[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 110 (Wednesday, July 24, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H8293-H8302]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 3816, ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT
APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1997
Mr. QUILLEN. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I
call up House Resolution 483 and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
H. Res. 483
Resolved, That at any time after the adoption of this
resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 1(b) of rule
XXIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the
Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of
the bill (H.R. 3816) making appropriations for energy and
water development for the fiscal year ending September 30,
1997, and for other purposes. The first reading of the bill
shall be dispensed with. General debate shall be confined to
the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and
controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the
Committee on Appropriations. After general debate the bill
shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule.
Points of order against provisions in the bill for failure to
comply with clause 2 or 6 of rule XXI are waived. During
consideration of the bill for amendment, the
[[Page H8294]]
Chairman of the Committee of the Whole may accord priority in
recognition on the basis of whether the Member offering an
amendment has caused it to be printed in the portion of the
Congressional Record designated for that purpose in clause 6
of rule XXIII. Amendments so printed shall be considered as
read. The Chairman of the Committee of the Whole may postpone
until a time during further consideration in the Committee of
the Whole a request for a recorded vote on any amendment. The
Chairman of the Committee of the Whole may reduce to not less
than five minutes the time for voting by electronic device on
any postponed question that immediately follows another vote
by electronic device without intervening business, provided
that the time for voting by electronic device on the first in
any series of questions shall be not less than fifteen
minutes. After the reading of the final lines of the bill, a
motion that the Committee of the Whole rise and report the
bill to the House with such amendments as may have been
adopted shall, if offered by the majority leader or a
designee, have precedence over a motion to amend. At the
conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the
Committee shall rise and report the bill to the House with
such amendments as may have been adopted. The previous
question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and
amendments thereto to final passage without intervening
motion except one motion to recommit with or without
instructions.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hutchinson). The gentleman from
Tennessee [Mr. Quillen] is recognized for 1 hour.
Mr. QUILLEN. Mr. Speaker, for the purposes of debate only, I yield
the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from California [Mr.
Beilenson], pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume.
During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the
purposes of debate only.
Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 483 is an open rule providing for the
consideration of H.R. 3816, making appropriations for energy and water
development for fiscal year 1997.
The rule waives clause 2 and clause 6 of rule XXI which prohibits
unauthorized appropriations, legislation in general appropriations
bills, and reappropriations against provisions in the bill. These
waivers are necessary since many programs funded by this bill have not
been reauthorized. The measure also includes some transfers of funds
and minor legislative provisions, and the appropriations committee
worked closely with the authorizing committees on these matters.
The rule also provides for priority in recognition to Members who
have preprinted their amendments in the Congressional Record, and it
allows the Chair to postpone and cluster roll call votes, and to reduce
voting time to 5 minutes on a postponed question if the vote follows a
15-minute vote.
This rule allows the majority leader or his designee to offer a
motion to rise and report the bill after the final lines of the bill
have been read. Finally, the rule allows one motion to recommit, with
or without instructions.
Mr. Speaker, Chairman John Myers and Ranking Minority Member Tom
Bevill have done a remarkable job in putting together the energy and
water development appropriations bill for fiscal year 1997. Together
they fought to get sufficient funds allocated to protect investments in
water and energy infrastructure and to maintain and operate facilities
and programs within the subcommittee's jurisdiction while still
contributing toward deficit reduction.
Combined they have contributed approximately 50 years to the Energy
and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, always working in a bipartisan
manner. Those who take their places on the subcommittee after their
retirement will find that their's will be a tough act to follow.
They have repeatedly displayed what can be accomplished through
bipartisan cooperation, friendship, and respect--an example we should
all aspire to follow.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3816 provides funds for critical programs such as
flood control, maintenance of over 25,000 miles of inland waterways,
Bureau of Reclamation projects, Department of Energy functions and
various independent agencies including the Appalachian Regional
Commission [ARC] and the Tennessee Valley Authority [TVA]. Both of
these agencies have made a tremendous impact on the regions they serve.
The Tennessee Valley Authority is required by law to perform flood
control and river navigation services for the entire Tennessee Valley
area which would otherwise be provided by the Army Corps of Engineers.
TVA's economic development program has helped many communities in the
region meet their infrastructure and development needs. These funds
have been significantly reduced in recent years, and I oppose any
attempts to further erode the funding base for this important program.
No funds appropriated for TVA are used for its power program, and I
strongly urge the Members of the House to reject any amendment which
may be offered to reduce or eliminate funds for these two agencies.
They provide crucial services to the deserving communities in the
Appalachian and Tennessee Valley regions. Funding for TVA and ARC has
already been reduced, and any further reduction would seriously
jeopardize the ability of these agencies to carry out their important
functions.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this open rule and this
important appropriations bill.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert extraneous material
into the Record following my statement.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman Tennessee?
There was no objection.
The materials referred to follow:
THE AMENDMENT PROCESS UNDER SPECIAL RULES REPORTED BY THE RULES COMMITTEE,\1\ 103D CONGRESS V. 104TH CONGRESS
[As of July 23, 1996]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
103d Congress 104th Congress
Rule type ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of rules Percent of total Number of rules Percent of total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Open/Modified-Open \2\.............. 46 44 80 60
Structured/Modified Closed \3\...... 49 47 37 27
Closed \4\.......................... 9 9 17 13
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total......................... 104 100 134 100
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ This table applies only to rules which provide for the original consideration of bills, joint resolutions or
budget resolutions and which provide for an amendment process. It does not apply to special rules which only
waive points of order against appropriations bills which are already privileged and are considered under an
open amendment process under House rules.
\2\ An open rule is one under which any Member may offer a germane amendment under the five-minute rule. A
modified open rule is one under which any Member may offer a germane amendment under the five-minute rule
subject only to an overall time limit on the amendment process and/or a requirement that the amendment be
preprinted in the Congressional Record.
\3\ A structured or modified closed rule is one under which the Rules Committee limits the amendments that may
be offered only to those amendments designated in the special rule or the Rules Committee report to accompany
it, or which preclude amendments to a particular portion of a bill, even though the rest of the bill may be
completely open to amendment.
\4\ A closed rule is one under which no amendments may be offered (other than amendments recommended by the
committee in reporting the bill).
SPECIAL RULES REPORTED BY THE RULES COMMITTEE, 104TH CONGRESS
[As of July 23, 1996]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disposition of
H. Res. No. (Date rept.) Rule type Bill No. Subject rule
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
H. Res. 38 (1/18/95)........... O................ H.R. 5........... Unfunded Mandate A: 350-71 (1/19/
Reform. 95).
H. Res. 44 (1/24/95)........... MC............... H. Con. Res. 17.. Social Security....... A: 255-172 (1/25/
H.J. Res. 1...... Balanced Budget Amdt.. 95).
H. Res. 51 (1/31/95)........... O................ H.R. 101......... Land Transfer, Taos A: voice vote (2/
Pueblo Indians. 1/95).
H. Res. 52 (1/31/95)........... O................ H.R. 400......... Land Exchange, Arctic A: voice vote (2/
Nat'l. Park and 1/95).
Preserve.
H. Res. 53 (1/31/95)........... O................ H.R. 440......... Land Conveyance, Butte A: voice vote (2/
County, Calif. 1/95).
H. Res. 55 (2/1/95)............ O................ H.R. 2........... Line Item Veto........ A: voice vote (2/
2/95).
H. Res. 60 (2/6/95)............ O................ H.R. 665......... Victim Restitution.... A: voice vote (2/
7/95).
H. Res. 61 (2/6/95)............ O................ H.R. 666......... Exclusionary Rule A: voice vote (2/
Reform. 7/95).
H. Res. 63 (2/8/95)............ MO............... H.R. 667......... Violent Criminal A: voice vote (2/
Incarceration. 9/95).
H. Res. 69 (2/9/95)............ O................ H.R. 668......... Criminal Alien A: voice vote (2/
Deportation. 10/95).
[[Page H8295]]
H. Res. 79 (2/10/95)........... MO............... H.R. 728......... Law Enforcement Block A: voice vote (2/
Grants. 13/95).
H. Res. 83 (2/13/95)........... MO............... H.R. 7........... National Security PQ: 229-199; A:
Revitalization. 227-197 (2/15/
95).
H. Res. 88 (2/16/95)........... MC............... H.R. 831......... Health Insurance PQ: 230-191; A:
Deductibility. 229-188 (2/21/
95).
H. Res. 91 (2/21/95)........... O................ H.R. 830......... Paperwork Reduction A: voice vote (2/
Act. 22/95).
H. Res. 92 (2/21/95)........... MC............... H.R. 889......... Defense Supplemental.. A: 282-144 (2/22/
95).
H. Res. 93 (2/22/95)........... MO............... H.R. 450......... Regulatory Transition A: 252-175 (2/23/
Act. 95).
H. Res. 96 (2/24/95)........... MO............... H.R. 1022........ Risk Assessment....... A: 253-165 (2/27/
95).
H. Res. 100 (2/27/95).......... O................ H.R. 926......... Regulatory Reform and A: voice vote (2/
Relief Act. 28/95).
H. Res. 101 (2/28/95).......... MO............... H.R. 925......... Private Property A: 271-151 (3/2/
Protection Act. 95).
H. Res. 103 (3/3/95)........... MO............... H.R. 1058........ Securities Litigation .................
Reform.
H. Res. 104 (3/3/95)........... MO............... H.R. 988......... Attorney A: voice vote (3/
Accountability Act. 6/95).
H. Res. 105 (3/6/95)........... MO............... ................. ...................... A: 257-155 (3/7/
95).
H. Res. 108 (3/7/95)........... Debate........... H.R. 956......... Product Liability A: voice vote (3/
Reform. 8/95).
H. Res. 109 (3/8/95)........... MC............... ................. ...................... PQ: 234-191 A:
247-181 (3/9/
95).
H. Res. 115 (3/14/95).......... MO............... H.R. 1159........ Making Emergency Supp. A: 242-190 (3/15/
Approps. 95).
H. Res. 116 (3/15/95).......... MC............... H.J. Res. 73..... Term Limits Const. A: voice vote (3/
Amdt. 28/95).
H. Res. 117 (3/16/95).......... Debate........... H.R. 4........... Personal A: voice vote (3/
Responsibility Act of 21/95).
1995.
H. Res. 119 (3/21/95).......... MC............... ................. ...................... A: 217-211 (3/22/
95).
H. Res. 125 (4/3/95)........... O................ H.R. 1271........ Family Privacy A: 423-1 (4/4/
Protection Act. 95).
H. Res. 126 (4/3/95)........... O................ H.R. 660......... Older Persons Housing A: voice vote (4/
Act. 6/95).
H. Res. 128 (4/4/95)........... MC............... H.R. 1215........ Contract With America A: 228-204 (4/5/
Tax Relief Act of 95).
1995.
H. Res. 130 (4/5/95)........... MC............... H.R. 483......... Medicare Select A: 253-172 (4/6/
Expansion. 95).
H. Res. 136 (5/1/95)........... O................ H.R. 655......... Hydrogen Future Act of A: voice vote (5/
1995. 2/95).
H. Res. 139 (5/3/95)........... O................ H.R. 1361........ Coast Guard Auth. FY A: voice vote (5/
1996. 9/95).
H. Res. 140 (5/9/95)........... O................ H.R. 961......... Clean Water Amendments A: 414-4 (5/10/
95).
H. Res. 144 (5/11/95).......... O................ H.R. 535......... Fish Hatchery-- A: voice vote (5/
Arkansas. 15/95).
H. Res. 145 (5/11/95).......... O................ H.R. 584......... Fish Hatchery--Iowa... A: voice vote (5/
15/95).
H. Res. 146 (5/11/95).......... O................ H.R. 614......... Fish Hatchery-- A: voice vote (5/
Minnesota. 15/95).
H. Res. 149 (5/16/95).......... MC............... H. Con. Res. 67.. Budget Resolution FY PQ: 252-170 A:
1996. 255-168 (5/17/
95).
H. Res. 155 (5/22/95).......... MO............... H.R. 1561........ American Overseas A: 233-176 (5/23/
Interests Act. 95).
H. Res. 164 (6/8/95)........... MC............... H.R. 1530........ Nat. Defense Auth. FY PQ: 225-191 A:
1996. 233-183 (6/13/
95).
H. Res. 167 (6/15/95).......... O................ H.R. 1817........ MilCon Appropriations PQ: 223-180 A:
FY 1996. 245-155 (6/16/
95).
H. Res. 169 (6/19/95).......... MC............... H.R. 1854........ Leg. Branch Approps. PQ: 232-196 A:
FY 1996. 236-191 (6/20/
95).
H. Res. 170 (6/20/95).......... O................ H.R. 1868........ For. Ops. Approps. FY PQ: 221-178 A:
1996. 217-175 (6/22/
95).
H. Res. 171 (6/22/95).......... O................ H.R. 1905........ Energy & Water A: voice vote (7/
Approps. FY 1996. 12/95).
H. Res. 173 (6/27/95).......... C................ H.J. Res. 79..... Flag Constitutional PQ: 258-170 A:
Amendment. 271-152 (6/28/
95).
H. Res. 176 (6/28/95).......... MC............... H.R. 1944........ Emer. Supp. Approps... PQ: 236-194 A:
234-192 (6/29/
95).
H. Res. 185 (7/11/95).......... O................ H.R. 1977........ Interior Approps. FY PQ: 235-193 D:
1996. 192-238 (7/12/
95).
H. Res. 187 (7/12/95).......... O................ H.R. 1977........ Interior Approps. FY PQ: 230-194 A:
1996 #2. 229-195 (7/13/
95).
H. Res. 188 (7/12/95).......... O................ H.R. 1976........ Agriculture Approps. PQ: 242-185 A:
FY 1996. voice vote (7/18/
95).
H. Res. 190 (7/17/95).......... O................ H.R. 2020........ Treasury/Postal PQ: 232-192 A:
Approps. FY 1996. voice vote (7/18/
95).
H. Res. 193 (7/19/95).......... C................ H.J. Res. 96..... Disapproval of MFN to A: voice vote (7/
China. 20/95).
H. Res. 194 (7/19/95).......... O................ H.R. 2002........ Transportation PQ: 217-202 (7/21/
Approps. FY 1996. 95).
H. Res. 197 (7/21/95).......... O................ H.R. 70.......... Exports of Alaskan A: voice vote (7/
Crude Oil. 24/95).
H. Res. 198 (7/21/95).......... O................ H.R. 2076........ Commerce, State A: voice vote (7/
Approps. FY 1996. 25/95).
H. Res. 201 (7/25/95).......... O................ H.R. 2099........ VA/HUD Approps. FY A: 230-189 (7/25/
1996. 95).
H. Res. 204 (7/28/95).......... MC............... S. 21............ Terminating U.S. Arms A: voice vote (8/
Embargo on Bosnia. 1/95).
H. Res. 205 (7/28/95).......... O................ H.R. 2126........ Defense Approps. FY A: 409-1 (7/31/
1996. 95).
H. Res. 207 (8/1/95)........... MC............... H.R. 1555........ Communications Act of A: 255-156 (8/2/
1995. 95).
H. Res. 208 (8/1/95)........... O................ H.R. 2127........ Labor, HHS Approps. FY A: 323-104 (8/2/
1996. 95).
H. Res. 215 (9/7/95)........... O................ H.R. 1594........ Economically Targeted A: voice vote (9/
Investments. 12/95).
H. Res. 216 (9/7/95)........... MO............... H.R. 1655........ Intelligence A: voice vote (9/
Authorization FY 1996. 12/95).
H. Res. 218 (9/12/95).......... O................ H.R. 1162........ Deficit Reduction A: voice vote (9/
Lockbox. 13/95).
H. Res. 219 (9/12/95).......... O................ H.R. 1670........ Federal Acquisition A: 414-0 (9/13/
Reform Act. 95).
H. Res. 222 (9/18/95).......... O................ H.R. 1617........ CAREERS Act........... A: 388-2 (9/19/
95).
H. Res. 224 (9/19/95).......... O................ H.R. 2274........ Natl. Highway System.. PQ: 241-173 A:
375-39-1 (9/20/
95).
H. Res. 225 (9/19/95).......... MC............... H.R. 927......... Cuban Liberty & Dem. A: 304-118 (9/20/
Solidarity. 95).
H. Res. 226 (9/21/95).......... O................ H.R. 743......... Team Act.............. A: 344-66-1 (9/27/
95).
H. Res. 227 (9/21/95).......... O................ H.R. 1170........ 3-Judge Court......... A: voice vote (9/
28/95).
H. Res. 228 (9/21/95).......... O................ H.R. 1601........ Internatl. Space A: voice vote (9/
Station. 27/95).
H. Res. 230 (9/27/95).......... C................ H.J. Res. 108.... Continuing Resolution A: voice vote (9/
FY 1996. 28/95).
H. Res. 234 (9/29/95).......... O................ H.R. 2405........ Omnibus Science Auth.. A: voice vote (10/
11/95).
H. Res. 237 (10/17/95)......... MC............... H.R. 2259........ Disapprove Sentencing A: voice vote (10/
Guidelines. 18/95).
H. Res. 238 (10/18/95)......... MC............... H.R. 2425........ Medicare Preservation PQ: 231-194 A:
Act. 227-192 (10/19/
95).
H. Res. 239 (10/19/95)......... C................ H.R. 2492........ Leg. Branch Approps... PQ: 235-184 A:
voice vote (10/
31/95).
H. Res. 245 (10/25/95)......... MC............... H. Con. Res. 109. Social Security PQ: 228-191 A:
H.R. 2491........ Earnings Reform. 235-185 (10/26/
Seven-Year Balanced 95).
Budget.
H. Res. 251 (10/31/95)......... C................ H.R. 1833........ Partial Birth Abortion A: 237-190 (11/1/
Ban. 95).
H. Res. 252 (10/31/95)......... MO............... H.R. 2546........ D.C. Approps.......... A: 241-181 (11/1/
95).
H. Res. 257 (11/7/95).......... C................ H.J. Res. 115.... Cont. Res. FY 1996.... A: 216-210 (11/8/
95).
H. Res. 258 (11/8/95).......... MC............... H.R. 2586........ Debt Limit............ A: 220-200 (11/10/
95).
H. Res. 259 (11/9/95).......... O................ H.R. 2539........ ICC Termination Act... A: voice vote (11/
14/95).
H. Res. 262 (11/9/95).......... C................ H.R. 2586........ Increase Debt Limit... A: 220-185 (11/10/
95).
H. Res. 269 (11/15/95)......... O................ H.R. 2564........ Lobbying Reform....... A: voice vote (11/
16/95).
H. Res. 270 (11/15/95)......... C................ H.J. Res. 122.... Further Cont. A: 249-176 (11/15/
Resolution. 95).
H. Res. 273 (11/16/95)......... MC............... H.R. 2606........ Prohibition on Funds A: 239-181 (11/17/
for Bosnia. 95).
H. Res. 284 (11/29/95)......... O................ H.R. 1788........ Amtrak Reform......... A: voice vote (11/
30/95).
H. Res. 287 (11/30/95)......... O................ H.R. 1350........ Maritime Security Act. A: voice vote (12/
6/95).
H. Res. 293 (12/7/95).......... C................ H.R. 2621........ Protect Federal Trust PQ: 223-183 A:
Funds. 228-184 (12/14/
95).
H. Res. 303 (12/13/95)......... O................ H.R. 1745........ Utah Public Lands..... PQ: 221-197 A:
voice vote (5/15/
96).
H. Res. 309 (12/18/95)......... C................ H. Con. Res. 122. Budget Res. W/ PQ: 230-188 A:
President. 229-189 (12/19/
95).
H. Res. 313 (12/19/95)......... O................ H.R. 558......... Texas Low-Level A: voice vote (12/
Radioactive. 20/95).
H. Res. 323 (12/21/95)......... C................ H.R. 2677........ Natl. Parks & Wildlife Tabled (2/28/96).
Refuge.
H. Res. 366 (2/27/96).......... MC............... H.R. 2854........ Farm Bill............. PQ: 228-182 A:
244-168 (2/28/
96).
H. Res. 368 (2/28/96).......... O................ H.R. 994......... Small Business Growth. Tabled (4/17/96).
H. Res. 371 (3/6/96)........... C................ H.R. 3021........ Debt Limit Increase... A: voice vote (3/
7/96).
H. Res. 372 (3/6/96)........... MC............... H.R. 3019........ Cont. Approps. FY 1996 PQ: voice vote A:
235-175 (3/7/
96).
H. Res. 380 (3/12/96).......... C................ H.R. 2703........ Effective Death A: 251-157 (3/13/
Penalty. 96).
H. Res. 384 (3/14/96).......... MC............... H.R. 2202........ Immigration........... PQ: 233-152 A:
voice vote (3/19/
96).
H. Res. 386 (3/20/96).......... C................ H.J. Res. 165.... Further Cont. Approps. PQ: 234-187 A:
237-183 (3/21/
96).
H. Res. 388 (3/21/96).......... C................ H.R. 125......... Gun Crime Enforcement. A: 244-166 (3/22/
96).
H. Res. 391 (3/27/96).......... C................ H.R. 3136........ Contract w/America PQ: 232-180 A:
Advancement. 232-177, (3/28/
96).
H. Res. 392 (3/27/96).......... MC............... H.R. 3103........ Health Coverage PQ: 229-186 A:
Affordability. Voice Vote (3/29/
96).
H. Res. 395 (3/29/96).......... MC............... H.J. Res. 159.... Tax Limitation Const. PQ: 232-168 A:
Amdmt.. 234-162 (4/15/
96).
H. Res. 396 (3/29/96).......... O................ H.R. 842......... Truth in Budgeting Act A: voice vote (4/
17/96).
H. Res. 409 (4/23/96).......... O................ H.R. 2715........ Paperwork Elimination A: voice vote (4/
Act. 24/96).
H. Res. 410 (4/23/96).......... O................ H.R. 1675........ Natl. Wildlife Refuge. A: voice vote (4/
24/96).
H. Res. 411 (4/23/96).......... C................ H.J. Res. 175.... Further Cont. Approps. A: voice vote (4/
FY 1996. 24/96).
H. Res. 418 (4/30/96).......... O................ H.R. 2641........ U.S. Marshals Service. PQ: 219-203 A:
voice vote (5/1/
96).
H. Res. 419 (4/30/96).......... O................ H.R. 2149........ Ocean Shipping Reform. A: 422-0 (5/1/
96).
H. Res. 421 (5/2/96)........... O................ H.R. 2974........ Crimes Against A: voice vote (5/
Children & Elderly. 7/96).
H. Res. 422 (5/2/96)........... O................ H.R. 3120........ Witness & Jury A: voice vote (5/
Tampering. 7/96).
H. Res. 426 (5/7/96)........... O................ H.R. 2406........ U.S. Housing Act of PQ: 218-208 A:
1996. voice vote (5/8/
96).
H. Res. 427 (5/7/96)........... O................ H.R. 3322........ Omnibus Civilian A: voice vote (5/
Science Auth. 9/96).
H. Res. 428 (5/7/96)........... MC............... H.R. 3286........ Adoption Promotion & A: voice vote (5/
Stability. 9/96).
H. Res. 430 (5/9/96)........... S................ H.R. 3230........ DoD Auth. FY 1997..... A: 235-149 (5/10/
96).
H. Res. 435 (5/15/96).......... MC............... H. Con. Res. 178. Con. Res. on the PQ: 227-196 A:
Budget, 1997. voice vote (5/16/
96).
H. Res. 436 (5/16/96).......... C................ H.R. 3415........ Repeal 4.3 cent fuel PQ: 221-181 A:
tax. voice vote (5/21/
96).
H. Res. 437 (5/16/96).......... MO............... H.R. 3259........ Intell. Auth. FY 1997. A: voice vote (5/
21/96).
H. Res. 438 (5/16/96).......... MC............... H.R. 3144........ Defend America Act.... .................
[[Page H8296]]
H. Res. 440 (5/21/96).......... MC............... H.R. 3448........ Small Bus. Job A: 219-211 (5/22/
Protection. 96).
MC............... H.R. 1227........ Employee Commuting .................
Flexibility.
H. Res. 442 (5/29/96).......... O................ H.R. 3517........ Mil. Const. Approps. A: voice vote (5/
FY 1997. 30/96).
H. Res. 445 (5/30/96).......... O................ H.R. 3540........ For. Ops. Approps. FY A: voice vote (6/
1997. 5/96).
H. Res. 446 (6/5/96)........... MC............... H.R. 3562........ WI Works Waiver A: 363-59 (6/6/
Approval. 96).
H. Res. 448 (6/6/96)........... MC............... H.R. 2754........ Shipbuilding Trade A: voice vote (6/
Agreement. 12/96).
H. Res. 451 (6/10/96).......... O................ H.R. 3603........ Agriculture A: voice vote (6/
Appropriations, FY 11/96).
1997.
H. Res. 453 (6/12/96).......... O................ H.R. 3610........ Defense A: voice vote (6/
Appropriations, FY 13/96).
1997.
H. Res. 455 (6/18/96).......... O................ H.R. 3662........ Interior Approps, FY A: voice vote (6/
1997. 19/96).
H. Res. 456 (6/19/96).......... O................ H.R. 3666........ VA/HUD Approps........ A: 246-166 (6/25/
96).
H. Res. 460 (6/25/96).......... O................ H.R. 3675........ Transportation Approps A: voice vote (6/
26/96).
H. Res. 472 (7/9/96)........... O................ H.R. 3755........ Labor/HHS Approps..... PQ: 218-202 A:
voice vote (7/10/
96).
H. Res. 473 (7/9/96)........... MC............... H.R. 3754........ Leg. Branch Approps... A: voice vote (7/
10/96).
H. Res. 474 (7/10/96).......... MC............... H.R. 3396........ Defense of Marriage A: 290-133 (7/11/
Act. 96).
H. Res. 475 (7/11/96).......... O................ H.R. 3756........ Treasury/Postal A: voice vote (7/
Approps. 16/96).
H. Res. 479 (7/16/96).......... O................ H.R. 3814........ Commerce, State A: voice vote (7/
Approps. 17/96).
H. Res. 481 (7/17/96).......... MC............... H.R. 3820........ Campaign Finance .................
Reform.
H. Res. 482 (7/17/96).......... MC............... H.R. 3734........ Personal A: 358-54 (7/18/
Responsibility Act. 96).
H. Res. 483 (7/18/96).......... O................ H.R. 3816........ Energy/Water Approps.. .................
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Codes: O-open rule; MO-modified open rule; MC-modified closed rule; S/C-structured/closed rule; A-adoption vote;
D-defeated; PQ-previous question vote. Source: Notices of Action Taken, Committee on Rules, 104th Congress.
Mr. QUILLEN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 1545
Mr. BEILENSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, we support this rule, which allows Members to offer any
amendment that is otherwise in order under the standing rules of the
House.
I do want to point out, however, that this rule, like other rules we
have considered for appropriations bills this year, waives points of
order against legislating on an appropriations bill. That is not a
practice we want to encourage, but we accept it in this case because we
recognize that there are times when waiving that rule is necessary and
appropriate. I would note that the relevant authorizing committees do
not have any objections to this waiver of this particular rule.
Mr. Speaker, the bill that this rule makes in order provides $19.4
billion for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of
Reclamation, and the Department of Energy. This legislation has been
developed in a strong spirit of bipartisanship, for which we commend
and thank the chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy and Water
Development, the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Myers], and the ranking
member, the gentleman from Alabama [Mr. Bevill]. Both gentlemen are not
only excellent legislators but very fine gentlemen and human beings,
both of whom will be greatly missed by Members of this institution in
the years to come.
However, many of us do have serious concerns about some of the bill's
provisions. We note that solar and renewable energy research would be
cut by $44 million below this year's level and $142 million below the
level requested by the President. A reduction of that size would
severely threaten the development of these advanced technologies, and
would thus be a setback to our efforts to reduce our dependence on
imported oil, diversify our energy resources, reduce pollution, and
generate jobs in this growing field.
We also object to the bill's drastic cut in the Department of
Energy's administrative funding, which would reduce spending for that
purpose by almost half the current amount. The deep spending cuts would
severely impair the department's ability to carry out its basic
management responsibilities.
Fortunately, amendments will be offered to at least partially reverse
some of the more extreme spending cuts that the bill currently
contains.
We also anticipate amendments on several highly controversial
projects that are funded by this bill, including one that would
eliminate the bill's $17 million for the Advanced Light Water Reactor
Program, one eliminating the bill's $9.5 million for construction of
the Animas-LaPlata water project, and one eliminating the bill's $45
million for the Nuclear Technology Research and Development Program.
Mr. Speaker, again, although we do, as I have suggested, have some
concerns about this bill, we strongly support the rule. We urge its
passage, so we can proceed to consideration of this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. QUILLEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Myers], the chairman of the subcommittee.
Mr. MYERS of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank the committee for the rule
that the gentleman has given this subcommittee this year, once again. I
particularly thank both the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Quillen] and
the gentleman from California [Mr. Beilenson] for the very nice words
each have said about the gentleman from Alabama [Mr. Bevill] and me.
I take these few moments here to explain what we expect to be able to
accomplish this evening, the remainder of this evening. We hope and
expect to finish this bill tonight. With the cooperation of the
membership we will be able to do that. I do not like to see us have to
control the time, to limit the time on debate on any amendment, but if
it is necessary then we will not hesitate to do that. We must do that
if it becomes necessary to accomplish the mission tonight.
I hope we will have the cooperation of those Members who will be
offering amendments, that we limit the time on those amendments
voluntarily; much better to do it voluntarily than do it where we have
to compel the action by the House to limit the time, but if necessary,
we will. I hope those who have very little to say, and each of us has a
lot of things we could say, and right now I could be a little more
brief, I expect, but if we can limit the time this evening and not
speak unless we have absolutely something to say, it will help us
accomplish our goals tonight.
I do not think anyone wants to stay until midnight, but apparently,
because of the remaining schedule this week of floor activity, if it is
necessary to stay that late or even later to finish the bill, we expect
to finish the bill tonight. So please, I ask for Members' cooperation.
Again, I thank Members for the time they have given us today.
Mr. BEILENSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
California [Mr. Brown].
(Mr. BROWN of California asked and was given permission to revise and
extend his remarks.)
Mr. BROWN of California. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for
yielding me the time.
Mr. Speaker, I take this time to make a few comments, recognizing
that the time will be limited during consideration of the bill. May I
assure the distinguished chairman that I will cooperate with him fully
in getting us out of here by midnight by not offering any amendments of
my own, although I will speak on some of the others.
Mr. Speaker, as my distinguished colleague, the gentleman from
California, indicated, there are some situations in this bill which
cause us a little heartburn, and I am sure the gentleman knows what
they are. They are the same as were mentioned earlier. We believe that
the cuts in the solar and renewable category are excessive, and we
likewise have some problem with the management cuts, but we trust that
these can be at least partially resolved during the further course of
the bill.
Mr. Speaker, I also want to thank the committee for including a very
small item there which is of personal concern to me, and which I will
discuss later on in the bill. That is an item of $400,000 for continued
research on the Salton Sea.
The Salton Sea is not in my district. It is in the district of my
good friend
[[Page H8297]]
and colleague, the gentleman from California, Duncan Hunter. It is
shared by the gentleman from California, Sonny Bono, but it happens to
be the area in which I grew up. I used to swim in the Salton Sea when I
was a kid, and it is no longer swimmable. It is on the path to complete
collapse, with the death of the fish and the birds that use the fish,
the destruction of the recreational industry, and various other things
of that sort.
The Bureau of Reclamation, which I feel has the major responsibility
here, has been researching this for some years, and has not even yet
discovered what I could point out to them, that there is fish kill.
There are acres of dead fish along the beach. There are, similarly,
dead waterfowl, and this is on a major flyway, and it is going to be
catastrophic.
The $400,000 was not requested by the Bureau, it was added by the
committee, in their wisdom, and I commend them for that. The Bureau,
for some reason or other, the Bureau of Reclamation, which has a $10
million authorization to do this work passed in the water bill of
several years ago, of 1992, has asked for only $100,000 a year.
In my opinion it has been dilatory and delinquent in moving to the
stage of offering recommendations to solve this problem. At the risk of
belaboring a personal matter, I am going to take a few minutes during
the course of the general debate on the bill to discuss this even
further. We are talking about the destruction of a regional resource,
which I hate to see happen. I do not want to amend the bill by adding
$40 million to save it, but we will lay the groundwork for doing that
later.
Mr. QUILLEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 7 minutes to the gentleman from
Michigan [Mr. Knollenberg], a member of the committee.
Mr. KNOLLENBERG. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman from
Tennessee yielding time to me.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this rule.
I support this rule. It is an open rule which will allow an open
debate on the issues involved in the energy and water development
appropriations bill for fiscal year 1997.
This is the 13th of 13 appropriations bills. And I salute Chairman
Solomon and the Rules Committee for providing open rules.
This demonstrates the hard work and commitment by Chairman Solomon
and the Rules Committee to an open and fair discussion of all Members'
concerns throughout the appropriations process.
Being Members of Congress from 435 congressional districts, 50
States, and from diverse regions throughout America, we bring a
different story, a different understanding, a different set of
priorities to this floor of U.S. House of Representatives.
And with our diverse backgrounds we will not agree on everything. We
enter this debate, sometimes a rigorous debate, on the what the
spending priorities will be for the Federal Government for fiscal year
1997.
But under this open rule we can air our ideas, discuss our concerns,
and persuade others through debate.
One of the issues that I am particularly concerned about within the
Department of Energy is the issuance of buyouts for DOE and contractor
employees.
As the cold war came to a close during the fall of 1991, we left
behind a legacy of nuclear waste from the weapons manufacturing sites.
As we made a transition from production to clean up the Department of
Energy ramped up their employee numbers at the nuclear cleanup sites
to, in many cases, twice their previous staffing levels.
Sites like Handford, WA, saw staffing increases from approximately
11,500 level in the late 1980's to almost 17,000 in 1994.
The Rocky Flats site in Colorado saw increases from about 5,000
employees in 1998 to numbers over 7,500 in 1991.
And at the Savannah River site in South Carolina, employee numbers
were almost doubled from around 10,600 in 1988 up to almost 21,000 in
1992.
These increases occurred even though production of nuclear weapons at
these sites ceased by September 1991.
Now I will be the first to point out that these employee numbers have
since been brought down to full production levels in the past few
years. But I am still concerned with the Department's staffing plans to
facilitate further down sizing.
One of the mechanisms that the Department uses to minimize social and
economic impacts caused by the layoffs of cold war warriors is section
3161 of the Defense Authorization Act of 1993.
Employee severances packages provided for under section 3161 include
cash buyouts, job training, health care coverage, and relocation costs
coverage.
I support these benefits for the cold war warriors who for decades
were quintessential to maintaining our Nation's security through
nuclear deterrence.
However, I am very concerned about how these benefits have been
distributed freely to noncold war warriors.
I would like to relay to you an experience I had during my visit to
Rocky Flats in early June. During a briefing on work force
restructuring, I asked the contractor's vice president of human
relations a hypothetical question.
I asked: ``If I had worked at Rocky Flats for 5 years, what
separation benefits would I receive if I voluntarily left today?''
I was told I would receive a benefits package that would include:
First, a cash buyout based on percentage of salary and years
employed.
Second, 3 years of health benefits: year 1--full coverage; year 2--
partial coverage; and year 3--eligible for COBRA.
Third, relocation expenses.
Fourth, training expenses.
The contractor vice president went on to say, that even if I had only
been employed for 1 year, I would be entitled to this severance
package.
The buyouts include severance packages totalling over $25,000 per
separated employee.
Buyouts for those recently employed are not exclusive to Rocky Flats
by any means. In fact, I have strong concerns that such buyouts are
common at all sites EM wide. When placed under close scrutiny by the
inspector general's office, buyouts at the Fernald Environmental
Management project in Ohio were found to be handled with reckless
disregard for the American taxpayer.
In 1994, the Fernald nuclear cleanup site was instructed to reduce
the work force involved in doing remedial investigations and
feasibility studies and instead to focus the work force on actual
cleanup.
This shift in skills mix was to occur simultaneously with a work
force reduction of 660 employees--a 36-percent reduction--over 3 years.
An April 1996 inspector general report on work force restructuring at
the Fernald site, found that in many cases staffing buyouts were
followed by the rehiring of employees with essentially the same skill
mix. This resulted in no significant reductions in the bloated work
force and it did not save any money.
One example of such careless management at the Fernald site is where
14 secretaries were voluntarily separated during the 1994
restructuring, all receiving lucrative severance packages. But then 19
new secretaries were hired back during the same fiscal year.
The IG report continues that ``[i]n the [1995] restructuring,
[Fernald] identified 47 secretaries for separation, 3 of whom were
hired after the first restructuring.'' Since the announcement of the
1995 restructuring, Fernald has hired an additional 19 secretaries.
This ramping up, buying down, ramping up, buying down is absolutely
ridiculous and can't be allowed to continue.
In the report that accompanies this bill, the committee has addressed
these waste and inefficiencies that plague the worker transition
program. This report notifies the Department of Energy of the
committee's concerns about generous separation and severance benefits
being offered to non-cold war warriors.
Mr. Speaker, everyone should know that while the subcommittee is not
unilaterally opposed to buyouts, they should be used sparingly,
judiciously, and as part of an overall work force restructuring plan.
I would say to my colleagues that the subcommittee is committed to
getting to the bottom of this and this bill lays the ground work for
some much-needed reforms in the years to come.
I support this open rule that will allow for further open debate on
the
[[Page H8298]]
important issues concerning energy and water appropriations.
{time} 1600
Mr. QUILLEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from
Illinois [Mr. Weller].
(Mr. WELLER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks and include extraneous material.)
Mr. WELLER. Mr. Speaker, first, I want to thank my friend, the
gentleman from Tennessee [Mr. Quillen], for yielding me this time. Of
course, I stand in strong support of this open rule and also stand in
strong support of this bill.
I particularly want to congratulate my friend, the gentleman from
Indiana [Mr. Myers], on his leadership on this bill in bringing it to
the floor and also thank him, his subcommittee and the ranking member
for their bipartisan efforts.
This week the Chicago region suffered a devastating flood throughout
the entire Chicago metropolitan area, particularly in the south suburbs
and the southwestern suburbs which I represent; in fact, affecting
hundreds if not thousands of homes, millions if not multimillions of
dollars' worth of damage affecting both homes and, of course, small
businesses.
Governor Edgar moved very quickly to declare a state of emergency in
a number of the counties and, of course, has since requested from the
President a disaster declaration on a Federal scale. As I pointed out
earlier, hundreds if not thousands of homes are damaged and hundreds if
not thousands of small businesses are now being surveyed for damage as
a result of this high water and floods that devastated the Chicago
metropolitan area. Particularly in Will and Cook Counties which I
represent, we saw excessive damage.
I do want to point out that in the south suburbs there is an effort
that has been under way for the last generation which, had it been
completed, it is estimated at least 90 percent of the damage that
occurred would not have occurred, protecting hundreds if not thousands
of homes from flood damage. That project is known as the tunnel and
reservoir project, or the deep tunnel as it has been nicknamed for the
last generation. It is not done yet and we are continuing to work in a
bipartisan effort to complete this project.
The deep tunnel or the tunnel and reservoir project is a system of
tunnels drop shafts, pumping stations and reservoirs. Unfortunately,
one of the uncompleted reservoirs in this whole project, the Thornton
Reservoir, actually is located in my district in the south suburbs.
When completed, this reservoir will provide 5 billion gallons of
floodwater storage and could have prevented the bulk of the floodwater
damage that occurred to hundreds if not thousands of homes and small
businesses in the south suburbs.
This reservoir, when completed, will have a service area of over 90
square miles and will provide relief to 131,000 dwellings in 18
communities. In fact when it is done, the real benefit to many
homeowners will be lower flood insurance premiums as well as higher
home values.
The taxpayers and constituents in the south suburbs of Chicago are
deeply in support of the Thornton Reservoir and the deep tunnel project
and greatly appreciated the fact that Chairman Myers came to my
district the week of the Fourth of July and personally surveyed and
spoke with local officials. The timing could not have been better,
considering the floodwaters came just 2 weeks later.
This is an investment in the future. I do want to thank my colleagues
of both parties in the House for the bipartisan effort, our efforts to
bring flood relief to the south suburbs as they progressed.
I want to point out that the House in the last few weeks has approved
$101 million in the ag appropriations bill for the Little Calumet and
Thornton Creek flood control project, $10 million in the VA-HUD
appropriation to continue work on the tunnels involved, and this
particular bill sets aside $6.65 million in construction funding for
the Corps of Engineers to complete and continue work on the Thornton
Reservoir.
I urge an ``aye'' vote, Mr. Speaker. This is a good bill. This is an
effort that I appreciate very much in behalf of my constituents to
protect the homes in the south suburbs of Chicago from flooding. We do
need flood control.
Mr. Speaker, I include the following extraneous material for the
Record:
[From the Star, July 21, 1996]
The Flood Disaster
Weather disasters are so commonplace in the news that we
tend to discount their importance--until we are confronted,
first-hand, with the human realities of such events. Almost
all of us were forced to do that through the night Wednesday
and into the weekend as we tried to cope with the worst flood
emergency in this region in recent history.
Depending on where you live in the South or Southwest
Suburbs, you now are faced with anything from a time-
consuming backyard and basement clean-up project to a
complete disaster it will take you weeks or even months to
recover from.
No local area was spared the torrential downpour of
Wednesday night and Thursday morning. But people in some
communities--notably villages in Paloa, Orland, Bremen and
Thornton townships--watched in awe and fear as anywhere from
seven to 15 inches of rain pelted down, totally inundating
their communities with flood water.
That's the most rain ever recorded in 24 hours in the
history of those communities.
The impact was immense. Whole neighborhoods were flooded,
some so much so that families had to be evacuated. Most, if
not all, major viaducts were under water, forcing the
rerouting of traffic and in some cases the total shutdown of
travel. Thousands of people could not get out of their
garages, much less to their jobs. Thousands more basements
and downstairs living quarters were filled with water,
ruining furniture, carpets, drapes and furnishings and
seriously damaging or destroying utilities.
Electrical and telephone service was disrupted or totally
knocked out in all areas. Sewers backed up, causing a
potential health crisis; in unincorporated areas septic
fields were swamped causing sewage to float into backyards,
basements, garages and homes themselves.
Thousands of vehicles were disabled by floods and their
owners faced the prospect of paying hundreds in repairs to
get ruined motors running again. Insurance agencies reported
more claims calls on Thursday than on any single day in
memory.
Fortunately, as of Saturday, no flood-related deaths to
persons in the area had been reported. But there was the
compelling story of a family in Homewood that lost three show
dogs who drowned in the lower level of their home when it
flooded.
The total cost of this disaster is far into the millions of
dollars, probably beyond accurate calculation.
On the positive side, there were hundreds of tales of
people helping people and of governmental agencies--local and
state--coming to the rescue of flood victims. We were able to
observe what we have heard about in other places when
earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes or other natural disasters
strike--that most people are at their human best when their
neighbors need them most.
Last week will be one to remember. Hopefully, there will
not be one like it again in many years to come.
____
Flood Potential Spreads With Growth
(By Kevin Carmody)
People asking why their normally high and dry homes flooded
last week might find some clues in last July's deadly heat
wave.
Chicagoans learned the hard way that no two strings of hot
weather are ever identical in all the variables that can
prove deadly. There are peak temperature, nighttime lows,
humidity and wind speed, to name some of the factors. Last
summer, slight variations in a few turned an early July hot
spell into an unprecedented killer that claimed 733 lives.
Likewise, severe rainstorms vary as to whether the rain
comes all at once, in several deluges or intermittently over
several days. Then there's the matter of whether the ground
is already saturated, or perhaps too dry to be absorbent. So
total rainfall--like peak temperature--is only part of the
puzzle of whether a storm will produce severe flooding.
But according to experts on flood prevention, man controls
the rest of the puzzle--right down to the early settlers'
decision to build a community called Chicago in what was a
primordial swamp.
Because the soils of such swamps drain poorly, the area was
destined to face severe flooding problems as communities
spread outward from Lake Michigan.
``There have been floods here for thousands of years, but
the area affected was probably smaller than it is today,''
said Dennis Dreher of the Northeastern Illinois Planning
Commission. ``More water used to soak into the ground, but
then we drained wetlands and channelized streams,''
undermining the land's natural flood control mechanisms.
The construction of homes and streets and parking lots also
exacerbate flooding by reducing the amount of soil surface
available to absorb rainfall. One 400-foot stretch of
street means nearly 20,000 gallons of water must find
somewhere else to go.
And the rate at which people are paving over the area's
remaining open land is unprecedented. From 1970 to 1990, the
population of the six-county region grew by only
[[Page H8299]]
4 percent while the amount of developed land increased by
nearly 50 percent.
In the never-ending search for pristine rural homesteads,
urban refugees are fueling wasteful land-use patterns that
may come back to haunt them. Eventually, dense subdivisions
find their way into rural hideaways, whether the land is
hydrologically suited to development or not, and that
increases the flooding potential.
There is no end in sight for this outward expansion, given
Americans' preference for open space and the open land
outside Chicago, said Pierre DeVise, an urbanologist and
professor emeritus at Roosevelt University.
``I would say there still is room to grow, unlike New York
and Los Angeles,'' DeVise said, ``But in areas such as
DuPage, people now face considerable traffic congestion and
some of the advantages of low density are already defeated.
So people are going ever farther out.''
Mention flooding in suburban and rural communities, and
many people instinctively think of rivers or streams
overrunning their banks. But an even more common occurrence
is the subdivision that floods because it was built in a low-
lying depression with inadequate stormwater drainage.
Even communities that effectively limit building in
wetlands and floodplains can find themselves approving
dubious development sites because of outdated or incomplete
floodplain maps.
The maps typically would not show depressions unless they
are periodically flooded by waterways. And many floodplain
maps haven't been updated for 10 to 15 years.
``In that time the floodplains have gotten broader, so
communities are allowing development in areas that don't show
on the map to be in a floodplain, but in reality are,'' said
Dreher, who as NIPC's director of natural resources helps
advise local governments on stormwater and floodplain
management.
Although rainfall records were set at Midway Airport and
several southern and western suburbs--where 6 to 16 inches
fell Wednesday and Thursday--some areas that previously
flooded during major storms were spared this time.
``There were areas hit hard in 1987 in DuPage County that
were not affected badly this time,'' Dreher said. ``There are
different types of flood events.
``The 100-year flood seems to occur every other year, but
each time they tend to occur in a different area.''
In some cases, that's because hard-hit communities have
learned their lesson about allowing development with little
regard for stormwater management.
DuPage County approved one of the nation's most progressive
stormwater control ordinances in 1990, protecting the
integrity of floodplains and requiring new developments to
have ponds for storing stormwater, Dreher said.
In the South Suburbs, Richton Park, Homeword, Flossmoor,
Olympia Fields and Matteson are among the communities that
have adopted model rules for new developments.
``Part of the reason these communities now have progressive
rules is that they've had their problems and learned from
their mistakes,'' Dreher said. ``It takes self-control for
local officials to stand up to developers who will have to
spend more money to comply.''
____
Suburbs Slowly Drying Out--Weary Flood Victims Watch Weather
(By Molly Sullivan and Gene O'Shea)
Residents across the south suburbs hard hit by last week's
flash floods continued cleaning their homes Saturday under
sunny skies but with wary eyes toward the future.
In Homewood, police were searching for a 79-year-old white
man possibly suffering from Alzheimer's disease, who walked
away from the Heartland Health Care Center, 940 Maple Ave.,
at approximately 8 p.m. on Friday.
Meanwhile trash bins lined Windsor Drive in Orland Park for
residents to discard their soiled belongings destroyed when
two nearby detention ponds overflowed, flooding usually dry
streets.
The stress of Mother Nature's wrath was evident on the
faces of weary Orland Park residents not accustomed to
flooding.
``It's just very frustrating. One day we're enjoying our
beautiful (basement) rec room, and the next we're throwing
everything out,'' Orland resident Kathy Calandriello said.
``I guess we should be grateful for the memories.''
Several miles to the east some South Holland residents took
the flooding in stride, especially those who have been
flooded in the past.
Sitting on his front porch just yards from the Little
Calumet River, South Holland resident Steve Lund thumbed
through a thick photo album he keeps that depicts his
battles with Mother Nature over the years.
``This was just a couple of years ago,'' Lund said,
pointing to a photo of several ducks and golden retrievers
paddling around in his flooded backyard. ``We had some pet
ducks, and they loved it. So did the dogs.''
Lund knows all about flooding. In the last 19 years he's
been flooded four times and never once thought about moving.
Dealing with Mother Nature he says, is a state of mind.
``Sure it's a pain to have to move everything in and out.
If you're prepared for it, it's not so bad. If you're not
ready--that's a different story,'' Lund said. ``The way I
look at it, I get to move everything around every 10 years
and give it a good cleaning.''
In most places, the streets were dry where, just the day
before, water hit the doors of homes and covered cars.
Commonwealth Edison reported that only 20 customers
remained without power throughout the south suburbs, down
from 800 a day earlier and 18,000 at the height of the storm.
Ameritech, meanwhile, saw an increase in the number of
lines out, from 7,400 on Friday to 8,200 on Saturday.
Spokesman Frank Mitchell said the company attributed the
increase to customers' not being able to get to phones or not
discovering they had lost service because they were busy
bailing out flooded houses.
Crews continued to work around the clock, Mitchell said,
but will have to wait in some areas where equipment remains
submerged.
An emergency phone bank was set up Saturday in Plainfield
at the intersection of River Court and River Road. Residents
can make free local calls from Ameritech phones until service
is restored to their area, Mitchell said.
Nursing home resident Charlie Pryzybyla was wearing a
Heartland Health Care Center identification wrist band and an
alarm wrist band with a device that alerts the center when a
patient walks out the door, but he was able to get away
anyway, according to the center's administrator, Janice
Podwika.
``He's pretty fast at times, and was gone in an instant
when the alarm went off,'' Podwika. ``But we realized he was
gone, we proceeded with our standard policy in cases like
this, and then notified police.'' Podwika said Pryzybyla, who
used to live in Harvey, has tried to leave the facility
before. She said the facility is now working with police who
have taken charge of the matter.
Police said they conducted a 2\1/2\-hour helicopter
infrared search around the area Friday night and dispatched
dogs to the scene with negative results.
Pryzybyla is described as fair complexioned with green
eyes. He wears glasses and has a scar on his nose and one of
his eyes. He is balding and is 5 feet, 5 inches tall and
weighs 147 pounds. He had on a brown dress shirt, dark brown
pants, brown belt, and white gym shoes. Anyone with any
information concerning the disappearance of Pryzybyla should
contact the police at 798-2131.
Meanwhile, in virtually every town across the south
suburbs, officials were out in the neighborhoods assessing
damage and trying to help those who needed it.
In all, some 11 teams of state and federal disaster relief
agents were going to every affected area trying to assess
damage in anticipation of a federal disaster declaration.
Most roads were reopened by Saturday, and the major job
facing most people was how to dispose of their water-soaked
belongings and clean up their houses and property.
Generally, the news was positive from the southeast suburbs
where the Little Calumet River and Lemont where the Illinois
& Michigan Canal washed into the streets.
``I think we're pretty good,'' Lockport Fire Lt. Bruce
Hopkins said. ``I think even our hardest-hit areas drained
off pretty good.''
Lockport city officials held a town meeting Saturday to
inform residents about the latest on disaster relief and to
give them an overview of the flooding problems.
Residents had a chance to air their concerns about the
flooding and officials said they were working as quickly as
possible to assess the damage and meet residents' needs.
The scene on the streets in Lockport was the same as the
one in every other suburban and city neighborhood hit by
floodwaters. ``You drive anywhere, and there are (garbage)
bags out in front and wet carpeting,'' Hopkins said.
As residents cleaned up, city officials were dealing with a
lingering problem.
Hopkins said the police and fire emergency call dispatch
system that serves the city was ruined when floodwaters
damaged its equipment at the central dispatch center in
Plainfield.
As of Saturday, the city and several other Will County
communities were still without their main 911 systems. A
backup system was in place and officials said they would have
to rely on it for at least the next several days.
Elsewhere in Will County, Lynn Behringer of the Will County
Office of Emergency Management said there were four teams of
state and federal disaster relief officials touring the areas
hit by flooding.
She said the tours would continue until every area was
assessed, and it will probably run into the early part of
this week. ``It's going to go on for a while,'' she said of
the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Illinois
Emergency Management Agency officials who are touring with
local officials.
Behringer said most people are understanding about the
flooding.
Tinley Park, the Palos area and Lemont all reported dry
streets.
Palos Hills Chamber of Commerce board members unanimously-
approved Friday night a grant program to assist residents
whose homes were damaged. Residents needing financial
assistance to cover repair and replacement costs not covered
by insurance can call the city's community resource
department at (708) 598-3400 on Monday to apply for funds.
____
[[Page H8300]]
[From the Daily Southtown, July 20, 1996]
Victims Clean Up--Water Recedes; Memories Awash
The scene was the same Friday in many of the Southland's
flood zones. Furniture was placed on lawns and clothes were
hung from trees and swing sets as residents tried to take
advantage of the sunshine that didn't come soon enough.
From Chicago's Southwest Side to Lockport, it was Day 2 of
cleanup for residents of areas hardest hit by Wednesday's and
Thursday's furious floods. And to many, it was clear that
there would be many days to come.
The story was somewhat different in the southeast suburbs,
where residents had spent a nervous Thursday nigh watching
and sandbagging the banks of the flood-swollen Little Calumet
River. To the relief of many, the river's water began to
recede Friday morning, South Holland Mayor Donald DeGraff
said.
But not before floodwaters washed out a park, a subdivision
and the access road leading to another cluster of homes. And
residents, like others in the region were left to the task of
bailing and pumping.
In South Holland--the hardest hit of all southeast
suburbs with 6.6 inches of rain recorded--residents used
pumps and garden hoses to bail out flooded basements.
``We've had these two pumps going since 5 this morning,''
said Ann Kick, who along with husband, Bill, gazed out at the
ducks swimming in their yard. ``We have a 4-foot fence out
there and it is under about 3 additional feet of water.''
Ann Kick said she and her husband learned an important
lesson a decade ago when they first moved into the village.
``We just sat there in disbelief as the water from the
Little Calumet River flooded our yard and home,'' she said.
``We had just purchased new carpeting, and it was ruined.
This time, we moved all the furniture upstairs so all that
was damaged this time were the carpeting and the paneling.''
Kick's house was the first stop on a tour led by DeGraff of
three local areas devastated by the flooding. The tour was
largely for the benefit of John Mitchell, director of the
Illinois Emergency Management Agency, the agency that will
decide whether to recommend a request for federal disaster
relief.
Gouwens Park, located at 16000 Seton Road, was the second
stop on the hour-long tour. Flooding from the banks of the
Little Calumet River turned the property into what resembled
more of a boat launch than a popular park and baseball
facility.
Homes in the adjacent Pacesetter subdivision along
Riverview Drive were inundated with floodwater, although 200
volunteers spent hours late Thursday night filling thousands
of sandbags.
The third and final stop was 170th Street near the Calumet
Expressway where public works crews spent Thursday and Friday
constructing a temporary road that allowed local access to
landlocked residents near Everett Avenue.
The small road was among scores throughout the region still
impassable Friday, the most significant of which was a 12-
mile stretch of southbound Interstate 55 between Illinois 30
and Arsenal Road.
Some of the early statistics of impact of Wednesday's and
Thursday's record-breaking storms were staggering. Officials
in Cook and Will counties were still working to compile the
numbers of homes damaged and dollars lost. But early numbers
in Joliet--Will County's hardest hit town--put the number of
flooded homes at 8,000.
In all, Gov. Jim Edgar declared 15 counties, including Cook
and Will, state disaster areas and called out three units of
the Illinois National Guard to help local authorities cope
with the high water.
National Guard troops were dispatched to Naperville to help
officials there deal with the 300 flooded homes and 200
submerged vehicles.
Guard troops were preparing to help with traffic control,
cleanup and security in evacuated areas, authorities said.
In the south suburbs, 18,000 Commonwealth Edison customers
lost power for at least a brief period.
By Friday afternoon, crews had restored power to all but
800 of those customers, ComEd spokeswoman Lucille Younger
said. But work crews still were working during the day to
restore power by Friday night to 22,000 Bartlett-area
residents, Younger said.
Phones also were affected. Ameritech on Friday reported
7,400 customers were without phone service in Chicago, the
south suburbs, Will County and the Naperville and Aurora
areas.
On Thursday, Ameritech received a record number of calls,
56,000, from customers concerned about phone service.
And as for the rainfall numbers--17\1/2\ inches were
measured by the National Weather Service in the Aurora area.
One forecaster at the weather service calculated an
astonishing 91 billion gallons were dumped on the
metropolitan area by the storm.
``I have no idea how they came up with that figure, but
that's the number they're throwing around here,'' Scott
Dickson said. ``It sounds incredible, way too high. I'm not a
mathematician.''
In Lockport, another Will County community with severe
damage, floodwaters on the city's west side had receded
dramatically by Friday, but the cleanup had just begun for
the more than 300 residents whose homes were damaged after
the Illinois & Michigan Canal overflowed its banks on
Thursday.
``We're draining the basement, but we still can't get in
there yet,'' Gerry Rodeghero said of his 83-year-old mother's
house on Ames Street.
Most residents in the low-lying neighborhood west of the
I&M Canal and north of the Ninth Street bridge took the day
off from work to clear out the flooded basements, garages and
in some cases first floors of their homes.
Lockport city administrator Larry McCasland said nine city
workers were helping residents move the debris out of their
yards and into trash binds placed in several locations around
the city.
The workers will be on hand all weekend to help with the
cleanup and the bins will remain out in city neighborhoods
for as long as they are needed, McCasland said.
The unincorporated streets of Worth Township between
Illinois 83 and 127th Street were bustling with activity
Friday as residents and emergency crews removed flood-damaged
carpeting, paneling and furniture from homes.
Two trucks hauled out resident's cars caught in the flood.
Gasoline-powered pumps continued to rid basements and
crawlspaces of floodwater but were incapable of removing the
lingering stench.
In Oak Forest it was the question of what to do about the
former Fire Station No. 2. The building on Cicero Avenue just
north of 167th Street was nearly submerged during the
flooding. Late Friday, the water was still up to the windows
about 2 feet deep.
The station, abandoned by the fire department in 1989
because of flooding problems, is at the center of a
controversy with area residents and Mayor James Richmond over
whether it should be torn down.
What will happen to it now remains to be seen and the
matter could come up at Tuesday's city council meeting.
While South Holland took the brunt of the storm in the
southeast suburban area, other communities received their
share of damage.
In Burnham, residents in the 13900 block of Manistee Avenue
were bailing out basements. One resident, who declined to be
identified, said the storm was ``the worst he's seen in the
last 40 years.''
In Dolton, village officials had to close 158th Street on
Thursday but reopened it Friday when the Little Calumet River
overflowed its banks. Edward Handzel, village administrator,
said the river began to recede and added--he hoped the
``worst was over.''
The floods not only affected suburbia but also Chicago
residents.
More than 5,000 homes, most of them in a belt from the
Southeast Side to Midway Airport, suffered flooded basements
after the heaviest one-day rainfall in Chicago history, Mayor
Richard Daley said Friday.
City crews already had helped pump out basements at 4,600
homes, officials said, and fixed 414 downed light poles and
malfunctioning traffic signals.
``This was the most severe rainfall to ever hit the region,
8.08 inches since Wednesday morning,'' Daley said.
Trucks were to make rare Sunday pickups in some areas,
officials said, and special bulk runs would continue until
Wednesday.
City forestry bureau crews answered 140 calls of downed
trees or tree limbs, officials said.
The two hardest-hit areas were the 8th Ward, south of 79th
Street from Cottage Grove to Yates avenues, which led the
city with 469 flooded basements; and the 13th Ward, south and
east of Midway Airport, where 463 homes were hit.
Also leading the city's flood call list were: The 6th Ward,
from Lafayette to Cottage Grove avenues south of 67th Street,
368 calls; the 15th Ward, which includes Marquette Park, 325
calls; the 21st Ward, including the Washington Heights and
Brainard areas, 300 calls; and the 18th Ward, including the
Ashburn area, 232 calls.
Other ward totals included: 7th Ward 227 flooded basement
calls; 10th Ward, 103 calls; 12th ward, 19 calls; 14th Ward,
193; 19th Ward, 224; and 23rd Ward, 85.
____
The Fight to Hold the River Back
(By Crystal Yednak)
The water on the Little Calumet River crested around 9 a.m.
Friday, after residents and village workers spent the night
trying to hold the flood back.
As the river rose in South Holland, residents banded
together to sandbag along the river's edge and near homes.
The public works staff of 21 people had been filling and
moving sandbags since early morning, so the village aired a
request for volunteers on the local cable station.
South Holland Public Works Supt. Chris Niehof estimated
that about 200 people responded to a request the village made
for volunteers.
``I'm proud that we have the type of community where people
still care,'' said Niehof.
Around 6 p.m. Thursday, village officials realized the
river was not going down, he said.
``We couldn't keep up,'' Niehof said. ``It was a losing
battle.''
Many people stayed until the early morning hours to fight
the rising waters.
Some of the residents who came out to help didn't
experience any flood damage to their homes, said Asst. Fire
Chief Randy Stegenga. They came out to help other residents
defend their homes from the flood, he said.
Stegenga had four typewritten pages listing the names of
people who had helped out.
[[Page H8301]]
The list also included names from other communities such as
Crete, Lansing and Highland, Ind.
Together, the volunteers made about 5,000 sandbags,
Stegenga said.
South Holland resident Virginia Knittle started filling
sandbags at village hall around 5 p.m. At that time, the
water was still a block away from her house.
``I figured I should go earn my sandbags in case the water
comes over to my house,'' Knittle said.
By the time she returned at 9 p.m., the water had reached
her house.
After a previous flood wreaked havoc on her home, Knittle
and her husband raised the doorways and took other
precautions against flooding.
Knittle did get to use some of the sandbags she had
filled--she used them to protect her windows and doorways
from the flooding.
On Friday morning, Knittle said she was trapped in her
house by water that had crept up to her doorstep.
Throughout Friday, village officials monitored the level of
the river, which was slowly declining.
To be safe, Niehof said the public works department would
leave the sandbags in place in case more rain fell.
By Saturday, the river was on its way down toward more
normal levels. And a community was breathing easier--but
warily; weathermen were talking about a 50 percent chance of
more rain on Sunday.
____
[From the Star, July 21, 1996]
Despite Criticism, It Appears Deep Tunnels Did Their Job
For the first time since 1990, storm water from a
torrential rain overwhelmed the region's Deep Tunnel last
week, forcing authorities to allow millions of gallons of
untreated sewage to flow into Lake Michigan.
This release of sewage-tainted storm water may have helped
avert additional flooding in the south and central parts of
Chicago.
So some residents of inundated neighborhoods were phoning
the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District--the agency that
controls the system--to angrily ask why the floodgates
weren't opened sooner.
In response, MWRD vice president Kathleen Therese Meany
points out that the agency's goals in a situation such as
Thursday's are different from those of residents with rising
water in their basements.
``The agency's mission is to protect the waters of Lake
Michigan,'' Meany said. ``We don't like to do this because it
dumps raw sewage into the lake.
``If we opened them (the floodgates) earlier, sewage may
have gone way out to the intake cribs and could put the
drinking supply in danger.''
The sewage release forced closure of Chicago area beaches
to swimmers until tests confirmed bacteria levels were in the
safe zone.
But there are more fundamental reasons why water-soaked
Cook County residents shouldn't be upset that the MWRD waited
until Thursday morning to open the locks that control the
flow of the Chicago and Calumet rivers. MWRD Supt. Hugh
McMillan said.
First, tainted storm water must fill mainline sewers and
the MWRD's Deep Tunnel system before it begins flowing into
the rivers, McMillan said. Only after the river levels rise
to a certain point, can the locks be opened to release the
water into the lake.
``By that time, the event is ending and the damage has
already been done,'' McMillan said.
Second, most neighborhood flooding is not caused by backups
in the main sewer lines, but by the inability of the smaller
lines to carry away water fast enough during a storm this
severe, McMillan said.
At Midway Airport, a record 7.7 inches of rain fell between
7 a.m. Wednesday and 7 a.m. Thursday, officials said, with
much of it coming Wednesday afternoon.
The heaviest downpours quickly exceeded sewer capacity,
officials said.
``The sewer system is not designed to hold water: it's
designed to transport water.'' Sagun said.
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley said city officials found the
MWRD's response satisfactory.
``They handled it appropriately,'' Daley said. ``You can't
just open the locks any time.''
Ald. John Buchanan [10th], who in the past has been
critical of the MWRD for failing to extend its Deep Tunnel
system into his Southeast Side ward, said he found no fault
with the district's timing on opening the locks.
Built on a primordial swamp with soils that drain poorly,
the Chicago area has had to rely on sewers and more elaborate
projects, like the $2.4 billion Deep Tunnel, for flood
relief.
The Deep Tunnel system is a network of giant tunnels that
captures the overflow from sewers during heavy rains so that
the tainted water normally doesn't flow into area waterways.
It usually works, but every few years too much rain falls
too swiftly and the tainted water flows into waterways like
the Chicago and Calumet rivers.
Early this century, the flows of both rivers were reversed
so that raw-sewage would not enter Lake Michigan, where it
could contaminate the city's drinking water supply. Before
then, thousands died here in cholera and typhoid fever
epidemics.
The flow reversal was accomplished with the locks that, on
Thursday morning, were opened to allow the rivers to flow
swiftly the opposite direction--into Lake Michigan, where the
water level is several feet lower.
The MWRD opened the O'Brien locks at 133rd Street about
7:14 a.m., allowing the Calumet River to flow north into the
lake. The decision was made when the river level reached 3.8
feet, although the MWRD policy is normally to wait until it
reaches about 4 feet.
On the Chicago River, the locks near Randolph Street were
opened at 9:40 a.m. when the river reached 3.27 feet, just
short of the 3.3- to 3.5-foot level normally prescribed.
The MRWD also discharged storm water into the Des Plaines
River through locks at Lockport.
The most concentrated sewage and most contaminated runoff,
from the initial rainfall, already had been captured in the
Deep Tunnels. So the raw sewage contained in the 750 million
gallons of storm water that flowed into the lake by 1:30 p.m.
was well-diluted, McMillan said. ``It should not have an
impact on drinking water,'' he said.
By 5 p.m. the MWRD was slowly closing the locks.
Although the Deep Tunnels' current capacity is about 1.2
billion gallons of storm water, their purpose is pollution
control, not flood control. It is the second stage of the
Deep Tunnel project that promises significant flood relief in
the form of three huge reservoirs.
The O'Hare Reservoir is scheduled for completion in fall
1997. Reservoirs in McCook and Thornton were authorized by
Congress in 1986 and are in the planning stages, but
continued federal funding is not guaranteed.
The McCook reservoir, as now proposed, would hold 10.5
billion gallons of water, while the Thornton facility would
hold 8 billion gallons.
``It's impossible to completely eliminate flooding, and the
federal government would never go along with such a
project,'' Meany said. ``Some areas will still have sewers
that can't handle a storm like this one.But when we have the
reservoirs on line, it will make a big difference.''
____
Recent Floods Put Tunnel in Forefront
weller promises federal funds will flow to quarry project
(By Laura Pavlenko)
South Holland.--As elected officials toured flooded areas
throughout the village late last week, they stressed the need
for a permanent flooding solution. But even if federal
funding continues to flow to the Thornton Quarry reservoir
project, a solution still is years away.
For decades the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District has
worked on a countywide Tunnel and Reservoir Plan, better
known as the Deep Tunnel project, to solve persistent
flooding and subsequent pollution problems. A spokesman for
the MWRD said Friday that during last week's rains, the
tunnels in the south suburbs were completely filled, holding
the maximum 1.2 billion gallons of water.
Still, local sewers backed up into residents' basements and
waterways rose high enough to cause devastating flooding to
hundreds of homes.
South Holland Mayor Don DeGraff said had the tunnels been
connected to the west lobe of the Thornton Quarry--the final
phase of the Deep Tunnel project--flooding problems would
have been nonexistent.
``We wouldn't have any of this flooding,'' he said as he
toured the flood damaged areas with U.S. Rep. Jerry Weller,
R-Morris, and other state officials. ``There's no place
for this water to go but into property owners' homes.''
South Holland and other local communities' cries for a
permanent solution to the flooding problem have not fallen on
deaf ears.
MWRD officials say they are close to reaching an agreement
with Material Services Corp., the company that owns and
operates the Thornton Quarry, so the area may be used as a
flood basin for an additional 3 billion gallons of water when
needed.
Meanwhile, Weller has convinced the Washington leadership
to add requests for funds to three separate bills being
considered by Congress. The House Appropriations' Energy and
Water Committee recently passed a bill that slates $6.7
million to be used to engineer the site. An additional $10
million would be used to complete the Deep Tunnel project,
and $101 million for controlling the Little Calumet River and
Thorn Creek flooding while the quarry reservoir project is
under construction.
A spokeswoman for the MWRD said about 75 percent of the
Deep Tunnel and Thornton Reservoir project's funding comes
from federal sources.
The project, begun in the late 1970s, calls for 109 miles
of tunnels, 12 feet or wider, carved out of limestone bedrock
about 300 feet underground in three separate ``systems.'' The
O'Hare system is the smallest; all 6.6 miles of tunnels have
been completed.
The mainstream system, the largest, stretches from
Chicago's North Side to the South Branch of the Chicago
River, and ends near the proposed McCook reservoir.
The Calumet system includes 36.3 miles of tunnels
stretching along Torrence Avenue from the Southeast Side and
branching into Dolton and South Holland and westward along
the Cal-Sag Channel. Only about 21 miles of tunnels have been
completed to date.
[[Page H8302]]
Weller said should Congress continue to approve funding for
the project, area residents will begin to experience relief
around the turn of the century. The entire project is
scheduled to be completed in 14 to 15 years, provided federal
funding is not interrupted.
On Friday, DeGraff said he's been pleased with the response
from Weller and other officials.
``We're very appreciative of the attention from federal and
state legislators,'' DeGraff said. ``We haven't seen this
kind of response from federal regulators in quite some
time.''
Mr. BEILENSON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. QUILLEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, I
yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on
the resolution.
The previous question was ordered.
The resolution was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________