[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 107 (Friday, July 27, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H4752-H4761]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




DEPARTMENTS OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AND HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, AND 
             INDEPENDENT AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2002

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 210 and rule 
XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of the Whole House 
on the State of the Union for the further consideration of the bill, 
H.R. 2620.

                              {time}  1233


                     in the committee of the whole

  Accordingly, the House resolved itself into the Committee of the 
Whole House on the State of the Union for the further consideration of 
the bill (H.R. 2620) making appropriations for the Departments of 
Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development and for sundry 
independent agencies, boards, commissions, corporations, and offices 
for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2002, and for other purposes, 
with Mr. Shimkus in the chair.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The CHAIRMAN. When the Committee of the Whole rose earlier today, a 
request for a recorded vote on amendment No. 45 offered by the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Bonior) had been postponed and the bill 
was open for amendment from page 33, line 5, through page 37, line 9.
  Pursuant to the order of the House of today, no amendment to the bill 
may be offered except:
  Pro forma amendments offered by the chairman or ranking minority 
member of the Committee on Appropriations or their designees for the 
purpose of debate.
  The amendment printed in House Report 107-164.
  The amendments printed in the Congressional Record and numbered 5, 6, 
7, 12, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 30, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, and 46.
  Two amendments offered by the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. 
Frank) and one amendment offered by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Traficant) that have been placed at the desk.
  One amendment en bloc offered by the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. 
Jackson-Lee) consisting of amendments numbered 31, 33, 34, and 35.
  Such amendments shall be debatable as follows:
  Except as specified, each amendment shall be debatable only for 10 
minutes each.
  The amendments numbered 6, 12, 24, 39, and 42 shall be debatable only 
for 20 minutes each;
  The amendments numbered 5 and 37 and one amendment offered by the 
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) shall be debatable for only 30 
minutes each.
  The amendment numbered 46 shall be debatable only for 40 minutes.
  Such debate shall be equally divided and controlled by the proponent 
and an opponent.
  Each such amendment may be offered only by the Member designated in 
the request, the Member who caused it to be printed, or a designee, 
shall be considered as read and shall not be subject to amendment, 
except that the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee 
on Appropriations, or a designee, each may offer one pro forma 
amendment for the purpose of further debate on any pending amendment, 
and shall not be subject to a demand for a division of the question.
  The amendment printed in House Report 107-164, may amend portions of 
the bill not yet read.


                amendment no. 46 offered by mr. menendez

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.
  The CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
  The text of the amendment is as follows:

       Amendment No. 46 offered by Mr. Menendez:
       At the end of the bill, add the following new section:
       ``Sec.  . Funding made available under this Act for 
     salaries and expenses, excluding those made available for the 
     Department of Veterans Affairs and the Environmental 
     Protection Agency, are reduced by $25,000,000 and funds made 
     available for ``Environmental Programs and Management'' at 
     the Environmental Protection Agency are increased by 
     $25,000,000 for activities authorized by law: Provided, none 
     of the funds in this Act shall be available by reason of the 
     next to last specific dollar earmark under the heading 
     ``State and Tribal Assistance Grants.''

  The CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to the order of the House of today, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) and a Member opposed each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez).
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  At the outset, I want to thank the ranking member of the full 
committee and the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Mollohan), the 
subcommittee ranking member, for all their hard work and cooperation on 
this amendment.
  This amendment which I am sponsoring with my colleagues, the 
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Waxman), the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), and the gentleman 
from Massachusetts (Mr. Tierney) would restore critically needed 
funding to the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Compliance 
and Enforcement, which is responsible for enforcing America's most 
important and effective environmental laws.

[[Page H4753]]

  To do so, we cut $25 million from nonpersonnel administrative costs 
from other parts of the bill except EPA and veterans' programs. Spread 
out over this bill, this will require very modest cuts in 
administrative expenses.
  Mr. Chairman, I stand before the House today because I believe 
America's environment is under attack. Not too long ago, as a 
Presidential candidate, George Bush spoke strong words about protecting 
the environment, but today his promises to the American people ring 
hollow. In only a few short months, the Bush administration made its 
priorities clear to all of us, and environmental protection is 
apparently very low on the list.
  While I am not surprised at the actions of President Bush or of EPA 
administrator Whitman, given her shoddy record of environmental 
enforcement in my home State of New Jersey, I am surprised that the 
committee went along with this dangerous course of action.
  The bill before us today, at the direction of the administration, 
irresponsibly cuts $25 million from the EPA's enforcement budget, 
specifically targeting compliance, monitoring, civil and criminal 
enforcement, and Superfund enforcement.
  If this bill passes in its present form, 270 positions would be 
eliminated from the Office of Compliance and Enforcement, which will 
result in 2,000 fewer inspections, an 11 percent reduction in criminal 
actions, and a 20 percent reduction in civil actions. These reductions 
would be devastating to EPA's ability to enforce clean air, clean 
water, and hazardous waste laws.
  These are not just numbers we are talking about here. This is the 
water our children drink, the air they breathe, and the legacy we leave 
to the next generation. It is because of Federal enforcement officers 
that we have made so much progress in cleaning up our air and water.
  Experience tells us the difference a strong EPA can make. Civil 
enforcement activities have resulted in real improvements in 
environmental quality. In fiscal year 1999, EPA's civil enforcement 
actions achieved over 6.8 billion pounds of pollutant reductions, but 
the bill before us would cut 6 percent of the staff positions from the 
Superfund hazardous waste cost recovery efforts, this from a program 
that in fiscal year 2000 recovered $231 million from responsible 
parties at Superfund sites.
  This is pennywise and pound foolish because the cut in Superfund 
enforcement would reduce cost recoveries by over $50 million in fiscal 
year 2002, a reduction in revenue that greatly exceeds the funding 
necessary to fully restore the enforcement efforts.
  The administration's budget also proposes to transfer $25 million to 
the States for environmental enforcement. While States could use 
additional help in ensuring compliance with environmental laws, that 
help should not come at the expense of EPA's successful enforcement 
programs.
  Federal and State resources combined are not enough to fully enforce 
our Federal environmental laws as it is. Transferring scarce Federal 
resources to State programs when both compliance programs are 
underfunded is like robbing Peter to pay Paul. The fact is, the air and 
water quality in one State impacts the air and water in another State. 
There are no borders when the goal is a clean environment. That is why 
a clean environment should be a national priority.
  Big polluters would like nothing more than to see a major reduction 
in Federal, civil, and criminal enforcement by the EPA, so cutting 
EPA's enforcement budget is sending the wrong message at a time when 
over 60 million Americans live in areas of the country that still fail 
to meet air quality standards.
  We can do better, but this bill takes us in the wrong direction. I 
urge my colleagues to support this amendment because it is the right 
thing for the environment and it is right for America. Let us leave a 
legacy of clean lakes, clean rivers, fresh air. Let us leave a clean 
environment for our children.
  Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALSH. Mr. Chairman, I am opposed to the amendment.
  The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh) is recognized 
to control the time in opposition.
  Mr. WALSH. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the gentleman's amendment.
  Mr. Chairman, there is no one in this Congress who cares more about 
the environment than I do. I had the good fortune as a young boy of 
growing up in the Finger Lakes region of New York State, and my 
experience showed me that the people that I saw on the streams where I 
fished, in the woods where I hunted, in the woods where I skied, are 
State officials, State employees. The States are the ones who do the 
enforcement work for the Environmental Protection Agency. The State 
folks know those streams. They know those lakes. They know the 
conditions and industry surrounding our watersheds. They enforce the 
laws.
  I want to make it very clear, there are no cuts in the EPA budget. 
There are no cuts. The amendment that the gentleman proposes, however, 
is a cut. It is a cut to HUD, it is a cut to NASA, it is a cut to FEMA, 
it is a cut to the National Science Foundation.
  If Members want to cut HUD or NASA, FEMA, the National Science 
Foundation, support the gentleman's amendment. But what I submit is 
that the people who do the enforcement day-to-day, who know the 
conditions, who know the watersheds, who know the lakes and rivers, we 
are providing them with the additional funds.
  States conduct more than 95 percent of the environmental inspections 
and more than 90 percent of the environmental enforcement actions. It 
is the States that do the lion's share of the work, and it is the 
States that get the lion's share of this increase. This is an increase 
in the EPA enforcement budget.
  As a fact, the fiscal year 2001 enacted budget for enforcement is 
$465 million. In this budget, according to the President's budget 
request and what we have committed to, the subcommittee has committed 
to, the level of funding is $475 million. How Members can arrive at a 
cut from that, it just defies logic.
  What we do is we put the money where it is needed and where it is 
used. Mr. Chairman, I have the greatest respect for the Federal 
Government. I work in the Federal Government. I have the greatest 
respect for the employees who work within the Federal Government. But I 
want to make sure that the people who have the responsibility to 
protect my watershed, my drinking water, my neighbor's good health, I 
want to make sure those people know the system, the environmental 
systems. I want to make sure that they know the businesses and the 
business owners. I want to make sure that they know that their 
neighbors are the ones who are going to benefit from their vigor and 
activity in enforcing the laws of the land.
  So let us put the money in the hands of the people who are going to 
do the enforcement work, and that is the State employees who have 
traditionally done the lion's share of this work. There is not a cut. I 
will just restate that, there is no cut in enforcement. This is an 
increase in enforcement. But if Members want to cut Federal agencies, 
cut HUD, cut NASA, cut FEMA, cut NSF, support the gentleman's 
amendment.

                              {time}  1245

  I would strongly urge that my colleagues not do that. These funds are 
needed by those agencies, and let us keep the enforcement in the hands 
of the State.
  Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 30 seconds.
  Two points on the gentleman's comments. Number one, we simply cut 
nonpersonnel administrative expenses. Number one. And, number two, even 
EPA's own justification to Congress shows that there will be dramatic 
reductions in their staffing, in their ability for enforcement, in 
their civil and criminal penalties that they will be able to pursue.
  Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. 
Pallone).
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Chairman, I have great respect for the chairman of 
the subcommittee, but the reality is that if we do not provide enough 
money to keep these Federal enforcement officers in place and they have 
to be laid

[[Page H4754]]

 off, then, in effect, this is a cut and it means we cannot enforce the 
law. That is what we face here today.
  We saw the same thing in New Jersey. The current EPA administrator 
used to be our governor in New Jersey. When she was governor, she cut 
back on the amount of money for the personnel, for the people that go 
out and do the inspections, for the people that conduct the criminal 
investigations against the polluters; and the consequence was that in 
New Jersey the environmental laws were not enforced. That is what is 
going to happen here again with this budget unless the Menendez 
amendment passes today.
  It is a very insidious thing. People do not pay a lot of attention to 
enforcement. They pay attention to when the Clean Air Act or the Clean 
Water Act is weakened. But when an attempt is made to weaken the 
enforcement by not providing the personnel, the public does not notice. 
But it is more damaging, and I would suggest what is happening in this 
budget and the laying off these enforcement personnel will be more 
damaging to the environment than almost anything else the Republican 
leadership or the President has proposed since he came to office. So we 
must speak out against it.
  I want to give an example how it also impacts the taxpayer. New 
Jersey has more Superfund sites than any other State. My district has 
more than any other district in New Jersey. When we cut back on the 
inspections for Superfund and we do not go after the polluters, then we 
do not get the money from the polluters to clean up the Superfund sites 
and then we have to spend the money out of the Superfund, which is 
taxpayers' money.
  And my colleagues on the other side know that, in the case of the 
Superfund, we do not even have the tax in place on the chemical and oil 
polluting companies to pay for the Superfund. The money increasingly is 
coming out of the general funds, which means income taxes.
  So the consequence of this is not only that we weaken the 
environmental laws but also that we put more of a burden on the 
taxpayer rather than on the polluters these inspectors go out and find 
and go out and enforce to clean up their act.
  What is happening here is very insidious. I am sure this is only 
going to be the beginning. We will see the same thing next year with 
the President's budget. We have to put a stop to it. Pass the Menendez 
amendment.
  Mr. WALSH. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Chairman, could I inquire how much time remains on 
both sides?
  The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) has 12\1/
2\ minutes remaining, and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh) has 
16\1/2\ minutes remaining.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. May I inquire if the gentleman from New York has any 
speakers at all?
  Mr. WALSH. I have not identified that yet. But as soon as I have a 
better figure on it, I will provide the gentleman with that.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), the distinguished ranking member of the Committee 
on Appropriations.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I rise to strongly support this amendment. 
This amendment, very simply, restores 270 positions that are being cut 
by the Bush administration, positions that are needed to enforce our 
environmental laws.
  I think the cutbacks that the administration is providing are 
consistent with what I regard as its generally misguided policy on 
environmental cleanup. I think the cutbacks they are trying to achieve 
in EPA enforcement are similar to the weakening of our attack on 
environmental problems that we see by their walking away from our 
obligation to try to work out an international treaty on global 
warming, for instance.
  I think that their efforts to cut back on EPA enforcement are 
consistent with the White House efforts to reverse the new, more 
stringent standards for air-conditioning efficiency, a standard which 
the Clinton administration tried to implement and which would have 
saved us billions of dollars in energy costs if the White House had not 
walked away from those new standards.
  If we take a look generally across the board at what the 
administration tried to do to shred the New Lands Legacy Agreement, 
which we reached in the Subcommittee on Interior last year, which over 
the next 6 years essentially doubles our ability to purchase key 
parcels of lands for future generations, all of those initiatives that 
the administration has taken have operated to reduce rather than 
strengthen our support for environmental cleanup. This is just one more 
instance.
  It may seem like a small thing, but in my view it is not. The 
amendment is consistent with our efforts, for instance, to strengthen 
standards on arsenic in drinking water, which we just completed. So I 
would urge the House to support this amendment. I congratulate the 
gentleman for offering it, and I am happy to cosponsor it with him, and 
I would urge that the House adopt this amendment unanimously. I cannot 
think of a single constructive argument against the amendment.
  Mr. WALSH. Mr. Chairman, I have no additional requests for time, and 
I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Tierney), a cosponsor of this amendment.
  Mr. TIERNEY. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for 
yielding me this time and thank all those who have worked on this 
amendment.
  I think we should just get rid of the mirrors and the smoke on this, 
Mr. Chairman, and cut straight to the heart of the matter. This 
administration is simply attempting to undercut the authority and the 
effectiveness of the EPA by reducing its funding by 25 million people 
and putting 270 people out to pasture.
  Mr. WALSH. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. TIERNEY. I yield to the gentleman from New York.
  Mr. WALSH. I would just remind the gentleman this year's budget is 
$10 million higher for enforcement in EPA.
  Mr. TIERNEY. Reclaiming my time, I have respect for that, but the 
short part of the matter is that people are being put out of work at 
the EPA and enforcement will not proceed as it should on this.
  This is nothing new. This majority and this administration have had a 
hostile attitude toward environmental protection for several years. In 
1995, the House majority attacked an astounding 17 riders to eviscerate 
the EPA. And over several years running, the EPA was forbidden to spend 
any funds to implement or even prepare to implement the Kyoto Protocol 
that combatted global climate change. Frankly, without the efforts of 
colleagues in the Senate, without vetoes of then President Clinton, and 
without substantial public outcry, the EPA simply would have been 
crippled.
  Further, it seems this administration has not learned anything from 
the last several months. Nearly every public indicator signals there is 
no issue on which the public and the administration disagree more 
strongly than on the environment. From clean air to water quality, the 
public is acutely aware that the majority and the White House are not 
protecting the people's interest or their needs.
  Now they seek to attempt to undercut the EPA by shifting enforcement 
responsibility entirely to the States. We all support assisting the 
States in their efforts to ensure environmental law compliance, but 
that will not take care of problems across borders, that will not take 
care of the problem that this administration, in transferring that 
responsibility to the States, is risking an erosion of the standards 
that this legislative body has passed and calls upon the States to 
enforce.
  This administration will almost certainly permit States to issue 
proposals that include incentives for voluntary compliance. And while 
some States are good stewards of environmental issues, others have a 
history of diluting enforcement of provisions that protect the public.
  In such States, we have seen what happens to violators who simply 
choose not to voluntarily comply. Nothing. No penalties, no deadlines 
by which the standards must be enacted, nothing at all, Mr. Chairman. 
Voluntary compliance too often simply means ``never having to say 
you're sorry.''
  Findings by the General Accounting Office also echo this sentiment. 
It finds

[[Page H4755]]

serious cuts would result in 15 to 25 States receiving no funding at 
all. In those States the cutbacks would result in the absence of 
effective enforcement of protective safety measures. The EPA knows that 
there would be serious staff reductions that would result in this 
proposal; and I believe, Mr. Chairman, that is exactly what the 
administration is intending.
  The facts are that the EPA enforcement resources are already 
stretched thin. The Washington Post recently outlined a case where a 
State seriously neglected its responsibilities and violated numerous 
environmental laws. The State had also shifted the burden to the 
residents to prove violations.
  One case involved a power plant illegally emitting the hazardous gas 
styrene, which harms the nervous and respiratory systems. Without the 
efforts of the EPA, Mr. Chairman, which requires States to enforce the 
code, who knows how long those violations would have continued.
  It is crucial that the EPA have the resources to enforce 
environmental laws. Enforcement of those laws is often the only thing 
that stands between polluters and justice. The Senate has already 
restored this funding in their version of the bill, Mr. Chairman, and I 
strongly encourage Members to do the same in this body.
  Mr. WALSH. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I just want to reiterate that the budget for enforcement is not cut, 
it is increased. And since the States do the lion's share of the 
enforcement, they receive the lion's share of the increase.
  I think the idea is that we want to make sure that the money that is 
being spent on environmental protection is spent wisely, and we would 
like to have it in the hands of the individuals and in the hands of the 
States that are going to do the enforcement.
  So this is obviously an increase in enforcement. I think if my 
colleagues support increasing enforcement, they would oppose this 
amendment.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. WALSH. The gentleman has more time than I do.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. No, at this point, the gentleman has more time than I 
do.
  Mr. WALSH. Then, in that case, I yield to the gentleman from New 
Jersey.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Just two points. As I understand it, $10 million of this goes to 
COLA, and the rest gets out of Federal enforcement. So to say Federal 
enforcement is in fact increased is not the reality. Federal 
enforcement is not increased.
  Mr. WALSH. Reclaiming my time, Mr. Chairman, in fact, the EPA budget 
for enforcement is increased by $10 million over last year. The 
gentleman can define it any way he wants to, but this is an increase in 
funding for enforcement.
  Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 10 seconds simply to say 
that all the EPA COLA does is take those employees and give them an 
increase. It does not increase the manpower at EPA to do something 
about the environment. It takes the environmental cop off the beat.
  Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California 
(Ms. Millender-McDonald).
  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding me this time, and I would like to thank the many friends who 
are in support of this amendment that has been offered, the Menendez-
Waxman- Pallone-Tierney amendment.
  This amendment simply restores EPA's enforcement budget to current 
levels. Without these funds, the EPA's ability to enforce the Nation's 
environmental laws will be greatly reduced.
  Mr. Chairman, if we pass this appropriation without adopting this 
amendment, we will be doing a grave disservice to America's 
environmental health. The cut in the EPA's enforcement budget will 
result in a further degradation and destruction of environmental 
resources. As a result of this cut, there will be fewer than 2,000 
inspectors, 50 fewer criminal actions and 50 fewer civil actions and 
the loss of millions of dollars in cost recovery.
  This administration would like to rely on the States for enforcement 
action and, as a result, will cut some 270 enforcement positions. The 
EPA Inspector General said in a September, 1998, audit that six States 
have failed to report numerous serious violations of the Clean Air Act, 
as they are required to do. While performing more than 3,300 
inspections, six States reported only 18 significant violations. In 
reviewing a small portion of those 3,300 inspections, the EPA turned up 
an additional 103 serious violations.
  Other States have failed to report serious violations of Federal 
pollution laws, allowed major industrial polluters to operate without 
proper permits, and failed to conduct basic emissions tests of industry 
smokestacks, according to the studies.

                              {time}  1300

  Mr. Chairman, the EPA and the Justice Department can step up if we 
conclude a State is not doing an adequate job. But with limited 
resources only 3,537 lawyers, investigators, and staff will be involved 
in enforcement. I urge this amendment to be adopted.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Chairman. I ask two questions. First, what is the 
time on each side?
  The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) has 5 
minutes remaining. The gentleman from New York (Mr. Walsh) has 15 
minutes remaining.
  Mr. WALSH. Mr. Chairman, I continue to reserve my time.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Chairman, the second question I have is who has the 
right to close in this debate?
  The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from New York has the right to close.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. He has the right to close on my amendment?
  The CHAIRMAN. That is correct.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. I would ask of the gentleman then, since the time is 
lopsided, what does the gentleman intend to do in terms of speakers? It 
would be unfair to have a long list of speakers come at the very end.
  Mr. WALSH. Mr. Chairman, I am not quite sure how to help the 
gentleman out. He has had more speakers than I have. He has expended 
his time less frugally than I have. I do not intend to use all my time 
to close.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. I do not know if the gentleman should characterize it 
as ``less frugally.'' We have Members who feel very passionately about 
this.
  Mr. WALSH. I appreciate that. Many of our Members are very passionate 
about this also. But the fact of the matter is, I do not have any 
additional speakers right now so I will continue to reserve my time.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished 
gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman).
  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Chairman, I want to commend the gentleman for this 
amendment and rise in support of it.
  President Bush has proposed cutting EPA's enforcement budget by $25 
million and giving these funds to the States. I do not oppose giving 
the States money for enhanced enforcement of environmental laws, 
however, our laws cannot be adequately enforced if EPA's budget is 
slashed.
  This amendment restores critically needed funding for enforcement of 
our environmental laws. I urge all my colleagues to support this. If we 
have these cuts we are talking about 2,000 fewer inspections, a 20 
percent reduction in civil actions, an 11 percent reduction in criminal 
actions. There are many environmental programs that the States are 
simply not in a position to enforce. For example, States cannot ensure 
that pollution from one State does not affect neighboring States. This 
is a job only the Federal Government can do. So I support the 
gentleman's amendment. I commend him for his leadership. I urge all my 
colleagues to vote for it.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman very 
much for his amendment. I thank him for yielding the time because I 
think it is important to clarify what we are doing here. It is to 
suggest to the American public that we do not want them to be denied of 
enforcement protection that the EPA provides them in clean water 
protection and clean air protection.
  It is interesting that my colleague would cite the cuts coming from 
across the board and he cited FEMA. Obviously, coming from Texas, I am 
particularly interested in making sure

[[Page H4756]]

FEMA is funded fully. But we well know that OMB can make the decision 
as to where those cuts would come. This is simply an inclusion of $25 
million to allow for 2,000 more inspections, to allow for 20 percent 
more civil actions to protect Americans in the issues of clean air and 
clean water, and to allow 11 percent more in criminal prosecutions when 
individuals ignore the environmental protection laws to enhance the 
quality of life for Americans.
  So I think this is a simple process and a simple proposition and a 
good proposition. Let us do the right thing and provide the 
Environmental Protection Agency with the kind of enforcement they need 
to enhance the quality of life for all Americans.
  Mr. WALSH. Mr. Chairman, I intend to use 2 minutes of our remaining 
time to close. As soon as the gentleman completes, I will yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Chairman, could I ask how much time I have?
  The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from New Jersey has 3 minutes remaining.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Chairman, we are not taking money from the States, just a 
particular earmark. Nothing can stop the EPA administrator from using 
those monies for State programs if that is where they are most needed.
  What we are doing is what I hear my colleague from the other side 
suggest that they want, which is more flexibility. We have greater 
flexibility here. But it is foolish to suggest that, in fact, we are 
not robbing Peter to pay Paul. And, secondly, it is also from the EPA's 
own estimate submitted to the Congress, not my words, the Republican-
appointed administrator submits to the Congress this information, that, 
in fact, this is 270 or so full-time employees less than compared to 
the actual number of inspections done in fiscal year 2000 to the one 
under this request, we would have 5,000 less inspections, that we would 
have about 70 some-odd less criminal investigations, that we would have 
a serious number of decline in civil investigations, over 400 from 
fiscal year 2000.
  That is not in any sense justified by saying that there is an 
increase. There cannot be an increase when we dramatically drop the 
number of people in the department, when we dramatically drop the 
number of civil and criminal actions, when we dramatically drop the 
number of inspections by EPA's own words. So this simply cannot be 
categorized anywhere, in fact, as an increase. Again, we are taking our 
monies for this purpose from nonpersonnel administrative functions and 
not out of veterans and not out of EPA.
  Lastly, EPA remains the only enforcement authority for many Federal 
laws. Under the existing program as it is, 15 to 25 States would not 
get anything under the provisions that the chairman continues to seek 
to have.
  So, Mr. Chairman, the question is simple. Do we want to leave a 
legacy of clean air and water for our children and grandchildren or do 
we want to take the environmental cop off the street?
  A vote in favor of the amendment is a vote to keep the environmental 
cop on the street. It is a vote to ensure that the number one agency 
for all Americans in terms of their quality of their air, their water, 
their rivers, their streams, their lakes being protected is the EPA.
  If we do not pass this amendment, we will have degraded the ability 
to enforce. This is a real cut to the EPA. That is why we need to 
restore the enforcement capacity the EPA must have for all Americans in 
all States across the Nation.
  I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support the 
amendment.
  Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALSH. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Chairman, I would end this debate by suggesting that there is no 
cut in enforcement. In fact, there is an increase in enforcement. This 
amendment is a fiction.
  The funding level for last year was $465 million. This year it is 
$475 million. The fact of the matter is that the lion's share of the 
increase will go to the States where the lion's share of the work is 
done. Mr. Chairman, 95 percent of the environmental inspections are 
done at the State level; 90 percent of the enforcement actions are 
taken at the State level.
  We need to empower the States to do the work. We need to get the 
money into the hands of the individuals who know our watersheds, our 
industries, and the sensitive areas of the country that need to be 
protected.
  If my colleagues want to cut Federal agencies, HUD, NASA, FEMA, 
National Science Foundation, this is the amendment to do it. I do not 
advise that. Those agencies need these funds. This budget for this bill 
has been developed on a bipartisan basis. We have tried to provide 
assets where they are needed. We do not need to cut NASA any more. We 
certainly do not need to cut FEMA any more. We are trying to increase 
the National Science Foundation budget.
  We have a terrific administrator for the Environmental Protection 
Agency. She is a tiger for the defense of our national environment. She 
has shown that through her experience as Governor. I think she will do 
a marvelous job. She believes that the lion's share of the enforcement 
belongs at the State level. At the end of the day when this bill is 
passed, the Environmental Protection Agency will have virtually the 
same number of people working in enforcement in 2002 as they have in 
2001.
  So, Mr. Chairman, I strongly urge that we reject this amendment and 
retain this level of funding, this increase in funding over last year.
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Menendez-
Waxman-Pallone-Tierney amendment to restore funding for EPA's efforts 
to protect human health and the environment. Without the amendment, 
this bill will significantly reduce the protection our Nation's 
environmental laws provide to the daily lives of our constituents.
  Increasing resources for the states to enforce environmental laws is 
fine, but it must not come at the expense of Federal efforts. The 
Nation's advancements in environmental protection are as a direct 
result of Federal laws put in place where states simply could not or 
would not do the job.
  The reason we have Federal environmental laws is because there is a 
need for Federal action. Taking money away from EPA to give it to the 
States does not result in a benefit to the environment, but only a 
benefit to the polluter. States and EPA work best when they work in 
partnership, not in competition. The Menendez-Waxman-Pallone-Tierney 
amendment restores this partnership.
  Proponents of taking money from EPA and giving it to the States argue 
that the States are better equipped to handle local issues. Pollution 
is not a uniquely local blight. Pollution discharged from one State 
into a river affects the residents of other cities within a State or of 
other States. While many States are the primary enforcer of some 
portions of environmental laws, the State and Federal programs are not 
duplicative.
  For example, States are not the enforcement authority for many 
environmental laws such as Clean Air Act mobile source standards 
affecting cars and trucks; right-to-know and emergency planning; the 
Toxic Substances and Control Act; the wetlands program under the Clean 
Water Act in 48 States; and the Oil Pollution Act. Even where States 
have primary implementing responsibilities, in areas such as the Great 
Lakes, the States have relied on EPA to ensure uniform and effective 
progress toward water quality improvement.
  Shifting resources from the Federal Government to the States is not 
as simple as which entity will spend the money. Besides the diminution 
in enforcement of Federal laws where States are not coenforcement 
authorities, the Bush budget indicated that the funds would not be 
provided to all the States. EPA expects that 15 to 25 States will 
receive no funding under this new program. Therefore, in those States, 
EPA enforcement capabilities will be reduced with no additional 
resources available for the States to make up the shortcoming.
  There will be no inspections, no enforcement, and public health will 
suffer, the environment will suffer. While States do conduct the 
largest amount of inspections and institute the greater number of 
enforcement actions, the Federal programs are the ones that take on the 
difficult cases where States are unwilling or unable to act.
  The Federal Government has the unique role of addressing multistate 
issues where large corporations operate in several States; dealing with 
pollution that crosses State boundaries, like acid rain or downstream 
pollution of rivers or lakes; interstate hazardous waste; and global 
warming.
  EPA enforcement is of direct benefit to the taxpayer and the 
environment. Every $1 spent

[[Page H4757]]

on Superfund enforcement results on average in about $1.60 in direct 
cost recovery of government cleanup costs, and it creates another $6 in 
private party spending for cleanup of the Nation's most dangerous 
hazardous waste sites. A $5 million cut in Superfund enforcement 
activity could cost the Federal Government $8 million in recovery of 
money already spent, and preclude $30 million in additional cleanup.
  Every $1 spent on enforcement of Federal clean air, clean water, and 
hazardous waste laws results in an average of $10 to $20 spent directly 
on pollution control equipment and other improvements. Without these 
non-Federal investments, continued progress in cleaning up the air, 
water and land cannot be achieved.
  Providing additional resources to States to enforce their 
environmental laws can benefit human health and the environment. 
However, where these additional resources are provided at the expense 
of the Federal programs, environmental protection will suffer and human 
health will be compromised.
  Support the Menendez-Waxman-Pallone-Tierney amendment to protect 
human health and the environment.
  Mr. WALSH. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The CHAIRMAN. The question is on the amendment offered by the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez).
  The question was taken; and the Chairman announced that the noes 
appeared to have it.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote, and pending 
that, I make a point of order that a quorum is not present.
  The CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings 
on the amendment offered by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. 
Menendez) will be postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.


          Sequential Votes Postponed in Committee of the Whole

  The CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, proceedings will 
now resume on those amendments on which further proceedings were 
postponed, in the following order: amendment No. 43 offered by the 
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank); the amendment No. 44 offered 
by the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur); the amendment No. 45, 
offered by the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Bonior); and the amendment 
No. 46 offered by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez).
  The Chair will reduce to 5 minutes the time for any electronic vote 
after the first vote in this series.


                 Amendment No. 43 Offered by Mr. Frank

  The CHAIRMAN. The pending business is the demand for a recorded vote 
on the amendment No. 43 offered by the gentleman from Massachusetts 
(Mr. Frank) on which further proceedings were postponed and on which 
the noes prevailed by voice vote.
  The Clerk will redesignate the amendment.
  The Clerk redesignated the amendment.


                             Recorded Vote

  The CHAIRMAN. A recorded vote has been demanded.
  A recorded vote was ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 163, 
noes 247, not voting 23, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 286]

                               AYES--163

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Allen
     Baca
     Baird
     Baldacci
     Baldwin
     Barcia
     Barrett
     Becerra
     Bentsen
     Berkley
     Berman
     Blagojevich
     Bonior
     Borski
     Boyd
     Brady (PA)
     Brown (FL)
     Brown (OH)
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardin
     Carson (IN)
     Clay
     Condit
     Conyers
     Costello
     Coyne
     Crowley
     Cummings
     Davis (CA)
     Davis (FL)
     Davis (IL)
     DeFazio
     Delahunt
     DeLauro
     Deutsch
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Evans
     Farr
     Fattah
     Filner
     Ford
     Frank
     Gephardt
     Gonzalez
     Gordon
     Green (TX)
     Gutierrez
     Hall (OH)
     Hastings (FL)
     Hinchey
     Hinojosa
     Hoeffel
     Holt
     Honda
     Hooley
     Hoyer
     Inslee
     Israel
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Jefferson
     Jones (OH)
     Kaptur
     Kennedy (RI)
     Kildee
     Kilpatrick
     Kind (WI)
     Kucinich
     LaFalce
     Lampson
     Langevin
     Lantos
     Larson (CT)
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lofgren
     Lowey
     Luther
     Maloney (CT)
     Maloney (NY)
     Markey
     Matheson
     Matsui
     McCarthy (MO)
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCollum
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McIntyre
     McKinney
     McNulty
     Meehan
     Meek (FL)
     Meeks (NY)
     Menendez
     Millender-McDonald
     Miller, George
     Mink
     Moore
     Moran (VA)
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Owens
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor
     Payne
     Pelosi
     Pomeroy
     Price (NC)
     Rahall
     Rangel
     Reyes
     Rivers
     Roemer
     Ross
     Rothman
     Roybal-Allard
     Rush
     Sabo
     Sanchez
     Sanders
     Sandlin
     Sawyer
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Scott
     Serrano
     Sherman
     Skelton
     Smith (WA)
     Solis
     Stark
     Strickland
     Tanner
     Tauscher
     Thompson (CA)
     Thurman
     Tierney
     Towns
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Waters
     Watson (CA)
     Waxman
     Weiner
     Wexler
     Woolsey
     Wu

                               NOES--247

     Aderholt
     Akin
     Andrews
     Armey
     Bachus
     Baker
     Ballenger
     Barr
     Bartlett
     Barton
     Bass
     Bereuter
     Berry
     Biggert
     Bilirakis
     Bishop
     Blunt
     Boehlert
     Boehner
     Bonilla
     Bono
     Boswell
     Boucher
     Brady (TX)
     Brown (SC)
     Bryant
     Burr
     Burton
     Buyer
     Calvert
     Camp
     Cannon
     Cantor
     Capito
     Carson (OK)
     Castle
     Chabot
     Chambliss
     Clayton
     Clement
     Clyburn
     Coble
     Collins
     Combest
     Cooksey
     Cox
     Cramer
     Crane
     Crenshaw
     Culberson
     Cunningham
     Davis, Jo Ann
     Davis, Tom
     Deal
     DeGette
     DeLay
     DeMint
     Diaz-Balart
     Dooley
     Doolittle
     Doyle
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Edwards
     Ehlers
     Ehrlich
     Emerson
     Engel
     English
     Everett
     Ferguson
     Flake
     Fletcher
     Foley
     Forbes
     Fossella
     Frelinghuysen
     Gallegly
     Ganske
     Gekas
     Gibbons
     Gilchrest
     Gillmor
     Gilman
     Goode
     Goodlatte
     Goss
     Graham
     Granger
     Graves
     Green (WI)
     Greenwood
     Grucci
     Gutknecht
     Hall (TX)
     Harman
     Hart
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayes
     Hayworth
     Hefley
     Herger
     Hill
     Hilleary
     Hilliard
     Hobson
     Hoekstra
     Holden
     Horn
     Hostettler
     Houghton
     Hulshof
     Hunter
     Hutchinson
     Hyde
     Isakson
     Issa
     Istook
     Jenkins
     John
     Johnson (CT)
     Johnson (IL)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones (NC)
     Kanjorski
     Kelly
     Kennedy (MN)
     Kerns
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kirk
     Kleczka
     Knollenberg
     Kolbe
     LaHood
     Larsen (WA)
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Leach
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (KY)
     LoBiondo
     Lucas (KY)
     Lucas (OK)
     Manzullo
     Mascara
     McCrery
     McHugh
     McKeon
     Mica
     Miller, Gary
     Mollohan
     Moran (KS)
     Morella
     Murtha
     Myrick
     Nethercutt
     Ney
     Northup
     Norwood
     Nussle
     Ortiz
     Osborne
     Ose
     Otter
     Oxley
     Paul
     Pence
     Peterson (MN)
     Peterson (PA)
     Petri
     Phelps
     Pickering
     Pitts
     Platts
     Pombo
     Portman
     Pryce (OH)
     Putnam
     Radanovich
     Ramstad
     Regula
     Rehberg
     Reynolds
     Riley
     Rodriguez
     Rogers (KY)
     Rogers (MI)
     Rohrabacher
     Roukema
     Royce
     Ryan (WI)
     Ryun (KS)
     Saxton
     Schaffer
     Schrock
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shadegg
     Shaw
     Shays
     Sherwood
     Shimkus
     Shows
     Shuster
     Simmons
     Simpson
     Skeen
     Smith (MI)
     Smith (NJ)
     Snyder
     Souder
     Spratt
     Stearns
     Stenholm
     Stump
     Stupak
     Sweeney
     Tancredo
     Tauzin
     Taylor (MS)
     Terry
     Thomas
     Thompson (MS)
     Thornberry
     Thune
     Tiahrt
     Tiberi
     Toomey
     Traficant
     Turner
     Upton
     Vitter
     Walden
     Walsh
     Wamp
     Watkins (OK)
     Watts (OK)
     Weldon (FL)
     Weldon (PA)
     Weller
     Whitfield
     Wicker
     Wilson
     Wynn
     Young (FL)

                             NOT VOTING--23

     Blumenauer
     Callahan
     Cubin
     Dunn
     Frost
     Hansen
     Keller
     Largent
     Linder
     Lipinski
     McInnis
     Miller (FL)
     Quinn
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Scarborough
     Slaughter
     Smith (TX)
     Spence
     Sununu
     Taylor (NC)
     Watt (NC)
     Wolf
     Young (AK)

                              {time}  1332

  Mr. BERRY and Mrs. CLAYTON changed their vote from ``aye'' to ``no.''
  Messrs. RANGEL, UDALL of Colorado, and BOYD changed their vote from 
``no'' to ``aye.''
  So the amendment was rejected.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.


                      Announcement by the Chairman

  The CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, the Chair announces 
that he will reduce to a minimum of 5 minutes the period of time within 
which a vote by electronic device will be taken on the additional 
amendments on which the Chair has postponed further proceedings.


                     Amendment No. 44 by Ms. Kaptur

  The CHAIRMAN. The pending business is the demand for a recorded vote 
on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) on 
which further proceedings were postponed and on which the noes 
prevailed by voice vote.
  The Clerk will redesignate the amendment.

[[Page H4758]]

  The Clerk redesignated the amendment.


                             Recorded Vote

  The CHAIRMAN. A recorded vote has been demanded.
  A recorded vote was ordered.
  The CHAIRMAN. This will be a 5-minute vote.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 197, 
noes 213, not voting 23, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 287]

                               AYES--197

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Allen
     Andrews
     Baca
     Baird
     Baldacci
     Baldwin
     Barcia
     Barr
     Barrett
     Becerra
     Bentsen
     Berkley
     Berman
     Blagojevich
     Bonior
     Borski
     Boswell
     Boucher
     Boyd
     Brady (PA)
     Brown (FL)
     Brown (OH)
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardin
     Carson (IN)
     Carson (OK)
     Clay
     Clayton
     Clement
     Condit
     Conyers
     Costello
     Coyne
     Cramer
     Crowley
     Cummings
     Cunningham
     Davis (CA)
     Davis (FL)
     Davis (IL)
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delahunt
     DeLauro
     Deutsch
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Dooley
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Evans
     Farr
     Fattah
     Filner
     Foley
     Ford
     Fossella
     Frank
     Gephardt
     Gilman
     Gonzalez
     Gordon
     Granger
     Green (TX)
     Gutierrez
     Hall (OH)
     Harman
     Hastings (FL)
     Hinchey
     Hinojosa
     Hoeffel
     Holden
     Holt
     Honda
     Hooley
     Hoyer
     Hutchinson
     Inslee
     Israel
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Jefferson
     John
     Johnson (CT)
     Johnson (IL)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Jones (OH)
     Kaptur
     Kennedy (RI)
     Kildee
     Kilpatrick
     Kind (WI)
     Kingston
     Kleczka
     Kucinich
     LaFalce
     Lampson
     Lantos
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Leach
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     LoBiondo
     Lowey
     Lucas (KY)
     Luther
     Maloney (CT)
     Maloney (NY)
     Markey
     Mascara
     Matheson
     Matsui
     McCarthy (MO)
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCollum
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McIntyre
     McKinney
     McNulty
     Meehan
     Meek (FL)
     Meeks (NY)
     Menendez
     Millender-McDonald
     Miller, George
     Mink
     Mollohan
     Moore
     Moran (VA)
     Morella
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Owens
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor
     Payne
     Pelosi
     Price (NC)
     Rahall
     Ramstad
     Rangel
     Reyes
     Rivers
     Rodriguez
     Roemer
     Rothman
     Roybal-Allard
     Rush
     Sabo
     Sanchez
     Sanders
     Sandlin
     Sawyer
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Scott
     Serrano
     Shows
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (WA)
     Solis
     Souder
     Stark
     Strickland
     Stupak
     Tanner
     Tauscher
     Thompson (CA)
     Thurman
     Towns
     Turner
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Waters
     Watson (CA)
     Waxman
     Weiner
     Wexler
     Whitfield
     Woolsey
     Wu

                               NOES--213

     Aderholt
     Akin
     Armey
     Bachus
     Baker
     Ballenger
     Bartlett
     Barton
     Bass
     Bereuter
     Berry
     Biggert
     Bilirakis
     Bishop
     Blunt
     Boehlert
     Boehner
     Bonilla
     Bono
     Brady (TX)
     Brown (SC)
     Bryant
     Burr
     Burton
     Buyer
     Calvert
     Camp
     Cannon
     Cantor
     Capito
     Castle
     Chabot
     Chambliss
     Clyburn
     Coble
     Collins
     Combest
     Cooksey
     Cox
     Crane
     Crenshaw
     Culberson
     Davis, Jo Ann
     Davis, Tom
     Deal
     DeLay
     DeMint
     Diaz-Balart
     Doolittle
     Doyle
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Edwards
     Ehlers
     Ehrlich
     Emerson
     English
     Everett
     Ferguson
     Flake
     Fletcher
     Forbes
     Frelinghuysen
     Gallegly
     Ganske
     Gekas
     Gibbons
     Gilchrest
     Gillmor
     Goode
     Goodlatte
     Goss
     Graham
     Graves
     Green (WI)
     Greenwood
     Grucci
     Gutknecht
     Hall (TX)
     Hart
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayes
     Hayworth
     Hefley
     Herger
     Hill
     Hilleary
     Hilliard
     Hobson
     Hoekstra
     Horn
     Hostettler
     Houghton
     Hulshof
     Hunter
     Hyde
     Isakson
     Issa
     Istook
     Jenkins
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones (NC)
     Kanjorski
     Kelly
     Kennedy (MN)
     Kerns
     King (NY)
     Kirk
     Knollenberg
     Kolbe
     LaHood
     Langevin
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (KY)
     Lofgren
     Lucas (OK)
     Manzullo
     McCrery
     McHugh
     McKeon
     Mica
     Miller, Gary
     Moran (KS)
     Murtha
     Myrick
     Nethercutt
     Ney
     Northup
     Norwood
     Nussle
     Osborne
     Ose
     Otter
     Oxley
     Paul
     Pence
     Peterson (MN)
     Peterson (PA)
     Petri
     Phelps
     Pickering
     Pitts
     Platts
     Pombo
     Pomeroy
     Portman
     Pryce (OH)
     Putnam
     Radanovich
     Regula
     Rehberg
     Reynolds
     Riley
     Rogers (KY)
     Rogers (MI)
     Rohrabacher
     Ross
     Roukema
     Royce
     Ryan (WI)
     Ryun (KS)
     Saxton
     Scarborough
     Schaffer
     Schrock
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shadegg
     Shaw
     Shays
     Sherman
     Sherwood
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simmons
     Simpson
     Skeen
     Skelton
     Smith (MI)
     Snyder
     Spratt
     Stearns
     Stenholm
     Stump
     Sweeney
     Tancredo
     Tauzin
     Taylor (MS)
     Terry
     Thomas
     Thompson (MS)
     Thornberry
     Thune
     Tiahrt
     Tiberi
     Toomey
     Traficant
     Upton
     Vitter
     Walden
     Walsh
     Wamp
     Watkins (OK)
     Watts (OK)
     Weldon (FL)
     Weldon (PA)
     Weller
     Wicker
     Wilson
     Wynn
     Young (FL)

                             NOT VOTING--23

     Blumenauer
     Callahan
     Cubin
     Dunn
     Frost
     Hansen
     Keller
     Largent
     Linder
     Lipinski
     McInnis
     Miller (FL)
     Quinn
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Slaughter
     Smith (TX)
     Spence
     Sununu
     Taylor (NC)
     Tierney
     Watt (NC)
     Wolf
     Young (AK)

                              {time}  1341

  Ms. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia changed her vote from ``aye'' to ``no.''
  Messrs. WHITFIELD, SHOWS, and FOSSELLA changed their vote from ``no'' 
to ``aye.''
  So the amendment was rejected.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.


                 Amendment No. 45 Offered by Mr. Bonior

  The CHAIRMAN. The pending business is the demand for a recorded vote 
on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Bonior) on 
which further proceedings were postponed and on which the noes 
prevailed by voice vote.
  The Clerk will redesignate the amendment.
  The Clerk redesignated the amendment.


                             Recorded Vote

  The CHAIRMAN. A recorded vote has been demanded.
  A recorded vote was ordered.
  The CHAIRMAN. This will be a 5-minute vote.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 218, 
noes 189, not voting 26, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 288]

                               AYES--218

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Allen
     Andrews
     Baca
     Baird
     Baldacci
     Baldwin
     Barcia
     Barrett
     Becerra
     Bentsen
     Berkley
     Berman
     Berry
     Bishop
     Blagojevich
     Bonior
     Borski
     Boswell
     Boucher
     Boyd
     Brady (PA)
     Brown (FL)
     Brown (OH)
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardin
     Carson (IN)
     Carson (OK)
     Castle
     Clay
     Clayton
     Clement
     Clyburn
     Condit
     Conyers
     Costello
     Coyne
     Cramer
     Crowley
     Cummings
     Davis (CA)
     Davis (FL)
     Davis (IL)
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delahunt
     DeLauro
     Deutsch
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Doyle
     Edwards
     Engel
     English
     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Evans
     Farr
     Fattah
     Ferguson
     Filner
     Ford
     Frank
     Frelinghuysen
     Ganske
     Gephardt
     Gilman
     Gonzalez
     Gordon
     Green (TX)
     Gutierrez
     Hall (OH)
     Harman
     Hart
     Hastings (FL)
     Hill
     Hilliard
     Hinchey
     Hoeffel
     Holden
     Holt
     Honda
     Hooley
     Hoyer
     Inslee
     Israel
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Jefferson
     John
     Johnson (CT)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Jones (OH)
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kelly
     Kennedy (RI)
     Kildee
     Kilpatrick
     Kind (WI)
     Kirk
     Kleczka
     Kucinich
     LaFalce
     Lampson
     Langevin
     Lantos
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Leach
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     LoBiondo
     Lofgren
     Lowey
     Luther
     Maloney (CT)
     Maloney (NY)
     Markey
     Mascara
     Matheson
     Matsui
     McCarthy (MO)
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCollum
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McIntyre
     McKinney
     McNulty
     Meehan
     Meek (FL)
     Meeks (NY)
     Menendez
     Millender-McDonald
     Miller, George
     Mink
     Mollohan
     Moore
     Moran (VA)
     Morella
     Murtha
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Owens
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor
     Payne
     Pelosi
     Peterson (MN)
     Phelps
     Pomeroy
     Price (NC)
     Rahall
     Ramstad
     Rangel
     Reyes
     Rivers
     Rodriguez
     Roemer
     Ross
     Rothman
     Roybal-Allard
     Rush
     Sabo
     Sanchez
     Sanders
     Sandlin
     Sawyer
     Saxton
     Scarborough
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Scott
     Serrano
     Shays
     Sherman
     Simmons
     Skelton
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (WA)
     Snyder
     Solis
     Spratt
     Stark
     Strickland
     Stupak
     Tanner
     Tauscher
     Taylor (MS)
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Thurman
     Tierney
     Towns
     Turner
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Waters
     Watson (CA)
     Waxman
     Weiner
     Wexler
     Woolsey
     Wu
     Wynn

                               NOES--189

     Aderholt
     Akin
     Armey
     Bachus
     Baker
     Ballenger
     Barr
     Bartlett
     Barton
     Bass
     Bereuter
     Biggert
     Bilirakis
     Blunt
     Boehlert
     Boehner
     Bonilla
     Bono
     Brady (TX)
     Brown (SC)
     Bryant
     Burr
     Burton
     Buyer

[[Page H4759]]


     Calvert
     Camp
     Cannon
     Cantor
     Capito
     Chabot
     Chambliss
     Coble
     Combest
     Cooksey
     Cox
     Crane
     Crenshaw
     Culberson
     Cunningham
     Davis, Jo Ann
     Davis, Tom
     Deal
     DeLay
     DeMint
     Diaz-Balart
     Dooley
     Doolittle
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Ehlers
     Ehrlich
     Emerson
     Everett
     Flake
     Fletcher
     Foley
     Forbes
     Fossella
     Gallegly
     Gekas
     Gibbons
     Gilchrest
     Gillmor
     Goode
     Goodlatte
     Goss
     Graham
     Granger
     Graves
     Green (WI)
     Greenwood
     Grucci
     Gutknecht
     Hall (TX)
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayes
     Hayworth
     Hefley
     Herger
     Hilleary
     Hobson
     Hoekstra
     Horn
     Hostettler
     Houghton
     Hulshof
     Hunter
     Hutchinson
     Hyde
     Isakson
     Issa
     Istook
     Jenkins
     Johnson (IL)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones (NC)
     Kennedy (MN)
     Kerns
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Knollenberg
     Kolbe
     LaHood
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (KY)
     Lucas (KY)
     Lucas (OK)
     Manzullo
     McHugh
     McKeon
     Mica
     Miller, Gary
     Moran (KS)
     Myrick
     Nethercutt
     Ney
     Northup
     Norwood
     Nussle
     Osborne
     Ose
     Otter
     Oxley
     Paul
     Pence
     Peterson (PA)
     Petri
     Pickering
     Pitts
     Platts
     Pombo
     Portman
     Pryce (OH)
     Putnam
     Radanovich
     Regula
     Rehberg
     Reynolds
     Riley
     Rogers (KY)
     Rogers (MI)
     Rohrabacher
     Roukema
     Royce
     Ryan (WI)
     Ryun (KS)
     Schaffer
     Schrock
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shadegg
     Shaw
     Sherwood
     Shimkus
     Shows
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Skeen
     Smith (MI)
     Souder
     Stearns
     Stenholm
     Stump
     Sweeney
     Tancredo
     Tauzin
     Terry
     Thornberry
     Thune
     Tiahrt
     Tiberi
     Toomey
     Traficant
     Upton
     Vitter
     Walden
     Walsh
     Wamp
     Watkins (OK)
     Watts (OK)
     Weldon (FL)
     Weldon (PA)
     Weller
     Whitfield
     Wicker
     Wilson
     Young (FL)

                             NOT VOTING--26

     Blumenauer
     Callahan
     Collins
     Cubin
     Dunn
     Frost
     Hansen
     Hinojosa
     Keller
     Largent
     Linder
     Lipinski
     McCrery
     McInnis
     Miller (FL)
     Quinn
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Slaughter
     Smith (TX)
     Spence
     Sununu
     Taylor (NC)
     Thomas
     Watt (NC)
     Wolf
     Young (AK)

                              {time}  1350

  Mr. ENGLISH and Ms. HART changed their vote from ``no'' to ``aye.''
  So the amendment was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  Stated against:
  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained during rollcall 
No. 288. Had I been present I would have voted ``no.''


                Amendment No. 46 offered by Mr. Menendez

  The CHAIRMAN. The pending business is the demand for a recorded vote 
on Amendment No. 46 offered by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. 
Menendez) on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the 
noes prevailed by voice vote.
  The Clerk will redesignate the amendment.
  The Clerk redesignated the amendment.


                             Recorded Vote

  The CHAIRMAN. A recorded vote has been demanded.
  A recorded vote was ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 182, 
noes 214, not voting 37, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 289]

                               AYES--182

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Allen
     Andrews
     Baca
     Baird
     Baldacci
     Baldwin
     Barcia
     Barrett
     Barton
     Becerra
     Berkley
     Berry
     Bishop
     Blagojevich
     Boehlert
     Bonior
     Borski
     Boucher
     Boyd
     Brady (PA)
     Brown (FL)
     Brown (OH)
     Capps
     Cardin
     Carson (IN)
     Clay
     Clayton
     Clement
     Clyburn
     Condit
     Conyers
     Coyne
     Crowley
     Cummings
     Davis (CA)
     Davis (FL)
     Davis (IL)
     DeGette
     Delahunt
     DeLauro
     Deutsch
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Dooley
     Edwards
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Evans
     Farr
     Fattah
     Filner
     Ford
     Frank
     Gephardt
     Gonzalez
     Gordon
     Green (TX)
     Gutierrez
     Hall (OH)
     Harman
     Hastings (FL)
     Hill
     Hilliard
     Hinchey
     Hoeffel
     Holden
     Holt
     Honda
     Hooley
     Hoyer
     Inslee
     Israel
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Jefferson
     Johnson, E. B.
     Jones (OH)
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Kelly
     Kennedy (RI)
     Kildee
     Kind (WI)
     Kleczka
     Kucinich
     LaFalce
     Langevin
     Lantos
     Larsen (WA)
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lofgren
     Lowey
     Luther
     Maloney (CT)
     Maloney (NY)
     Markey
     Mascara
     Matsui
     McCarthy (MO)
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCollum
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McIntyre
     McKinney
     McNulty
     Meehan
     Meek (FL)
     Meeks (NY)
     Menendez
     Millender-McDonald
     Miller, George
     Mink
     Moore
     Moran (VA)
     Morella
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Olver
     Ortiz
     Owens
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor
     Payne
     Pelosi
     Price (NC)
     Rahall
     Ramstad
     Rangel
     Reyes
     Rivers
     Rodriguez
     Roemer
     Rothman
     Roybal-Allard
     Rush
     Sabo
     Sanchez
     Sanders
     Sawyer
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Scott
     Serrano
     Sherman
     Shows
     Smith (WA)
     Snyder
     Solis
     Spratt
     Stark
     Strickland
     Stupak
     Tauscher
     Taylor (MS)
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Thurman
     Tierney
     Towns
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Waters
     Watson (CA)
     Waxman
     Weiner
     Wexler
     Woolsey
     Wu
     Wynn

                               NOES--214

     Aderholt
     Akin
     Armey
     Bachus
     Baker
     Ballenger
     Barr
     Bartlett
     Bass
     Bentsen
     Bereuter
     Biggert
     Bilirakis
     Blunt
     Bonilla
     Bono
     Brady (TX)
     Brown (SC)
     Bryant
     Burr
     Burton
     Buyer
     Calvert
     Cannon
     Cantor
     Capito
     Capuano
     Carson (OK)
     Castle
     Chabot
     Chambliss
     Coble
     Combest
     Cooksey
     Costello
     Cox
     Cramer
     Crane
     Crenshaw
     Culberson
     Cunningham
     Davis, Jo Ann
     Davis, Tom
     Deal
     DeLay
     DeMint
     Doolittle
     Doyle
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Ehlers
     Ehrlich
     Emerson
     English
     Everett
     Ferguson
     Flake
     Fletcher
     Foley
     Forbes
     Fossella
     Frelinghuysen
     Gallegly
     Ganske
     Gekas
     Gibbons
     Gilchrest
     Gillmor
     Gilman
     Goode
     Goodlatte
     Goss
     Graham
     Granger
     Graves
     Green (WI)
     Greenwood
     Grucci
     Gutknecht
     Hall (TX)
     Hart
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayes
     Hayworth
     Hefley
     Herger
     Hobson
     Hoekstra
     Horn
     Hostettler
     Houghton
     Hulshof
     Hunter
     Hutchinson
     Hyde
     Isakson
     Issa
     Istook
     Jenkins
     John
     Johnson (CT)
     Johnson (IL)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones (NC)
     Kennedy (MN)
     Kerns
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kirk
     Knollenberg
     Kolbe
     LaHood
     Lampson
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Leach
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (KY)
     LoBiondo
     Lucas (KY)
     Lucas (OK)
     Manzullo
     Matheson
     McHugh
     McKeon
     Mica
     Miller, Gary
     Mollohan
     Moran (KS)
     Murtha
     Myrick
     Nethercutt
     Ney
     Northup
     Norwood
     Nussle
     Osborne
     Ose
     Otter
     Oxley
     Paul
     Pence
     Peterson (MN)
     Peterson (PA)
     Petri
     Phelps
     Pickering
     Pitts
     Platts
     Pombo
     Portman
     Pryce (OH)
     Putnam
     Radanovich
     Regula
     Rehberg
     Reynolds
     Riley
     Rogers (KY)
     Rogers (MI)
     Rohrabacher
     Ross
     Royce
     Ryan (WI)
     Ryun (KS)
     Sandlin
     Saxton
     Scarborough
     Schaffer
     Schrock
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shadegg
     Shaw
     Shays
     Sherwood
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simmons
     Simpson
     Skeen
     Skelton
     Smith (NJ)
     Souder
     Stearns
     Stenholm
     Stump
     Sweeney
     Tancredo
     Tanner
     Tauzin
     Terry
     Thomas
     Thornberry
     Thune
     Tiahrt
     Tiberi
     Toomey
     Traficant
     Turner
     Upton
     Vitter
     Walden
     Walsh
     Wamp
     Watkins (OK)
     Watts (OK)
     Weldon (FL)
     Weldon (PA)
     Weller
     Whitfield
     Wicker
     Wilson
     Young (FL)

                             NOT VOTING--37

     Berman
     Blumenauer
     Boehner
     Boswell
     Callahan
     Camp
     Collins
     Cubin
     DeFazio
     Diaz-Balart
     Dunn
     Frost
     Hansen
     Hilleary
     Hinojosa
     Keller
     Kilpatrick
     Largent
     Larson (CT)
     Linder
     Lipinski
     McCrery
     McInnis
     Miller (FL)
     Pomeroy
     Quinn
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roukema
     Slaughter
     Smith (MI)
     Smith (TX)
     Spence
     Sununu
     Taylor (NC)
     Watt (NC)
     Wolf
     Young (AK)

                              {time}  1358

  So the amendment was rejected.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.


                          personal explanation

  Ms. DUNN. Mr. Chairman, on Friday, July 27, 2001, I was unable to be 
present for rollcall votes 286 through 289.
  Had I been present, I would have voted ``no'' on rollcall No. 286, 
``no'' on rollcall No. 287, ``no'' on rollcall No. 288, and ``no'' on 
rollcall No. 289.


                          Personal Explanation

  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Chairman, I was unable to be present for rollcall 
votes Nos. 286, 287, 288, and 289, amendments to H.R. 2620, a bill 
making appropriations for the VA, HUD, and Independent Agencies for 
Fiscal Year 2002. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes'' on 
rollcall votes Nos. 286, 287, 288 and 289.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Chairman, today, I rise in strong opposition to the 
elimination of the Office of Rural Housing and Economic Development 
(ORHED) of HUD. I recognize that there were many priorities in this 
appropriations bill, and not all of them could be addressed. However, 
Mr. Chairman, to eliminate essential programs such as Drug Prevention 
in public housing, and the Rural Housing and

[[Page H4760]]

Economic Development program of HUD is a direct affront on my 
constituencies in North Carolina and on Rural America as a whole. I 
wish to discuss Rural Housing needs in this statement.
  I applaud my colleague, Marcy Kaptur, a champion of rural America, 
for her efforts by amendment to reinstate $25 million ($25,000,000) to 
maintain this program, but unfortunately, to no avail. I would like to 
also recognize my colleague Mr. Hastings, of Florida, who spoke 
passionately to restore this funding in the Rules committee, although, 
he represents an urban district, Mr. Chairman.
  I can not stress enough the importance of the housing problems facing 
rural communities. In the richest country on earth, we still have close 
to 1 million occupied homes without adequate indoor plumbing; and 30 
percent of all rural homes have coliform bacteria contamination in 
their water supplies. This is a disgrace, especially when it is 
apparent that this HUD program can help.
  Consider these facts, Colleagues:
  Over 2.1 million rural households are so severely cost-burdened that 
they pay more than half of their incomes for their dwellings. In 
addition, despite housing quality improvements in recent decades, many 
still continue to live in substandard housing, encompassing an 
astonishing 8.2 percent, or 1.8 million rural households.
  There are approximately 36 million homes in rural America. Nearly 
half of them are actually located near larger cities within 
metropolitan areas.
  Over 9 million rural households experience major housing problems, 
including cost burdens, moderate or serious physical problems, and 
overcrowding, with more than one person occupying a room. Many rural 
households have more than one of these problems, generally both high 
costs and substandard quality.
  The most significant disgrace, Mr. Chairman, is the fact that more 
than a quarter of the rural households living in poor housing are 
required to pay more than 30 percent of their incomes for their 
substandard units.
  Consider also that there are 200 counties in America that have 
poverty rates of 30 percent or higher. Almost all are rural counties. 
Only one is a big city county, and only 8 have populations of 60,000 or 
more.
  Six of ten poor people in this country live outside the central 
cities, that is not to say that there are not great needs in our 
cities, but there is also a rural need. Those figures in a nutshell 
show why this program is so important.
  There is also a tremendous housing need among certain populations 
such as migrant and seasonal farmworkers.
  Mr. Chairman, we should remember that rural concerns and issues are 
nationwide. In fact, the largest rural states in terms of population 
are in this particular order: Pennsylvania, Texas, North Carolina, 
Ohio, New York and Michigan.
  Mr. Chairman, there is no duplication of the ORHED programs; services 
provided by ORHED have unique qualities. Eventhough USDA Rural Housing 
Service (RHS) programs have been known to cater to rural residents RHS 
has suffered substantial funding cuts in recent years, and none of the 
RHS programs duplicate ORHED.
  The HUD (ORHED) program is very useful to local groups because of its 
flexibility. Many groups of varying levels of experience and capacity 
have successfully applied to this popular program. This program 
provides flexible, innovative housing production and capacity building 
funds and constitutes a very small portion of the HUD budget. The 
program allows local communities to define their own needs and 
projects. The very high demand for this program attests to its need.
  Mr. CASTLE. Mr. Chairman, I rise to speak in favor of a little known, 
but important program in the federal government--the U.S. Chemical 
Safety and Hazard Inspection Board (CSB). Many Americans are familiar 
with the work of the National Transportation Safety Board, which 
investigates airplane accidents. The CSB performs a similar role by 
investigating chemical accidents.
  The CSB suddenly became important to Delaware nine days ago when a 
major chemical fire ignited at the Motiva Enterprises refinery in 
Delaware City, Delaware on July 17, 2001. This accident left eight 
people injured and one man missing. What makes this accident most 
troubling is that the sulfuric acid storage tank that caught fire had 
been declared unsafe by company inspectors a month earlier. The 
inspectors further recommended that it be taken out of service. In 
fact, the same tank had a previous record of vapor and liquid emission 
leaks.
  I strongly believe that the time has come for a thorough 
investigation of the operations and practices at the Motiva Enterprises 
refinery at Delaware City. CSB's specialty in investigating such 
accidents and making recommendations for safety improvements are sorely 
needed in Delaware.
  Currently, the CSB is conducting a preliminary investigation to 
determine if a more extensive investigation is warranted. My suspicion 
is that a full investigation will be required and I will be meeting 
with the CSB shortly to discuss this issue further.
  Mr. Chairman, I want to express my strong support for the additional 
funding provided in this bill for the CSB. The bill increases funding 
for the CSB by $500,000 to $8 million. Because the accident at Motiva 
is just another in a long series of accidents at that plant, I want to 
make sure CSB has the resources to conduct a thorough investigation and 
make solid recommendations on how changes can be made at Motiva to keep 
Delawareans safe in the future. Last year, the CSB completed three 
investigations. So far this year, it has already initiated 
investigations of two incidents in Georgia and Indiana. Should the need 
for additional funding arise, I hope I can count on support from the 
VA-HUD Appropriations Committee to provide the necessary resources for 
the CSB.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Chairman, we are fortunate in Ohio to have one of 
the most outstanding federal installations that exists in the United 
States--NASA Glenn Research Center.
  I wish to thank Chairman Walsh and Representative Hobson for their 
hard work of the VA, HUD, Appropriations Committee, and for recognizing 
the importance of the work done at NASA Glenn.
  This VA-HUD appropriations legislation goes a far way in restoring 
many of the dollars that have been cut over the years to NASA Glenn 
Research Center, and the Subcommittee should be applauded for its 
recognition of the importance of this Center.
  Yet, there is still work to be done. There are advances in 
biotechnology to improve our health care; Quiet Aircraft Technology to 
improve our quality of life, and other important energy saving 
research--all conducted right at NASA Glenn Research Center.
  This Center has an annual economic impact of more than $1 billion to 
the State of Ohio and provides in excess of 12,000 jobs.
  And these are high tech jobs. Scientists and engineers in areas such 
as aerospace engineering, electrical engineering, chemistry, and 
physics account for more than half of the jobs at the Center . . . 25 
percent of these employees have Ph.Ds.
  NASA Glenn grants more than $10 million a year to Ohio's universities 
and pumps more than $243 million into Ohio industry through contracts.
  Because NASA Glenn is the only NASA installation north of the Mason 
Dixon Line, its impact is felt far and wide across our Nation.
  The accomplishments of NASA over the years are nothing short of 
amazing and many times we overlook the impact the NASA Glenn Center has 
on our everyday lives. NASA Glenn has been a leader among other NASA 
centers by winning more R&D 100 Awards than all other NASA Centers 
combined.
  Historically, NASA Glenn's value to the Agency has been its strength 
in aeronautics and space. In response to the Agency's changing 
priorities NASA Glenn has endeavored to redirect its core competencies 
toward biotechnology (fluids and sensors), nanotechnology (advanced 
materials), and information technology (communications). NASA Glenn 
remains a leader in the areas of propulsion, power and communications.
  Several of the testing facilities at NASA Glenn are unequaled, from 
the largest icing tunnel in the world, to the zero gravity research 
facility where most space shuttle and International Space Station 
experiments are tested before being launched.
  The Agency encourages its centers to share knowledge and research 
with area academic institutions and research facilities. Northeast Ohio 
has an unbelievable wealth of knowledge when it comes to biotechnology. 
We have world-class health care facilities like the Cleveland Clinic 
and University hospitals. We also have some of the finest educational 
institutions like Case Western Reserve University.
  Mr. Chairman, I hope that this Congress continues to realize the 
impact of NASA Glenn, and I urge the President and my colleagues to 
support NASA and the work at NASA Glenn to continue the fundamental 
research so vital to our future.

                              {time}  1400

  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now 
rise.
  The motion was agreed to.
  Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr. 
LaHood) having assumed the chair, Mr. Shimkus, Chairman of the 
Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, reported that 
that Committee, having had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2620) 
making appropriations for the Departments of Veterans Affairs and 
Housing and Urban Development, and for sundry independent agencies, 
boards, commissions, corporations, and offices for the fiscal year 
ending September 30, 2002, and for other purposes, had come to no 
resolution thereon.

[[Page H4761]]



                          ____________________