[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 77 (Thursday, May 30, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E951-E952]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           OMNIBUS CIVILIAN SCIENCE AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 1996

                                 ______


                               speech of

                           HON. VAN HILLEARY

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 29, 1996

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 3322) to 
     authorize appropriations for fiscal year 1997 for civilian 
     science activities of the Federal Government, and for other 
     purposes.

  Mr. HILLEARY. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the revised Cramer 
amendment. I am glad that changes have been made in Mr. Cramer's 
amendment since the Science Committee markup to reflect the best 
interest of the American people.
  Although I agree with the concept of certification in the amendment 
offered by my colleague, Mr. Cramer, the certification process called 
for in his amendment offered in committee was far too expensive and 
time consuming. In addition, the amendment reinstated costly and 
unnecessary provisions which maintain the current, outdated systems and 
place the safety of citizens at risk.
  Considering the certification provisions and phase-out requirements, 
the amendment would have exceeded the transition costs called for in 
H.R. 3322 by $20 million.
  In its previous form, the National Weather Service would have been 
forced to devote resources toward bureaucratic paperwork associated 
with closing obsolete weather service offices.
  I support the immediate implementation of NEXRAD with certification 
which includes no additional cost to taxpayers.
  It is vital that we get this NEXRAD system in place as soon as they 
are operational. This is very important to my district which continues 
to be at a disadvantage because portions of my district are not now 
covered by NEXRAD.
  We need to get the NEXRAD systems up and operational now to protect 
the people of Tennessee.
  The amendment in committee would have delayed getting this system in 
place to protect the people of Tennessee.
  Now that the flaw in the amendment has been corrected, I now support 
the amendment from Mr. Cramer and urge my colleagues to support it.

[[Page E952]]



             NEBRASKANS SUPPORT A BALANCED BUDGET AMENDMENT

                                 ______


                          HON. JON CHRISTENSEN

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 30, 1996

  Mr. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, next week there will likely be a debate 
in the other body over amending the U.S. Constitution to require a 
balanced budget. The Nebraskans I represent overwhelmingly support this 
measure. In my view, a balanced budget amendment is vital to Nebraska's 
working families, carrying on admirably under the weight of a massive 
national debt, endless deficits, and big government.
  As you may recall, in the first month of the new Congress the House 
of Representatives passed a balanced budget amendment by a vote of 300 
to 132, putting in place the centerpiece of the Republican agenda. 
Attempts to amend the Constitution to require a balanced budget date 
back to the 1700's. President Ronald Reagan pushed throughout his 
tenure for such a measure but was unable to pass it through the 
Democratic-dominated House and the Senate.
  I pledged to work hard for a balanced budget amendment and did as I 
said I would do by voting in favor of it. I made a promise to the 
people of Nebraska and I delivered. The balanced budget amendment will 
change the way our government works, forcing Washington to balance its 
books.
  Enforcing a balanced budget on Washington is not about numbers it is 
about people. It is about parents with kids in Elkhorn High, lying 
awake at night desperate to figure out a way to put them through 
college. It is about a newlywed wife, dreaming of the curtains she 
would love to put in a new home in Omaha--then finding herself in tears 
because she knows she will never move in. It is about an idealistic 
Creighton University student giving up on studying, looking to a bottle 
or worse because he cannot figure out where he is going to find a job 
even if he gets straight A's. It is about my grandmother, in her 80's 
and still teaching school, worried about her security so as never to be 
a burden, even though she never could be to those of us who love her.
  You know these people. You are worried about them, like I am. They 
live in Scottsbluff and Sarpy County, Plattsmouth and Papillion, South 
Omaha--and the South Bronx. They deserve a better future. And we can 
give it to them.
  The deficits we are running today have crippled wage and job growth 
for America's families. According to the nonpartisan concord coalition, 
the average American family would be making at least $15,000 a year 
more if we were not carrying the terrible burden of the Federal debt. 
For the hard working families I know in Nebraska, $15,000 would make a 
huge difference.
  Some say we should just balanced the budget, without putting in place 
any enforcement mechanism. Those people have not seen how Washington 
works. The have not seen Presidents willing to break promises for pure 
politics. They have not seen the first balanced budget in a generation, 
which we helped craft and pass, vetoed and misrepresented to get a leg 
up in the election. During the budget stand-off, I worked hard to put 
together meetings between moderate Democrats and House Republican 
freshman to find common ground on the budget. As I encouraged each side 
to work together, it occurred to me that we were not the problem. The 
problem was that at the highest levels, no one would be forced to step 
onto the common ground we had found. For years now, Presidents and 
Congress have been unable to take that step because each could blame 
the other for the ultimate failure of the process.
  Let us stop Washington's budget merry-go-round. It is high time we 
put some backbone in our institutions to give them the courage to face 
the tough choices we have laid out for the Nation. Our colleagues in 
the other body should pass the balanced budget amendment as we have in 
the House--for our families, and for our future.

                          ____________________