[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 136 (Friday, September 27, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H11590-H11596]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
INTEGRITY NEEDED IN THE WHITE HOUSE
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of May
12, 1995, the gentleman from California [Mr. Dornan] is recognized for
60 minutes.
Mr. DORNAN. Mr. Speaker, a bit of bipartisan levity. In case the
1,300,000 audience from the territory of Guam, in which it is already
tomorrow, on the other side of the dateline, all the way through our
beautiful 50th State, Hawaii, down to the territory of Puerto Rico and
the Virgin Island, not to forget Western Samoa, back in the Pacific,
all of them watching may have missed it earlier today, because of the
various time zones, my friend, the gentleman from Ohio Jim Traficant,
made this observation on our runaway, bloated Federal Government.
This is Jim Traficant. He is the best one-minute man in the House,
not I, so I hope I do it some justice. Here goes Traficant, fighting
Democrat of Ohio: ``Don't be fooled by the Clinton Administration's
budget-cutting rhetoric, because nothing has changed,'' says
Representative James A. Traficant, Ohio Democrat.
``In and effort to cut the budget, the GAO called the OMB and the
CBO, the RTC and the NSC and the ITC and the GSA and the IRS, and they
had no success.'' I am with him so far. I have tracked every one of
those agencies. I have been here 20 years, so the alphabet soup is okay
to the point.
Now, ``So since they had no success,'' Mr. Traficant continues, ``The
GAO then called the DOD, the DOE, the DOT, and the DDT.'' I think he
lost me on DDT. ``Still, they could find no cuts. So then the GAO
called the CIA, the DIA, and the OSI, and the PCBs and the PCPs.'' I
fell off the charts on the last one. ``And they could find no cuts.''
``So then they called again the OSI and the ORI and the IUD, and
could find no cuts. And finally, so frustrated, they called,'' and I am
a married guy, I know the code on this next one, ``they called the PMS,
and there were no cuts to be made. So they decided there should be a
whole new program called the accounting selection system, hereafter to
be known as A-S-S, which only goes to show us, when it comes to
bureaucrats and cuts, it is still the same in Washington, D.C. It is
called BS in D.C.''
That is the last time I will be lighthearted here, because I would
like to read a letter. Last night I was happily incorrect. I did not
make the last special order of the very successful 104th Congress.
Canadian yearly multimillionare--meaning every year he becomes a
multimillionaire over and over--Peter Jennings says this was not a
productive Congress. Contraire, Peter, my Canadian friend, who pays a
lot of U.S. income tax, I hope. It was very successful.
I though last night was it. So here I am back for an hour, to be
joined by my friend, the gentleman from Huntington Beach and the
greater area, including a lot of parts that I represented for 8 years
in beautiful Orange County, he will be joining me. But I want to read a
letter, I would say to the gentleman from California, Mr. Rohrabacher,
and then ask the Chair's unanimous consent to engage in a colloquy.
Mr. Speaker, this is from a doctor in the hometown where by mom and
my aunt, Flo Haley, grew up, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, the great
Scranton Wilkes-Barre, Wyoming Valley. That is where the State of
Wyoming got its name, right there in eastern Pennsylvania.
This is Dr. Gerald Ferry--I will not give his address. Jerry Ferry,
kind of an easy name to remember, said ``Dear Congressman Dornan, I
respectfully request that you consider organizing a series of special
orders regarding Clinton's attempted reelection similar to those
conducted in 1992,'' when, of course, he was not protected by rule
XVIII, which is to keep us from going for one another's throats here
and in the other, as Tip O'Neill used to say, ``the other body;'' I
like the great American's way of calling the Senate ``the other body.''
Dr. Ferry continues, ``Please, do whatever you can to rid our great
Nation of the Clinton menace.'' He means the Clinton administration; he
is not being personal there, I am sure. Dr. Ferry would not do that.
``Your friend, Jerry. No response necessary.''
We had talked, and we were called Tiger Flight. This post-Korean War
fighter pilot and three combat pilots, the gentleman from Texas, Sam
Johnson, a few years older than I, fought in Korea and came back in
Vietnam. That is what almost 30 years of service did for that great
American; shot down in both wars, captured in Vietnam, horribly
tortured. Only the torture of Red McDaniel, our friend, and a few
others ever went beyond Sam Johnson of Texas, our colleague's torture.
He joined me on the floor one night after our colleague, the
gentleman from California, Duncan Hunter, joined me. And then the only
aerial ace since World War I began to ever serve in the U.S. House or
Senate, our colleague, the gentleman from California, ``Duke''
Cunningham, he joined us. His district adjoins Duncan Hunter's.
That was 4 years ago this very day, and we went into October. I think
we adjourned late into the night of October 4-5, and we became known as
Tiger Flight, and I was getting a thousand calls every 24 hours from
smart Americans who saw what was coming.
There were no books out on either Clinton, no talk about, it takes a
Clinton village to raise my children. You know where my kids were
raised. Mr. Speaker, you may not know; but you know, Dana, in Westwood
Village and Brentwood. I do not think O.J. Simpson's Brentwood or
Westwood Village at the foot of UCLA is the village that was going to
help raise my five kids, who are all thoughtful but outspoken and
passionate conservatives, particularly on life issues, in raising what
will soon be 11 grandkids.
My daughter Terry, who ran my presidential campaign, she is great,
Terry Dornan Cobban, she does not need any help from Springfield
Village or Burke Center Village or anybody. She knows what to do with
her kids, and she knows good teachers from bad teachers.
So going back 4 years ago, people remembered that, and they expected
about 10 days here, and it did not happen.
I would ask the gentleman from California [Mr. Rohrabacher], did you
see the movie, ``The Longest Day?'' General Eisenhower, by then a four-
star, said, ``I am not putting men on the beach unless we control the
air.'' And we so pounded the Luftwaffe, the Flying Army, so that by the
time D-Day rolled around we had air superiority; not supremacy, yet.
The Luftwaffe only sent up two airplanes, two Messerschmitts, the first
helicopter seen over simulating a strafing run across the beach on a
camera in oil, to steady the camera; an early steadying device.
The German fighter pilot, who is still alive, he just died recently,
his name is something like Pappin, Pippin, he gave the exact dialogue
he said that day. It is in Cornelius Ryan's book, ``The Longest Day,''
after they strafed. And they killed some Americans; so when the
audience laughed, I did not like it. They strafed the whole beach and
killed some Americans. That was it, one pass. Ran for their lives.
As he pulled off the target, our young men hitting the beach at
Omaha, way after the first waves, first two waves, he said, ``Well, the
Luftwaffe has had its day.'' Two fighters.
{time} 2130
Mr. Rohrabacher, it is you. It is me. This is it. There will be no
special orders tomorrow. We are going to adjourn sine die. So we will
respect this rule XVIII for the last time. Because when we meet in
December and organize, it is going. If we have to find people trained
as Republicans to be parliamentarians, that is not good enough. I want
rule XVIII out the window, for anyone. Let us say Bob Dole wins and our
pal Jack Kemp whom we love. I do not want to hamstring--that means tie
their ankles together--I do not want to hamstring the minority, and I
hope
[[Page H11591]]
they are still the minority, bless their hearts. Out of the last 66
years, they have had 60 and they had 40 in a burst right up through
November 8, 1994. So bless their hearts. They had their 40 years to run
up $5 trillion of debt. I hope we hold a majority here. But I do not
want to hamstring the minority.
I know what it is like to be in the minority. I was in the minority
for 18 years. You were in the minority for 8 years. It is not nice. Or
6 years.
So Mr. Dole, President Dole and Vice President Jack Kemp, they are
going to have to take a pounding, because my colleagues on the other
side have destroyed the value in this Chamber of two words: Extremist
and radical. They have made them synonymous, at least in their minds,
with the word ``conservative'' and the word ``Republican.'' I have
never called a Member on the other side an extremist on this floor or a
radical and they do it all day long. Where do they pick it up? From the
White House.
Mr. ROHRABACHER. If the gentleman would yield, I do not ever remember
someone on the left being referred to as an extremist.
Mr. DORNAN. Not in this Chamber or in the U.S. Senate.
Mr. ROHRABACHER. Actually in the news media as well. It seems to me
you actually have to be carrying a gun and trying to kill someone to be
an extremist on the left. And on the right you basically have to be
someone who, even if your views are parallel to, let us say, 75 or 80
percent of the American people but opposed to what the liberal news
media believes is a standard, basically the standard belief in our news
columns, then you are an extremist if you are a conservative.
Mr. DORNAN. If you want to balance the budget, you are a child-hating
extremist radical.
Mr. ROHRABACHER. I believe that the President said that the Gallegly
amendment was a nutty idea, which was something that got quoted, and
that ``nutty idea,'' of course, passed overwhelmingly in the House of
Representatives.
Mr. DORNAN. With a lot of bipartisan support.
Mr. ROHRABACHER. If I could mention, as we get into this illegal
alien issue, which is one of the reasons I am here tonight and I am so
concerned, is that President Clinton has repeatedly promised the people
of California that he would be helpful on that issue and that I am
sorry to say tonight that what we see happening in Washington, DC today
is that not only is the President not trying to help us on the illegal
alien issue but the President is using all of his powers, all of the
threats that he can make in terms of the legislative process and the
Presidential involvement in it to try to prevent us from passing a
meaningful immigration bill.
It has reached the point today that during our negotiations, what
President Clinton is doing is basically threatening to shut down the
entire U.S. Government if we refuse to gut the immigration bill that
passed with a substantial margin here in the House of Representatives.
Those things that apparently are upsetting the President are that, he
claims it is our restrictions on legal immigrants that he is upset
with.
The American people should understand, and I believe for the record
that we should state that the restrictions on legal immigration that
are now being discussed by the President and which he adamantly is
opposed to deals with SSI, welfare, and Medicaid. The President of the
United States is threatening to close down the Federal Government
unless we take out our immigration reform bill provisions that prevent
people who come here and never contributed to the system from
immediately getting on the SSI. He is also worried about, for example,
that we have restrictions to prevent people who come here from other
countries, now, they are supposed to be healthy when they come here,
they are supposed to be, and the idea is if someone comes here, that
they do not become a ward of the State and that they do not drain money
that is meant to be for the American people themselves. But the
President wants us to take out a provision that permits people who come
here from every other country, legally or not, from receiving Medicaid.
We are talking about $20 billion of Federal expenditures. The President
is threatening to shut down the Government, prevent the widows and
orphans and veterans of this country from getting their benefit checks
from the Federal Government, in order to protect foreigners who come
here and who are now currently draining money out of our SSI system and
out of the health care system that was meant for American citizens.
This is totally contrary to the promises that he made the people of
California. But the people of California should not be the only ones
that are upset. The people of the entire country are the ones who are
having to pick up this bill. If our social infrastructure in California
breaks down, our education system and our health system and we go belly
up financially, this is only a harbinger of what will happen to the
entire country.
Mr. DORNAN. Exactly.
Mr. ROHRABACHER. If we send a message to the people of the world,
which we have, ``Come on in, come on in, because you will get the
benefits if you can come to the United States, legally or illegally.''
One of the things that concerns me the most is that we have seen this
incredible flood of illegal immigration into our country at a time when
this administration is trying to speed up the process of
naturalization.
In the last 12 months there have been more immigrants naturalized
than in any other year in the history of our country. In fact, it is
three times greater than the year before. This administration is
intentionally speeding up the naturalization process in order to make
voters out of foreigners, many of whom came here illegally and were
given amnesty back in 1986.
What is happening, then, is that in a speedup of the naturalization
process, thousands upon thousands of convicted criminals, of felons,
are being given U.S. citizenship by a President of the United States
who is hell-bent to try to gut our ability to come to grips with this
challenge to the people of not only California but of the entire
country.
Who do we care about? Why are we here? Who are we supposed to
represent? We are elected by the people of the United States to care
for them. We have different philosophies and people with different
philosophies can disagree. There can be honest disagreements. But we
must always keep in mind what is the benefit to the people of the
United States
I am afraid that what has happened is there is a political power
block in this country that sees that they are losing their power. The
liberal left that controlled the news media and communications and
controlled the political apparatus of this country for decades is
losing their grip. The political liberal left thinks that there is one
way they can keep hold, and they look at millions and tens of millions
of people coming illegally and legally into our country as a potential
voting block to save them from the political oblivion of a time when
the American people are rejecting their liberal left philosophy.
This is a threat to the Democratic process, it is a threat to the
well-being of every American. I would hope that those people reading
the Congressional Record and those people who watch over C-SPAN will
pay close attention to the negotiations that are now going on.
Why would a President of the United States insist that we provide
tens of billions of dollars worth of benefits to foreigners at a time
when we are having to cut down on programs for our own people? Why is
that? Why would the President of the United States be willing to close
this Government, to close the U.S. Government and to prevent our
widows, our orphans, our own veterans from receiving their benefits in
order to insist, to add pressure on Republicans to gut a welfare reform
bill that protects our own budgets from being looted by foreigners?
Something is going on here. Something terrible is going on here.
Every American should be aware of this. Thank goodness for talk radio,
and thank goodness for the fact that we have a Congressional Record
that is distributed to libraries throughout the United States and a C-
SPAN that is seen by the American people throughout the country,
because the news media is not doing their job. It is very easy to see
that the news media is not doing their job.
[[Page H11592]]
Does anyone remember, for example, we have talked tonight about the
commodities, the tens of thousands, if not $100,000 made in the
commodities market by Hillary Clinton before she became First Lady? Not
many people talk about that anymore. We talked about the details, the
horrible details of the Travelgate scandal where some civil servants,
their lives were destroyed for just trying to protect someone's
political career.
Well, what about the FBI Filegate scandal? That was just a few months
ago, and already we do not hear anything about that. That is not in the
media. Already people are sort of ignoring that. In fact, just
yesterday and the day before there were dramatic revelations that the
logbook that was kept on the people who saw these FBI files that were
being illegally kept by the White House, that there is a logbook that
has a 6-month gap, and that they do not know who looked at the FBI
files during this 6-month period.
Well, let us remind the public what the FBI Filegate scandal is all
about.
Church Colson, during the Watergate scandal, showed one-half of one
FBI file to one person and was sent to prison for 2 years because this
was considered and is considered today a horrible personal assault on
the privacy rights of those individuals who the FBI has gathered
information on. When that scandal broke, the President first announced
that it was 35 files. Then, if you remember, it became 50, and then
100, and then it became 900 FBI files.
Then, if you remember, the President mentioned something about, oh,
this was just a low-level detailee from the Defense Department. Only
later did we find out that what we were really talking about, was what?
We were talking about a man who had been engaged, a professional
opposition researcher who worked in several major Democratic campaigns,
who just happened to have the FBI files land on his desk.
My goodness, a detailee from the Defense Department becomes an
opposition researcher, or vice versa, and 35 files become 900. Well,
that is sort of miraculous but I think that there is even a better
answer than thinking that this is a miracle, of how these things
happen.
If you remember, Bob, there was recently also what we have, and by
the way, we would have none of this information except for the fact
that the Republicans took control of this House and began to subpoena
this information from the White House. If we would not be in control,
this would have all been covered up, this arrogance of power, the fact
that people have illegal possession of FBI files and have violated the
privacy of people throughout Washington, DC and people throughout the
country, in fact, political activists, and we have not gotten anywhere
near the bottom of this yet. But we would not know this except for the
fact that Republicans got this control and subpoenaed this information.
Right after the Republicans took control of this body, the legal
counsel's office at the White House did a study and they created what
they call a task list. What it is, is what I call a blueprint for
coverup. I think there is no other really more reasonable description
of this list.
{time} 2145
What it is, it was a list that was developed by the White House, and
it basically said these are the areas of a potential scandal within the
administration. That is what basically they were saying in this memo,
this long memo. They tasked various people to look into and investigate
all of the possible scandals.
Now, this happened two years ago. This happened right after the
Republicans took control of the House of Representatives, because the
White House understood at that point they were vulnerable to being
asked under oath questions and being subpoenaed.
Who was on that list? Mr. Livingstone, the man in charge of the FBI
files, had his hand on the FBI files, was on that list of potential
scandals. Two years ago this White House asked people within the White
House structure to go to Mr. Livingstone and look at this matter so
they would be prepared to handle the scandal.
Now, was their instructions after they interviewed Mr. Livingstone
and after they developed the plan of how to handle this problem once it
becomes problem, that there has been an abuse of problem, was part of
the plan that the first statements to come out of the White House were
to try to act, one, confused, like there were only 35 FBI files, or act
confused that the President did not know, that maybe it was just a low
level Defense Department detailee, as if the President did not know
that it was really a opposition researcher who had been involved in
major democratic political campaigns? Was this part of the plan that
was developed by whoever it was in the White House, who was asked to go
and see Mr. Livingstone?
Well, we do not know that. But the public deserves to know, because
they deserve to know when the President of the United States is
speaking to them, whether or not the President of the United States is
speaking truthfully, or whether he is involving himself in a straegy
intentionally aimed at deceiving people.
Now, when the President came to California and promised to help us
stem the flood of illegal immigration, people took his word for it. And
the fact that today we see that the President is threatening to close
down the government unless we gut our immigration bill, well, some
people in public office, I think all people in public office, deserve a
little bit of leeway, and they deserve to be given the benefit of the
doubt. It has happened a lot with this President, and I think it is
becoming very difficult for people to give him the benefit of the
doubt.
We have seen it in the FBI scandal. But I will say this: When it
comes to the liberal news media, they seem to have a ceaseless
reservoir of patience and are giving the President the benefit of the
doubt, time and time again. They do not even feel they have to follow
through on many of these things we have talked about today, much less
ask follow-up questions that would be done to any Republican,
especially Newt Gingrich.
So, with that said, I am pleased to be with you here tonight, because
I know that Bob and I share Orange County together, and we have seen
what has happened to Southern California because of this flood of
illegal immigration. It is destroying the infrastructure of our State.
It is a horrible, horrible burden, that people who have worked all of
their lives, all of their lives, trying to build up a decent place for
the Amercian people, for their children to live, and now they see it is
all being destroyed because we do not have the courage to set the
policies that will prevent foreigners from coming into our country.
They may be good people, they may be very good people, but our
allegiance, again, who are we here for? We are here to protect the
interests of the American people.
Mr. DORNAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to engage in a
colloquy, and Ace Duke Cunningham did not join us, but Ace of the
Waves, Brian Bilbray, has joined us. We will hear from him in a second.
Mr. ROHRABACHER. The best surfer in Congress. But, I might add, the
second best surfer in Congress is here as well.
Mr. DORNAN. That is true. It is not me. I am the 19th best, according
to my grandkids. I am going to speak about the Chosin Reservoir in a
few moments, because on POW day, September 20th, I had a press
conference, I know you tried to make it, in the middle of Orange County
in the Civic Center, beautiful World War I, for my dad, World War II,
Korean and Vietnam memorial. The largest contingent that showed up
were, and it is a wonderful play on words, the ``Chosin Few.'' Your dad
is Marine, a retired colonel. I learned there were more Army guys
trapped on one side of the big lake created by the Chosin Reservoir
than there were Marines trapped on the eastern side. But I am going to
read off the names.
Mr. ROHRABACHER. I have to go now, because there is a radio
interviewer waiting for me. If I could say this, my father, when I was
young, who was a career military officer, told me many times of how he
flew the generals and officers and enlisted men from the Chosin
Reservoir back in his plane, across the Pacific, in order to bring them
back to the United States after that incredible military action.
Mr. DORNAN. Your dad, I know, was a fighter pilot. He also flew
everything.
Mr. ROHRABACHER. My dad was also a transport pilot. He had three
[[Page H11593]]
fighter squadrons, but also two transport squadrons. He flew these
fellows back, and there was one general, I remember him telling me
about this conversation with this general, but that was something worth
going into.
Mr. DORNAN. Let me finish this commercial, and thank you, Dana, for
joining me. I just want to let people know I will keep my promise to
discuss about our great victory today, and I wanted to thank both of
you, 404 to 0, for the MIA-POW Protection Act, to restore into law what
has been law for almost a year, that was stripped out when Clinton
signed the defense authorization bill on Tuesday. I wanted to talk a
little bit about Korea.
This report, and I showed this to you the other day, the transfer of
U.S. Korean war prisoners to the Soviet Union, a heck of a way to end
this year. Then McNamara, this book again, The Living and the Dead, our
lost prisoners of war, sold down the river. I will put in the Record a
shockingly, or not shockingly, a pridefully excellent piece by Bruce
Neelon, of Time Magazine, a bad Xerox, the issue dated on September 30,
a few days from now.
And then I want to close out talking about the worst vote of the year
in either Chamber, the vote to certify that Clinton is the abortion
President, the first abortion President in our history, and aggressive,
pro-abortion President. And I know that Chris Smith has said that many
times from this mike, that mike, that mike, the lectern, so I do not
anticipate any Parliamentarian thinking that is a personal attack. But
Clinton has taken on all the Protestant bishops, Billy Graham, the
Pope, Mother Theresa, every single cardinal in the world, almost every
practicing Islamic person in the world, everybody who understands what
the code of ethics of Buddhism, of Shintoism, Confucianism, it is just
unbelievable this vote in the Senate.
I will read some quotas from religious leaders about this. Some of
them get pretty tough. My pal Jim Donaldson says we are afraid if we
fail today, the judgment that will be wreaked upon this Nation. I know
atheists hate to hear that. Tough. It is my time.
Before we do that, Brian Bilbray of California was so good last
night. I asked him to come back, because I did not know that you
actually lived, Mr. Bilbray. Again, I ask unanimous consent to have a
colloquy, with Mr. Bilbray, where you can see the border, where you
feel Tijuana is a friendly town, where you have 5, 6, 7, 8 generation
Hispanic Americans living in your county, beautiful San Diego, bigger
county than mine, took the number 2 spot away from us, we are number 3
in Orange County, we are identical cultures. We love our Hispanic
culture. Our streets are named after beautiful Hispanic names. We put
tile roofs on. We theme our whole southern part of the state, and all
the way up through Monterey, we are proud of our Spanish heritage.
But, please capture for a new audience some of the words you said
last night about how this has nothing to do with individuals, it has to
do with law and law breaking and fairness.
Mr. BILBRAY. I appreciate the gentleman from California, and I want
to first clarify that the gentleman from Huntington Beach who just left
has to qualify as the Member of Congress who is improving in surfing
faster than any other Member of Congress.
Mr. DORNAN. He has a good coach, finally.
Mr. BILBRAY. My stepfather actually was a PBY pilot, decorated in
World War II. But when we talk about the border issue, I grew up along
the border, as you know. It is part of our culture to be binational.
In fact, I was mayor when I was 27 years old with a city that was
sister cities with Tijuana. And we would constantly have that
intercultural communication again and again.
Mr. DORNAN. You were mayor of National City?
Mr. BILBRAY. I was mayor of Imperial Beach. It is easy to find my
hometown, if you know where the Pacific Ocean and where the Mexican
border is. Where they meet is where I live.
Mr. DORNAN. It is where Jonathan Winters starred in his movie, ``It's
a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.''
Mr. BILBRAY. It is a mad, mad world down there right now. The fact is
those of us that live along the border, like I have, when I was a
lifeguard, I rescued illegal aliens drowning. But what I have seen----
Mr. DORNAN. Drowning trying to swim around the border fence?
Mr. BILBRAY. They were actually trying to swim across the rivers. Now
what happens is while there are floods going on, the cayotes, the
smugglers, tell them swim across this body of water, and they do not
realize how swift it is and how hard it is to make it across. There is
debris in there. I have actually, when I was chairman of San Diego
County, gone out with the lifeguards. They asked me to come help them
because they needed somebody who was a lifeguard, who knew the area. I
went out and rescued illegal aliens and put them on the skids of
helicopters so we could pick them up and carry them off.
Let me remind you, the Federal Government did not say anything about
the expense of rescuing those people. Those of us in San Diego County
paid for this expense. The thing that really shocked me was how many
people did not make it? In one year, when I was chairman of the county,
we spent over $30,000 sending people back to Mexico in body bags,
$30,000 worth of dead people that were caused from the lack of control.
So when people talk about----
Mr. DORNAN. All of them drowning or from desert dehydration?
Mr. BILBRAY. There were drowning, there were cliffs, they were
running off cliffs. They still do it tonight, and they were killed on
the highways. But just the County of San Diego, the taxpayers of one
county had to pay $30,000 just to send people back. The most
heartbreaking situations.
So I am trying to come here to Washington to wake up this body, that
this is a Federal responsibility. The Constitution says the people of
San Diego and the people of California do not have the right to control
the border. They do not have the right to enforce immigration law. By
law, only the Federal Government has the right to do that. And you can
hear people again and again in this hall talk about we need to hire
more law enforcement, and we need to hire more teachers.
Well, let me tell the gentleman from California, it does not take an
act of Congress for a city like when I was mayor to hire a police
officer. We can do that locally. It does not take an act of Congress
for a school district to hire a teacher. But it takes an act of
Congress and an act of the President to stop the carnage along our
borders.
If I have to say anything else, please, please be sensitive to the
fact of how many people are dying in this situation. Over the last few
years, and if you say 3 or 4 years, more people have died trying to
cross into our country illegally than were killed in Oklahoma's
explosion. And I wish this institution could have people stand up as
outraged and infuriated about the terrorism along our border, as they
said about Oklahoma. And it was right to be outraged about Oklahoma,
but it is wrong for this institution or the President to ignore the
problems along the border.
The thing that really hit me----
Mr. DORNAN. In less than a month, more people can die, good citizens,
coming to North America for a dream, a percentage coming to rob cars,
three cars stolen in L.A. in Orange County, and we found one of them on
a hill in Tijuana only partially stripped. The chief of police in
Tijuana called. It had congressional plates on it. They had not yet
completely stripped it. It had an engine. I could drive it back. I
repeat again the atrocity of Oklahoma City happens every 2 or 3 weeks.
Mr. BILBRAY. It happened over the last few years. You have to
recognize that that atrocity is happening today and continues to
happen, while those of us in Washington fiddle, people today are
driving off roads and crashing. I saw a brother and a sister, and these
were not young kids, these are 15 and 16 year old brother and sister,
trying to run across a freeway late at night, actually it was
afternoon, following a smuggler. And what happens is the old and the
young are usually in the back of these linings and there may be 30
people running across a freeway. And the smuggler is in the front. And
the poor people that are the slower, younger, older people in the back,
and when you have seen what has happened when they get hit by a car,
you have to say when will Washington wake up to the fact that this is a
cruel hoax?
[[Page H11594]]
What we are doing is we are saying officially you are supposed to
come into this country legally. But, but, if you come in here
illegally, we will give your children free education, we will give you
welfare benefits, we will give you health benefits. We will give you a
world that you can only dream of where you are now.
{time} 2200
And no wonder these people risk their life and play this game. We had
a poor group of illegals that died within less than a mile of a
hospital in Chula Vista, CA; died from exposure and thirst, sitting in
a canyon. Within a mile. And this is supposed to be a great humane
thing to do?
So when somebody comes up here and says you are mean-spirited because
you want to control illegal immigration, you are mean-spirited because
you want to stop this carnage, all I can say is come in my neighborhood
and see what is going on.
Mr. DORNAN. What was the question that you asked Member Barney Frank
of Massachusetts that sent him off into hyper-speed talk?
Mr. BILBRAY. All I know is what is happening now is we have heard
that the President's administrative aides are asking that a thing
called title V be taken out of our immigration bill. And the title V
section is the section where our hospitals in California and around the
country that have to give emergency health care to illegal aliens will
be reimbursed.
It does not sound like a big thing. It is $375 million a year. And
let us remember, these are not rich hospitals in wealthy neighborhoods
that are impacted. These are poor neighborhoods. These are in
neighborhoods of the working class.
And we here in Washington and at the White House say we care about
the working class. This is really the proof of the pudding. Do they
care enough to send the resources to pay back to these people the cost
of providing health care to people that were not supposed to be here
and the Federal Government is responsible for?
Let me tell you, the Federal Government and this administration is
the biggest deadbeat dad in this country if they do not pay for this
baby, if they do not pay for this expense, because it is coming out of
the working class.
Mr. DORNAN. So title V says it is a Federal failure to control our
borders and, therefore, we all want to be merciful, but it is the
Federal responsibility.
Mr. BILBRAY. To pay the bill.
Mr. DORNAN. Because they mandate this, another Federal mandate, to
pay the bill.
Mr. BILBRAY. To pay the bill. The other aspect is, when I operated,
as chairman of San Diego County, I operated a welfare system that was
larger than 32 States in the Union. Much larger than Arkansas.
Mr. DORNAN. And more effective.
Mr. BILBRAY. Our county actually started the concept of workfare back
in 1977. Finally got to Washington. A little slow but we are moving.
But the real thing here that comes down is that we are not allowed to
ask people to prove that they are legal or illegal, because they say
that that may be a violation of some kind of Federal regulation. And
you run into the frustration of trying to make sure that illegal aliens
are not coming into our country and getting these benefits.
The American people I think strongly believe that those who are truly
needy, those who are deserving, should be allowed to get benefits, but
you do not reward somebody for breaking the law.
And I need to really make sure I clarify for the American people.
Where I live, when you look up on the hills at night, you see Tijuana.
A million people living in Mexico that have never broken one of our
laws.
Mr. DORNAN. Big as Houston. Houston is a little over a million.
Mr. BILBRAY. It is well over a million in Tijuana. They have never
broken one law. They have not snuck across and broken our national
sovereignty. There are a lot of children that would love to have a free
education, a lot of people who would love to have free health care.
They do not get it.
But if they break the law, jump the fence, run down our freeways,
swim across our rivers, then Washington says you have got to give them
all these free services that the law-abiding citizens that are staying
in Tijuana, in their own country, do not receive.
Now, I went to a high school, it was interesting, and I always have
to chuckle about this, I went to a high school where a lot of kids were
from Mexico. They gave American addresses and we went back and forth.
And the fact is those of us that were here in the States legally had to
prove that we could not provide the resources to be able to pay for our
health care. But if they perceive that you are here illegally, they
automatically assume, do not worry, we will pay for it. That is wrong.
It is wrong then American citizens and legal residents have to stand
behind someone who has broken the law. It is wrong when somebody says I
will sponsor, and here is the other part of title V, I will sponsor
this person and make sure this person does not go on public assistance.
And then when the person does go on public assistance, people walk away
from that responsibility.
I have to say this to you. The one thing I did not tell you,
Congressman, is my mother was an Australian war bride. She was an
immigrant. In fact, my family is very proud, and you may not know this,
my family is very proud that my mother was the first Australian war
bride to get her citizenship.
Mr. DORNAN. Her name was not Sheila, was it? That is what they called
all those beautiful war brides then.
Mr. BILBRAY. Obviously, with a name like Mavis, she had to be from
Australia. But the interesting thing: They met in General MacArthur's
office.
Mr. DORNAN. I have a MacArthur quote right in front of me.
Mr. BILBRAY. The only Army man my father ever really appreciated. He
was a Navy man.
But getting back to the issue. What we are talking about is, I do not
understand why the President and Mr. Panetta would hold up the
continuation of Government operations because they want to bust up what
is called title V, which has reimbursements for the health care; to
those of us that need to be reimbursed for the health care of illegal
aliens that says that those who want to sponsor people coming into this
country have to be responsible for it. It says that those who come here
illegally will not get the social benefits; that law-abiding American
citizens should get the first priority when it comes to being provided
Social Security.
Mr. DORNAN. Social Security.
Mr. BILBRAY. Social Security. You hear people say, what are we doing
about Social Security? Maybe the one thing we should do is start
talking about who is getting Social Security benefits. But the
President and this administration think there is so much money to be
able to be spent on health care, education, Social Security for
everybody, even those who should not be here.
Mr. DORNAN. Are they meeting as we speak at 10 o'clock?
Mr. BILBRAY. They are meeting now, and I hope they work this out.
Mr. DORNAN. Is the Speaker down at the White House?
Mr. BILBRAY. I hear they are trying to work this out to have it ready
for tomorrow. And we have to work together. This is key. We have to
cross the aisle and make sure Democrats and Republicans work on this,
because, frankly, I think the American people are fed up with the
partisan fighting, and I think the President and Mr. Panetta think that
somehow it is an advantage by trying to mess with this immigration
bill. It is really sad.
Mr. DORNAN. There is a handful of people who do want to circle the
wagons, seal the country up, forget that we are a nation of immigrants,
and I am tired of the liberal part of the news media going after them
for quotes. They are not part of the debate.
It is the average generous American who says I believe in the Statue
of Liberty, I believe in the Golden Gate, ``Send us your tired, your
poor, your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free, the wretched
refuge of your teaming shores. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost
to me. I lift my lamp beside the door.''
That was punishment from a nun in the sixth grade, but I love Emma
Lazarus' words. What we are talking about is law, justice, fairness and
[[Page H11595]]
lawbreaking, and making a fool out of every Mexican who has decided he
cannot stand the corruption and wants to be an American and does it
legally. Every Ecuadorian, every Argentinian, every Tibetan.
I was at your border in your district and they took and introduced me
to two English-speaking Finns from Finland. And I said why not do it
legally? ``Well, your border is so open down here, so porous, we just
thought we would come through this way and stay a couple of years.''
Mr. BILBRAY. I was on the House floor yesterday and a Member of
Congress called me down because I said my cousin from Australia said,
we hear you can just break your immigration law and then there is no
problem.
In Australia they have learned that if you fly to Tijuana and walk
across the border, do not worry about it. You get in this country and
you get more benefits if you break the rules than playing by the so-
called silly rulings.
That really scares me. Can you imagine what the rest of the world
thinks of this country when they think of immigration issues; when they
think about what kind of country would not only allow but telegraph
around the world to come break our laws and we will reward you? This is
the greatest Nation in the world.
Mr. DORNAN. There are 185 nations in the United Nations, 7 that are
not, Switzerland by choice, a few islands, Tonga and Nauru and a few
other island nations, and the Vatican City, which is not a member of
the United Nations, but of the 185 nations in the United Nations and
these 7 tiny countries, can you name one besides the United States that
lets lawbreakers receive all the benefits of the country?
Mr. BILBRAY. Let me name you one that does not. It is the Republic of
Mexico. When I met with the Senators and Congressmen of Mexico, I held
up our new immigration law and held up their immigration law. And I
said where we are changing it is to make ours more like yours.
And when they looked at it, they said you are right, you are making
your law more reasonable.
Mr. DORNAN. I have to reclaim my time.
Mr. BILBRAY. Let me just tell you what Australians say, though. When
my cousin stood up at the border and stood up and watched 135 illegals
run by us----
Mr. DORNAN. Where is he from?
Mr. BILBRAY. He is from Brisbane. Queensland. He stood up and said,
and this is a passivist, he said you are the greatest military power,
the greatest strongest Nation in the world. You go all over the world
to defend other people's borders and you cannot even defend your own.
And I said, Jim, that is not the crime; that is not the sin. The
crime and the sin is not that we cannot, but we choose not to.
Mr. DORNAN. Wow. Mr. Bilbray you were as eloquent tonight as last
night, and I hope all of America on Saturday clicks on C-SPAN. I hope
the great Mac Collins of Georgia is in the Chair and that we have
America watching a merciful, fair, reasonable debate tomorrow if the
White House digs in their heels and tries to demagog this issue and
find people in uniforms or children to grind into the mix and keep
hitting us with this destruction of the English language, calling us
extremists and radicals who want fairness and low-respecting people to
file and come here as our brothers.
Mr. Bilbray, do you not love, did you not love, as the mayor of a
small city and the chairman of San Diego County, did you not love to go
to ceremonies and get a lump in your throat watching new American
citizens, by choice, get sworn in? It is the best way I can spend the
Fourth of July.
We always do it on the Fourth of July in Orange County. I love it. I
think they are all wonderful law-abiding citizens who learn our
Constitution, learn what we say every morning, the Pledge of Allegiance
to the Flag. They answer civics questions better than most high school
students.
Mr. BILBRAY. In fact, let me tell you a story. An old, old friend of
mine, a newscaster in San Diego, Maria Velazquez.
Mr. DORNAN. I know her.
Mr. BILBRAY. And she was there doing a reporter's job about these
citizens becoming the new U.S. citizens. One of them was her mother.
And she came up to me and said, my mother is so proud. Not because she
just passed the test, but she did it in English because she wanted to
be mainstream American.
And you could see in Maria's eyes, someone who has lived her whole
life here, that lump in her throat. She was so proud of her mother
wanting be mainstream American and proud to be an American. And that is
what it is all about.
Mr. DORNAN. We will fix some of that language silliness next year. We
touched on it some this year, but it is going to take a conservative,
thoughtful, heartful Congress doing it, and we will do it.
Thank you, Mr. Bilbray.
Mr. BILBRAY. Thank you very much.
Mr. DORNAN. I am going to do my tribute to the chosen few, and then
the pro-life closing statement for me, and there is another gentleman
who will get to close out the last special order, probably, unless
something goes wrong tomorrow and this whole immigration thing blows up
in our face. Because it is all being played for politics down at Foggy
Bottom.
The men who showed up at the memorial in Santa Ana, CA, the chosen
few, the ones who made it back, wanted me to read the names. They gave
me these beautiful documents, I will hold it up for camera six, the
battle stars. In the case of these men they have five battle stars on
their Korean ribbon. I am a Korea veteran, an era veteran, but I did
not set foot on Korea until after the war, so I cannot wear the U.N.
colors of the beautiful Korean ribbon.
But, first, I want to read these words of General MacArthur, who Mr.
Bilbray's father admired. And my father was a boxing coach in the 1928
Olympics, and General MacArthur, as an Army four-star, led the Olympic
team to Holland in 1928.
General MacArthur said at the end of World War II, ``Spiritual
strength and power has brought us through to victory. Our men are
homeward bound. Take care of them.''
Take care of them. Five years later men started getting captured by
the company, by the battalion, when the Chinese troops poured across
the Yalu River, and we had almost liberated, under MacArthur, all of
Korea.
Take care of them. One of the witnesses in front of my committee,
quoted here in Time magazine, Col. Philip Corso, said, ``We sold them
down the river.'' General MacArthur was still alive. He lived until my
birthday in 1964, when he went to his reward, well advanced in years,
in his late eighties. And I am sure that he knew we had left the young
men captured under him because a cabal, British traitors, Burgess,
Maclean, Philby and Alan Blout, ``The Fourth Man'', the great movie
with Sir Anthony Hopkins, those people betrayed all of our top secrets.
Told the Chinese that Harry Truman was crippled and frozen in his
thinking now on Korea; that if they came across, we would never respond
or even bomb the bridges on the Chinese side of the Yalu.
{time} 2215
So it cost these men their lives: Thomas E. Seward, same spelling as
one of Lincoln's Cabinet members who bought Alaska, Thomas E. Seward,
Greensville, VA, born 1930, all of these men and only 2 or 3 years
older than I am, as my older brother said, a year younger than my older
brother. U.S. Army private first class, gives his serial number, killed
in action November 28, 1950, fighting the Chinese. We had already
whipped the North Korean agressor army.
Alfred Underbaggage, Shannon, SD, born 1928, Army sergeant, killed in
action, 29 November. Harry C. Sutton, this is all at the Chosin
Reservoir on the Army side of the struggle, Hartford, CT, born 1922,
these are one of the old men in their early 30's that the younger guys
called Pappy or Doc or a lifer, U.S. Army master sergeant, killed in
action, December 1, sad Christmas in the Sutton house; Connie M.
Conner, Irish Connie, a male Connie, LA, CA, born just 2 years ahead of
me, U.S. Army corporal, died while prisoner of war, December 6, 1950.
Top kick. U.S. Army Sfc. Billy James Allen, Norton, KS, born 1921,
killed in action December 6. All of these are in the same unit. Doyle
L. Smith, born 1931, U.S. Army corporal, died of
[[Page H11596]]
wounds while missing in action, this is one of the ones left behind,
the 1,200 of which 5- or 6-, 7-, 900 were left behind, the wounded and
the ones with amputations or mental trauma from torture and exposure.
Clyde E. McElroy, Montgomery, PA, born 1930. I wish I could do this in
front of the Congress on the exact 46th anniversary next month or in 2
months. He was born 1930, Clyde McElroy, corporal, died of wounds while
missing in action, December 6. Harold L. Hodge, Adams, WI, born 1922, a
captain, killed in action, December 6, 1950, 28-year-old young captain.
Beverly E. Russell, Frederick, VA, born 1930, corporal, died of wounds
while missing in action, what a tragedy. Let me show that report again,
Mr. Speaker. The transfer of U.S. Korean war POW's to the Soviet Union,
suppressed from the families after 3 years. It is an August 26, 1993
report.
I used the word ``beg'' twice on the floor today, my staff tells me,
my wife tells me. It is kind of sad, after 20 years I have to beg my
Speaker to put the MIA-POW Protection Act, restoring into law what the
families want into the CR, the appropriations continuing resolution, or
any one of the Senators can blackball it, one human being, as though
they in and of themselves are a parliament. Strange way the Senate has
evolved. I had some scholars tell me today it was not meant to be that
way, 100 independent people blocking a House vote of 404 to zero.
Mr. Speaker, last night I mentioned some books on the floor. It is up
to 12 now on Clinton: ``On the Make,'' Meredith Oakley; ``The Agenda,''
Bob Woodward; First in His Class, meaning a baby boomer to get power,
he never graduated first in his class in anything academically;
``Inside the White House,'' as the Brits would say, it is poor form, it
is unseemly to use foul language in front of the help and to throw
things at one another in front of the help, that is a fascinating book;
then a book called ``Clinton,'' by George Carposi, who now has a
fascinating article out that Ross Perot was in collusion with Hillary
Clinton even before the election to socialize medicine in this country.
I will call Ross to see if there is any truth in George Carposi Jr.'s
article, but he did the definitive reporting in the book, ``Clinton,
the Confidential Story.'' He really found all the mysteries and exposed
them on the Prague-Moscow trip. ``Blood Sport,'' James T.
Stewart, hired by the Clintons to kind of blow away the whole
Whitewater thing. Like Joe McGinnis writing about the Green Beret, Dr.
McDonald who killed his family, he switched in the middle of it when he
looked at the evidence and changed his mind completely, James Stewart's
``Blood Sport.''
Then next to come out in order was ``Primary Colors''. We now know it
is by Joe Klein. Then came ``The Choice'' by Woodward again. Then came
``Boy Clinton'' Bob Turow, Jr. who publishes American Spectator. Then
``Unlimited Access'' comes out. Then came ``Partners in Power,'' page
325, which gave its name to book number 12 by Floyd Brown, a ``Nose
like a Vacuum,'' yes, ``Nose like a Vacuum.'' There they are, 12 books.
If any American reads one of them and they are thinking of voting for
Clinton, they will pause. They probably will not, but if they read 2, I
do not know any American who can read 2 or 3 of these 12 books that
would not either abstain, if they cannot stomach voting for a war hero
like Bob Dole, or they would start supporting Bob Dole and then support
their local Democrats for other offices maybe. But this is amazing.
I will close with this tonight. The debate on partial birth abortion.
I dedicate the closing 5 minutes to my wife, Sally. She begged me to
point out the ignominious way this Congress closed with these debates
on infanticide.
My wife said, call Kevorkian what he is, a serial killer, a serial
murderer. Euthanasia is Greek for death with dignity. He is a serial
killer. Any abortionist is a first degree serial murderer if he gives
birth to a baby, breach block, which is a distressful situation, and
takes out 80 percent of the body, holds the baby's head and stabs it in
the back of the head, murdering it while he is looking at the arms and
legs flailing.
I will ask unanimous consent to put all of these James Dobson, Paul
Weyrich, stunning quotes in this, you could not hear a pin drop in the
Senate and a baby screamed from the hall. Everyone was silent for about
30 seconds.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, according to the rules of
the House.
There was no objection.
Mr. DORNAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Chair.
And then, impossibly, in an already hushed gallery, in one
of those moments when the floor of the Senate looks like a
stage set, with its rich wooden desks somehow too small for
the matters at hand, the cry of a baby pierced the room,
echoing across the chamber from an outside hallway.
No one mentioned the cry, but for a few seconds no one
spoke at all.
____
I truly fear that infanticide--legal infanticide--will not
be far behind,'' said the archbishop of Philadelphia,
Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua. ``No nation, no civilization
that loses its moral life, that murders its children, can
possibly survive.''
____
A nation which sanctions infanticide is no better than
China, Colson said, no better than Nazi Germany.
____
If it seemed the language could not get hotter, it did:
Standing in the antechamber, of Majority Leader Trent Lott's
office; in the very room where senators cast 34 ballots
before choosing Thomas Jefferson over Aaron Burr for
president, the Rev. Richard John Neuhaus, a prominent
Catholic writer and pastor, said, ``It is not hyperbole to
say that we are at a point at which millions of conscientious
American citizens are reflecting upon whether this is a
legitimate regime. That is the solemn moment we have
reached.''
Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman asked for unanimous consent. I
stand to object if the gentleman is going to put that extraneous
material into the Record.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Collins of Georgia). The gentleman's
objection is untimely.
Parliamentary Inquiry
Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, I have a parliamentary inquiry.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will state it.
Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, the Chair indicated that the extraneous
material which is proposed to be put into the Record would be in
accordance with the rules of the House; is that correct?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. That is correct.
Mr. STUPAK. In particular, it would be in accordance with the rules
of the House, in particular rules XVII and XVIII concerning Special
Orders and the insertion, if I may quote from the footnotes thereafter,
a Member may not read or put forth extraneous material critical of
Members, and it goes on to include the President or the Presidential
family. Would that be a correct parliamentary inquiry as to the wishes
or the directions of the Chair?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. It would be in accordance to all rules of
the House, particularly in reference to clause (1) of rule XIV of the
rules of the House, avoiding personalities.
Mr. STUPAK. With that direction from the Chair, I will withdraw any
objection I may have.