[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 137 (Monday, October 6, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H8385-H8394]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 2160, AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD 
 AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1998

  Mr. SKEEN. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 232, I call up 
the conference report on the bill (H.R. 2160) making appropriations for 
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and 
Related Agencies programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 
1998, and for other purposes, and I ask for its immediate 
consideration.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the conference report 
is considered as having been read.
  (For conference report and statement, see proceedings of the House of 
September 17, 1997, at page H7509.)
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New Mexico [Mr. Skeen] 
and the gentlewoman from Ohio [Ms. Kaptur] each will control 30 
minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Mexico [Mr. Skeen].


                             General Leave

  Mr. SKEEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on 
the conference report to accompany H.R. 2160 and that I may include 
tabular and extraneous material.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Mexico?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SKEEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to present to the House a conference report 
on H.R. 2160, providing appropriations for fiscal year 1998 for the 
Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, and related 
agencies.
  Mr. Speaker, the House voted overwhelmingly in favor of this bill on 
July 24. Since then, we were given an additional $100 million in the 
combined allocation process with the Senate. That money has been spent 
on rural development, research, and conservation, making it an even 
stronger bill than before while still remaining within our revised 
allocation.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill benefits every American every day, and this is 
incorporated in this bill. It is truly a bipartisan bill. All of our 
subcommittee members and many other Members from both sides of the 
aisle have helped put this bill together, which I think was reflected 
in the earlier House vote.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Louisiana [Mr. 
Livingston], the gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Obey], and the 
gentlewoman from Ohio [Ms. Kaptur], the distinguished subcommittee 
ranking member, for their support. I ask my colleagues to send this 
conference report on to the Senate and the President with a strong 
``yes'' vote.

[[Page H8386]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH06OC97.000



[[Page H8387]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH06OC97.001



[[Page H8388]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH06OC97.002



[[Page H8389]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH06OC97.003



[[Page H8390]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH06OC97.004



[[Page H8391]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH06OC97.005



[[Page H8392]]

[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH06OC97.006



[[Page H8393]]

  Mr. SKEEN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for their forbearance here. I feel 
privileged to join the gentleman from New Mexico [Mr. Skeen], our 
subcommittee chair, and all of our committee members in supporting this 
conference report on H.R. 2160, our fiscal year 1998 Agriculture, Rural 
Development, Food and Drug Administration, and related agencies 
appropriation bill.
  I just want to say that this bill truly represents a bipartisan, 
bicameral compromise in our efforts to provide critical support for the 
Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, and other 
agencies funded in this bill. This will help our Nation remain at the 
leading edge for food production, fuel production, fiber and forest 
production, as well as agricultural research, trade promotion, and food 
and drug safety.
  Mr. Speaker, there cannot be too many places in this Congress where 
one is privileged to serve on a committee where in a week he can talk 
about windmills and lambing season, child nutrition, and coyotes all at 
the same time. We are very pleased that the additional funding that is 
included in this bill will help us on our important research programs, 
our conservation programs, and our rural housing and development 
programs. The agreement also fully funds the budget request for youth 
tobacco prevention and food safety initiatives under the Food and Drug 
Administration.
  I would like to acknowledge and thank the very talented and hard-
working subcommittee staff: Tim Sanders, Carol Murphy, John Ziolkowski, 
JoAnne Orndorf, Doug Lawrence, Sally Chahbourne, and Roberta Jeauquent. 
We all rely on these individuals' experience and expertise in 
agriculture programs; and without their help, we would not be on this 
floor today.
  I have to say to the gentleman from New Mexico [Mr. Skeen], my good 
friend, the chairman, I shall always remember that he has been the 
chair of this committee during the first year that I served as its 
ranking member, and these moments will remain among my treasured 
moments in this Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Texas [Mr. Stenholm].
  (Mr. STENHOLM asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. STENHOLM. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this 
conference report and commend those conferees who did an excellent job 
in making balanced the priorities.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I might just mention that we have one request for time 
on this side.
  Mr. SKEEN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished 
gentleman from Missouri [Mr. Skelton].
  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill. So 
often agriculture and so often rural America gets overlooked in the 
whole scheme of things.
  This bill does an excellent job. I compliment the chairman and the 
ranking member on the bipartisan approach to this. The fact that it is 
agreed upon and is noncontroversial speaks well for the way agriculture 
is being treated, rural development is being handled, and as well as 
the agriculture research, which is so very, very important for the 
agriculture community, which in turn is important to all of America.

                              {time}  1745

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume to 
observe for the Record that the gentleman from Missouri [Mr. Skelton] 
took off his field boots in order to give his remarks this afternoon. 
So we thank him very much for being down here on the floor.
  Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Chairman, I rise to express my strong support for 
H.R. 2160, the conference report on the fiscal year 1998 Agriculture 
Appropriations Bill. I am especially pleased that this conference 
report includes $11.3 million for pediatric research conducted at the 
Children's Nutrition Research Center [CNRC] in Houston, which I 
represent. This funding level represents a $500,000 increase over last 
year's bill and will be used to conduct critical nutrition research on 
children.
  It is important that we provide sufficient funding for agricultural 
research programs, including nutrition research. This research has 
helped to lead to better and more effective strategies to improve 
children's health. I have worked closely with members of the 
Appropriations Committee and the Texas Congressional Delegation to 
secure this vital funding, and I wish to thank Subcommittee Chairman 
Skeen and ranking member Kaptur for their assistance.
  The Children's Nutrition Research Center was founded in 1978 and 
operates in cooperation with Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor 
College of Medicine in the Texas Medical Center. It is a world leader 
in the field of pediatric nutrition, and its research has led to better 
health and reduced health care costs for children. For instance, some 
of its research has saved 40 percent of the cost of treating premature 
infants at Texas Children's Hospital by developing a better system for 
feeding without compromising nutritional intake. This system saves 
$7,500 per infant and reduced the average hospital stay of premature 
infants by 3 days. The CNRC is currently conducting research on 
children's obesity, which may lead to more effective treatments to 
prevent such serious diseases as atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, and 
diabetes.
  This conference report also includes critical funding for many 
nutrition programs, including the Food Stamp Program, the school lunch 
and breakfast programs, and the Women, Infants, and Children [WIC] 
program. For many low-income families, these programs are the only way 
that they can meet their nutritional needs. This legislation also 
includes $858 million for the Food and Drug Administration, the Federal 
agency responsible for protecting food safety and promoting safe and 
effective drugs to combat illnesses. This legislation also includes $34 
million for a new food safety initiative to increase surveillance, 
research, and education concerning food-borne illnesses.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.
  Mrs. ROUKEMA. Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend the conferees for 
their work in putting together a conference report that achieves so 
many important goals.
  This conference report includes an increase from $4 million to $34 
million to implement the FDA's regulations aimed at curbing tobacco use 
by underage consumers. This makes sense.
  Underage smoking creates a new generation of smokers and it puts them 
on the road to potentially debilitating and costly health problems. We 
need to prevent this now.
  I would have liked a conference report that included language that 
would have eliminated the USDA's nonrecourse loan program for sugar. 
Through a combination of import quotas, price supports and subsidized 
loans, our Government props up sugar prices nationwide.
  This is not about the small sugar farmer. This is about big agri-
business. Most beneficiaries of the sugar program are large corporate 
interests, not small farmers. The GAO estimates that 42 percent of the 
sugar program benefits went to 1 percent of sugar plantations. We need 
to eliminate this corporate welfare, and I am sorry we are not doing 
that with this conference report today.
  Yet, I do support this conference report because it helps our 
children.
  What we are doing with this conference report is protecting and 
feeding our children.
  Mr. Speaker, we are helping ensure the health of our children by 
increasing funding for WIC by $118 million over the previous year. This 
will help maintain the current participation level of 7.4 million 
individuals. The WIC program is a program that works, and in the 
longer-term, actually saves Federal money. For every $1 dollar used in 
the prenatal segment of the WIC Program, Medicaid saves untold moneys 
and give healthy productive lives to these children and cannot be 
measured in dollars and cents.
  WIC works. It reduces the instances of infant mortality, low 
birthweight, malnutrition and the myriad other problems of impoverished 
children. The WIC program also provides valuable health care counseling 
for expectant mothers for both mothers and children.
  This report also provides $7.8 billion for child nutrition programs, 
such as the school lunch and breakfast programs. This is $885 million 
more than the previous year. These programs help our children focus in 
the classroom and have the ability to concentrate on learning, and not 
hunger.
  Mr. Speaker, we have been presented with a great opportunity today to 
make wise investments in our children, and our future. Let's vote for 
this conference report.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SKEEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

[[Page H8394]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Shaw). Without objection, the previous 
question is ordered on the conference report.
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is the conference report.
  Pursuant to clause 7 of rule XV, the yeas and nays are ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 399, 
nays 18, not voting 16, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 491]

                               YEAS--399

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Aderholt
     Allen
     Archer
     Armey
     Bachus
     Baesler
     Baker
     Baldacci
     Ballenger
     Barcia
     Barr
     Barrett (NE)
     Barrett (WI)
     Bartlett
     Barton
     Bass
     Bateman
     Bentsen
     Bereuter
     Berman
     Berry
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Bishop
     Blagojevich
     Bliley
     Blumenauer
     Blunt
     Boehlert
     Boehner
     Bonilla
     Bonior
     Bono
     Borski
     Boswell
     Boyd
     Brady
     Brown (CA)
     Brown (OH)
     Bryant
     Bunning
     Burr
     Burton
     Buyer
     Callahan
     Calvert
     Camp
     Canady
     Cannon
     Capps
     Cardin
     Carson
     Castle
     Chabot
     Chambliss
     Chenoweth
     Christensen
     Clay
     Clayton
     Clement
     Clyburn
     Coble
     Collins
     Combest
     Condit
     Cook
     Cooksey
     Costello
     Cox
     Coyne
     Cramer
     Crane
     Crapo
     Cummings
     Cunningham
     Danner
     Davis (FL)
     Davis (IL)
     Davis (VA)
     Deal
     DeGette
     Delahunt
     DeLauro
     DeLay
     Dellums
     Deutsch
     Diaz-Balart
     Dickey
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Dixon
     Dooley
     Doolittle
     Doyle
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Dunn
     Edwards
     Ehlers
     Ehrlich
     Emerson
     Engel
     English
     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Evans
     Everett
     Ewing
     Farr
     Fattah
     Fawell
     Fazio
     Filner
     Flake
     Foley
     Forbes
     Ford
     Fowler
     Fox
     Frank (MA)
     Franks (NJ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Frost
     Furse
     Gallegly
     Ganske
     Gejdenson
     Gekas
     Gibbons
     Gilchrest
     Gillmor
     Gilman
     Goode
     Goodlatte
     Goodling
     Gordon
     Goss
     Graham
     Granger
     Green
     Gutierrez
     Gutknecht
     Hall (OH)
     Hall (TX)
     Hamilton
     Hansen
     Harman
     Hastert
     Hastings (FL)
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayworth
     Hefley
     Hefner
     Herger
     Hill
     Hilleary
     Hinchey
     Hinojosa
     Hobson
     Hoekstra
     Holden
     Hooley
     Horn
     Hostettler
     Houghton
     Hoyer
     Hulshof
     Hunter
     Hutchinson
     Hyde
     Inglis
     Istook
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Jefferson
     Jenkins
     John
     Johnson (CT)
     Johnson (WI)
     Johnson, E.B.
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kasich
     Kelly
     Kennedy (MA)
     Kennedy (RI)
     Kennelly
     Kildee
     Kilpatrick
     Kim
     Kind (WI)
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kleczka
     Klink
     Klug
     Knollenberg
     Kolbe
     LaFalce
     LaHood
     Lampson
     Lantos
     Largent
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Lazio
     Leach
     Levin
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (GA)
     Lewis (KY)
     Linder
     Lipinski
     Livingston
     LoBiondo
     Lowey
     Lucas
     Luther
     Maloney (CT)
     Maloney (NY)
     Manton
     Markey
     Martinez
     Mascara
     Matsui
     McCarthy (MO)
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCollum
     McCrery
     McDade
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McHale
     McHugh
     McInnis
     McIntosh
     McIntyre
     McKeon
     McKinney
     McNulty
     Meehan
     Meek
     Menendez
     Metcalf
     Mica
     Millender-McDonald
     Miller (FL)
     Minge
     Mink
     Moakley
     Mollohan
     Moran (KS)
     Moran (VA)
     Morella
     Murtha
     Myrick
     Nadler
     Neal
     Nethercutt
     Neumann
     Ney
     Northup
     Norwood
     Nussle
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Oxley
     Packard
     Pallone
     Pappas
     Parker
     Pascrell
     Pastor
     Paxon
     Payne
     Pease
     Pelosi
     Peterson (MN)
     Peterson (PA)
     Petri
     Pickering
     Pickett
     Pitts
     Pomeroy
     Porter
     Portman
     Poshard
     Price (NC)
     Pryce (OH)
     Quinn
     Radanovich
     Rahall
     Ramstad
     Rangel
     Redmond
     Regula
     Reyes
     Riggs
     Riley
     Rivers
     Rodriguez
     Roemer
     Rogan
     Rogers
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Rothman
     Roukema
     Roybal-Allard
     Rush
     Ryun
     Sabo
     Sanchez
     Sanders
     Sandlin
     Sanford
     Sawyer
     Saxton
     Schaefer, Dan
     Schaffer, Bob
     Scott
     Serrano
     Sessions
     Shadegg
     Shaw
     Shays
     Sherman
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Sisisky
     Skaggs
     Skeen
     Skelton
     Slaughter
     Smith (MI)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Smith, Adam
     Smith, Linda
     Snowbarger
     Snyder
     Solomon
     Souder
     Spence
     Spratt
     Stabenow
     Stark
     Stenholm
     Stokes
     Strickland
     Stump
     Stupak
     Sununu
     Talent
     Tanner
     Tauscher
     Tauzin
     Taylor (NC)
     Thomas
     Thompson
     Thornberry
     Thune
     Thurman
     Tiahrt
     Tierney
     Torres
     Towns
     Traficant
     Turner
     Upton
     Velazquez
     Vento
     Visclosky
     Walsh
     Wamp
     Waters
     Watkins
     Watt (NC)
     Watts (OK)
     Waxman
     Weldon (FL)
     Weldon (PA)
     Weller
     Wexler
     White
     Whitfield
     Wicker
     Wise
     Wolf
     Woolsey
     Wynn
     Yates
     Young (AK)
     Young (FL)

                                NAYS--18

     Andrews
     Campbell
     Conyers
     Cubin
     DeFazio
     Doggett
     Ensign
     Kucinich
     Lofgren
     Miller (CA)
     Paul
     Rohrabacher
     Royce
     Salmon
     Scarborough
     Sensenbrenner
     Stearns
     Taylor (MS)

                             NOT VOTING--16

     Becerra
     Boucher
     Brown (FL)
     Coburn
     Foglietta
     Gephardt
     Gonzalez
     Greenwood
     Hilliard
     Manzullo
     Owens
     Pombo
     Schiff
     Schumer
     Smith (OR)
     Weygand

                              {time}  1805

  So the conference report was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________