[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 65 (Wednesday, May 20, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H3495-H3505]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 1999
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I
call up House Resolution 441 and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
H. Res. 441
Resolved, That at any time after the adoption of this
resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 1(b) of rule
XXIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the
Whole House on the state of the Union for further
consideration of the bill (H.R. 3616) to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 1999 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, to prescribe military personnel
strengths for fiscal year 1999, and for other purposes. No
further general debate shall be in order. The bill shall be
considered for amendment under the five-minute rule.
Sec. 2. (a) It shall be in order to consider as an original
bill for the purpose of amendment under the five-minute rule
the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by
the Committee on National Security now printed in the bill.
The committee amendment in the nature of a substitute shall
be considered as read. All points of order against the
committee amendment in the nature of a substitute are waived.
(b) No amendment to the committee amendment in the nature
of a substitute shall be in order except the amendments
printed in the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying
this resolution and amendments en bloc described in section 3
of this resolution.
(c) Except as specified in section 5 of this resolution,
each amendment printed in the report of the Committee on
Rules shall be considered only in the order printed in the
report, may be offered only by a Member designated in the
report, shall be considered as read, and shall not be subject
to a demand for division of the question in the House or in
the Committee of the Whole. Unless otherwise specified in the
report, each amendment printed in the report shall be
debatable for 10 minutes equally divided and controlled by
the proponent and an opponent and shall not be subject to
amendment (except that the chairman and ranking minority
member of the Committee on National Security each may offer
one pro forma amendment for the purpose of further debate on
any pending amendment).
(d) All points of order against amendments printed in the
report of the Committee on Rules or amendments en bloc
described in section 3 of this resolution are waived.
(e)(1) Consideration of the amendments in part A of the
report of the Committee on Rules shall begin with an
additional period of general debate, which shall be confined
to the subject of the policy of the United States with
respect to the People's Republic of China and shall not
exceed two hours equally divided and controlled by the
chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on
National Security.
(2) Consideration of the amendments in part C of the report
of the Committee on Rules shall begin with an additional
period of general debate, which shall be confined to the
subject of the assignment of members of the armed forces to
assist in border control and shall not exceed 30 minutes
equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking
minority member of the Committee on National Security.
Sec. 3. It shall be in order at any time for the chairman
of the Committee on National Security or his designee to
offer amendments en bloc consisting of amendments printed in
part D of the report of the Committee on Rules not earlier
disposed of germane modifications of any such amendment.
Amendments en bloc offered pursuant to this section shall be
considered as read (except that modifications shall be
reported), shall be debatable for 20 minutes equally divided
and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of
the Committee on National Security or their designees, shall
not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a
demand for division of the question in the House or in the
Committee of the Whole. For the purpose of inclusion in such
amendments en bloc, an amendment printed in the form of a
motion to strike may be modified to the form of a germane
perfecting amendment to the text originally proposed to be
stricken. The original proponent of an amendment included in
such amendments en bloc may insert a statement in the
Congressional Record immediately before the disposition of
the amendments en bloc.
Sec. 4. The chairman of the Committee of the Whole may: (1)
postpone until a time during further consideration in the
Committee of the Whole a request for a recorded vote on any
amendments; and (2) reduce to five minutes the minimum time
for electronic voting on any postponed question that follows
another electronic vote without intervening business,
provided that the minimum time for electronic voting on the
first in any series of questions shall be 15 minutes.
Sec. 5. The chairman of the Committee of the Whole may
recognize for consideration of any amendment printed in the
report of the Committee on Rules out of the order printed,
but not sooner than one hour after the chairman of the
Committee on National Security or a designee announces from
the floor a request to that effect.
Sec. 6. At the conclusion of consideration of the bill for
amendment the Committee shall rise and report the bill to the
House with such amendments as may have been adopted. Any
Member may demand a separate vote in the House on any
amendment adopted in the Committee of the Whole to the bill
or to the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute.
The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the
bill and amendments thereto to final passage without
intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or
without instructions.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Shaw). The gentleman from New York (Mr.
Solomon) is recognized for 1 hour.
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, for the purposes of debate only, I yield 30
minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Frost), a very strong
supporter of our military, pending which I would yield myself such time
as I might consume. Mr. Speaker, during consideration of
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this resolution, all time yielded is for debate purposes only.
Mr. Speaker, this resolution provides for further consideration of
H.R. 3616, the National Defense Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 1999,
under a structured rule. It is one of the most important bills that
comes before this House every year because it provides for funding for
our military and for our national defense and our strategic interests
around the world.
The rule provides that no further general debate shall be in order
since we completed that last night.
As you know, Mr. Speaker, this rule provides for consideration of the
committee amendment in the nature of a substitute now printed in the
bill and as an original bill for the purposes of amendment which shall
be considered as read.
The rule waives all points of order against the amendment in the
nature of a substitute. Mr. Speaker, as is typical for this bill, the
rule makes in order only those amendments printed in the Committee on
Rules report and the amendments en bloc described in section 3 of this
resolution, which Members all have on their tables before them.
The rule provides that, except as specified in section 5 of this
resolution, amendments will be considered only in the order specified
in the report. They may be offered only by a Member designated in the
report, shall be considered as read, and shall not be subject to a
demand for division of the question.
Except as otherwise provided in the report, amendments shall be
debatable for 10 minutes equally divided between a proponent and an
opponent. Amendments are not amendable. All points of order against the
amendments are waived.
The rule also provides for an additional 2 hours of general debate on
United States policy towards communist China, which shall precede
consideration of the four amendments in part A of the Committee on
Rules report that deal with missile technology.
The rule also provides for an additional 30 minutes of general debate
on the subject of placing our armed forces on the border, which shall
precede the amendment offered by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr.
Traficant) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Reyes) printed in part C
of the report.
In addition, this rule allows for extensive debate time on several
important and controversial issues. We have set aside special times for
these issues, such as abortion at military installations overseas; the
global warming treaty; the prospect of a U.N. standing army, which we
should oppose with every bit of strength we have; and medical benefits
for our military retirees.
The rule authorizes the Chairman of the Committee on National
Security or his designee to offer amendments en bloc consisting of
amendments in part D of this report. En bloc amendments shall be
debatable for 20 minutes each and shall not be subject to amendment.
Finally, the rule provides for one motion to recommit with or without
instructions.
Mr. Speaker, this kind of structured rule is typical for the defense
authorization bill, as Members well know.
The Committee on Rules has gone to great lengths to ensure this rule
has met the concerns of as many Members as possible. Exactly 100
amendments were filed with the committee, and we have made half of them
in order. Of the amendments ruled in order, the ratio of amendments by
the minority is nearly exactly the same as the ratio of minority
amendments filed with the committee.
Thus, I believe this is a fair rule and a rule that deserves the
support of all Members of this body so we can get on to the
consideration of the important bill.
Mr. Speaker, I want to commend two Members of this body. One is the
chairman of the Committee on National Security. He is the gentleman
from South Carolina (Mr. Spence). Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from South
Carolina (Mr. Spence) has been here even longer than I have. I have
been here for 20 years. But the gentleman is one of the truly
outstanding and respected Members of this body. What the gentleman has
done for our military preparedness over all those years deserves
special commendation.
The gentleman from South Carolina has a counterpart on the Democrat
side in the minority, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton). He,
too, has been an outstanding and respected Member of the Committee on
National Security. I just want to commend both of them for having
brought this bill to the floor.
We have increased the dollar request of the President of the United
States so that we can at least try to maintain an adequate military. I
do not have to tell most of you that we, today, because of the reduced
spending on military, we are beginning to go back to the 1970s when our
military was in deplorable condition; when, just to dramatize that, if
you recall back in 1979 our hostages had been held. American hostages
had been held in Teheran and Haran.
President Carter at the time had ordered our military to try to
undertake a rescue mission. We had to cannibalize 10 helicopter
gunships just to get five that would work. That is how bad our military
was in, the condition of it at that time. Do you know that four out of
the five of those helicopters, even after we did cannibalize the others
to get them to work, failed, and so did that rescue mission. It was a
disgrace what was happening to our ability to defend our interests
around the world.
{time} 1045
In those days as well, because the military personnel who had
enlisted and wanted an honorable career in the military, they knew that
because of the reduced funding that they did not have a career, that
they could not stay in the military, and, consequently they were
leaving in droves. This was not only noncommissioned officers that were
needed with their technical ability, but commissioned officers as well.
Mr. Speaker, I would say to Members, go to your recruiters back in
your districts, and I want you to talk to the Air Force, the Navy, the
Army, the Marine Corps, and they will tell you that they are no longer
getting the interest of a cross-section of America to serve in our
military today, because they are worried they could not have a career
there if they were to enlist.
If you look at your applicants to your military academies, I know in
my district we used to have over 100 that would apply for the four
appointments that I have each year, and today that has drooped from
over 100 down to about 25 or 30. That is because they know that they
cannot depend on a career in the military.
That is what is happening, and that is why we need to vote on this
bill today, because it is certainly a step in the right direction for
providing adequate procurement, adequate research and development and
adequate pay and benefits and housing for our military personnel.
Again, I want to thank both the gentleman from Missouri (Mr.
Skelton), the ranking member. I was just praising the gentleman before
he came on the floor, along with my good friend, the gentleman from
South Carolina (Chairman Spence).
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, today our Nation is strong and free. We owe much of our
strength and freedom to the men and women in uniform who have
throughout the history of our great country been willing to stand ready
to defend our country and our way of life. We should be proud of our
military services and the difficult tasks we as a country have asked
them to perform for us.
In asking so much of them, the Congress must in turn assure each and
every soldier, sailor, airman and marine, from the four-star general to
the newest recruit, that the Congress will provide them with the means
to carry out their difficult mission.
It is our responsibility, our duty really, to examine the state of
our national defenses each year. In doing so, we often find
shortcomings in our ability to adequately fund the programs, missions
and operations of the military. But it is important to remember that in
today's world, Federal dollars are finite, and, given the fiscal
restraints that the Congress has imposed upon itself in the budget
agreement that has led us to a balanced budget, the Committee on
National Security has done an admirable job in balancing the needs and
imperatives of our far-flung security forces.
[[Page H3497]]
H.R. 3616 keeps the promise of our budget agreement, and, in doing
so, strives to fulfill our responsibilities to the armed services. To
be sure, there is not enough money to do everything we should, but this
bill balances the hardware needs of all branches of the military,
while, at the same time, trying to assure that the human needs of our
military and their families are addressed.
Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 3616. I am pleased that the Committee on
National Security has continued its commitment to the development of
the next generation of tactical fighter by providing $1.6 billion in
research and development funding for the F-22 Raptor. As we approach
the 21st Century, the development of this next-generation fighter will
be an increasingly important component in our ability to defend our
borders and our troops, no matter where they may be deployed. In
addition, the bill contains $595 million for two test F-22s and $190
million for advanced procurement of six low-rate initial production
aircraft in fiscal year 2000.
The Committee on National Security has continued to show its strong
commitment to the production of the V-22 Osprey tiltroter aircraft, a
medium lift capability aircraft specifically designed for Marine Corps
and Special Operations Forces assaults.
H.R. 3616 provides $735 million for the production of eight aircraft
in fiscal year 1999, and an additional $54 million for advanced
procurement. The committee has also endorsed an increase of production
to 30 aircraft per year by the year 2004, which is also supported by
the findings of the recent Quadrennial Defense Review.
In addition, Mr. Speaker, the Committee on National Security has
signalled its ongoing support for the B-2 Stealth Bomber program by
providing $276 million for B-2 post-production support. These funds
will enhance the operational effectiveness of the current B-2 fleet,
while both the Defense Department and the Congress examine the needs of
the Air Force in a long-term bomber force structure plan. The Committee
on National Security has wisely included a provision in this bill which
directs the Secretary of the Air Force to prepare such a long-range
plan and submit it to Congress by next March 1st.
Mr. Speaker, the Committee on Rules has reported a rule which makes
in order a wide variety of amendments to this vital legislation. Those
amendments range from transfers of missile-related technologies to
foreign governments, including China, to using military forces to
patrol our borders, to capping U.S. contributions to NATO expansion.
However, the committee chose not to make in order a very significant
amendment to a controversial section of the reported Committee on
National Security bill. As Members know, last year's defense
authorization created a Federal advisory committee on gender integrated
training, now commonly known as the Kassebaum-Baker panel.
In March, former Senator Kassebaum-Baker's panel reported
recommendations that all basic training and housing be segregated by
gender. The committee bill adopts this recommendation by requiring each
of the military services to assign male and female recruits to separate
units during basic training, and further requires each of the services
to house male and female recruits in separate buildings beginning on
April 15th of next year.
While the bill does provide for some waiver of this last requirement
because of facility limitations at certain installations, this
requirement sets in motion a procedure which will drastically change
basic training for all recruits in the Army, Navy and Air Force. The
Marine Corps, of course, is currently the only branch of the service
which currently separates male and female recruits during basic
training.
Mr. Speaker, the branch chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force have
indicated they do not support the recommendations of the Kassebaum-
Baker panel. In spite of their opposition to these recommendations, the
Committee on Rules did not provide the opportunity to fully debate this
issue. An amendment was proposed by the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs.
Maloney) which would have stricken these provisions from the bill, but,
because the Committee on Rules did not make it in order, the House has
been denied the opportunity to examine this issue. This is a major
shortcoming of this rule, Mr. Speaker.
The committee did not make in order several other worthy amendments
offered by Democratic Members. But in spite of the fact the House will
not be able to debate these worthy issues, I will support the rule. I
support it because it is necessary to move this authorization through
the legislative process.
We may do little else of great value in the 105th Congress, but, at
the very least, we should assure the passage of legislation which
serves the needs of our military and the interests of our national
security.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spence), the gentleman I was heaping
praise on a few minutes ago, the chairman of the Committee on National
Security.
Mr. SPENCE. Mr. Speaker, I take this time really to return the
compliment. The gentleman from New York (Mr. Solomon) has been one of
the biggest defenders of our military in this Congress.
Mr. Speaker, I have been here for 28 years. I have seen a lot of
people come and go. In the administrations over the years and in
Congress, we have never had a person who is a bigger defender of our
military than the gentleman from New York (Jerry Solomon). He has made
it possible for us to do a lot of things we could not have done
otherwise in trying to revitalize our military, which needs very badly
to be revitalized.
I want to personally thank the gentleman for all the help he has been
to me and our committee as chairman of the Committee on Rules in
helping us overall these years.
Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield five minutes to the gentleman from
Mississippi (Mr. Taylor).
Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I am going to ask my
colleagues to defeat the previous question so that this body may vote
on something I think is very important, and that is a measure that
would require all Department of Defense employees to be subject to
random drug testing.
Mr. Speaker, I have been to Latin America on a number of occasion.
Most recently in February I went to Colombia, to towns like Neiva, to
San Jose, where American special forces are training Colombian Lanceros
in what is a very real war on drugs.
The unit that we visited one week was annihilated the next. Out of
125 Colombian soldiers that went out, 18 returned. The rest were killed
or captured.
When you go to Colombia, you do not drive around, you have to fly.
The reason you have to fly from place to place is that the guerrillas
control the countryside. So everywhere we went was either on a
Colombian National Police Huey, or a Drug Enforcement Agency plane.
That is how real the war on drugs is.
But we have a tremendous disconnect in our country. You see, we are
asking American soldiers as we speak to get shot at. We are asking the
Americans who fly the crop dusters that are trying to eradicate the
coca fields and the poppy fields that are being shot at, and they are
shot down periodically. We have American soldiers in Iquitos, Peru, and
American sailors, American Seals, training the Peruvians in riverine
operations, mostly on drugs coming out of Colombia by way of the
Amazon.
But this body will not even ask the technicians and the people who
work for our Department of Defense, who are paid by our tax dollars, to
take a drug test to see if they are on our team or on their team.
I offered this amendment for two years in a row. Last year the
Committee on Rules, in what I thought was a particularly cowardly
action, did not even vote on it. This year they voted it down in a
straight party line vote.
So every Republican who goes home and tells you he is tough on drugs,
privately we know, in looking at that room in the Committee on Rules,
voted against it.
All I am asking for is 15 minutes worth of debate on each side and a
vote, up or down. Until I get it, I will
[[Page H3498]]
continue to ask for motions to adjourn before this House.
So I think the Committee on Rules and my fellow Members can make a
choice: We can vote on it today, or we can vote on it Sunday, but we
will vote on this. Because I do not think people who work for our
Nation ought to take their Federal paycheck and buy drugs with it. I
think we ought to have the confidence that those people who are working
on our war on drugs are on our team.
I do not think it is asking a lot for the ranking Democrat on the
Subcommittee on Personnel of the House Committee on National Security
to have an amendment made in order that deals with the personnel who
work for our Department of Defense.
So, Mr. Speaker, at the proper time I would hope that our ranking
member, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Frost) would recognize me for a
motion to defeat the previous question. But also I want to assure my
colleagues that if the previous question is not defeated and if this
amendment is not made in order, we in all probability will be here
Saturday or Sunday. I have already canceled my plans. So the question
for my fellow Members is, do you want to cancel yours?
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I sort of hesitate to get up to respond to my good
friend, the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Taylor). I guess I have a
reputation of having a short temper sometimes, and I do not want to do
that because he is a respected Member of this body.
I just want, first of all, to let it be known that in my 20 years
here in this body I have offered literally dozens of amendments dealing
with the war on drugs, including random drug testing and mandatory drug
testing of Federal employees throughout this government.
When Ronald Reagan took office, he was somewhat of a libertarian, and
he was not sold on the idea of random drug testing in our military. But
we did a study at that time and we found out that back in the mid-
eighties, the early eighties, that 25 percent of our military personnel
admitted to using drugs of some kind. Twenty-five percent. When you
look at that, you said how could they be effective if, God forbid, they
had to go into battle and jeopardize the other 75 percent? So Ronald
Reagan agreed by executive order to implement random drug testing of
every single one of our military. That meant every buck private, right
up to every general.
Do you know what happened over the succeeding four years? Just the
threat of the random drug testing dropped the use of drugs by our
military personnel from 25 percent down to 4 percent. Four percent. Can
you imagine that? And they became much more effective.
Would it not be great if we could implement that throughout the
entire Federal Government, as the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr.
Taylor) wants to do with the civilian personnel in the military? Would
it not be great if we could do it with all the Department of
Transportation and the IRS and everybody else? Then would it not be
great if we could do it with State governments, if State governments
would implement the same kind of random drug testing, and if local
governments, the counties and towns and cities and villages would do
the same thing?
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Then, would it not be great if our Fortune 500 companies, most of
which now do random drug tests on their employees as a condition of
employment, would that not be great? Think what would happen if we
reduced the use of drugs by 80 percent of the American people. That
would knock the price right out from under it, but we would have no
more problem with drugs coming into this country, because there would
not be any value to them because there would be so few users.
When we look at the Rand study not too many years ago, there were 2
startling things in there that I just was shocked to see, and one was
that 75 percent of all of the crime against women and children in
America today is drug-related. Think what that would do if we reduced
the use of drugs by 80 percent throughout this country by American
citizens.
Then, what was even more shocking was, and I represent an area of
middle class America in the Hudson Valley, the Catskills on one end,
the Adirondacks on the other, but I was shocked to find out that some
of my constituents, 75 percent of the illegal drug use in America
today, was used by recreational weekend drug users; in other words,
people, middle class or upper middle class who were driving into the
cities, buying marijuana, buying cocaine and then using it
recreationally on the weekend thinking that it was not going to be any
problem. I said, my God, if we could drug test all of those people, the
threat of losing their jobs, they would stop using these recreational
drugs on the weekend.
So I would say to the gentleman, I support his amendment. We were
going to wait until mid-June, when the gentleman from Texas (Mr.
Barton) and myself would bring to this floor a resolution that would
change the Rules of the House and it would then begin to random drug
test every single Member of this body; that means me and every other
Member. Then, in addition, we would drug test all employees as a
condition of employment.
Now, of course, I am told that that is probably unconstitutional and
so is the testing of Members. Nevertheless, the resolution we will
bring to this floor will random drug test every Member, it will random
drug test every employee of the House. There are thousands of them,
when we take into consideration all of the branches of our House of
Representatives. We would then test all new hires, in other words, who
had suspicion, in other words, of drugs. We would then random drug test
all of the security and public safety, and then finally, we would test
any House employee who has access to the floor of this body.
Now, if my colleagues notice, I have gone from the severest to the
least, and in this bill we will have a separation clause that says that
any one of these, if testing Members is unconstitutional, then the
other 5 classes stand. If testing all employees as a condition of
employment, if that is found unconstitutional, then the other 3 stand.
Now, that is what we are going to bring on the floor along with a lot
of other legislation.
Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. SOLOMON. I yield to the gentleman from Mississippi.
Mr. TAYLOR of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I would say to the gentleman,
I am going to vote for what the gentleman is trying to do later, but
this is today. I am sure when we left last fall, Sonny Bono thought he
would be here this spring, but he is not, and I regret that.
We are given an opportunity today on a bill that we know the Senate
has to vote on. This is the defense authorization bill for the Nation,
and without it, no ships, no planes, no helicopters, the troops do not
get a pay raise, nothing happens in the Department of Defense unless
this bill becomes law.
On the contrary, what the gentleman from New York is talking about
the Senate never has to vote on, and anyone who follows Washington
knows that more often than not, anything controversial, they simply
choose not to vote on it.
So I would say to the gentleman, I would hope, if he is gentleman
enough to listen, I would hope since the gentleman is in agreement with
what I am trying to do for this portion of the government that he would
accept my efforts along the lines of the previous question, and we will
know for certainty, for at least this portion, for the most important
thing our Nation does, which is to defend the Nation, that we will have
random drug testing for all Department of Defense employees.
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Missouri (Mr. Skelton).
Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I am not exactly clear. A moment ago I
heard the gentleman from New York (Mr. Solomon) say he would support
the gentleman's amendment. By country interpretation, from a country
lawyer in Missouri, that means that it will be made in order; is that
correct?
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. SKELTON. I yield to the gentleman from New York.
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I would say to the gentleman that he is one
of
[[Page H3499]]
the men that I most respect in this body, and the gentleman is not just
a country lawyer, the gentleman is one of the most astute Members of
this body.
If the gentleman would like to have the Taylor amendment made in
order.
Mr. SKELTON. I would, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, we have a very delicate balance of the
number of Republican and Democrat amendments that were made in order;
we tried to maintain that balance.
At the appropriate time, if the gentleman is asking me to make an
exception and make the Taylor amendment in order.
Mr. SKELTON. Yes, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. SOLOMON. I would, during this debate, I would ask unanimous
consent at the appropriate time to make the Taylor amendment in order,
and also to make then a Terry Everett of Alabama amendment in order,
modified, and that will sort of keep, I guess, our balance in shape.
Would that be all right with the gentleman?
Mr. SKELTON. Yes, Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman so much for his
courtesy.
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time, I would make the
unanimous consent statement.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
Massachusetts (Mr. Frank).
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, Members should not think
that there will not be a vote now on the previous question, because I
have no choice but to emulate my colleague, the gentleman from
Mississippi (Mr. Taylor). The gentleman threatened to vote on the
previous question and he got his amendment made in order. I have some
amendments I would like made in order and I do not want to be open to
the inference that I am less committed to mine than he to his, so I now
will announce that I will be moving for a rollcall on the previous
question.
The rule is a disgrace. I understand the desire of the Republican
leadership to make something out of the China issue. It ought to be
fully debated, but it should not come at the expense of this House
debating some of the most important public policy questions we face.
Bosnia, and I did not know that the principle was equal Democrat and
Republican amendments. That seems to be rather an odd way to make
public policy, but I do not threaten that, because the amendments I
want made in order are totally bipartisan.
I have an amendment sponsored by myself and the gentleman from
Connecticut (Mr. Shays) to put a freeze on defense spending. That was
not made in order. Let us be very clear. Defense spending represents a
large chunk of what we have said we will spend. Not a single amendment
is made in order that would reduce the budget.
This House will not be given a chance to vote on whether or not the
budget ought to be reduced. That is simply a degradation of the
democratic process and inappropriate. Members may want to vote to keep
this spending level up, particularly since we are in a zero sub
situation, and Members who have talked about how committed they are to
spending for the elderly and for the environment and for housing and
for crime control will be diminishing our ability to do that if they
vote for this bill. Not to allow even a chance to vote on a freeze
seems to me wholly disrespectful of the democratic process.
Similarly, Bosnia. I do not know how often I have heard Members on
the other side complain about Bosnia and the troops in Bosnia. Why,
then, does the Republican leadership refuse to allow this House to vote
on an amendment sponsored by 3 Democrats and 3 Republicans to compel
withdrawal of the troops from Bosnia by December 31?
According to the administration, it costs us $2 billion a year
incrementally to keep the troops in Bosnia. These amendments go
together. We could cut out the troops in Bosnia and save money. We
could cut out the American troops and let the Europeans do what they
ought to do and use that money for other purposes. It simply does not
wash for Members on the other side to say, the President has
unilaterally overcommitted us. The President has overextended us; we
wish the troops were not in Bosnia, and then frustrate an effort to let
the membership vote. What possible justification can there be for not
letting this membership vote on a bipartisan amendment as to whether or
not the troops stay in Bosnia?
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. I yield to the gentleman from New York.
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman was critical of my trying to
have a fair balance of amendments, and let me just say to my good
friend, and he is a good friend, that I served for 16 years in the
minority. For many years we felt that we were being discriminated
against by the majority, and the gentleman knows I have done everything
in my power as the chairman of the Committee on Rules to try to be as
fair as possible.
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I
understand that; the gentleman has done what was in his power and my
criticism is not aimed at the gentleman, but at the Republican
leadership, which has somehow decided that, I don't know, it may be
that they do not want to detract attention from the China issue, and
the China issue deserves full debate, but how can the Republican
leadership justify not letting this House vote on whether or not the
troops stay in Bosnia?
I will say this: If we vote for the previous question on the rollcall
I will ask for and my colleagues vote for this rule and they vote for
this bill, they will have refused the option to vote on Bosnia. So I
will ask Members, have the intellectual consistency, if they vote down
the line to keep us from debating Bosnia, not to complain about the
troops being in Bosnia. There ought to be a basic rule that Members are
enjoined from complaining about circumstances which they brought about.
So let us now face the choice. A vote for the previous question, a
vote for the rule, a vote for the bill, my colleagues will have given
their okay to the troops staying in Bosnia ad infinitum. They are going
to be pulled out shortly after the dome comes off this building as long
as the current policy of the administration is in effect, and I think
Europeans ought to be made to step up to the plate.
I will give Members a chance, if they will take it, to vote on
whether or not we ought to keep the troops in Bosnia at a $2 billion a
year cost. I think that is bad public policy. That is debatable. What
is not debatable is that the United States House of Representatives,
where many Members have complained about the troops being in Bosnia,
cannot even vote on the subject. That ought not to happen. Neither
should we have a situation where Members are not allowed even to vote
on whether or not we ought to reduce military spending.
So, Mr. Speaker, I hope that Members, particularly those who have
talked about the troops in Bosnia being a problem, who vote against the
previous question, I will then offer that balanced bipartisan
amendment, and we can go forward with our business.
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, could I inquire as to the time remaining on
both sides of the aisle.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Shaw). Each side has 14 minutes
remaining.
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
For the record, there were 50 amendments made in order, 15 of those
are Democratic amendments, and 35 of those are Republican amendments,
not exactly a balance. The chairman of the committee was trying to
suggest that there was some sort of an equal division; there was not an
equal division of amendments, Mr. Chairman. There were 15 Democratic
amendments out of the 50 made in order, if we want to discuss the
merits of the individual amendments as to whether they should have been
made in order.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs.
Maloney).
Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for
yielding me this time.
Mr. Speaker, first I would like to thank the gentleman from South
Carolina (Mr. Spence), the chairman of the committee, and the gentleman
from Missouri (Mr. Skelton), the ranking member, for allowing one of my
amendments to be in order.
[[Page H3500]]
This legislation will tighten a loophole in the law regarding
military retirement pensions. I was very disappointed to see a soldier
who was recently convicted of a felony go unpunished. Certainly, any
soldier who has served honorably deserves a full pension, but any
soldier who has been demoted due to the commission of a crime should
not be entitled to retire based upon the highest rank served.
Unfortunately, this defense authorization bill also includes a
provision that no one wants. I am very disappointed in the Committee on
Rules for not allowing a vote on gender segregation during basic
training in all branches of the Armed Services.
My amendment to strike this language was dismissed by the Committee
on Rules. The Army, the Navy, the Air Force have all come out against
gender segregation, because they know men and women must train as they
fight. Separating them creates an atmosphere of distrust and may affect
military readiness. Just as soldiers from diverse ethnic and social
backgrounds must learn to become a cohesive group, so must men and
women.
Separate and secure quarters are achieved without placing unit
members in different buildings. Segregating the sexes will cost the
Army $159 million, according to the Department of Defense. Why should
we spend this kind of money to create a situation that no one wants?
{time} 1115
Secretary Cohen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General
Shalikashvili, all came out against separating the sexes.
Sexual misconduct issues are not a result of training policy, but a
manifestation of poor leadership. We cannot cure a social problem with
a logistical solution. Further isolating women will not solve the
problem. If nothing else, it will make the problem worse. It is not an
issue of segregation or separation, it is about respect and leadership.
Mr. Speaker, as we speak here on the floor today, men and women are
defending our country in all parts of the world. They are fighting
together. In some parts of Bosnia they are living together in the same
tents. It is being done with respect and leadership.
Segregating men and women in the military amounts to giving women
their marching orders back into the dark ages. Women are defending this
country. We should defend their right to be treated equally in the
military. I urge a vote against the rule on this issue alone, and on
the issues raised by the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Barney
Frank).
Modification to Resolution Offered by Mr. Solomon
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
notwithstanding any other provision of the pending resolution, that the
Taylor and the Everett amendments that I have placed at the desk shall
be deemed to have been included as the last amendments printed in part
D of the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying the resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Shaw). The Clerk will report the
amendments.
The Clerk read as follows:
Amendment to be offered by Mr. Taylor of Mississippi:
At the end of subtitle C of title X (page 227, after line
14), insert the following new section:
SEC. 1023. RANDOM DRUG TESTING OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
EMPLOYEES.
(a) Expansion of Existing Program.--(1) Chapter 81 of title
10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section
1581 the following new section:
``Sec. 1582. Random testing of employees for use of illegal
drugs
``(a) Program Required.--The Secretary of Defense shall
expand the drug testing program required for civilian
employees of the Department of Defense by Executive Order
12564 (51 Fed. Reg. 32889; September 15, 1986) to include the
random testing on a controlled and monitored basis of all
such employees for the use of illegal drugs.
``(b) Testing Procedures and Personnel Actions.--The
requirements of Executive Order 12564 regarding drug testing
procedures and the personnel actions to be taken with respect
to any employee who is found to use illegal drugs shall apply
to the expanded drug testing program required by this
section.
``(c) Notification to New Employees.--The Secretary of
Defense shall notify persons employed after the date of the
enactment of this section that, as a condition of employment
by the Department of Defense, the person may be required to
submit to mandatory random drug testing under the expanded
drug testing program required by this section.''.
(2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter
is amended by inserting after the item relating to section
1581 the following new item:
``1582. Random testing of employees for use of illegal drugs.''.
(b) Funding.--No additional funds are authorized to be
appropriated on account of the amendment made by subsection
(a). The Secretary of Defense shall carry out the expanded
drug testing program for civilian employees of the Department
of Defense under section 383 of title 10, United States Code,
as added by subsection (a), using amounts otherwise provided
for the program.
____
Amendment to be offered by Mr. Everett:
At the end of title XII (page ____, after line ____),
insert the following:
SEC. ____. TRANSFER OF EXCESS UH-1 HUEY HELICOPTERS AND AH-1
COBRA HELICOPTERS TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES.
(a) In General.--(1) Chapter 153 of title 10, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new
section:
``Sec. 2581. Transfer of excess uh-1 huey helicopters and ah-
1 cobra helicopters to foreign countries
``(a) Requirements.--The Secretary of Defense shall make
all reasonable efforts to ensure that any excess UH-1 Huey
helicopter or AH-1 Cobra helicopter that is to be transferred
on a grant or sales basis to a foreign country for the
purpose of flight operations for such country shall meet the
following requirements:
``(1) Prior to such transfer, the helicopter receives, to
the extent necessary, maintenance and repair equivalent to
the depot-level maintenance and repair, as defined in section
2460 of this title, that such helicopter would need were the
helicopter to remain in operational use with the armed forces
of the United States.
``(2) Maintenance and repair described in paragraph (1) is
performed in the United States.
``(b) Exception.--The requirements of subsection (a) shall
not apply with respect to salvage helicopters provided to the
foreign country solely as a source for spare parts.''.
(2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter
is amended by adding at the end the following new item:
``2581. Transfer of excess uh-1 huey helicopters and ah-1 cobra
helicopters to foreign countries.''.
(b) Effective Date.--Section 2581 of title 10, United
States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall apply with
respect to the transfer of a UH-1 Huey helicopter or AH-1
Cobra helicopter on or after the date of the enactment of
this Act.
Mr. SOLOMON (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous
consent that the amendments be considered as read and printed in the
Record.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the initial request of
the gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Sanibel, Florida (Mr. Porter Goss), a very important
member of the Committee on Rules.
Mr. GOSS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Glens Falls, New
York, for yielding me the time.
Mr. Speaker, there is a lot I would like to say about this rule. It
is a good rule and deserves Member support. It was carefully crafted.
There were many amendments. It is balanced, it is fair, and I urge
everybody's support.
The reason I am here with what is left of my voice today is to pay
some testimony to the very fine work of the gentleman from South
Carolina (Chairman Spence) and ranking member, the gentleman from
Missouri (Mr. Ike Skelton).
The gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton) is the crossover Member on
the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and we have, as
everybody knows, on defense authorization close cooperation and
coordination with the Committee on National Security.
Things would not work as smoothly as they have without the gentleman
from Missouri (Mr. Skelton), and I personally and publicly wanted to
thank him, the gentleman from South Carolina (Chairman Spence), and the
staffs of both committees that who have worked so hard to make sure we
have come up with a good product.
I, too, think we have underfunded, but we are doing the best with
what we have. I urge support for the rule.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3616, the Department of
Defense Authorization Bill for 1999.
[[Page H3501]]
Mr. Speaker, I wish to congratulate my friends Chairman Spence and
the Ranking Member Mr. Skelton on delivering the House a sound,
bipartisan defense bill that I think all the Members of this body can,
and should, vote for. After 14 years of steady decline in the defense
budget, they were again handed a request by the Administration that
clearly asks our men and women in the Armed Forces to do ``more with
less.'' Mr. Spence and Mr. Skelton's efforts, and indeed the
outstanding efforts by all members of the National Security Committee,
have allowed for the careful crafting of a bill that manages increasing
world-wide risk in an era of shrinking forces and budgets. This is no
easy task.
Mr. Speaker, as the Members of this body know, the dollars for the
Intelligence Budget Authorization that we here in the House passed on
the 7th of May--on a voice vote--are contained in this defense
authorization. I can tell you that the close coordination between the
National Security Committee and the Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence--on which, I might add, the distinguished Member from
Missouri, Mr. Skelton, plays a tremendously valuable role as a cross-
over member--allowed us to put together a prudent defense intelligence
input to this authorization bill. Together, this bill and the
intelligence bill focus on the needs of our Nation. H.R. 3616 increases
spending on equipment modernization, it increases the funding for
National Guard and Reserve modernization not funded in the President's
request, it addresses a balanced quality of life investment for our
military personnel, and it improves readiness.
But, Mr. Speaker, this does not mean we are looking at a ``fat''
bill. While the funding in this bill is consistent with the Balanced
Budget Act of 1997, it should be pointed out that the President's
defense request--according to the military service chiefs--is under-
funded by more than 10 billion dollars. I wish we were spending more on
our national security--on our military and our intelligence services.
Not seeing the will at this point in the Administration to make this
critically important--even if politically difficult--call, I believe
H.R. 3616 does what can be done to limit the further ``hollowing'' out
of our defenses. I urge my colleagues to vote yes on H.R. 3616.
Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from the
District of Columbia (Ms. Norton).
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to
me.
Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor, at the very least in disbelief, and
at most with a sense of outrage, because this bill contains a provision
that is so serious and such a departure that at the very least, any
responsible legislative body would have wanted it debated.
The gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn Maloney) and I went to
the Committee on Rules yesterday to ask that an amendment to remove a
provision of the bill and at least postpone the resegregation of basic
training throughout the armed services be made in order. Our amendment
would simply have stopped congressional action to segregate the armed
services pending the receipt of the report of the Commission on
Military Training and Gender-Related Issues, whose members were just
appointed in February. This commission has been authorized by this body
to study the very issues this body is due to vote on as part of this
bill today.
The gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Fowler) and the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Harman) asked for a similar amendment. The
resegregation now in the bill represents a major structural setback for
the services and for women that the Department of Defense and the
services strongly oppose.
Yet, we learned this morning that neither the Fowler-Harman nor the
Maloney-Norton amendment has been made in order. I am here this morning
to announce that the Bipartisan Women's Caucus of this House is not
going to take the failure to allow us to even debate this bill sitting
down or standing up.
The position I am articulating is the position of the Republican and
the Democratic Members who are women of the House of Representatives.
It is the position of 55 women strong in this House. I am going to
leave this floor and go with the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs.
Maloney) and other women and men of this body to the tarmac in just a
moment, where we will be holding a press conference.
Among the participants will be Evelyn Foote, the Brigadier General,
U.S. Army Retired, who is Vice-Chair of the Secretary of the Army
Senior Review Panel Report on Sexual Harassment. Also with us will be
Holly Hempfield, the 1996 chair of the Department of Defense Advisory
Committee on Women in the Services. Both of these women who carry the
views of the armed services are with the 55 women of the House of
Representatives, saying if you want to set us back, at least hear us
out first, do not silence us.
Moreover, we speak for the women of the military, and we are sure
that we speak for the women and the men of the military. The Department
of Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services, appointed by
the Secretary of Defense, met with 1,200 trainees and trainers in a
random sample to find what the troops believe about men and women
serving together in basic training.
They found the overwhelming sentiment of our troops to be that men
and women who fight together must train together. This train-as-you-
fight strategy ensures combat readiness goals are met. We are here to
make clear that the women of the Congress will never retreat on this
issue.
Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, again, the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia
(Ms. Norton), who is a woman I deeply respect, and she always speaks
her mind, and she does so eloquently, but I would just say to her that
for those of us who have served in the military, we have to remember
that most of the basic training, the men and women that go through
basic training today, are identical to those who went through 10 years
ago, 20 years ago, 30 or 40 years ago. They are of ages of 18, 19, 20
years old.
When we look at some of the situations that have occurred in other
branches of the service besides the Marine Corps, when we mix young men
and women together at that age, many of whom have gone away from home
for the first time, we are going to have severe problems.
In the Marine Corps we have managed to train them separately and we
have not had any instances that have taken place, and I just hope the
gentlewoman understands and respects others' views on this. It is a
question of trying to make sure that the young men and women that are
going to be serving in our military have adequate training, and later
on after they are out of boot camp, they are out of basic training,
certainly they can work together, as long as it is not in a combat
situation.
There are those of us that are absolutely opposed to women serving in
combat. It is just a matter of principle with us. God forbid that women
are taken prisoner of war. Situations occur that would not occur to a
male, and I just could not do that to my daughters or my
granddaughters, so I just hope she understands that there is sincerity
on both sides of the aisle on the issue.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. SOLOMON. I yield to the gentlewoman from the District of
Columbia.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I do understand, and I have the most
profound respect for the gentleman from New York (Mr. Solomon). I
understand the feelings of the gentleman from New York, for whom I have
the most profound respect. He served in the armed services when
integrated services was unthinkable.
I do want to say only to the gentleman that I know he did not mean to
say that the kinds of abuses and sexual harassment which have in fact
come forward are anything like representative situations. I do not
believe we should step back a giant step because of a few instances of
abuse.
I think, on the contrary, that we ought to congratulate the troops
for the way in which gender integration has succeeded, and may I say to
the gentleman, I was surprised, particularly because I believe he has
the votes, that we were not granted the right even to debate this
matter for a limited period of time. That is all we asked.
Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Virginia (Mr. Sisisky).
Mr. SISISKY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the
time.
Mr. Speaker, I would tell my good friend, the chairman of the
Committee on Rules, I was surprised that the Fowler amendment was not
in there
[[Page H3502]]
today. We had a very close vote in the committee. Also, I further want
to advise, the problem that we first had in the sexual problems was not
in basic training. Aberdeen was advanced training.
Let me just tell the Members this. My problem, and I said it right in
the committee, I do not know enough what is right and wrong now. It
should not be up to me to decide. I called every chief of the service
the morning of the vote, and every one of them, every one of them, said
we want to integrate the training in basic training, with the exception
of the Marine Corps.
I said fine. If the Marine Corps wants to do it differently, let them
do it differently. If the Navy wants to do it differently, let them do
it. We should not impose ourselves on that. This is a very important
issue, I would tell the chairman. I am going to vote for the rule,
because I am anxious to get this thing going, but I must say, I am very
disappointed that this amendment was not in there.
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I am glad to yield 3 minutes to the very
distinguished gentlewoman from Jacksonville, Florida (Mrs. Fowler), a
member of the committee.
Mrs. FOWLER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the
time.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my appreciation to the Committee on
Rules, first for making one of my amendments in order, and my
disappointment that the other was not. I believe, as I walked in, I
think the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Sisisky) must have been talking
to this issue, also.
But with my colleague, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Jane
Harman), I have put forward an amendment in the committee to retain
current policies regarding integration of male and female soldiers,
sailors and airmen at the unit level during basic training.
Unfortunately, this amendment was not made in order under this rule.
Our amendment would have stricken section 521 of the bill, which
requires gender segregation at the small unit level throughout basic
training, and the housing of male and female recruits in separate
barracks.
Instead, our amendment would have required the Congressional
Commission on Military Training and Gender-Related Issues, which this
Congress established only last year at a cost of $2.2 million, to
specifically study the recommendations of the Kassebaum-Baker
Commission before any action on this matter could proceed.
While I have the highest regard for my good friends, Senators
Kassebaum and Baker, the methodology that was employed by that panel
has been criticized by the GAO. The Fowler-Harman amendment also would
have promoted privacy by gender in living spaces to the maximum extent
practicable, without a specific requirement to separate by barracks.
{time} 1130
I would note that the Army, Navy and Air Force chiefs oppose section
521 on the grounds that it removes their discretion for training as
they fight. I would note that according to General Lezy, the Deputy
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy, section
521 would require the Army to spend $159 million in fiscal year 2000 to
build new barracks to segregate its recruits. The Army has not budgeted
for this requirement. When 64 percent of the Department of Defense
family housing is unsuitable, I believe there are better ways to spend
this money.
Mr. Speaker, the commission appointed by Congress will use objective
standards to evaluate the value of gender-integrated or segregated
basic training and report to us. We ought not prejudge their findings.
I will be working in conference to eliminate section 521, and would
appreciate the support of many of my colleagues in this regard.
I do support the rule on this bill. This is an extremely important
bill to the defense of our country. There are many other issues than
this one in this bill. This is a good rule overall. It is a good bill.
It is greatly needed for our young men and women that are serving in
the armed services of our country. I urge all of my colleagues to
support the rule and then to support the bill later today.
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the very distinguished
gentleman from San Diego, California (Mr. Hunter), a stalwart advocate
of our Nation's military.
Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman of the Committee on
Rules for yielding this time.
Mr. Speaker, let me say he has gotten beaten up a little bit over
this rule. Let me tell Members something that the chairman did insist
on that was very important from a national security standpoint. That is
that he has allowed and the committee has allowed, and should be
commended for letting us put in four amendments that have to do with
the transfer of satellite technology, which is at this point a very
critical issue for national security.
Most people now know that China has been launching American
satellites with their Long March rockets, which are essentially the
same rockets that are aimed with nuclear-tipped warheads at cities in
the United States. We have an interest, obviously, in not accuratizing
those missiles or making them more reliable. Unfortunately, after a
failed launch in 1996, it has been alleged that Loral and Hughes, two
of our satellite companies, engaged with the Chinese scientists after
one of the satellites had gone down, and it was a $200 million package,
engaged with the Chinese scientists and engineers and showed them what
they were doing wrong with respect to these Long March rockets, which
have nuclear-tipped missiles which are aimed at the United States.
The Department of Defense issued a statement that said American
security interests have been harmed. That is the Department of Defense
for the Clinton administration, very serious statement. It is clear
that our policy with respect to transferring satellite technology to
China has been detrimental to the United States. There may have been
criminal activities, and we need to further explore this issue. But
today we have several amendments that have been allowed.
The gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spence) and the gentleman from
New York (Mr. Gilman) have an amendment that expresses the sense of
Congress that business interests must not be placed over United States
security interests and that the United States should not agree to a
variety of initiatives at the upcoming presidential summit in China,
including support for Chinese membership in the missile technology
control regime, a blanket waiver of Tiananmen Square sanctions, an
increase in space launches from China, agreeing to unverifiable arms
control initiatives, increasing the level of military to military
contacts, and entering any new agreements involving space or missile
related technology.
Essentially we are saying, you fouled this thing up, you have given
away American security interests. We are putting the brakes on until we
can sort this thing out. It is an excellent amendment by the gentleman
from South Carolina (Mr. Spence) and the gentleman from New York (Mr.
Gilman).
The gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) has an amendment that
would prohibit U.S. participation in any post-launch failure
investigation involving the launch of a U.S. satellite from China.
Somebody mentioned that Loral and Hughes were kind of like the engineer
who was sentenced to the guillotine by Khomeini, and after the
guillotine had failed to work on several other people who would have
been executed and they were allowed to go free, the engineer, the
American engineer laid under the guillotine and said, I think I see
your problem.
At any rate, the Bereuter amendment would prohibit U.S. participation
in any post-launch failure investigation involving the launch of an
U.S. satellite. We have the Hefley amendment that would prohibit the
export or reexport of any missile equipment or technology to the
People's Republic of China. And finally, I have an amendment that would
prohibit the export or reexport of U.S. satellites, including
commercial satellites and satellite components, to the People's
Republic of China.
These are very important amendments. I thank the committee and the
chairman for allowing them.
Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
[[Page H3503]]
Mr. Speaker, this is an important rule. This is an important piece of
legislation. I support the rule. I would advise the Chair at this point
that there will be a Member on our side who will seek a vote on the
previous question. I would ask the Chair to recognize that Member at
the appropriate time.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman
from Indiana (Mr. Buyer).
Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I came to the floor because I want to ensure
that the Members that come to vote on this rule understand what
happened in the Committee on National Security with regard to the
Kassebaum-Baker panel's recommendations. There are no distortions that
are out there.
Nancy Kassebaum's panel were 10 individuals of highly diverse
background who made a unanimous decision that was overwhelmingly
received favorably across the country. Why? Because it gave common
sense solutions. It said, separate by gender in the barracks and at the
small unit level, that is flights in the Air Force, divisions in the
Navy and by platoon in the Army, but then when they go train, it is
integrated training.
There are those that are trying to distort this by calling it
segregated training. That is completely false. I want Members to
understand this is only separating by barracks. Basically we are saying
we do not necessarily think that young men and women ought to be
sleeping together and we recognize that we have some collateral
problems when that occurs. So when Members come to the floor, I want
them to be very clear in understanding what exactly this is.
It is the Nancy Kassebaum language on those two issues. And to make
sure that the services across the river do not spin this with regard to
the Air Force, this takes the Air Force back to the way they were doing
it for over 20 years. They used to separate by flight, by gender, until
July of last year. So do not let anybody distort this. I want to be
very clear with Members. If they have any questions, contact me and I
will be very pleased to explain it to them.
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
In closing the debate, let me just say that the statement by the
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Buyer) is the exact reason why I took full
responsibility for not allowing the Maloney amendment, because if it
had come on this floor it would have been a totally political issue and
would not have dealt with the merits. I did so after consulting with
the administration; this is the Clinton administration. The Clinton
administration did not want this issue to come on the floor, nor did
they want the Bosnia issue to come on the floor.
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
Mr SOLOMON. I will not yield at this time, Mr. Speaker.
They did not want the Iraq issue to come on to the floor.
Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, we do not interrupt somebody who is
closing. They know better than that.
I just wanted to say one last thing, that I also take full
responsibility for not allowing any cutting amendments. I have done
this for the last several years because I am absolutely outraged to
what is happening with our military. We have Members that will come on
this floor, they will want to cut a little bit here and a little bit
there. Pretty soon we are right back to where we were in 1979.
Mr. Speaker, we cannot allow that to happen. If Members do not like
the funding level, if they think it is too much, come over here and
vote ``no.'' But if they want to stand up for the young men and women
that are serving in our military today, we want to give them the best
procurement in weapons we can give them. We want to give them the best
training. We want to give them the best benefits in order to let them
undertake an honorable career in the military. It is more honorable
than any other career in this country, yet many Members in this House
do not seem to give a damn anymore.
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. SOLOMON. I will not yield.
I hope that Members will come over to this body and vote for this
rule. We have been as fair as we possibly can. We have made a
percentage of Democrat amendments in order compared to what they had
asked for. The same thing with the Republicans, we shut out many
Republicans in order to try to be fair. That is why everyone should
come over here and vote for this rule today.
Mr. EVANS. Mr. Speaker, today's rule on the FY99 DOD Authorization
Act does not include my amendment which would have barred U.S. special
forces training of the Indonesian Military in FY99. I am gravely
disappointed that the Rules Committee did not see fit to allow the
House to consider this issue at such an important juncture in our
nation's policy toward Indonesia.
Today, Indonesia is entrenched in an unprecedented political and
economic crisis. Recent reports of student deaths at the hands of
Indonesian police opening fire on demonstrations is just one example of
the violence and terror that have become routine within the Suharto
regime.
This type of repression is just the latest chapter in the Suharto
regimes' transgressions against its own people. No where is that more
apparent than in the conduct of the Indonesian military. The use of the
Indonesian military in the intimidation, torture and murder of both
Indonesians and the citizens of East Timor is widespread, documented
and undisputed. The brutal massacre of over 270 peaceful demonstrators
in an East Timor cemetery by the Indonesian Military at the beginning
of this decade led Congress to ban U.S. taxpayer funded IMET training
in 1992.
Despite this strong indication by Congress to stop assistance to the
Indonesian Military, the Department of Defense continues to provide
assistance through the Joint Combined Exchange and Training program.
Last September, I wrote Secretary of Defense Cohen requesting detailed
information on the training of members of the Kopassus, the elite
special forces division of the Indonesian military. The Kopassus is
famous for its role as the ruthless ``enforcer'' of Indonesia's
occupation of East Timor.
Several months later, I received a response from Deputy Secretary
John Hamre, describing the United States' continued training of the
Indonesian military under another program--the JCET. While I recognize
that Indonesia's participation in the JCET program is in compliance
with U.S. law, I do not support any training of the Indonesian military
by U.S. armed services. It is clear to me and several of my colleagues
that the JCET program is the Pentagon's loophole to the ban on IMET.
The amendment, which I was to offer with Representatives Nita Lowey,
Patrick Kennedy and Chris Smith, would have sent a direct message to
President Suharto that the flagrant abuse of power, unmitigated
repression and complete disregard for fundamental human rights will not
be tolerated. Because the moratorium would have lasted only for the
fiscal year, it would have allowed Congress to reassess the merits of
providing military training to Indonesia next year.
I hope that we can address this problem later in the session, but I
still believe it was an opportunity that this Congress should not have
missed. This rule abrogates our responsibility to ensure that our
national security policy embodies the very democratic principles it
seeks to defend. I believe it is unfortunate and does not reflect well
on this institution.
Mr. SOLOMON. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I
move the previous question on the resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Shaw). The question is on ordering the
previous question.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the
ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a
quorum is not present.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Evidently a quorum is not present.
The Sergeant at Arms will notify absent Members.
Pursuant to clause 5 of rule XV, the Chair will reduce to a minimum
of 5 minutes the period of time within which a vote by electronic
device, if ordered, will be taken on the question of agreeing to the
resolution.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 281,
nays 134, not voting 17, as follows:
[Roll No. 165]
YEAS--281
Abercrombie
Aderholt
Allen
Archer
Bachus
Baker
Baldacci
Ballenger
Barcia
Barr
Barrett (NE)
Bartlett
Barton
Bass
Bereuter
Bilbray
Bilirakis
Bishop
[[Page H3504]]
Blagojevich
Bliley
Blunt
Boehlert
Boehner
Bonilla
Bono
Borski
Boswell
Boucher
Brady
Bryant
Bunning
Burr
Burton
Buyer
Callahan
Calvert
Camp
Canady
Cannon
Castle
Chabot
Chambliss
Chenoweth
Christensen
Clement
Clyburn
Coble
Coburn
Collins
Combest
Cook
Cooksey
Cox
Cramer
Crapo
Cubin
Cunningham
Danner
Davis (VA)
Deal
DeLay
Diaz-Balart
Dickey
Dicks
Doolittle
Doyle
Dreier
Duncan
Dunn
Edwards
Ehlers
Ehrlich
Emerson
English
Ensign
Everett
Fawell
Foley
Forbes
Fossella
Fowler
Fox
Franks (NJ)
Frelinghuysen
Frost
Gallegly
Ganske
Gekas
Gibbons
Gilchrest
Gillmor
Gilman
Goode
Goodlatte
Gordon
Goss
Graham
Granger
Gutknecht
Hall (OH)
Hall (TX)
Hansen
Hastert
Hastings (WA)
Hayworth
Hefley
Hefner
Herger
Hill
Hilleary
Hobson
Hoekstra
Holden
Horn
Hostettler
Houghton
Hoyer
Hulshof
Hunter
Hutchinson
Hyde
Inglis
Istook
Jenkins
John
Johnson (CT)
Johnson, Sam
Jones
Kasich
Kelly
Kennedy (RI)
Kennelly
Kim
King (NY)
Kingston
Klink
Klug
Knollenberg
Kolbe
LaHood
Lampson
Largent
Latham
LaTourette
Lazio
Leach
Lewis (CA)
Lewis (KY)
Linder
Lipinski
Livingston
LoBiondo
Lucas
Maloney (CT)
Manzullo
Markey
Martinez
Mascara
McCarthy (MO)
McCarthy (NY)
McCollum
McCrery
McDade
McHale
McHugh
McInnis
McIntosh
McIntyre
McKeon
Metcalf
Mica
Miller (FL)
Minge
Mollohan
Moran (KS)
Moran (VA)
Morella
Murtha
Myrick
Nethercutt
Neumann
Norwood
Nussle
Ortiz
Oxley
Packard
Pappas
Parker
Pascrell
Paul
Pease
Peterson (MN)
Peterson (PA)
Petri
Pickering
Pickett
Pitts
Pombo
Pomeroy
Porter
Portman
Pryce (OH)
Quinn
Radanovich
Ramstad
Redmond
Regula
Reyes
Riggs
Riley
Roemer
Rogan
Rogers
Rohrabacher
Ros-Lehtinen
Roukema
Royce
Ryun
Sabo
Salmon
Sanford
Saxton
Scarborough
Schaefer, Dan
Schaffer, Bob
Scott
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shadegg
Shaw
Shays
Sherman
Shimkus
Shuster
Sisisky
Skeen
Skelton
Smith (MI)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (OR)
Smith (TX)
Smith, Adam
Smith, Linda
Snowbarger
Snyder
Solomon
Souder
Spence
Spratt
Stearns
Stenholm
Stump
Sununu
Talent
Tanner
Tauzin
Taylor (MS)
Taylor (NC)
Thomas
Thompson
Thornberry
Thune
Tiahrt
Traficant
Turner
Upton
Visclosky
Walsh
Wamp
Watkins
Watts (OK)
Weldon (FL)
Weldon (PA)
Weller
White
Whitfield
Wicker
Wise
Wolf
Young (AK)
Young (FL)
NAYS--134
Ackerman
Baesler
Barrett (WI)
Becerra
Bentsen
Berman
Berry
Blumenauer
Bonior
Boyd
Brown (CA)
Brown (FL)
Brown (OH)
Campbell
Capps
Cardin
Clayton
Condit
Conyers
Costello
Coyne
Cummings
Davis (FL)
Davis (IL)
DeFazio
DeGette
Delahunt
DeLauro
Deutsch
Dingell
Dixon
Doggett
Dooley
Engel
Eshoo
Etheridge
Evans
Farr
Fattah
Fazio
Filner
Ford
Frank (MA)
Furse
Gejdenson
Gephardt
Green
Gutierrez
Hamilton
Hastings (FL)
Hilliard
Hinojosa
Hooley
Jackson (IL)
Jackson-Lee (TX)
Jefferson
Johnson (WI)
Johnson, E. B.
Kanjorski
Kaptur
Kennedy (MA)
Kildee
Kilpatrick
Kind (WI)
Kleczka
Kucinich
LaFalce
Lantos
Lee
Levin
Lewis (GA)
Lofgren
Lowey
Luther
Maloney (NY)
Manton
Matsui
McDermott
McGovern
McKinney
McNulty
Meehan
Meek (FL)
Menendez
Millender-McDonald
Miller (CA)
Mink
Moakley
Nadler
Neal
Oberstar
Obey
Olver
Owens
Pallone
Pastor
Payne
Pelosi
Poshard
Price (NC)
Rahall
Rangel
Rivers
Rodriguez
Rothman
Roybal-Allard
Rush
Sanchez
Sanders
Sandlin
Sawyer
Schumer
Serrano
Skaggs
Slaughter
Stark
Stokes
Strickland
Stupak
Tauscher
Thurman
Tierney
Torres
Towns
Velazquez
Vento
Waters
Watt (NC)
Waxman
Wexler
Weygand
Woolsey
Wynn
Yates
NOT VOTING--17
Andrews
Armey
Bateman
Carson
Clay
Crane
Ewing
Gonzalez
Goodling
Greenwood
Harman
Hinchey
Meeks (NY)
Ney
Northup
Paxon
Stabenow
{time} 1200
Messrs. RODRIGUEZ, RANGEL, BLUMENAUER, and SKAGGS, and Ms. SANCHEZ,
MS. MCKINNEY and Ms. KAPTUR changed their vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
Mrs. KENNELLY of Connecticut and Mr. REYES changed their vote from
``nay'' to ``yea.''
{time} 1201
So the previous question was ordered.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Petri). The question is on the
resolution, as amended.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Recorded Vote
Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
A recorded vote was ordered.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 304,
noes 108, not voting 20, as follows:
[Roll No. 166]
AYES--304
Abercrombie
Aderholt
Allen
Archer
Bachus
Baker
Baldacci
Ballenger
Barcia
Barr
Barrett (NE)
Bartlett
Barton
Bass
Bereuter
Bilbray
Bilirakis
Bishop
Blagojevich
Bliley
Blunt
Boehlert
Boehner
Bonilla
Bono
Borski
Boswell
Boucher
Brady
Bryant
Bunning
Burton
Buyer
Callahan
Calvert
Camp
Canady
Cannon
Castle
Chabot
Chambliss
Chenoweth
Christensen
Clayton
Clement
Clyburn
Coble
Coburn
Collins
Combest
Cook
Cooksey
Cox
Cramer
Crapo
Cubin
Cunningham
Danner
Davis (VA)
Deal
DeLay
Diaz-Balart
Dickey
Dicks
Dixon
Dooley
Doolittle
Doyle
Dreier
Duncan
Dunn
Edwards
Ehlers
Ehrlich
Emerson
English
Ensign
Everett
Farr
Fawell
Fazio
Foley
Forbes
Ford
Fossella
Fowler
Fox
Franks (NJ)
Frelinghuysen
Frost
Ganske
Gekas
Gibbons
Gilchrest
Gillmor
Gilman
Goode
Goodlatte
Gordon
Goss
Graham
Granger
Greenwood
Gutknecht
Hall (OH)
Hall (TX)
Hansen
Hastert
Hastings (WA)
Hayworth
Hefley
Hefner
Herger
Hill
Hilleary
Hobson
Hoekstra
Holden
Horn
Hostettler
Houghton
Hoyer
Hulshof
Hunter
Hutchinson
Hyde
Inglis
Istook
Jefferson
Jenkins
John
Johnson (CT)
Johnson, Sam
Jones
Kanjorski
Kasich
Kelly
Kennedy (RI)
Kennelly
Kildee
Kilpatrick
Kim
King (NY)
Kingston
Klink
Klug
Knollenberg
Kolbe
LaHood
Lampson
Largent
Latham
LaTourette
Lazio
Leach
Lewis (CA)
Lewis (KY)
Linder
Lipinski
Livingston
LoBiondo
Lucas
Maloney (CT)
Manzullo
Markey
Martinez
Mascara
McCarthy (MO)
McCarthy (NY)
McCollum
McDade
McHale
McHugh
McInnis
McIntosh
McIntyre
McKeon
Meek (FL)
Menendez
Metcalf
Mica
Millender-McDonald
Miller (FL)
Mink
Mollohan
Moran (KS)
Moran (VA)
Morella
Murtha
Myrick
Nethercutt
Neumann
Ney
Northup
Norwood
Nussle
Ortiz
Oxley
Packard
Pallone
Pappas
Parker
Pascrell
Pastor
Paul
Pease
Pelosi
Peterson (MN)
Peterson (PA)
Petri
Pickering
Pickett
Pitts
Pombo
Pomeroy
Porter
Portman
Price (NC)
Pryce (OH)
Quinn
Radanovich
Ramstad
Redmond
Regula
Reyes
Riggs
Roemer
Rogan
Rogers
Rohrabacher
Ros-Lehtinen
Rothman
Roukema
Royce
Ryun
Sabo
Salmon
Sanchez
Sandlin
Sanford
Saxton
Scarborough
Schaefer, Dan
Schaffer, Bob
Scott
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shadegg
Shaw
Sherman
Shimkus
Shuster
Sisisky
Skeen
Skelton
Slaughter
Smith (MI)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (OR)
Smith (TX)
Smith, Adam
Smith, Linda
Snowbarger
Snyder
Solomon
Souder
Spence
Spratt
Stark
Stearns
Stenholm
Stump
Sununu
Talent
Tanner
Tauscher
Tauzin
Taylor (MS)
Taylor (NC)
Thornberry
Thune
Tiahrt
Towns
Traficant
Turner
Upton
Visclosky
Walsh
Wamp
Waters
Watkins
Watts (OK)
Weldon (FL)
Weldon (PA)
Weller
Weygand
White
Whitfield
Wicker
Wise
Wolf
Wynn
Young (AK)
Young (FL)
NOES--108
Ackerman
Baesler
Barrett (WI)
Becerra
Bentsen
Berman
Berry
Blumenauer
Bonior
Boyd
Brown (CA)
Brown (FL)
Brown (OH)
Campbell
Capps
Cardin
Condit
Conyers
Costello
Coyne
Cummings
Davis (FL)
Davis (IL)
DeFazio
DeGette
Delahunt
DeLauro
Deutsch
Dingell
Doggett
[[Page H3505]]
Engel
Eshoo
Etheridge
Evans
Fattah
Filner
Frank (MA)
Furse
Gallegly
Gejdenson
Gephardt
Green
Gutierrez
Hamilton
Hastings (FL)
Hilliard
Hinojosa
Hooley
Jackson (IL)
Jackson-Lee (TX)
Johnson (WI)
Johnson, E. B.
Kaptur
Kennedy (MA)
Kind (WI)
Kleczka
Kucinich
LaFalce
Lantos
Lee
Levin
Lewis (GA)
Lofgren
Lowey
Luther
Maloney (NY)
Matsui
McDermott
McGovern
McKinney
McNulty
Meehan
Miller (CA)
Minge
Moakley
Nadler
Neal
Oberstar
Obey
Olver
Owens
Poshard
Rahall
Rangel
Rivers
Rodriguez
Roybal-Allard
Rush
Sanders
Sawyer
Schumer
Serrano
Shays
Skaggs
Stokes
Strickland
Stupak
Thompson
Thurman
Tierney
Torres
Velazquez
Vento
Watt (NC)
Waxman
Wexler
Woolsey
Yates
NOT VOTING--20
Andrews
Armey
Bateman
Burr
Carson
Clay
Crane
Ewing
Gonzalez
Goodling
Harman
Hinchey
Manton
McCrery
Meeks (NY)
Paxon
Payne
Riley
Stabenow
Thomas
{time} 1212
So the resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________