[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 67 (Tuesday, May 14, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H4908]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION BILL DOES NOT PROMISE REAL SECURITY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of May 
12, 1995, the gentlewoman from Oregon [Ms. Furse] is recognized during 
morning business for 4 minutes.
  Ms. FURSE. Mr. Speaker, I have brought here a chart that shows what 
we do with the money that the Congress has discretion over and over 
half the red part is Pentagon spending. The other part is everything 
else, education, income security, health, environment.
  The House Committee on National Security has increased defense 
spending this year by $12.9 billion more than the President requested 
and more than the Pentagon even asked for. Republican and Democrat 
Members went to the Rules Committee with 5 different amendments to cut 
some Pentagon spending, from $1 to $13 billion, in between. We were not 
allowed to bring those to the floor and the leadership refused to allow 
us to discuss this most vital issue.
  What does it mean when we increase Pentagon spending by $13 billion? 
It means that we have to cut everything else, all these other things. 
Cuts, cuts, cuts, cuts.
  What does that mean to the American people? It means that we are 
putting our citizens' security in jeopardy. How? For instance, in the 
State of Oregon that I represent a district in, last year 38 children 
died from child abuse or neglect. One of the reasons they died was 
there were no shelters there for their mother to bring those children 
into a safe, secure home. Why is there no money for shelters? Because 
we are spending all our additional money on huge weapons systems that 
we really do not need now that the cold war is over.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe that the time has finally come when we must 
put common sense back in the U.S. budget, when we must say what is real 
security? Is it having police in our streets? Is it having places where 
our children can go to be safe? Is it a whole security? Or are we only 
putting our security into cold-war weaponry?
  Mr. Speaker, I ask the leadership to allow us to vote on amendments 
that would cut some of this additional $13 billion that the President 
did not ask for and, most significantly, that the Pentagon did not ask 
for.

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