[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 17]
[House]
[Page 25575]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                   WHY IS CONGRESS STILL IN SESSION?

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Gibbons). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from South Dakota (Mr. Thune) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. Speaker, I would obviously rather be home in my home 
State of South Dakota this evening. I have a couple of important 
meetings tonight. One was with the folks from Homestake Mine, a mine 
which has been in service in South Dakota for about 125 years and which 
has recently announced that it is closing.
  I had a meeting scheduled there to talk about those issues. How do we 
deal with the issue of displaced workers? How do we deal with trying to 
help this small community transition and diversify its economy?
  I also had a meeting this evening with a group of snowmobilers who 
were interested in the National Park Service proposal to ban snowmobile 
use in some of our National Parks, as well as with the President's 
roadless initiative and other things.
  However, we are still here in Washington, D.C., and I believe that 
the people of this country and the people of South Dakota, my home 
State, need to know why we are here. We are here, I believe, because 
the President continues to insist on putting politics in this election 
year ahead of people.
  The President, in this budget, has gotten literally everything he has 
asked for and more in terms of spending. But it is still not enough. 
And it begs the question, Mr. Speaker: How much is enough? We are still 
trying to figure that out. What else is the President insisting on?
  Well, there are a number of issues unrelated to the budget process 
itself which he is also insisting that we move on, legislative 
provisions that would be added on to appropriation bills. One is 
blanket amnesty for 4 million people who have come to this country 
illegally since 1986.
  We do not think that we ought to be about the business of rewarding 
people for breaking the law. Now, on the other hand, there are a lot of 
people in this country who have come here legally and want to be 
reunited with their families, and we propose that as an alternative to 
the President's plan. And yet the President is insisting upon blanket 
amnesty for 4 million people who have come to this country and are here 
illegally.
  One of the other issues that he has insisted upon is that action be 
taken in the area of hate crimes legislation, legislation which to my 
understanding has yet to be debated, has yet to be considered in 
committee or anywhere else.
  Another issue which separates us this year, and granted in this 
election year these issues become more politicized but, nevertheless, 
we ought to be able to reach a compromise to take the politics out of 
some of these issues and do what is right for the American people. The 
President insists upon federalizing education in this country. We 
happen to believe as a matter of principle that our children are much 
better served when it is school districts, administrators, and teachers 
and parents who are in control rather than the Federal bureaucracy from 
Washington, D.C.
  Mr. Speaker, when I travel across my State in South Dakota, and I did 
during the month of August meet with a number of school districts, the 
thing I heard over and over and over again is: we need flexibility. 
Flexibility, flexibility. Allow us to make the decisions about how best 
to put these dollars to work. Do not have Washington telling us that 
they know best and coming up with one-size-fits-all solutions. School 
districts want flexibility.
  What else is keeping us here? We passed a tax bill. It had a minimum 
wage increase on it, which is something the President wanted. We passed 
a tax bill that includes the President's new market initiative, 
something that he has worked with our Speaker to try and accomplish. We 
passed a tax bill that has the repeal of the telephone tax which was 
put in effect in 1898 to fund the Spanish American War. It needs to be 
repealed.
  We passed a tax bill that allows for the expansion of IRA limits, 
which is something that I believe the President has also indicated his 
support for in the past. Deductibility of health insurance premiums for 
self-employed people, another issue that is included in the tax bill.
  Perhaps as important as anything else for the people in my State of 
South Dakota and all across rural America is a Medicare fix for rural 
hospitals, something that is very important to rural areas. We have 
hospitals and skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies that 
are waiting for this legislation and have come out very much in favor 
of it. It is about a $30 billion package. It has the support of the 
American Hospital Association, the American Cancer Society, the 
National Association of Rural Health Clinics.
  Most of the folks in rural areas of this country understand how 
important this legislation is to their very existence and survival, and 
so they have asked the President to sign it and not to veto it. And yet 
the President has indicated that he will veto it, which I think leaves 
us with one conclusion, Mr. Speaker. That is that the President has 
decided that this election year is more important than doing the work 
of the American people. Putting politics ahead of people.
  That is why I cannot be with my constituents in South Dakota this 
evening. And as much as I would like to be home with my constituents, 
we have to represent their interests, get their work done, complete the 
agenda of the American people. I hope that the President will work with 
us.

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