citizens. Due to the Government shutdown, two 
organizations in Florida which provide these rehabilitative services 
for disabled citizens, Goodwill and Easter Seals, had to close their 
doors to the disabled.
  Let me repeat that, Mr. President. The shutdown caused Goodwill and 
Easter Seals to close their doors to people who are striving to better 
themselves so that they can find gainful employment. These are the 
practical effects to human beings in the communities, consequences of 
the Band-Aid budgeting in which we have been engaged.
  Mr. President, I say enough is enough. Twelve times in six months is 
enough for us to limp along day to day, week to week. This process is 
having severe, embarrassing, and hurtful consequences on innocent 
people. Twelve times we have resorted to these short-term extensions. 
Enough, Mr. President, is enough.

[[Page S3202]]

  Let us commit ourselves to the completion of the 1996 budget at the 
earliest possible date. Then let us recommit ourselves not to repeat 
anything like this in 1997 or ever again.
  Mr. President, enough is enough.

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