[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 82 (Thursday, June 12, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H3725]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1030
                STOP PLAYING GAMES WITH DISASTER RELIEF

  (Mr. BONIOR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, almost 3 months ago, floods forced thousands 
of people from their homes, their businesses, their schools, their 
farms. They lost their possessions, they lost things that meant so much 
to them like family albums. And they called for help. They asked us to 
do something to help them.
  What did Republicans do? Well, they high-jacked the disaster relief 
bill. They loaded it up like a pack horse with extraneous measures to 
advance their own partisan political agenda.
  Americans know what an emergency is. They are disgusted with the 
political games the Republicans are playing with the lives of flood 
victims just like they were disgusted when Republicans shut the 
Government down twice.
  Now we hear that the Republican leader in the other body is proposing 
to cut back this emergency relief by 25 percent, cut emergency relief 
in order to give it. Well, you go figure. I cannot figure that one out. 
I cannot figure how they have acted on this whole thing now for the 
last 3 months. Stop playing games. Let us not trade too little for too 
late.

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