[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 108 (Friday, July 17, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1829-E1830]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   FINANCIAL SERVICES AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2010

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. DONALD A. MANZULLO

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 16, 2009

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 3170) making 
     appropriations for financial services and general government 
     for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other 
     purposes:

  Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Chair, as with many bills debated in Congress, the 
Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2010 
(H.R. 3170) contained some good and some bad provisions. This spending 
bill funds many important functions of the federal government, 
including the Department of the Treasury (one of the first four 
original Cabinet agencies created by the new U.S. government in 1789) 
and various smaller agencies that are involved in the financial 
services industry such as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 
(FDIC), the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the Securities 
and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the Small Business Administration 
(SBA). In addition, H.R. 3170 funds the Executive Office of the 
President, the Judiciary (the Third Branch of federal government), and 
the District of Columbia.
  As an original co-sponsor of the Automobile Dealer Economic Rights 
Restoration Act of 2009 (H.R. 2743), I was extremely pleased that House 
Committee Appropriations Committee Chairman, David Obey, and the House 
Democratic leadership agreed, in a bipartisan fashion, to adopt and 
protect an amendment offered by my good friend and colleague, 
Representative Steve LaTourette of Ohio. The LaTourette amendment 
essentially inserted the language contained in H.R. 2743 into H.R. 
3170. The LaTourette amendment would restore the status quo ante for 
automobile dealerships that were callously terminated by General Motors 
and Chrysler during their bankruptcy proceedings in blatant disregard 
to the dealership's contractual rights, state franchise laws, and just 
plain human decency. Normally, the Rules of the House prohibit the 
inclusion of language that changes statutory law on spending bills. But 
because the situation faces automobile dealers is such an exigent 
circumstance, I agreed with the House leadership that the LaTourette 
provision should be an exception to the regular rules governing the 
debate on appropriations bills. I strongly support the retention of the 
LaTourette amendment throughout the rest of the legislative process.
  However, when confronted with many other provisions in H.R. 3170, I 
could not vote in support of the overall bill. Unfortunately, the House 
Democratic leadership prevented the consideration of other amendments 
that could have corrected the major flaws in other parts of this 
legislation. H.R. 3170 continues the pattern in almost every other 
appropriations bill in spending well over the rate of inflation.

[[Page E1830]]

The rest of the nation is expected to reign in their pocketbooks during 
times of economic uncertainty; yet the federal government keeps on 
spending. Specifically, H.R. 3170 proposes to spend $1.5 billion in 
Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 or 6.4 percent over the FY 2009 funding level.
  One of those new spending priorities in H.R. 3170 is to restore a 
federal loan subsidy in the SBA's 7(a) guaranteed business lending 
program, costing $80 million a year. When I was Chairman of the House 
Small Business Committee, I was proud of my work to finally restore 
stability and predictability to the 7(a) program by removing it from 
the uncertainties of the annual appropriations process. In the past, 
the 7(a) program temporarily closed and then re-opened with severe 
restrictions on several occasions because Congress did not pass the 
annual spending bill covering the SBA account by the start of the new 
fiscal year (October 1st). The funding from the previous fiscal year 
simply ran out. After the annual federal subsidy was removed in 2004, 
more small businesses were helped by the 7(a) program, growing from a 
$9.5 billion loan program serving 72,000 small businesses a year in 
2004 to a $13.5 billion program serving nearly 93,000 small businesses 
a year by the time I left the chairmanship in 2007. This was 
accomplished by a slight adjustment in the fees charged to the users of 
the 7(a) program. This fee adjustment resulted in an average additional 
$10 a month increase in the loan repayment. In addition, the SBA 
received $375 million in the so-called ``economic stimulus'' package 
last February for a federal small business loan subsidy in order to 
lower fees and increase the government guarantee rate. These funds have 
yet to be fully expended and are expected to last well into FY 2010. 
There was no need to pile another $80 million on top of the money the 
SBA already has received for this purpose.
  In addition, H.R. 3170 reverses a decade-old policy that restricts 
all public funds to pay for abortions in the District of Colombia. I am 
amazed that in spite all the rhetoric to encourage people who are pro-
choice and pro-life to work together in a spirit of cooperation to 
lower the number of abortions in this nation, the Democratic-controlled 
House reinstates a public subsidy that will only encourage more 
abortions to be performed in the nation's capital. H.R. 3170 also 
removes ban on legalizing medical marijuana in the District of 
Colombia. It also gradually eliminates the D.C. school voucher 
experiment by prohibiting new enrollees from participating in a school 
choice option in one of the worst public school systems in the nation.
  Thus, I regretfully decided to vote against H.R. 3170, 
notwithstanding my strong support for the LaTourette provision to 
restore the rights of terminated automobile dealers, because of the 
overspending in the bill and the new publicly-financed incentive to 
encourage more abortions in the nation's capital.

                          ____________________