[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11924]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



        VOTE ``NO'' ON H.R. 45, NUCLEAR WASTE POLICY ACT OF 1999

  (Mr. GIBBONS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, the Committee on Commerce recently amended 
H.R. 45, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1999 to exempt the $8 billion 
Nuclear Waste Fund from the Budget Enforcement Act. So what does this 
mean? Well, this move to take the nuclear waste budget off-budget would 
open the floodgates for unrestricted, uncontrolled spending.
  By taking H.R. 45 off-budget, we will permit funding increases 
without the necessary offsets and provide for little or no 
congressional oversight and accountability, all in the name of nuclear 
waste.
  By fragmenting the budget to accommodate nuclear waste interests, we 
would set a dangerous precedent that every other trust fund would 
undoubtedly attempt to follow.
  As Members of Congress, we should be concerned about any erosion of 
our commitment to budget discipline. Let us not forget that there are 
several hundred trusts and special funds in existence today, with only 
Social Security and the Postal Service receiving this special status of 
off-budget.
  I would encourage my colleagues to uphold their commitment to fiscal 
responsibility and vote ``no'' on H.R. 45. Let us not make nuclear 
waste more important than our Social Security, Medicare, seniors and 
children.

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