[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 54 (Tuesday, May 5, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4370-S4371]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    H.R. 3579 CONFERENCE AGREEMENT ON FISCAL YEAR 1998 SUPPLEMENTAL 
                             APPROPRIATIONS

 Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I voted in favor of the conference 
agreement on the FY 1998 Supplemental Appropriations Bill which funds 
the necessary costs of ongoing U.S. military operations in Bosnia and 
Southwest Asia and provides relief for those affected by the 
devastating natural disasters which swept through the United States in 
recent months.
  Mr. President, frankly, I have to applaud the conferees on this bill. 
They did not include in the conference bill much of the pork-barrel 
spending that was contained in the individual House and Senate bills. 
In addition, the conferees wisely agreed to the House position to 
offset the domestic spending in

[[Page S4371]]

this bill with other non-defense reductions, designating only the $2.8 
billion in must-pay defense funding as emergency spending. This defense 
and disaster supplemental appropriations bill will cost the American 
taxpayer only $3.6 billion.
  Now that is not to say, Mr. President, that this bill is pork-free. 
In fact, this bill contains $52.3 million in low-priority, wasteful, 
and unnecessary spending. Even though the bill is a step in the right 
direction, it still wastes millions of taxpayer dollars.
  Eliminating pork-barrel spending is key to realizing the federal 
budget surpluses that are projected for the next several years. Paying 
down our national debt is vital to our nation's long-term economic 
health, and providing greater tax relief to all Americans will improve 
their quality of life and help sustain our robust economy. In addition, 
a balanced federal budget coupled with a sustained strong economy will 
enable us to protect Social Security and Medicare for current and 
future generations.
  If we do not curb pork-barrel spending, future anticipated budget 
surpluses will not occur, and this historic opportunity to reduce our 
federal debt will pass us by.
  Mr. President, again, the amount of wasteful spending in this bill is 
less onerous than in most other bills I have seen. However, I still 
must object strenuously to the inclusion of $52.3 million in earmarks 
and add-ons in conference agreement. We cannot afford pork-barrel 
spending, even in the amount contained in this bill, because the 
cumulative effect of each million wasted is a million dollars in debt 
on which we must pay interest.
  Some of the more egregious items earmarked in this bill include:
  $14 million for a tree assistance program. This amount is an increase 
of $9.3 million and $5.3 million over what was proposed by the House 
and Senate respectively.
  $1 million to conduct ``transit investment analysis'' in Hawaii.
  $4 million for maple sugar producers.
  $222,000 for boll weevil eradication loans.
  $20 million for the implementation of the Capitol Square perimeter 
security plan.
  $7.5 million for repairs to the Capital Dome.
  $1 million to increase the emergency preparedness of the State of 
Alabama.
  $1.5 million for the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards 
Administration.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record at 
this point a list of the projects contained in this measure that meet 
at least one of the five objective criteria which I have used for many 
years to evaluate spending bills.
  On Friday, May 1, I sent a letter to the President urging him to use 
his line-item veto authority to eliminate these low-priority, 
unnecessary, and wasteful programs from the bill.
  Mr. President, even the relatively small amount of pork-barrel 
spending in this bill undercuts our efforts to keep the federal budget 
in balance and ensure we are spending the taxpayers dollars wisely, as 
they have entrusted us to do. Pork-barrel spending robs funds from 
other worthwhile programs and prevents us from further reducing taxes 
and paying down our national debt.
  In the upcoming FY 1999 appropriations season, I look forward to 
working with my colleagues on the Appropriations Committee to ensure 
that we do not waste taxpayers dollars on projects that are low-
priority, wasteful, or unnecessary, and that have not been evaluated in 
the appropriate merit-based review process.

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