[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 59 (Thursday, May 2, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H4402]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   STALEMATE WITH FREEMEN SHOULD END

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Clement] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CLEMENT. Mr. Speaker, I have watched and deliberated and thought 
about what is happening in Montana with the Freemen, and more and more 
it is bothering me. It bothers me, because all of us have to live under 
the laws of the land. A lot of the laws, we do not like; a lot of the 
rules and regulations, we want to change; but there is a way to go 
about it.
  The New York Times reported that the leader of the Freemen has 
collected over $676,000 in Federal farm supports over the past 10 
years. It is all right for him to denounce the Federal Government, but 
the fact is, he is living off the Federal Government.
  These Freemen that occupy this property in Montana, they do not own 
that property. Somebody else owns that property. And what about the 
people that own that property? They are about to lose that property 
because they have a big mortgage to pay. They need to plant a crop. 
They need to cultivate the land. They need to do something with that 
land. And yet they cannot even get on that land because we keep 
continuing to delay.
  Now, I realize our reluctance. I realize maybe some mistakes were 
made in Waco, maybe some mistakes were made at Ruby Ridge. But the 
Federal Government, the Government, finally has to act or react. They 
cannot keep postponing and delaying, knowing that by doing nothing we 
are not complying with the laws and we are infringing on the majority's 
rights.
  Sure, we want to protect the minority's rights, and, my goodness, I 
have supported much legislation to protect the minority's rights. I 
realize a lot of people in the West feel very strongly when it comes to 
individual rights and property rights, and much of the land in the West 
is owned by the Federal Government; it is not owned by the individuals. 
But the fact is, fair is fair, and I think a lot of people in the West 
would also say that this has gone on long enough, that we need closure, 
and we need it now.
  Talks have broken down again. Just yesterday we thought we were going 
to have some type of conclusion to these talks, but that is not true at 
all. The fact is, a lot of these people have broken the law that live 
on this property in Montana.
  Let us give this ultimatum that these people need, to get off this 
property and need to get off it now, and give that property back to the 
homeowners, to the people that own that property, to let them pursue 
their goals and objectives. That is the American way, and that is what 
we ought to do as Americans. By doing that, we will be doing something 
for our country and for individual rights.

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