[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 4 (Thursday, January 27, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H9-H10]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    SUPPORT LEGISLATION TO GIVE ELIAN GONZALEZ RESIDENT ALIEN STATUS

  (Mr. DEUTSCH asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DEUTSCH. Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues today, and actually in 
comment of other colleagues as well, of supporting legislation that 
would give Elian Gonzalez at least resident alien status in the United 
States of America.
  I do this because it is a Solomonesque answer to a tragic situation. 
But let me also just stop and reflect, and hopefully not just my 
colleagues but people throughout the country will listen, that if a 
mother left a country that had slavery and died on the way to freedom 
and her child was able to reach freedom and then the owner of the 
father told the father to ask for the boy back, we would be suspect of 
what the father said.
  Unfortunately, the reality of Cuba today is exactly that. It is a 
country where the leader does, in fact, kill people indiscriminately, 
does in fact restrict freedom of speech, religion, and travel. If it 
were not so, what I just said, the father would be here.
  The obvious reason the father is not here today or not here 2 months 
ago is because Castro is afraid that if he comes, he will not leave. I 
ask my colleagues to support this effort.

[[Page H10]]

 ASKING THE PRESIDENT TO PUT ASIDE PARTISAN DIFFERENCES AND WORK WITH 
                 CONGRESS ON BEHALF OF AMERICAN PEOPLE

  (Mr. BALLENGER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. BALLENGER. Mr. Speaker, we all know President Clinton is coming 
to this Chamber tonight to deliver his last State of the Union address. 
As we all await with great anticipation what he will say and what he 
will propose, I would like to mention a few items I hope he will 
emphasize.
  The House Republican leadership wrote to the President this week 
asking that he discuss three specific initiatives. I would like to echo 
their call to the President to, first, join us in protecting 100 
percent of the Social Security Trust Fund; second, detail how he will 
pay off the public debt by 2013; and, third, sign meaningful and 
responsible tax fairness into law and do not propose higher taxes or 
more burdensome user fees.
  If the President can address these items and resist the temptation to 
propose new spending programs that increase the size and scope of the 
Federal Government, then his speech will be well received by Congress.
  Tonight is a major opportunity for cooperation, not confrontation. I 
hope the President will work with us this year on behalf of the 
American people and put aside partisan differences.

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