[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 88 (Tuesday, July 11, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1201]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 4425, MILITARY CONSTRUCTION APPROPRIATIONS 
                               ACT, 2001

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. RICHARD BURR

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 29, 2000

  Mr. BURR of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my 
reluctant support for the Conference Report on H.R. 4425, the Fiscal 
Year 2001 Military Construction Appropriations Bill. While I 
wholeheartedly endorse the bill as originally reported by the House in 
May, which contained funding for important construction projects at 
North Carolina's military bases, I do have some concerns about the new 
spending added to the bill in Conference.
  Much of what was added to this bill in Conference could have been 
addressed through the normal appropriations process. Among the most 
egregious examples of pork spending in this bill are: $45 million for a 
new jet for the Commandant of the Coast Guard; $25 million for a new 
community center in Ohio; $7 million to ``study'' sea turtles in the 
Pacific Ocean; and $25 million to build a new firearms training center 
for the Customs Service in West Virginia.
  However, the bill also contains numerous provisions that address the 
true emergency needs of many in this country, and in North Carolina 
particularly. Thousands of people in my home state are still struggling 
to overcome the impact of last fall's hurricanes, and have been waiting 
for months for Congress to take action. The assistance provided in this 
conference report will be critical in helping my fellow North 
Carolinians return to at least a semblance of the lives they led before 
last September's devastating floods.
  Despite my concerns about the use of this bill to provide money for 
projects that are obviously not true emergencies, I am grateful to the 
Appropriations Committee for providing the desperately needed 
hurricane-related assistance, and appreciate their hard work in 
bringing this legislation to the floor.

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