[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 72 (Tuesday, May 18, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H3224]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL BILL

  (Mr. GUTKNECHT asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GUTKNECHT. Mr. Speaker, I believe it was Mark Twain who once 
observed that, of all of God's creations, man is the only one who can 
blush, or needs to.
  I raise that issue today as we talk about the emergency supplemental 
spending bill. In this bill, my colleagues, there are emergencies such 
as $70 million for livestock assistance, including reindeer research. 
Now, maybe that is appropriate underneath this Christmas tree. There is 
$26 million that is an emergency for Alaskan crab fishermen. There is 
$1.5 million to fill the San Carlos Lake in Arizona.
  Mr. Speaker, those are not emergencies, and worse, in that they are 
not offset with other spending in other parts of the budget. What it 
means is, unlike the budget resolution which we passed just a little 
over a month ago, we are going to start taking money out of the Social 
Security Trust Fund to fund some of these ``emergencies.''
  Mr. Speaker, we are losing the battle on the spending caps. We are 
losing the battle on the Social Security Trust Fund. I hope that we are 
not going to lose our ability to blush.

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