[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 7, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H35]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TIME TO SOLVE THE NATION'S PROBLEMS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Florida [Mr. Foley] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FOLEY. Mr. Speaker, I am, in fact, delighted to be the first 
person to give special orders, and obviously the gentleman from 
California [Mr. Dreier] was scheduled to be, but he is presiding in the 
chair.
  I had the great fortune as a freshman Member of the 104th Congress to 
be the first to deliver a 1-minute speech on this floor. I return to 
Congress very proud that the members of the 16th District have chosen 
to ask me to serve them once again in this very high honor in the U.S. 
Congress.
  We had a lot of debate today, a lot of acrimony, a lot of discussion 
about the future of this Congress and its Speaker. We have concluded 
that debate with reelecting Newt Gingrich, the gentleman from Georgia, 
as Speaker.
  I implore Members on all sides of the aisle, both sides of the aisle, 
that it is now time to come together, in the spirit of this country, in 
the pride of this Nation, to start solving our Nation's problems, to 
start solving our Nation's ills, to focus on things that will make 
people's lives better rather than focusing on things that will destroy 
people's individual lives. This Chamber and this Government is bigger 
than this Member, it is bigger than the Speaker, it is bigger than 
anybody else's ego. It is about helping Americans help themselves. It 
is about instilling in our children a knowledge and a wisdom that 
through hard work, you can overcome any adversity.
  But if this Chamber operates much like it did in the 104th Congress, 
with bitterness and rancor and personal animosity, we will not set an 
example for the future leaders of this Nation. We will not set an 
example for children to look up to this body and say, ``I, too, would 
like to be a leader in the Congress. I, too, would like to serve my 
community.'' We will denigrate into an embarrassment.
  So I ask my fellow Members, from all walks of life, from all 
localities, to think first about what is good for America, not what is 
good for the Republican Party or the Democratic Party, what is good for 
this Nation. A balanced budget, saving our Nation from fiscal crisis. 
The education of our children, to prepare them for the 21st century, to 
prepare them with skills that will give them jobs that will allow them 
to provide for themselves and their families.
  To reach beyond partisanship, in a spirit of cooperation, to fight 
together against crime that threatens every American, crime in our 
schools, violence against our teachers, crimes in our malls and in our 
communities that frighten our citizens, regardless whether they be 
seniors or young adults. To work together on Medicare fraud and abuse, 
and save our Medicare Program so that we will have a system that 
ensures that every American will receive Medicare when they grow to the 
day to need it.
  Let us also cause special focus on the illnesses that hurt our 
American citizens: AIDS, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, 
cancer, leukemia, tuberculosis, to name but a few. Sudden infant death 
syndrome, to name another. If we would use our energies to focus our 
resources through the National Institutes of Health to try and find 
cures for these diseases, we will do more for humanity in this Chamber, 
we will do more for the future of this world and this Nation than any 
5-minute speech or any special order or any rancor or debate.
  This Nation has given 435 individuals the chance to represent their 
communities. I know that the Members are up to the task of facing that 
challenge. I know that each Member, regardless of their party, deeply 
loves this Nation.
  But I also know that if we proceed in the 105th as we did in the 
104th with gridlock, acrimony, personal attack, and negativity, that 
none of the successes will be possible. We will be mired in failure, 
mired in debate that is nonproductive. So I ask in this first day of 
the new Congress that we join together to make every citizen proud of 
the conduct of each individual Member and all Members of this House; 
that the Democrats join me in working with Speaker Gingrich, in 
assuring that the Speakership is respected, that the institution of 
governance of the House of Representatives is brought to the highest 
standard, and that we work together for all of the best interests of 
this Nation.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Oregon [Ms. Furse] is recognized for 5 minutes.

  [Ms. FURSE addressed the House. Her remarks will appear hereafter in 
the Extensions of Remarks.]

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